SEAN DU - EXPOSURE INTERNATIONAL OPEN CALL

Above the Treeline is an ongoing study that seeks to capture, by way of hiking and climbing, the usually unseen views of North America's mountain wildernesses. These journeys to the mountaintops were my communion with the natural world.

In the alpine region of the mountains, where trees give way to tundra, snow, ice and rock, seen in abundance are evidences of the earth's shaping power—the tilt and fold of the rocks and the remnants of valley-carving glaciers. Behind the landscape's spatial magnificence hides a deep geologic time, in which the imagination can run as freely as the eyes are able to glance between ridges and valleys. Also witnessed is the transition of life forms across the elevation, where each species has adapted to its unique challenges. These observations prompted me to reflect on my very existence as well as humans' relationship with nature—here I felt most connected to the earth.

In the end, what the mountains have returned to me is a renewed capacity for wonder, which I hope to carry on with my pictures, long after leaving the boundary of the wilderness. More importantly, I hope my passion for the mountains can inspire a greater sense of connection to the land, for it is key to the protection of the places and things we depend on.

BIOGRAPHY

Sean Du is a landscape photographer whose work aims to reconnect us with nature. Since earning his BFA in photography from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, his work had been exhibited in institutions such as the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, California, Los Angeles Center of Photography, the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, Colorado, Sangre de Cristo Arts Center in Pueblo, Colorado, and Photographic Center Northwest, in Seattle, Washington.