I Spent The Last Thirteen Years Photographing Wild Edible Plants Across The Continental USA

Thirteen years ago, I had an epiphany and a dream that led me to reapproach the genre of landscape photography. I wanted to find a way to inspire greater concern for environmental issues, make images that offered the gift of free food, allowed viewers to glimpse the beauty of our symbiotic relation to the kingdom of flora, and feel connected to their local ecosystems. Out of this was born J.W. Fike's Photographic Survey of the Wild Edible Botanicals of the North American Continent; Plates in Which the Edible Parts of the Specimen Have Been Illustrated in Color.

Since then, I've been fortunate to work in the field in fifteen different states and amass a collection of over one hundred and fifty images. My system makes it easy to identify both the plant and its edible parts. Beyond this functionality, I utilize Photoshop to meticulously design each image, creating an archetypal, composite image that writhes and pulsates in the meditative space of an infinite void. No doubt, the plants growing right outside your door are either edible, medicinal, or useful in myriad other ways. I hope my images can help illuminate this numinous botanical realm.

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