These photographs reveal a hidden luminescence in the wilderness of the American West. From collapsed lava tubes lines with microbial mats to high elevations where lichens thrive, a strange fluorescence occurs when certain minerals and organic materials are subjected to ultraviolet radiation.
This parallel world is briefly unveiled in the darkness of night with long exposures using an ultraviolet emitting light source. The eerie light that is emitted from these once familiar surfaces transmutes the mundane into something otherworldly.
(Cody Cobb)
Cody Cobb’s striking photographs communicate the solitude of remote locations, places he seeks to immerse himself in untouched wilderness. The isolation allows him more sensitive observations of the external landscape and his internal experiences within it. Cobb's perspective allows him to frame landscapes dramatically, capturing the serenity and vastness, often tempered by intensities of light and color. Cobb allows himself to be vulnerable to the elements as he explores and works, giving voice to nature. Yet the viewer is aware of his presence in these places; we join him, share his vantage points, and feel the grandeur of the vistas. Each image carries comfort through immersion in natural beauty, and the stark reality of our infinitesimal existence within it.
Cobb has shown his work across the United States and internationally, including in London, UK; Sydney, Australia, and Moscow, Russia. He has received extensive press coverage including features in Wired, Photograph Magazine, and PhotoLucida among others. Seven of Cobb’s photographs won the International Photography Exhibition Award from the Royal Photographic Society, based in London, UK. He was also awarded the 2nd Place Center’s Curator’s Choice Award from Center, Santa Fe, NM. His work is part of prestigious private collections.