Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CEDAR CITY — Capturing the people and landscapes of the southwest, Michael Plyler lovingly carries his large-format camera across the rugged terrain.
Plyler, the Zion Canyon Field Institute Director, takes pride in capturing the unique beauties of Utah. His most recent exhibit, “Sandstone, Silver, and Time,” at Frontier Homestead State Park in Cedar City, celebrates the National Park Service and its protection of Zion.
Plyler began photographing in college to fulfill a fine arts credit, but quickly became hooked, switching from a 35 mm to a large-format camera.
“The large-format approach is significant for a couple of reasons. I've done commercial photography since 1984 with an emphasis on interiors and architecture,” Plyler said. “The large-format camera is especially suited to architecture in that it has the movements to allow the photographer to correct for parallax and other adjustments which make the buildings plumb and square in the photographs just as they are in reality.”
He employs Ansel Adams and Fred Archer’s zone system to shoot his black and white images, then develops each negative in a traditional dark room. Using these techniques, Plyler has created the images now hanging in Cedar City.
“Of all the types of photography that I do — architecture, portraiture, and landscape — landscape imagery is by far the most difficult to execute on a regular basis,” Plyler said. “So many different things have to come together at just the right moment. Light, composition, especially in black and white. In the southwest, I think clouds are an essential component of the ‘big picture’ landscape. So this show is an homage to my backyard, Zion, and an insight into my progression as a landscape photographer.”
Plyler is quick to mention that although his love for Zion moved him to Springdale in 1991, his passion projects extend beyond the park’s borders. Over the last 30 years, he has spent a significant amount of time photographing the Highland Maya of Guatemala — 56 of those images are in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.
He also worked to create photographs of 32 Paiute elders to accompany their interviews with Logan Hebner for the book “Southern Paiute: A Portrait.”
See Plyler’s exhibit at Frontier Homestead State Park visitor’s center through October 31. You can also see his exhibit about the Highland Maya of Guatemala from May 2017 through the end of July 2017 at the Southern Utah Museum of Art in Cedar City. He is represented by LaFave Gallery.
