Natural Drainages Outlined by Cultivation, Dry Land Wheat Farming near Hermiston, Oregon 1991

Emmet Gowin’s 1991 photograph, “Natural Drainages Outlined by Cultivation, Dry Land Wheat Farming near Hermiston, Oregon,” is a striking example of his aerial photography. The black and white image, taken from a high vantage point, captures the abstract patterns of farmland in eastern Oregon. The photograph shows the land as a complex network of natural drainage systems outlined by human intervention - the fields. This aerial perspective offers a new way of seeing the landscape, emphasizing the interplay between nature and human activity. Gowin’s use of black and white and the aerial perspective transforms the ordinary landscape into a captivating abstraction.