Cottonwood Stump Along Ditch No. 3, Cache la Poudre River Near Greeley, Colorado 1996

William Wylie made this gelatin silver print, "Cottonwood Stump Along Ditch No. 3, Cache la Poudre River Near Greeley, Colorado,” using a way of seeing that's all about the details. The texture in this photograph feels so tangible. The stump itself, with its deep furrows and gnarly surface, has this sculptural presence, like a Brancusi or something. Look at how the light catches on those edges – it's almost like Wylie is carving into the paper itself. Then you’ve got the grasses, all these scribbly lines, and the soft focus of the trees in the background. It’s a whole world contained in shades of gray, you know? There’s a sense of time in this image. That stump has been there, weathering away, becoming part of the landscape. It reminds me of those Bernd and Hilla Becher photos of industrial structures. They share that same kind of quiet observation, that interest in the marks of time and use. But here, instead of factories, we have nature doing its thing. It makes you think about what we leave behind.