My greatest fascination is the outdoors and subjects found throughout nature — especially majestic landscapes. There exists a revelation of a profound and divine nature which can not be expressed with words in the natural world in which we live.   Even though we all walk through a natural world full of awe inspiring beauty and revelation we often fail to see it.  It is my opinion that the first and greatest challenge for any artist is to learn to "see."  As I stated above, I am convinced that we pass by a myriad of beautiful compositions each day and never realize it because we either fail to take the time to see them or never develop the capacity to see and appreciate them. Often I find that subjects which possess what I like to term 'simple elegance' are the most profoundly beautiful and at the same time profoundly simple. There really are no "common" things when you learn to "see."  Therefore, the art of photography speaks in a manner which makes words seem trite.  The second greatest challenge for me as an artist is to master all the disciplines required to convey what I see in the field into a form which can be seen by my viewers.  Unfortunately, the term “master” has been largely discarded in recent times. Ansel Adams once said,“The negative is the equivalent of the composer's score, and the print the performance.”  I am convinced that it is a necessary and worth while expenditure of time and effort to fully develop all the disciplines required to not only visualize, compose and record a work but to “perform” that work as well.  Over the years my equipment has grown more complex and heavier but I view each piece of equipment as a painter would a particular brush or canvas because they are a means to the same end: To capture the ineffable beauty and wonder in this world where we’ve been placed which can bring a unique pleasure to the heart of those viewers who "see" — and to thereby bring glory to the Sovereign God who created and sustains it. All of creation is a giant symphony ...  the ebb and flow of the tides, the waxing and waning of the moon, the movement of the great whales in due seasons on their specific paths in the oceans, the movement of the winds over the face of the earth, the movement of the heavenly bodies in their prescribed courses through the heavens, the migrations of birds in their respective times, the continual interplay of light and shadow through out the course of day and night as well as countless other pieces in the great symphony all bear witness to the Sovereign God who created, sustains and conducts it all.   Thus Soli Deo Gloria is the Latin phrase which is interpreted "To God Alone Be All Glory". The great masters of old performed with this theme as their driving motivation ...  Soli Deo Gloria.  This was the central theme of the Reformation. Johann Sebastian Bach signed his compositions, S.D.G., and carved Soli Deo Gloria into the organ at Leipzig. The "Golden Age" of English Literature (with Spenser, Milton, Herbert, Donne and Bunyan) was to a large extent driven by the concept of Soli Deo Gloria. Therefore, since this theme fitly represents my purpose I have chosen to inscribe on all signed prints S.D.G. as did those older masters. To God alone is all glory. Thank you for considering my prints. — Alan Adams