Seeing Nature in a Whole New Light
By Curt Riedy
All Photos By Murray Peters / Illuminature.com    SLIDESHOW
Spring 2007

Everywhere we go, throughout each day of our lives, Nature surrounds us. Despite its ever-presence, we tend to bypass the beauty and remark little on the awesome and spectacular intricacies of every scene, creature and beam of light. Dawn blurs into day, day into dusk and evening into dark. The routine of our lives brings about a cycle that allows for little notation of what lies beyond the sidewalks and streetlamps of our ever-encroaching and sprawling cities. 

Occasionally we might step into our walking shoes or muddy boots and head down a dirt path for a day of fresh air and sunshine. But, do we, as the general public and sometime aficionados of the outdoor experience, really see the complexity and wonder of the Earth upon which we exist?

One man does make note of every ray of light, palette of color and depth of scenery that he possibly can, both for himself and, thankfully, for those of us more inclined to stay within the bounds of our own front lawn or parkway. That man, Murray Peters of Utah, captures Nature in his own time, way and vision that is aptly named Illuminature.

Imagine yourself high on a knife-edged ridgeline. Before you, a breathtaking display of light emits from a setting sun, illuminating the clouds that hover at your feet. You sit perched, completely mesmerized by beauty as the sun drops beyond the horizon. As dusk looms, the realization occurs that you haven’t any tangible form of light with you, neither a headlamp nor a flashlight. While scrambling desperately to traverse rocky edges and racing toward the trail, darkness envelops you. 

This may sound a little risky and perhaps borders on suicidal. But, for landscape photographer Murray Peters, just as long as he brings his camera, the experience will be worth it…for all of us.

Despite being his great passion, photography is not Murray’s profession. He’s been an independent financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial for over ten years. Regardless of having to maintain the day job, Peters’ primary reason for creating his art comes from an unrequited love for photography and the breathtaking surroundings that make up his current home of Salt Lake City.

A native of Texas, the 42 year-old single father has a deep affection for capturing the beauty found in the American West. In particular, the bulk of his work involves the Colorado Plateau that extends into the Beehive State of Utah, where he now lives with his 14 year-old daughter, Madison.

Peters’ love for photography awakened in junior high and his current artistic passion grew out of hiking, with both hobbies forging together toward initiation into nature imaging in 1996. “I loved to hike, to be out there with nature,” recalls Murray. “One day, it finally just dawned on me, ‘God, I really need to bring a camera.’”

As a single parent, Murray takes advantage of any opportunity to share his hobby with Madison. In fact, his daughter has naturally developed a love of photography and recently acquired her own digital camera. Although Madison occasionally accompanies her father on his shoots, the result is generally that of her becoming tired during the associated trek, as well as that classic anecdote one would expect to hear while hiking with their teenage daughter, “I’m bored.”

Peters has developed a portfolio of incredible material. For instance, his depiction Across the Waters captures a breathtakingly vivid reflection of a sunrise in the waters of a mountainside lake. The shimmering reds, yellows and golds in both the lake and night sky provide an equal balance that perfectly illustrates Peters’ talent. 

Another fan favorite is the piece entitled Sanctuary, which explores the exquisite beauty of cavern rocks. The imagery of the piece takes a firm hold on the viewer’s eye, and makes perfect use of the cavern’s natural color palette.

Like the giving nature of Peter’s photography itself, his website, Illuminature.com, also plays a much-appreciated role in benefiting the landscapes from which it lovingly borrows. He supports the beautiful lands he photographs by contributing a portion of the website’s profits to charitable organizations that dedicate themselves to the preservation of our environment as a whole. As he claims, one of the main goals of Illuminature is to provide more than an aesthetically pleasing collection of images, as a “reminder of the condition of our world” in both its beauty and suffering.

While it’s easy to see how Peters plays a vital role in the planet’s betterment as a photographer alone, the uncommonly honest artist will openly admit to mistakes made along his way. "One day I loaded up my gear and cruised down to Southern Utah, which was a good couple of hours away from home," recalls Peters. "Once I arrived, I began to unload everything and realized I forgot my mount for the tripod, which is one of the most important tools for capturing exposures that often take several hours. Needless to say, I had to pack everything up right there and head back."

Even some of Peters’ most admired photos were accidental. This is most notable in the piece entitled Teton Thirst, which features a moose settling down to an afternoon drink. "I was in Grand Teton National Park, setting up this really beautiful angle and at the last moment he just walked right into frame," Peters noted, laughing to himself. "That moose really ended up making the shot."

A testament to the painstaking art of landscape photography, the moose from Teton Thirst demonstrates the awe-inspiring results derived from the perseverance required for every single picture. Another fantastic example of Peters’ patience is Aurora, a photograph taken in the Upper Antelope Canyon in Arizona. "To capture [the canyon’s] natural beauty, you need to wait for the different beams of natural light to appear," states Peters, explaining the shot process. "You just sit for hours, watching them move. It’s all incredibly beautiful."

While the photographs themselves require an endless amount of skill, the task of naming his creations is, for Peters, a much simpler process. "Sometimes the subject is a formation with a specific name, and I just go with that. Often, it’s a name of my own creation, a stream of consciousness thing. Just clear your head and it’ll pop in there. No method, just whatever evokes."

Next up for Murray is a road trip to Yosemite National Park, a very iconic location for the artist. The park brought endless inspiration to a major hero of his, the great photographer Ansel Adams.

Although he might one day venture to locations elsewhere (camera in tow, of course), Peters’ main inspiration will always be the American West. "I could spend years knocking out national parks around here. It’s just endless beauty." As for any international aspirations, Peters sees himself heading to the Himalayas in Nepal, but maybe not right this minute. "Obviously, I think I’d like to wait for the political situation to calm down a bit."

His other photography plans for the future? "Continue to sell through private collectors and decorators. One day I’d like to have a physical retail store, but I don’t know how much of a reality that will ever be."

What’s most important to Peters is the desire to continue his craft in the most sincere of forms, to keep the romance alive and bustling. "It’s an outlet, not a vocation. Most of all, I want to continue to love it. I’d like to swap my professional positions [from Financial Advisor to Professional Photographer], but it’s really something I do just because I love to do it."

Although his initial methods were a bit askew, Murray sees real potential in just how far he can take his photography. "I put it out there backwards," he admits. "I was learning how to do it as I went. My friends and family would encourage it, and I’d just keep pushing. Basically, what motivated all this was a desire to share, to expose the public to just how wonderful and beautiful this part of our country can be."

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