99.09.18 #11, from the series “Ocean Details”

The vast sea appears small in scale in this image taken off of Long Island Sound. The shore and horizon line are not visible, allowing the surface of the water to fill the entire composition. We are left to meditate on the textural patterns created by the interplay of light and shadow on the cresting and falling waves. These patterns are softly rendered in platinum photographic emulsion that has been hand-brushed onto watercolor paper. According to Joni Sternbach, the work is as much about the process of making as it is about the end result. "I am often compelled to photograph in adverse weather conditions, eradicating most of the typical seascape information, leaving either faint echoes of memory or turbulent disturbances of emotion."