Derrick Jensen August of 2009 in Northern California

From the Kitchen Window of Jim Sienkiewicz’s Cabin

Photo by Alicia Sienkiewicz

Jim Sienkiewicz is a Professor of Photography at Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He holds BFA and MFA degrees and is currently a PhD student in West African Art & Religion at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He is inspired by the redwoods that surround his cabin in West Sonoma County, California and the nearby river and sea that refresh all that encounter them.

Information about the Derrick Jensen photograph:
I created this photograph in August of 2009 in Northern California, home to some of the largest old-growth redwoods in the state. I felt that picturing Jensen amidst these primeval giants was fitting given his environmental activism and the nature of his writing. The image is part of a larger series entitled Cape Disappointment that focuses on the people and landscapes of the Northwest and the mood that these places generate. I wanted to photograph the author because of his residence in the larger described area as well as his connection to this specific landscape and this picture’s unique setting.

Book I would want on a Desert Island:
Cormac McCarthy’s The Border Trilogy. When reading these three novels I am always transported to the Southwest and Mexico through the author’s vivid descriptions and beautifully developed storytelling.