In a flat image like a photograph, it is easy to forget the distance between subjects. Despite the sparce midground, the implication of space in Three Sisters Winterscape is monumental. The top of the foreground rock fails to overtake the mountain line in the background, which allows it to lead the viewer’s eye to the Three Sisters rock formation on the left. The blanket of snow creates a stark contrast between rocks and ground, as does the direct light and deep shadow. The smaller rocks in the foreground mimic the much larger Three Sisters in the distance.
In the physical exhibit, this photograph works with Sandstone Light to bookend Muench’s other “near/far” images, a technique in which Muench flattened the midground and placed a shape in the foreground, close enough to touch, to lead the eye to a crisp background far off in the distance. Both Sandstone Light and Three Sisters Winterscape feature a diagonal rock formation in the foreground, pointing in opposite directions.
This image was included in the book David Muench’s Arizona: Cherish the Land, Walk in Beauty (1997).
Taken in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona.