The Village Gallery of Local Artists is delighted to invite art collectors and enthusiasts to experience the ethereal and meditative work of nature photographer Dan Brown.

While traveling with his wife, Amy, to beaches all over the world, Brown discovered a passion for photography. Today, that passion focuses on the water’s edge, where the waves meet the shoreline. These distinctive patterns in the sand change with each movement of the tide and Brown captures how they interact with smooth stones and sunlight, creating intriguing images imbued with a Zen calm. “Each location gives us the breadth and depth of nature’s story, of nature’s connection to life,” he explains. “I found a connection to teaching and learning in the movement and images in and of nature.”

Brown describes his process as very much a mindfulness practice. “As I walk along where the water meets the land, my attention is drawn to the images in the sand. I capture what appears naturally from the action and state of being of the waves on the land.” And while the outcome and product of his artistic process draws the viewer in with its nuances and softness, for Brown the process itself becomes a part of him. “Each wave I capture has a physical and metaphysical value within me. It’s more about the time and place, in and of the present moment.”

A Sedona resident since 2004, Brown moved with his wife from Michigan. Prior to photography, he had a full career in education, as a teacher, principal, and administrator in both vocational and deaf education.  “As a long-time educator, I have had the passion and compassion to be curious with what’s going on around me. Photography is my physics of being in that present moment.” Brown’s path of learning continued when he completed a PhD in Metaphysics with an emphasis in guidance counseling.

Through his photographs, Brown shares new ways of seeing and experiencing nature. “Once someone realizes what the photograph depicts, they find nature’s connection. . . Nature’s Wave is my attempt to showcase an element of nature that occurs time and time again. And if we are conscious of believing prior to seeing, we find nature’s magic.”