Outdoor Photography Magazine

The solace of the desert

Eric Bennett is a landscape photographer with a love of unseen places and new perspectives. He talks to Graeme Green about getting away from crowds, deafening silence and how the desert can provide solace in difficult times.

The desert state of Utah in the American Southwest has some of the most popular national parks in the country, including Zion National Park and Arches National Park. Thankfully for landscape photographer Eric Bennett, the state also has plenty of space, where he finds the solitude he needs to create his images away from tourist hordes and other photographers.

Having previously worked as a commercial videographer, Bennett moved to Utah 12 years ago. Based in Orem, south of Salt Lake City, the photos in his new book Space, Stillness, Silence were collected from his adventures in the southern Utah desert, and range from wide- open views of canyons and cliffs to intimate pictures of leaves and water reflections, with far more trees and other greenery than many people might expect from a desert region.

Outside the US, he has travelled to more than 30 countries, from Australia to Argentina.

Read our interview with Eric Bennett in issue 307 of OP.

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