Gila Experiments

By Ruby Pluhar

Gila Wilderness, NM

October 24, 2017

I began the short hike over two river banks with my Plexiglas print of Mikala, where I set it up standing upright with some rocks. As I had originally photographed Mikala in the water I was interested to do some tests with the physical print in the landscape and position it around water to see how it would respond. The wind was very strong on this day so it meant the Plexiglas was bending with the wind at an almost vertical angle when I installed it. From this, when the light was shining upon the print, it reflected in to the water and became illuminated with the light. I was drawn to create some water sculptures with the camera by documenting the figure moving in and out of focus with the effects of the winds on the water. The figure appears to be in a state of drowning but also rising to the surface of the water. At the points when the figure is fairly crisp, the whole spectrum of the rainbow can be seen. I feel like this image looks like the figure is floating in space. I was very glad to have experimented with the print over water as I had no idea it would reflect so strongly over the water when the print was warped and bent towards it.

Golden Gus

By Ruby Pluhar

Patagonia, AZ

October, 15, 2017

Watching Gus zoom around Patagonia’s fields in the magic hour embodies the same feelings of optimism, possibility and warmth that are shared within the whole Borders Restoration team in Patagonia and their work restoring the land. When taking these portraits of Gus I made an attunement with the warm fall glow of the land and the rush of energy bolting through it.

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By Ruby Pluhar

Muley Point, Bears Ears National Monument, UT

October 3, 2017

Muley Point has a magical feeling to a place I have never experienced before, it is as if you are floating between two realms of earth and sky. I began noticing the various formations of lichen growing all over the rocks and how these varied in size, colour and pattern. I decided to make a series of lichen portraits, personifying each individual on land arts with a image of lichen I had selected that I felt resembled them, pairing them together like so. I began paying attention to different times of the day and how different lights reflected different individuals to me. I feel you can tell a lot about character by colour and texture and that the landscape equally reflects us as we reflect them.

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    By Ruby Pluhar

    Glen Canyon Dam / Lake Powell, AZ

    September 28, 2017

As I peered through the wired fence running alongside the bridge I noticed a man walking on the roof way below, with the dam circling around him. He appeared incredibly nonchalant, as he circled around on the phone casually. I wondered if he might be avoiding peering upwards.

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By Ruby Pluhar
Angel Peak, Four Corners, NM
September 21, 2017


Gaining an understanding in to the Navajo culture and how it has been exploited by oil and gas extraction units was incredibly overwhelming during our stay at Angel Peak, where we camped right in the middle of it all. At night, the view became a sea of flashing artificial lights pinpointing where all of the fracking was going on and I was left with constant headaches from all the gases roaming in the air. Working with activist Daniel and storyteller Sunny gave an immense amount of insight firsthand in to how their native lands have been totally disregarded and we gained history of their beliefs and traditions. I feel these portraits share insight in to their characters. I really connected with all the stories Sunny shared with us as we sat together through rain and sunshine. As Sunny so rightly stated, “Art heals.”.

The spirit of the water

By Ruby Pluhar

Wild Rivers, NM

September 8, 2017

I am constantly brought back to the water, and return daily to the same magical spot that I found on my first hike down to the little springs of the wild scenic rivers on our first day here. I head down early, and watch the morning sun rise and glide over the water watching the glistening hues of yellow, greens and blues come to life. I am drawn to how the rock formations sculpt the fluidity of the water, resulting in abstraction of shape in all sorts of otherworldly kinds. I began noticing how the shapes seemed to mimic movements and textures of the body. I decided to take a series of images of Mikala around the space, playing with reflections and the rhythm of the water. I took special attention to choose clothing where the textures and tones of the fabrics corresponded to their environment to personify Mikala as a spirit of the water. The glisten of the water began to mirror in the sparkle of the silver trousers, and her burgundy vest with the richness of the sand.

The Feast

By Ruby Pluhar

La Villita, NM

September 5, 2017

In excitement for the big feast on our final night at Ron’s wonderful farm we all began putting on costumes and extravagant make up. I laid down the jugs of our watermelon Fresca around the bundles of wildflowers and vegetable dyed tablecloths.  I felt as if we were all in Alice in Wonderland or a fantasy tale. It still feels like a surreal dream. How special it was to of collectively created a beautifully presented meal for seventeen on the night of the harvest moon! We ate as the moon became brighter and brighter in its orange hue.  

Light and water play

By Ruby Pluhar

Rio Grande Headwaters, CO
September 7 , 2017

I was totally enthralled by a snow structure that had formed to the right of our campsite which was rapidly melting under the sun’s heat. One was able to climb underneath the structure which felt like a little ice palace one you were underneath it. It was so meditative to stand and listen to the melting drops of the snow dropping in to the Rio Grande river which flowed through the structure. Different intensities of light would totally change the atmosphere of the space and I began becoming interested in capturing the spirit of light and water, and how these play with each other. In hope of highlighting this, I creating a series of short videos and began using an emergency space blanket over the lens of the camera to bring an ethereal dream like quality to the image, which became very cinematic. The effect of this over the lens shows abstracted reflections of the light passing over the lens. It gave me freedom to move the blanket with the rhythm of the water and light. I decided to use moving image to show this movement and buildup of energy.