Lincoln Draper: Refuge

October-November 2023


The Rio Grande Bosque is one of few remaining urban riparian forests in the United States. A ribbon of wildness (to a degree) that runs through the heart of the city, it provides a counterpoint to the built environment of Albuquerque and makes it possible, within the matter of a few minutes, to enter into the pulse of the natural world. It is, or can be, a place of refuge.

For years I have been drawn to the Bosque, both personally and as a photographer, but it was during the transformations of the pandemic that I began to focus on it as the subject of my photographic work. I began to make regular forays into the woods in an attempt to apprehend, interpret and communicate something of the presence I felt while "forest bathing." I always hope that my photographs will convey a mood or a feeling that transcends the literal quality of the subject. Here I attempted to give a visual voice to the multiple qualities of the Bosque; alternatively compelling and then densely formidable and intimidating. What I present here is the track of a visual conversation between me and the presences of this intriguing and unique environment.