Mount St. Helens Sunrise

A Place in Time

Photos and Essays of Southwest Washington
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A Place in Time book cover

A Place in Time

A hardcover collection of photographs and stories from the landscapes of southwest Washington.

Hardcover Edition
161 Pages • 11 × 8 inches

$79.95
Book Cover - A Place In Time

About The Book

A Place in Time is a collection of photographs and essays that invite readers to experience a deeper connection with a small part of the natural world.

This book is the result of the author's twenty years of immersion in the landscapes and ecosystems surrounding Mount St. Helens and Southwest Washington.

This effort was originally inspired by Gloria Loughry, who sought to encourage local connection through her newspaper in Woodland, Washington. Its purpose is to encourage readers to discover their own rootedness in place.

The Author - Matt Coffey

The Author

I am a career firefighter, mental health counselor, and ecotherapist. Except for nine years serving in the army, I have lived my entire life near the Lewis River in southwest Washington.

I am a place-based artist. My photography speaks for the Land. I seek to communicate my experience of a space, a moment in time, in a place. My photos are minimally processed, a choice to emphasize an authentic perspective. By embracing silence, resisting the compulsion to seek more, I notice parts of the Land not noted by trailhead signs or area guidebooks.

Endemophilia is the love of a specific place. Over the years, I have discovered my attachment to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. I find myself going back, again and again, to places around Mt. St. Helens, rediscovering a perspective that has become fundamental to my identity. Mitchell Peak, Sugarloaf, Siouxon Creek, Davis Peak, Goat Marsh, Small Mountain.

They stand salient in my schema. These places, each filling a niche within the topography and ecology of the southwest Gifford Pinchot, draw me into relationship with the Land. They steady my strong emotions, inspire me with beauty, and challenge me with their rawness and size; all the while they point me intellectually to the complexity and potential of the Grand Tapestry. They provide a refreshing reminder of my smallness. I seem to require a periodic glimpse of the larger perspective, and my tiny place within it. This reminder produces a rejuvenation, an acceptance of my insignificance, and a motivation to build, create, and help.

My art is a step towards this end.

Contact

Thank you for taking the time to explore A Place in Time. If you have a question about the book, an inquiry about prints, or would simply like to connect, I'd be glad to hear from you.