In 1980, Peter was sent by a European publisher to Portland, Oregon to photograph Mount St Helens shortly after its eruption. He managed to get onboard a small forest service aircraft with a clear view of the volcano when it erupted a second time. His shot appeared in hundreds of newspapers, and led him to move to Portland.

As an assistant to Ansel Adams, Peter was introduced to the great American southwest. He grew fond of its stunning beauty and otherworldly landscapes. Here, in Antelope Canyon, Peter tapped his experience with color, line, composition and long exposures to produce a masterpiece. He returned to the slot canyons many times.

As a workshop leader and teacher, Peter encouraged his students to put their cameras down and sit with the scene for a while. He’d say, “Tell me what you see.” This would often lead to unique visual insights and new compositions that would evade the casual observer. Peter’s keen observation and previsualization skills were exemplary.

Peter grew up in Holland, and was surrounded by the finest commercial flower growers in the world. Working for a large photo studio in Amsterdam, he managed one of their biggest clients, a prominent tulip farm. As he worked on their product catalog, he learned how to turn these subjects into masterpieces.

Maybe it was nature’s presentation of line and texture that magnetized Peter to trees of all kinds. Perhaps they reminded him of the brush strokes of the Dutch Masters he saw in the nearby museums where he grew up. He especially liked ancient varieties like the bristlecone pines, found only at high elevations.