I knew the title of my 5th book of photographs before I even started assembling the pictures. Well, I sort of knew it. The first person I discussed it in depth with was my sister, at the beginning of week-long girl's getaway at a special place in Mexico. I told her the title for the book would be I Hope You Found What You Were Looking For. She knows better than anyone that my life has been a journey of "looking," that I've been using a camera for discovery and navigation for six decades. She listened patiently, while I explained my concept for the book and gave me immediate support and encouragement. The only thing that bothered her, she admitted, was the use of the past tense in the title. But you're still looking, right?

I told my sister I'd give some thought to changing the verbs in the title of the book to the present tense. The next morning I took a meditative sunrise hike on Mt. Kuchamaa, a mountain long regarded as sacred by Native Americans. The spiritual quality of the mountain has been described by Natives as a place "where you get your power." On my hike, the pages of a book fanned out on the trail in front of me. Something magical happened as the sun rose. I knew for certain I was on the right track - about the book and about myself - and the path became filled with light and hope.

The book contains 60 photographs and includes poems by Kim Stafford, a Pacific Northwest poet who served a two-year term as Oregon's poet laureate. I see each of the images as meditations, similar to the quiet footsteps I took that morning up and down the mountain. Kumquats, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2013Leaf, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2015Boy With Sword, Cannon Beach, Oregon, 2014Hairpins, Breathitt County, Kentucky, 2014Woman on Shoreline, Cannon Beach, Oregon, 2009Windy Day, Hug Point, Oregon, 2020Blowing Sand, Arch Cape, Oregon, 2020Boys in Midair, Todos Santos, Mexico, 2019Bubble, Madrid, Spain, 2019Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon, 2012Two Sandhill Cranes, Sauvie Island, Oregon, 2021Banana Leaf, Kajjansi, Uganda, 2015Calla Lilies, Bogota, Colombia, 2017Upside Down, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2020Cananda Geese, Sauvie Island, Oregon, 2021Clouds, Sauvie Island, Oregon, 2021Columbia River, Sauvie Island, Oregon, 2020Doves, Seville, Spain, 2019Eddie, Cannon Beach, Oregon, 2014Father and Daughter, Cannon Beach, Oregon, 2021Floating, Kansas City, Missouri, 2014Girl in Bubble, Faribault, Minnesota, 2013Jamison Square 1, Portland, Oregon, 2017Jamison Square 2, Portland, Oregon, 2017Jamison Square 3, Portland, Oregon, 2017Lone Figure, Cannon Beach, Oregon, 2009Neahkahnie Mountain, Manzanita, Oregon, 2015Puddle, Sauvie Island, Oregon, 2022Jetty, Rockaway Beach, Oregon, 2019Rain, Manzanita, Oregon, 2021Raindrops, Oregon Dunes, 2021Rose Petals, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2016Sand Pattern 1, Arch Cape, Oregon, 2020Sand Pattern 4, Arch Cape, Oregon, 2020Sand Pattern 2, Arch Cape, Oregon, 2020Sand Pattern 3, Arch Cape, Oregon, 2020Seagrass, Rockaway Beach, Oregon, 2018Shipwreck Beach, Kauai, Hawaii, 2018Shoreline, Cannon Beach, Oregon, 2016Sunset, Sauvie Island, Oregon, 2020Swimmer, Kansas City, Missouri, 2015Three Canada Geese, Sauvie Island, Oregon, 2021Tree of Life, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2018Spinning, Portland, 2021Camellia Blooms, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2017Hands, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2014Puppy Costume, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2017Snail Shell, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2015Swing, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2020Tree Climber, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2015Legs in Sand, Cannon Beach, Oregon, 2016On the Day of the Eclipse, Portland, Oregon, 2016