As many of us do, photographer Marty Knapp of Olema discovered his life's work by accident.
In 1986, Knapp had been an amateur photographer living in West Marin for 13 years when his mother's illness required him to return home to Connecticut. But before he left, he wanted to document Point Reyes on film.
While doing so, Knapp realized that photographing landscapes in black and white - emphasizing clouds and reflections on water, shadows and sunlight - was what he wanted to do.
Light and clouds "can make an average landscape become rather dramatic," he said. "As I was doing it, it brought back the joy of photography."
For Knapp, now 49, the project marked nothing less than a personal renaissance - one he will celebrate by opening his Olema studio to the public Friday, Nov. 29 through Sunday, Dec. 1. The studio is located at 10125 Highway 1.
Indeed, during the Light's interview with Knapp at his studio, an editor at San Francisco Focus magazine called to see if he could provide any photographs of waterfalls. "I don't have waterfalls," he explained after hanging up. "But I'll call her back to see if I have anything else she can use."
Influenced largely by landscape photographer Ansel Adams and also by Kathleen Lipinski and Gary Smith, Knapp has carved out a piece of the Point Reyes National Seashore for himself, capturing everything from a moonrise over Drake's Bay to dramatic rock formations at McClure's Beach.
"Most of my good work has come from fortunate accidents," he said, explaining that he doesn't go out looking for specific images. He simply goes for hikes and makes sure he has his camera with him. "What I call that part is letting go and being open," he said. "It's a little bit of having faith that something good will happen."
For example, the rays of sunshine piercing the overcast sky in "Light Breaks at Papermill Creek," one of Knapp's signature pieces, last for just a few minutes.
Some of his favorite pieces - among them a stirring McClure's Beach scene - are "over the shoulder" photographs, in that they were shot after Knapp had folded his tripod, packed up his camera, and had started to walk away.
He makes a point of always looking back over his shoulder to see if he's missed an angle. It's a time, he said, when "you relax and say, 'God it's beautiful out here."
With his attention to light and its effect on landscape, Knapp has had to become an amateur weather forecaster as well as a master developer and printer.
To get maximum clarity and texture from the extreme light and dark areas, he uses "pyro" developer, high resolution film, and a variable-contrast printing process. About 80 percent of the time, he uses a medium-format camera, which produces larger negatives (two by three inches) and more detail than a standard 35-mm camera.
All his techniques and tools, he said, "give me the bravery to shoot into the light."