SABRINA SAMUEL PHOTOGRAPHY
Land Ethic
LAND ETHIC - “enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals,
or collectively: the land.”
The Land Ethic by Aldo Leopold
This body of work was created in response to a personal health crisis. I sought inner peace and healing the only way I know how - by being immersed in the wild places of the Earth.
Between doctor appointments; I would visit lonely landscapes, where I created a photographic journal reflecting my physical experiences and inner feelings. During this journey, I formed deep bonds with various landscapes and I wanted to express the healing energy the land was extending to me and how that made me feel.
The photographs of this series were created using the multiple exposure mode in ‘Oz’ my Nikon D850. These images were created in camera blending 2 to 3 images taken within walking distance of one another. I chose this mode of creating because I felt it best expressed the essence of the landscape while reflecting the layeredness and unpredictability of my life during this time.
As in Aldo Leopold’s 1988 essay “Land Ethic,” I hope the viewer is encouraged to include the soil, air, water, and wildlife of the Earth as an integral member of their community. As I visited North America’s arid high deserts, backwater swamps, coastal rocky outcrops, sandy beaches, and far away glaciers; those lands became my healer and co-collaborator in the creative process. They are and will forever be part of my community.
As this body of work goes forward unfolding and revealing itself, I hope to work with other artists, environmental conservationists, and non-profits in continuing to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the Earth’s wild landscapes.
Through a Glass Darkly
THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY is a series of photographs taken between 2023 - 2025 and is an exploration of my inner identity. This series began with the notion, I have a limited amount of time in this physical form and I am more than my name, what I do, who I’m married to, or even who I think I am. The question I wanted to explore more fully was “who am I at the core of my being or spirit?”
While grappling with the fleeting nature of my physical existence I often felt like a ghost - a whisper of a human, where the lines between my physical form and spirit became blurred. It was this blurring I wanted to express in camera.
When the Earth Dreams
This is an ongoing series that explores the idea if the Earth could tell us what she dreamed last night, what would she say, what would her dreams look like, and would we be included in her dreams?
This series of photos explores the idea of the Earth as a Dreamer. Through slow shutter speed, intentional camera movement, and multi-exposure these photos capture various landscapes in a dream-like manner, in hopes that the viewer feels connected to the Earth as she dreams.
India
This collection of photos was taken in 2018 and are from the cities of Jaipur, Mumbai, and my husband's family state of Kerala.
These photos are not just a record of life in India and its complexities, but these images are a reflection of my interstate of consciousness at that time of life. We were at a cross roads and were looking for guidance. As harsh as many may see life in India, she does have a gentle mysterious side that allows the multiplicity of life there to thrive. It is that gentleness I felt and aimed to express through these photographs.
After 4 weeks of being in India's embrace, we returned home ready to face the challenges of lost employment - to starting a new chapter out from under the thumb of corporate life. Following what we felt was our next calling in life, we started a small family business.
Looking at these photos in 2025 and remembering those dark days for us personally, I am reminded and encouraged that as we collectively face dark challenging times, let us be that gentle embrace for our communities where the multiplicity of life may thrive in compassion.