Brian Merriam is Los Angeles-based landscape photographer who documents the raw natural beauty of the hinterlands of America and beyond. Ethereal and existential in their pursuit, Brian’s photographs seek to reveal universal principles in nature and reflect archetypal themes in literature and mythology. He writes, “Incorporating scales of time, physical size, natural patterns and archetypal ideas into my work more or less help me better understand my place in the universe.”

In partnership with Tappan Collective — an organization that supports and amplifies emerging artists — we welcomed Brian to MacArthur Place in May 2021 as part of our artist-in-residence program. During his week-long residency, Brian road-tripped and hiked his way through Sonoma County, capturing the vastness and diversity of natural landscapes from majestic redwood groves to fertile riparian habitats to stoic mountain peaks and crashing coastal expanses.

The photograph he contributed to MacArthur Place, Untitled, Coast, depicts a series of rocky coastal outcroppings and softly undulating hillocks of Bodega Bay enveloped in a warm orange hue. Utilizing a telephoto lens, Brian photographed this coastal setting through a filter of the landscape itself — in this case, a sea of orange and yellow wildflowers. Brian is drawn to this technique, which symbolizes the universe looking back at itself. “The young flower, in this case blurry and amorphous and transparent looking out at the future, old age, the solid timeless rock, hardened, definite. And my role as the intermediary between the two.”

Learn More About The Artist

Read Our Interview with Brian

Behind The Scenes with Brian

Photography by Emma K. Morris