Ben Bires - REsurfaceD

Ever since I first laid eyes on red rocks back in 2014, I was hooked. There’s nothing quite like the contrast of that red rock against the bright blue sky. It blew me away. Two years later, my wife and I moved here to Colorado Springs. Of course, we have the Garden of the Gods in our backyard and places like Red Rocks Amphitheater nearby, but it felt like that’s all I was drawn to since red rocks were so new to me. After a while, it became the typical ‘been there, done that’ scenario. I wanted to pivot and focus on something else, so I set red rocks aside and brought water to the forefront. Whether it’s a river or just a puddle, I really enjoy how the surface reflects color. In this series, I am resurfacing my deep appreciation for the American West with the accompaniment of water. I find the juxtaposition of water in the desert fascinating. This is my interpretation of that iconic duality as I look through a more refined lens, almost a decade after my first impression.