New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, has been a magnet for photographers since the invention of photography. Timothy O’Sullivan was the earliest known photographer to photograph in New Mexico sometime after the Civil War. New Mexico’s most well known photographer was Ansel Adams who photographed in the 1930’s.

These early photographers used large format cameras, which created negatives 8x10 inches or larger to capture the magnificence of the New Mexico landscape. Large format pictures made from this era still offer unmatched sharpness and clarity that is not attainable even by today’s technology.

Erf continues this photographic tradition today with his multiple image work that exceeds the 20x24 inch mammoth works by early photographers. His work is not from a single negative but a combination of 11x14 images brought together to create the impression of a larger singular image. Erf’s contemporary approach often focuses on societies encroachment into the last vestiges of the still popular southwestern views and aesthetic. Erf still honors the photographic traditions that began with the photographic surveys in the 1870’s of the American West.