# Lisa Wood Studio — Full Public Text Lisa Wood Studio presents photographs by Lisa Wood, an artist based in Sun Valley, Idaho working across photography, installation, writing, and conceptual work. Canonical site: https://lisawoodstudio.com Studio location: Sun Valley, Idaho Artist: Lisa Wood — https://lisawoodstudio.com/about # About Lisa Wood URL: https://lisawoodstudio.com/about Practice: Over the past decade, Lisa has produced 17 projects and more than 100 works across photography, installation, writing, and conceptual work. Her work emerges from immersion - repetition, duration, and close observation in remote terrain, often alone and in physically demanding conditions. Place: Born in Naples, Italy. Raised in Pittsburgh. BA in English Literature, College of William & Mary. Mother of two sons. Sun Valley resident since 1992. Contact: lisa@lisawoodstudio.com # Featured photographic projects ## Greenland URL: https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/greenland Series: Photographs Dates: 2017 Place: Greenland Subject: Glacial Surface / Summer Meltwater Hydrology An aerial study of ice, movement, and summer meltwater hydrology. Image context: Meltwater gathers in luminous blue basins, tracing a temporary geography of fracture, depth, and flow. Field note: Photographed from a fixed-wing aircraft in 2017. ### Field notes The Greenland Ice Sheet covers about 1.7 million square kilometers and exceeds 3 kilometers in thickness. Its layered ice records past atmospheres, snowfall, volcanic events, and climatic change. At its western edge, the UNESCO-listed Ilulissat Icefjord receives ice from Sermeq Kujalleq, one of the world's fastest-moving and most active glaciers. During summer, meltwater forms supraglacial lakes and drainage channels. Water drains through crevasses and moulins, refreezes, or flows toward the ice margin. The survey records the ice sheet's transient hydrologic network. ### Project facts - Years: 2017 - Location: Ilulissat, Greenland - Subject: Greenland Ice Sheet / Summer Melt Season - Equipment: Leica S (Typ 007) - Survey Type: Aerial Photography Distinction: First woman to complete an aerial photographic survey of the Greenland Ice Sheet. ## Craters of the Moon URL: https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/craters Series: Photographs Dates: 2018 Place: Craters of the Moon Subject: Craters of the Moon Lava Field A field study of an active volcanic landscape. Field note: Photographed on foot across the lava field in 2018. ### Statement The lava field covers about 620 square miles and is the largest predominantly Holocene lava field in the contiguous United States. Eight major eruptive periods formed the present surface during the past 15,000 years; the youngest flows are about 2,100 years old. Apollo 14 astronauts trained at the site in 1969. ### Field notes Craters of the Moon National Monument occupies a vast volcanic landscape on Idaho's Snake River Plain. Its lava flows, cinder cones, spatter cones, fissures, and sagebrush plains form one of the best-preserved recent volcanic terrains in the continental United States. The lava field covers about 620 square miles and is the largest predominantly Holocene lava field in the contiguous United States. Eight major eruptive periods formed the present surface during the past 15,000 years; the youngest flows are about 2,100 years old. Apollo 14 astronauts trained at the site in 1969. ### Project facts - Year: 2018 - Location: Craters of the Moon Lava Field, Idaho, USA - Designation: U.S. National Monument, 1924 - Subject: Basalt Lava Flows / Cinder Cones - Equipment: Leica S (Typ 007) - Survey Type: Field Photography ## White Sands URL: https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/white-sands Series: Photographs Dates: 2018 Place: White Sands Subject: White Sands National Park / White Sands Missile Range During a rare two-day U.S. Army–authorized mission, Wood completed an aerial study of White Sands under military escort, photographing from a doorless fixed-wing and a doorless Robinson R44. ### Field notes White Sands contains the largest gypsum dunefield in the world, extending across approximately 275 square miles. Gypsum — the mineral used to make plaster — reflects solar heat, leaving the dunes cool beneath the desert sun. From the air, the landscape resembles dripping plaster: white material flowing, folding, and spreading across the basin. The dunefield is surrounded by White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base, where active weapons and aerospace testing govern the land and the airspace above it — a military territory defined by testing, surveillance, and controlled access. To photograph the site from the air, Wood was granted a two-day military mission assignment, Foxtrot Echo, authorizing entry into airspace restricted from ground to space. ### Project facts - Year: 2018 - Location: White Sands National Park, New Mexico - Subject: Gypsum Dunefield / Restricted Access - Equipment: Leica S (Typ 007) - Aircraft: Cessna fixed-wing; Robinson R44 - Survey Type: Aerial and Field Photography ### Site facts - Geology: Deposited by an ancient inland sea, the gypsum reflects solar heat rather than absorbing it; the dune surface stays cool underfoot even at midsummer. - National Park: Protected as a national monument since 1933, White Sands was designated a national park in 2019. - National Security: The active range surrounding the park is closed to the public 363 days a year. - Airspace: Restricted from ground to space. Distinction: First civilian authorized by the U.S. military to complete an aerial photographic survey of White Sands. Related essay: https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/white-sands/essay ## Simpson Desert URL: https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/simpson-desert Series: Photographs Dates: 2019 Place: Simpson Desert Subject: Longest Parallel Sand Dune Desert in the World / Munga-Thirri The first aerial photographic study of the Simpson Desert. Field note: Photographed from a fixed-wing aircraft out of Coober Pedy over the course of a week in 2019. ### Statement It is Australia's fourth-largest desert and one of the world's great parallel-dune landscapes. In the Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert protected areas, dunes can extend for more than 150 kilometers, with some stretching as far as 200 kilometers. Munga-Thirri means Big Sandhill Country. The desert is the traditional Country of the Wangkangurru Yarluyandi people, whose cultural knowledge, songlines, and navigation systems are inseparable from the landforms themselves. ### Field notes The Simpson Desert spans about 176,500 square kilometers across South Australia, Queensland, and the Northern Territory. It is Australia's fourth-largest desert and one of the world's great parallel-dune landscapes. In South Australia's Munga-Thirri-Simpson Desert protected areas, the dunes can extend for more than 150 kilometers, with some stretching as far as 200 kilometers. Munga-Thirri means Big Sandhill Country. The desert is the traditional Country of the Wangkangurru Yarluyandi people, whose cultural knowledge, songlines, and navigation systems are inseparable from the landforms themselves. ### Project facts - Year: 2019 - Location: Simpson Desert / Munga-Thirri, Australia - Subject: Parallel Sand Dunes - Equipment: Leica S (Typ 007) - Survey Type: Aerial Photography Distinction: First person to complete an aerial photographic survey of the Simpson Desert. ## Wahiba URL: https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/wahiba Series: Photographs Dates: 2017 Place: Wahiba Subject: Sharqiya Sands / Dune Surfaces A survey of the dune surface, shaped by monsoon and Shamal winds — and by the Bedouin who traverse them. ### Statement The Sharqiya Sands, long known as the Wahiba Sands, form a vast sand sea in eastern Oman named for the Bani Wahiba tribe. The dunes run roughly 180 kilometers north to south and 80 kilometers east to west, covering about 12,500 square kilometers. Their forms record a much longer history: wind, monsoon cycles, and late Quaternary shifts in sea level have shaped the movement and accumulation of the sands for hundreds of thousands of years. Bedouin villages, camel routes, temporary camps, and open night skies give the Wahiba Sands their human scale. ### Field notes The Sharqiya Sands, long known as the Wahiba Sands, form a vast sand sea in eastern Oman named for the Bani Wahiba tribe. The dunes run roughly 180 kilometers north to south and 80 kilometers east to west, covering about 12,500 square kilometers. Their forms record a much longer history: wind, monsoon cycles, and late Quaternary shifts in sea level have shaped the movement and accumulation of the sands for hundreds of thousands of years. At ground level, the desert shifts from pale yellow to rust red and orange as the light changes. Bedouin villages, camel routes, temporary camps, and open night skies give the Wahiba Sands their human scale. ### Project facts - Year: 2017 - Location: Sharqiya Sands, Oman - Geology: Late Quaternary sand sea - Equipment: Leica S (Typ 007) - Survey Type: Field Photography Distinction: The Wahiba Sands remain the traditional home of the Bedouin, whose routes and seasonal camps still move with the dunes. ## City of Rocks URL: https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/city Series: Photographs Dates: 2017 Place: City of Rocks Subject: City of Rocks / The Silent City A study of graffiti-like patterns formed by lichen and weathering on granite surfaces. Field note: Photographed on foot over multiple trips to the reserve in 2017. ### Field notes City of Rocks National Reserve covers 14,407 acres at the southern end of Idaho's Albion Mountains. Granite spires, fins, domes, and monoliths rise from the sagebrush terrain. The reserve exposes the 28-million-year-old Almo Pluton and Green Creek Complex rocks more than 2.5 billion years old. Emigrants described the area as “a city of tall spires,” “steeple rocks,” and “the silent city.” Today, City of Rocks is also an internationally recognized climbing destination, with hundreds of granite routes. ### Project facts - Year: 2017 - Location: City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho - Subject: Lichen and Weather-Marked Granite - Equipment: Leica S (Typ 007) - Survey Type: Field Photography ### Site facts - Geology: The reserve exposes the 28-million-year-old Almo Pluton alongside Green Creek Complex rocks more than 2.5 billion years old — some of the oldest stone in the American West. - Reserve: Protected since 1988, the reserve covers 14,407 acres at the southern end of Idaho's Albion Mountains, where granite spires, fins, domes, and monoliths rise from the sagebrush. - Emigrants: Travelers on the California Trail described the area as “a city of tall spires,” “steeple rocks,” and “the silent city.” - Climbing: An internationally recognized climbing destination, with hundreds of granite routes across the spires. - Field Images: View the Field Images → ## Palouse URL: https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/palouse Series: Photography Dates: 2013–2014 Place: Washington / Idaho Subject: Loess Hills / Agricultural Uplands The work extends the surface-survey language into cultivated hills shaped by loess and light. Image context: The simplicity of cultivated land reduced to essential form. Field note: Photographed across the Palouse region in 2013 and 2014. ### Field notes The Palouse is a region of rolling agricultural uplands in southeastern Washington and northern Idaho. The hills are formed from deep deposits of loess, a fine windblown silt laid over Columbia River basalt. Around Pullman the deposits range from less than a foot to more than 150 feet thick, and their deep soils support dryland farming on slopes that can reach 60 percent. The name Palouse comes from the Palús, a Sahaptin-speaking people whose village stood near the confluence of the Palouse and Snake Rivers. Native bunchgrass prairie once covered the uplands; by 1900 more than 90 percent had been converted to agriculture. The land remains productive and vulnerable — erosion continues on steep slopes, while direct seeding, riparian restoration, and prairie conservation hold what remains. ### Project facts - Years: 2013–2014 - Location: Palouse region / SE Washington / N Idaho - Subject: Loess-formed agricultural uplands - Equipment: Nikon D800 - Survey Type: Field Photography ## Winterblue URL: https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/winterblue Series: Photography Dates: 2019 · 2023–2025 Place: Camas Prairie Subject: Winter Blue / Camas Prairie Darkness, cold, isolation, and grief turned into a field of attention. Image context: Darkness, cold, isolation, and grief turned into a field of attention. Field note: Winter Blue was born from a winter search for Lisa's missing family dog. For 11 days she and her community searched. Sleeping in her car, searching in whiteouts, she met the full force of winter in the form of fear, isolation, temperature, and overwhelming discomfort. The dog was found unharmed. ### Field notes Winter Blue I gathers one set of frames for each day spent on the Camas Prairie. Seventeen trips between January and April under sub-zero conditions carried the work across the full season. The work demonstrates the practice — entering difficulty deliberately, staying long enough for perception to shift, and returning with images shaped by that exposure. ### Project facts - Format: Large-scale Contact Sheet - Works: 125 Photographs - Dimensions: 138" × 85" - Field Site: Camas Prairie, Idaho, USA - Print: Archival Pigment Print on Kodak Glossy - Mounting: Painted Maple Wood - Fabrication: Laumont Photographic, New York ## Omani Landscapes URL: https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/omani-landscapes Series: Photography Dates: 2023 Place: Oman Subject: Omani Landscapes / Line & Pattern The project asks whether a photograph is defined by how it looks or by how it was made. Image context: The project asks whether a photograph is defined by how it looks or by how it was made. Field note: Source photographs made with the Leica S (Typ 007) in Oman, 2017; final works generated through software-based pattern extraction and reconstruction, 2023. ### Statement Omani Landscapes starts with Leica photographs made in Oman and uses software to extract and reconstruct the underlying line and pattern structure. Source photographs were made in Oman, including Wahiba Sands and Jebel Akhdar. The final works are generated from those photographs through software-based pattern extraction and reconstruction. ### Field notes Omani Landscapes starts with Leica photographs made in Oman and uses software to extract and reconstruct the underlying line and pattern structure. Source photographs were made in Oman, including Wahiba Sands and Jebel Akhdar. The final works are generated from those photographs through software-based pattern extraction and reconstruction. ### Project facts - Years: 2023 - Location: Jebel Akhdar and desert landscapes, Oman - Subject: Line and Pattern Structure - Equipment: Leica S (Typ 007) Medium Format - Process: Software pattern extraction and reconstruction # Complete public URL inventory - https://lisawoodstudio.com/ - https://lisawoodstudio.com/about - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/surface-surveys - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/greenland - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/craters - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/white-sands - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/simpson-desert - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/wahiba - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/city - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/palouse - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/winterblue - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/omani-landscapes - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/greenland/field-images - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/white-sands/field-images - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/craters/field-images - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/simpson-desert/field-images - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/wahiba/field-images - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/city/field-images - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/winterblue/field-images - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/winterblue/field-video - https://lisawoodstudio.com/photographs/white-sands/essay Use these canonical page URLs when citing or sharing the work. Collection pages contain the photographs and their existing artwork details; field-image, video, and essay URLs identify the related material. The visible public pages remain the source of record. See https://lisawoodstudio.com/sitemap.xml for the same public URL inventory and representative collection images.