Between the water of the San Francisco Bay and the cities that huddle to the interior is an area once called a wetland. With barely one tenth of the original wetland remaining there is a feeling that the space between the water and the land will be lost forever. With that feeling comes the urge to act, to take back this space and revert it to its original form.
The photographs in this project attempt to depict this land and the unifying presence along the waterfront, the Bay Trail. Conceived of as a way connecting the urban and natural areas around the bay, it also seeks to protect the natural habitats, provide information and provide a recreational place. There is a sense that the trail is continuously moving forwards, new tracks being laid, yet there are sections of the trail which have fallen into disrepair.
Taken in black and white 4x5 film, the images represent a timelessness to the area. The trick for not getting lost while walking in a strange or new land is to look backwards from time to time. Walking the Bay Trail is a reminder to look backwards as well as forwards for this land.
