Elizabeth Carmel makes an effort to record beauty that is rare and fleeting, beauty that most people do not have the opportunity to witness.

In the darkness and desolation of the early morning, Elizabeth Carmel finds comfort and companionship in the solitude of the natural world. After a long trek into the wilderness, she unpacks her Hasselblad H3D-39 and begins another day at the office. Only her office is Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and the High Sierra. She specializes in unique, expressive landscapes. Her award-winning images are in numerous galleries and private collections throughout the United States.

"I believe that experiencing the Earth's beauty has the power to help nourish and unify us, both on a personal and global level," says Carmel. "Through my photography I endeavor to translate these experiences into fine art prints."

Nourish and unify?

"Yes, I strive to create images that link us to feelings and perceptions we may not access regularly in our daily lives," she explains. "I believe that great fine art photographs are a gateway through habitual thinking to a larger perspective."

As a child growing up in Alabama, Carmel enjoyed hiking and camping trips with her family. She also experimented with a 35mm camera, but never thought that would sustain her spiritually or financially.

Fast forward to college at Cal-Berkeley where she studied urban planning. She eventually settled in the mountain town of Truckee near Lake Tahoe. When her daughter was born, Elizabeth's outlook on life was changed forever. "When I took time off from my career, I reconnected with my love of photography," Carmel says.

She did more than reconnect. She blasted off with an impressive collection of images that propelled her to a 2006 Hasselblad Master Photographer Award. Elizabeth is also one of the few professional female photographers that shoots medium format and focuses primarily on fine art landscapes.

"I like the fact that I am a woman in a male-dominated field," reveals Carmel. "Sarah Adams, the granddaughter of Ansel Adams, has been very supportive of my work and is outspoken about the need to encourage female landscape photographers."

Last year Carmel self-published an assortment of her breathtaking images in a fine art photography book, Brilliant Waters: Portraits of Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and the High Sierra. "I have always been interested in publishing a book of my work," Carmel says. "I wanted to share my images with a larger audience."

Carmel mentioned to a friend she wanted actor and nature lover Robert Redford to do the foreword. And that friend mentioned Carmel's wish to another friend who knew a friend of Redford. Carmel printed out a draft of the book using her Epson Stylus Pro 9800 and the ImagePrint RIP software from Colorbyte, then shipped the draft to the friend of the friend's friend who allegedly knew Redford. End of story, right? Not exactly.

"Mr. Redford called me shortly after to discuss the book. He's wonderfully generous and quite an engaging person," says Carmel. "And he agreed to write the foreword."

In the book's foreword, Redford praises her brilliance. "I saw this country as if I had not seen it before—like I was being led slowly, carefully along a great a beautiful path. This work simply stopped me in my tracks. I am grateful."

Carmel is non-committal about which gave her the greatest thrill: connecting with Redford or self-publishing her first book. "Both were terrific," she offers unabashedly.

Carmel always knew she wanted to publish a photography book, but in the back of her mind she worried it would be an expensive business card. So she did online research and talked with friends who had self-published their books. Carmel chose the images and created the primary layout design herself, but selected a print broker and an overseas publishing house that could produce a book to her specifications. The books cost her eight dollars apiece for a run of 2,000.

"I would definitely recommend this route to other photographers, provided they have the patience and persistence," Carmel says. "It will open doors that are difficult to open without a book."

Carmel is intent upon making a difference in the natural world. She has donated a portion of her book sales to a local land trust that is trying to protect endangered areas, and she provides landscape images for major fundraising efforts. "I think nature photography has an established history of influencing environmental protection," explains Carmel. "If each photographer makes even a small contribution in this regard, the effect is substantial."

A popular theme in the fine art world is to document man's negative impact on the environment through images of urban decay and blight. Carmel believes we are bombarded by too much negative imagery, which manifests itself in cynicism, hopelessness and despair too much of the time.

"I believe that by also providing positive images, photographers can help provide a sense of hope, nourishment and inspiration that can help us face the challenges of living a more sustainable existence on our planet," she says.

Earth to Elizabeth: After reflecting on your serene and stunning images, consider us nourished and inspired.