A Look to the Horizon
a man of the land’s book is full of Dunn County sunsets
Bruce Siebold is no stranger to Mother Nature. He grew up on a 160-acre dairy farm in northwestern Wisconsin and came to appreciate and understand the land and its beautiful, subtle details. Hoping to share his vision with everyone, he recently published a coffee table book of photography titled Thank You Sun.
The book is a compilation of sunset photos carefully captured by Siebold on his 80-acre homestead in Dunn County, just outside of Menomonie. The photos are complemented by poetry also penned by Siebold. Through image and word, the book reveals Siebold’s close bond with nature, his keen eye for natural beauty, and how grateful he is to be witness to all of it.
“I think you’re absorbing nature in all the time,” Siebold said. “You may not even realize it until you reflect back or realize you’re missing something when you’re going to the concrete. It’s always been there, so for about 26 years now I’ve been able to take advantage of it.”
Although the book recently came out, its foundations were laid when Siebold and his family moved to his current residence in 1990. He began to take and collect photos of the land, knowing he wanted to do something with them in the future. He amassed thousands of photos using both film and digital photography. As he began to sort them out, he said the sunset ones really stood out in beauty and sheer quantity.
Granted, the sunsets are spectacular; however, Siebold believes there’s bigger message to his project than documenting and preserving the Earth’s beauty and resources.
“Everybody, I think, has a story in their lives,” he said. “Whether your living in a city or 80 acres, there’s a story to be captured and told if you’re mindful of the story that’s unfolding around you.”
Siebold intends to roll out more books in the future, each one highlighting a single theme, season, or mood of the outdoors.
You can pick up a copy of Thank You Sun at The Local Store or on Siebold’s website.
