Photographer's Statement
LeRoy DeJolie – “The Navajo heritage is vanishing from the lives and memories of many of our people today. My photographs share the memories, traditions and images that I am compelled to capture and preserve for my children, for my people and the world for generations to come.”
I am a fine arts photographer known for breathtaking images of Arizona's vibrant landscape and the Navajo people.
Growing up on the Navajo Reservation, surrounded by cerulean skies and swirling vermilion sands, I was ensconced in the poetic beauty and solitude that my culture offered. The early days of herding cattle on my family's ranch provided experiences of the endless dance of light and shadow upon the sheer canyon walls, secluded water holes, and rippling oceans of sand. These early influences are evident in the impassioned images I capture of the Navajo.
I am able to live close to my people and land that I love. My quest of the last twenty-eight years continues: to create a lasting portrait of the treasure that is Navajo Land.
Commercial and fine art images have appeared in Arizona Highways, Native Peoples, and New Mexico magazines, as well as The Washinton Post, American Park Networks, San Francisco Examiner and Time-Life Books. Mr. DeJolie is the author of Navajoland: A Native Son Shares His Legacy and is an Instructor with the “Friends of Arizona Highways Photography Workshops”.