Shane Epping - Where storms break, and rainbows rise.
Biography - Shane Epping teaches at the University of Wyoming, where he occupies the Bobby Model Photojournalism Professorship. Before earning a PhD and entering academia, he worked for a decade as a photojournalist, with his name appearing in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. His photographs have been exhibited in galleries across America, totaling 10 states in the past four years.
About The Photo - Shane has driven Highway 287 between Fort Collins and Laramie countless times over the past five years. What began as a commute has become a sustained photographic project. This image, made near the state line in September 2024, captures a rainbow emerging from a passing storm as late afternoon sun illuminates the high plains. Rainbows have long symbolized promise, transition, and the fleeting, which are all fitting for a photograph made while in motion, on a road that connects two places the photographer calls home.
History - Wyoming sunsets have a rich history tied to its iconic landscapes (Tetons, Devils Tower), Indigenous significance (Medicine Wheel), and cultural moments like the 1941 film Sunset in Wyoming, all amplified by clear air and vast horizons that create vivid colors, making them a symbol of the state’s wild beauty, a tradition stretching from ancient observers to modern photographers.
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