Arizona's Mineral Kingdom

Of the three natural kingdoms animal, vegetable and mineral - the latter has drawn me strongly since I was a child. The natural crystals with their seemingly endless geometric shapes and colors are a source of great wonder to me. The son of a geologist, I started my first mineral collection at 8 years old.

Now I travel the United States and Europe photographing minerals, gems and jewelry to share their beauty with the world.

Despite their polished-looking surfaces and startling colors, the minerals and crystals shown here are naturally produced by the hand of Mother Nature. Except for digging them up, cleaning them and bringing them to our incredulous eyes, man has not modified the pieces you see here. Most minerals are found in geometric forms called crystals. Paul Desautels, former curator of gems and minerals at the Smithsonian Institution, called crystals "flowers of the mineral kingdom." They occur in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Most people find it hard to believe that these apparently faceted shapes were not cut and polished like gemstones.

Minerals provide us not only with the building blocks of our civilization but enrich us with their beauty. Arizona is lucky to be blessed with great mineral wealth.

A PORTFOLIO the MINERAL kingdom

A Portfolio

Wulfenite, 3.6 cm (about 1½ inches), Geronimo Mine, La Paz County. Jim Walker Collection Azurite, 9 cm (about 3½ inches), Morenci Mine, Morenci. Les and Paula Presmyk Collection Gypsum, 3.4 cm (about 1% inches), Cole Shaft, Bisbee. Sam Nasser Collection Azurite and malachite breccia, 8 cm (about 3 inches), field, Morenci. Phelps Dodge-Morenci

Gold, 5.2 cm (about 2 inches), Bradshaw Mountains, Yavapai County. Les and Paula Presmyk Collection