In the earliest traces, I began finding letters in everything as a child. With a mom who was a kindergarten teacher, every trip outside proved a chance to look for new learning. Remember when Bert and Ernie would trace letters around playground equipment on Sesame Street?

Jump ahead a few years. While I was in college at Ohio Wesleyan University (majoring in Education, studying journalism and spending all my extra time at the barn as part of the Equestrian Team), I worked on the school paper and took as many photos as possible. In the summers, I worked at Cord Camera where I learned all about film and developing and had the chance to go out on shoots with professionals. After graduate school at Ohio University, I got a job at Horse & Rider magazine in Golden, Colorado. As part of my job, I coordinated the product tests and photographed many horse-related items in use—helmets, blankets, hoof picks, stall picks—whatever was new and exciting at the time.

I was thrilled to have photos published, but craved a little more creativity. In 2002 when high school students at the church where I volunteered asked for help to complete their photography projects, The Letter Project was born. The students had the assignment to create one word out of letters they found in architecture. I rounded up the crew on a chilly Saturday morning (about 6 a.m.) and headed into the closest mountain town, Morrison, Colorado. The students learned about lighting as they looked for letters and had to guess when the sun would correctly hit each sacred spot. We kept a list of where to go next as we walked around town scouting for letters. As you may have guessed, the students weren’t thrilled with the idea of getting up so early in the morning to take pictures. But I was hooked. It was just the creative outlet I needed—great stress relief and a great way to get to know my new Colorado surroundings.

Over the next weeks, I got up early each Saturday and packed up my Jeep with camera equipment—and my travel buddy “Abby,” my oldest Australian Shepherd. We visited mountain towns and collected more and more letters. It was a never-ending project! Now, I’ve taken photos of letters in Colorado (Golden, Kitteredge, Fort Collins, Lakewood, Aspen, Longmont), Wyoming (Laramie), Ohio (Hilliard, Ostrander), and more. I’ve also taken my gear along to Poland, Mexico, South Africa—and who knows where next? Each letter in the project is named and tagged by the location where it was taken. For example “amorrisonladder.jpg” is an “a” photographed in Morrison, Colorado.

I sincerely hope you enjoy looking at the letters. You’ll find a good mix of items that can look contemporary or as “cowgirl” as I profess to be. I’m working on a full alphabet of horse brands and tack—that’s what my riding friends have requested. But don’t worry, if you’re more into “city” art, you can create that, too—you’ll find lots of artsy shadows and building components to compile your perfect look. With so many choices, you become the true artist!

“Every word is a unique piece of art,”
Heidi Nyland
The Letter Project (a part of The Whole Picture)