The delicate cloud forests of southeastern Mexico are threatened by global warming and human encroachment. These forests are islands in the sky. Only at high elevations do these tropical/temperate forests receive enough moisture to survive. But they can only climb so far up the mountain before there is no more mountain to climb. The cloud forests are facing human pressures as well. Expanding agriculture, road-building and logging are just a few of the things that threaten the forests and the thousands of unique plant and animal species that exist nowhere else.

I visited a cloud forest near Coatepec, Mexico in March 2008 to photograph the changing landscape. I used macro photography and a narrow depth of field in an attempt to capture a sense of the intricate layering that exists high in the hills above Coatepec.

Special thanks to HMC Architects for generously funding this trip through their [x]ref program.