The Palouse: A Spectacular Landscape for Artistry

Francisco Aguilar

By day, Jeremy Tamsen is a lawyer in Pullman for Washington State University. By night, he’s a Moscow, Idaho-based astro-photographer, specializing in dramatic, starry sky landscapes. 

“I have work on display all year in different places,” he says. “We have the ability to exhibit around town: hospitals, hotels, restaurants, galleries. The Palouse values art, artists and events around art.” 

Fellow photographer Justin Miller agrees. 

“This small community is very tight-knit and supportive of the arts and music culture, which are fostered at both universities. We are lucky that it spills out into our community and enhances the culture here,” he says. 

Tamsen spent a good chunk of his life in Colorado before moving to Moscow to pursue his law degree at the University of Idaho. 

“I learned film photography when I was in high school and really fell in love with it,” he says. But the rigors of law school caused him to take a break from his hobby. 

“But then when I began studying for the bar exam, I needed an outlet, so I started to learn the basics of digital photography,” Tamsen says. 

With dark skies and a diverse terrain, the Palouse landscape turned out to be an ideal location to develop his craft. He was particularly moved by the contrast between heaven and Earth. 

“It struck me how many old barns, old structures and clusters of trees there are here,” he says. “Stars speak to timelessness. They are always there. They change very little year after year. I like combining the imbalance of the stars with these buildings that represent just a brief moment in time.” 

The Palouse Landscape Might Make You Cry 

The skies and landscape are central to Francisco Aguilar’s photography, too. 

“I love learning about the old homesteads that were passed down from family to family over the years. Some still stand; some are just a memory captured in a picture,” he says. “From the rolling hills looking like the colors of the rainbow in the spring to summertime velvet green and then our harvested brown fields with winter wheat patches, it’s farmland that is a photographer’s paradise. It conveys colors and lines like nowhere else in the world.” 

Aguilar’s Pullman-based business includes photography tours and workshops for those who want to explore the Palouse while capturing the region’s unique splendor with their cameras. 

“One time, I had a group of 10 who got to see the biggest northern lights show I’ve seen with my naked eye,” he says. “Some of the students broke into tears because of the immense beauty that came from the Palouse night sky.” 

The Palouse Makes Amateurs Look Good 

While Aguilar and Tamsen moved to the Palouse, Miller is a local. Growing up in Moscow, Miller developed a love for cameras and technical equipment at a young age. He went away for school and then lived in several other states before coming home in 2010. 

“The landscape on the Palouse is unlike anywhere else in the world,” he says. “There are other places that have rolling hills that are similar, but not that lead into large, forested lakes, mountains, deep canyons and desert. It’s an unparalleled place for a photographer who is into landscape and nature.” 

All three artists say you don’t need to be a pro to get the perfect shot of the Palouse landscape. 

“Having a good digital SLR with full manual controls is ideal,” Miller says. “But anyone with a current cell phone with a decent camera can take gorgeous shots in the area.” 

It’s more about the time of year, particularly with dark sky photography. 

“The camera sees things we don’t with our naked eye, so it’s super fun to see what’s out there,” Aguilar says. “The northern lights occur year-round but are more likely to be visible November through February, thanks to longer nights and darker skies.”