The blue heron makes a sound like the world is ending.
Ripping like doomsday through the air.
a regal beak, a torrential sound.
I thought life might be over, if you’d heard it too, you’d know.
Lake Padden, Washington, via iPhone 15
superfluous facts
Rhythms
Bold
Clover Point Park, Victoria BC
Fallen
“to our glorious dead”
Outside BC’s Parliament Building, in Victoria
+
Fisgard Lighthouse
the why of photography
As many people know, I got my start in a high school darkroom. Something magic unfolded in those chemicals. I would leave 2nd period with my hands smelling like sulfur, and pupils dilated from 90 minutes in the dark. A good student, I flowed between subjects, english, french, chemistry, and calculus, conforming to whatever in the journey of getting an A (well, not in calculus, that was a bit of a disaster). Photography was a true outlet, a place to explore the concept of artistic voice. I found ways out of other classes, phoning in responsibilities to get back in the darkroom.. it may have been my first true act of rebellion in a system I’d been in full compliance with.
Exploration kept me engaged. But over the years, I’ve been frustrated by freelance work, not sure how to stand out in crowds of talented creatives and professionals. To be real for a minute, the business end of photography hasn’t been natural.. My most recent venture in the world of boutique school portraits comes close. How I feel watching a kiddo be relaxed in front of the camera has rekindled my efforts for client work. Each student presents a new connection, an opportunity to be curious, exercise my silly streak, and offer a fun alternative to the assembly line of portraits we all knew as kids.
And then, there’s my art. The images I shoot in an effort to connect or find meaning in.. ***gestures at everything*** Life is all the experience, both positive and negative. I don’t have to tell you it can feel overwhelming to be human. It’s easy to hop into dread and anxiousness with the modern set of problems we face. This chaos feels like too much to find order in, even though we humans have been performing this stunt a long time.
My personal mantras as I’ve navigated purpose, meaning, my roles as a partner, mom, and photographer are these: as long as we have breath, there is possibility, and inherent to life, there is an ultimate sense of balance. The act of equilibrium is real. There will be highs for every low, and vice versa. We may not see the entire set up or what lies on either side of the scale. But we can rest assured it exists.
Photography is the ultimate medium of possibility, balance, or flux. Each photo excursion brings an opportunity to witness this spectrum of life, or even create within it. I love that. As an artist, finding comfort in possibility, rather than fear, is something I hope to keep sharing with the world.
I’m taking off next week to photograph new spaces and places, so it’ll be quiet here. Last time my family planned this we were thwarted by sickness. We’ve decided as a collective that NOTHING is getting in the way this time. I’ll be back at the end of August with hopefully more images to share, and maybe less words.. I don’t know! But one thing’s for sure, I’m pretty excited at the possibilities next week will afford 🤠
time travel
A civil war reenactment, photography style, near Chattanooga TN, 2010
The era of the deep angle, folks. It COULD have been a super cool shot, but this angle hurts!
I was 20, what did I know??😂😂
at least I got some details right!
🌿
A fern, in the Chuckanut Mountains, 2023
an act of rebellion
Have you brought forth anything into the world lately? A dramatic question 😆 but come on, what did you expect?
One of my photographs was mentioned on a podcast a while back, and Jason ended with suggesting that the photo inspired him to ask the question- what could he make? What would his own self-portrait be like? It was the kind of question that made me really happy… the idea that our act of creation can beget curiosity, one of human kind’s great attributes.
The world feels like a distracted, destructive, consumptive mess. Inspiring work, ideas, kindness, connection is a direct rebellion of this tangle. It’s a rebellion I can get behind, and hope to continue being a part of. Thanks so much to the 3x2 podcast for the feature.
Mono Trio
On top of a mountain, somewhere in the PNW, January 2024
the catastrophe
Now I am quietly waiting for the catastrophe of my personality to seem beautiful again, and interesting, and modern. ― Frank O'Hara
Pretending
Pretending I was
Across the sky
Riding clouds of thunder
Till the weight of collected burdens
Dropped me.
And I on the ground,
No longer light
But clinging wet and heavy to the earth
Till time separated me and
I was light Enough
to rise and pretend again.
Archived Daisies
2021, Rental House in Bellingham
Something audacious about making this image monochrome, when the sky was the brightest blue, and the greens, shocking. We find little acts of rebellion everywhere ;-)
Overcast
A sense of leaving scenes like this, as spring barrels its way into summer. I used to regret a change in the weather, but I don’t anymore. Not sure exactly what changed, other than on a good day I have appreciation for now, whatever it looks like.
Obstinate
Hold me to some sort of formulaic space
A fluidity contained and moving, but not evaporated.
I don’t like the air. I won’t go.
🌬️
“..to slip again over my faculties the viewless fetters of an uniform and too still existence..”
-Charlotte Brontë