#15

Glacier National Park. Amazing place. I took this while on a road trip with my buddy Seth. Every chance I get, I drive through Glacier. It is one of those places that sticks with you. Once you've been there you always remember it. Or at least that is how it is for me. Clear lakes, proud mountains, rushing rivers, beautiful, wild country. Cherish the wild places around you.

The first 2 summers I was here in CA i took some time off. Summer number 1, the brother sister team of Kate and Stephen flew out and we drove the length and height of the country. Three of us living in a 2door honda civic for 10 (ten) days. Can you imagine? If you have a similar story, please share it. It was such a fun time! We watched the world cup in Salt Lake City in an Applebees. We saw Yellowstone and then the Grand Canyon.

Summer number 2, Seth flew out and we took the northern route. Gabe's wedding. Good times. We got pulled over and searched after seeing Mt Rushmore, Seth tried to steal Washington... just kidding. It was an ordeal, funny now, and even a little bit at the time. We were looking pretty rough, many days on the trail. Good times.

Reminisce.

#14

Somehow over the last 20 days I have become 7 days behind in this whole blog updating deal. My bad. It has been an interesting process. Reflecting on how I thought this would go and how it actually happened has been good. I had hoped that I would have time every single day to sit down and type something that could be more than a surface level inspection of the past three years. However, find the inspiration to do that has been hard. Some days stuff seems to flow, other days I could barely open the blog to add something and still other days I missed out completely. Often I found myself to busy or completely forgetting to post. Everything I want to do requires some form of sacrifice. Some more than others. Compared to having a family, career, obligations, a partner, blogging (which one of these doesn't belong here?) does not carry much weight. Blogging, in the scheme of things, is fairly insignificant, but if it helps me to connect with people, I'm all for it. People are what matter.

I hope this finds my friends and family well! I have had amazing news over the last few weeks of babies being born, wedding plans (not my own, I'd let you know), friendships, all sorts of things.

For now, fairwell!
Take luck!

#13

Mabry Mill.
Aging buildings. Memories of times past.

YAY!!! Google has a tracking program and this week I reached a grand total of 1000 visitors!! That number is the total over the last several months, in my mind a big mile-stone. Thanks for helping!

#12

Children.

"Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944), 'The Little Prince', 1943

#11

Sunset over the ocean! Definitely something everyone should experience in their lifetime. The Channel Islands create a beautiful scape along the horizon. This is another one from my first session at Brooks. The sun is an amazing thing. A sunset where the sun sets solely beyond the horizon is nice, but when there is something else to reflect and distort the light its beauty multiplies. Clouds, water, distant mountains, faces of friends, wet beaches, life.

New Camera!!

Chris, thank you so much!
I received this little guy on thursday. An amazing addition to the crew.

Those are regular sized coins, in case you were wondering.

Here are a few pics from the Leica.

Neighbors back yard.
Desk lamp
Ocean

Joy. :)

#10

So I'm a bit behind...
Here are a two I took last night.



People.
I will always remember people.
The intrinsic value of each human being regardless.
We each reflect something so great: compassion, inspiration, encouragement, joy, sadness, empathy, hope, love.
The experience of one person affecting another in a positive way.
I can remember so many moments with friends, family, strangers, when I was affected, encouraged, inspired.
I implore each of you to take a moment for the people in your life, to affect.
Happy Valentines, tomorrow.

"Be the change you want to see in the world" - Mahatma Gandi

#9

Brighton, England. 2007 :)

'A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.' - Herm Albright

HAHA

Reflection #8

The Getty Center. Beautiful architecture, extensive gardens, wonderful art. Not many thoughts on reflections today, but I've spent many an afternoon here. It is a fun place to photograph and somewhere I encourage people to see.


'Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.'
- Andre Gide

'So you see, imagination needs moodling - long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering.' - Brenda Ueland

Reflection #7

This image means a lot to me. It was used in A Happy Guide to a Short Life written by Tony Brown. But more than that it reminds me of those lost along the way. I miss you.

'memories distant
as leaves in fall
watching the branch from which it came
it leaves behind
legacy
history
memory
leaves for us'
- anonymous


'Death is more universal than life, everyone dies but not everyone lives.' - A. Sachs

Reflection #6

Venice, Italy. Amazing trip. Beautiful country, amazing history. A truly valued time! That's all i got this time around.


"Own only what you can carry with you; know language, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag." - Alexander Solzhenitsyn

"Memory feeds imagination" - Amy Tan

Reflection #5 (Boston, a little different)

old, rustic, music, reminds me of virginia, angles of communion, uneven meeting points, color, mood, faded.
I love old barns, there is one in Virginia that fell over. Before it did it was leaning at the most bizarre angle, small legs barely able to support the roof and walls and rafters.

Times of interaction. Coinciding with the environment around us. Elements connect in different ways. Moments together,
brick - steel - wood
rock - hard place - between
rubber - road - meeting
alive - survive - strive


Moments of wonder. There are times in life that wow me! Sunsets, sunrise, a warm bed on a cool morning, people, beauty, decay, nature. To stand in awe. To be. To notice. To wait...

Somethings seem really overwhelming...

Leaving Home

The Grand Canyon, AZ. 2005. My first of many solo trips across the country. We got a good track of land here in the USA.



Heading west. Pursuing dreams and aspirations. Unknowns. Alone. I am so thankful for Rob and Jean offering their home to me! Knowing I had a place to stay was the deciding factor for coming to school in California. The generosity of these two people is a wonderful testament to a loving family, good friends, helping those you love. Thank you both so much! Words seem to fall short, but with all of my heart, thank you!

Portfolio

Here are a few images of my portfolio folder and stuff. Grad Review tomorrow!!

Reflection #3

Knowing when to just go with the flow and when to take a stand is a difficult line to walk. Usually, we have 20/20 hindsight. Those were my first thoughts when I saw these images together.


Both of these images are from the Nature class with Ralph Clevenger. Thank you Ralph for new insight into the art of Nature photography! It was an invaluable class. Rock Creek near Toms Place, California. It is easy to stick together when the water is smooth.



This is from Rock Creek Lake. The solidarity of the rock is what captured my eye. The peace of the lake at sunrise, the clarity and simplicity. So many things in life are at one time or another constant, comfortable, still, peaceful. There is definitely beauty in some chaos but the still quiet moments seem to be more and more rare to find. Taking time to be. Breathe.
In many of the trips I've taken I have been extremely fortunate to be able to find that time. A time to set my camera down and pick up a rock to skip. To sit peacefully beside flowing water, or a soft breeze, to wake up with the sun rising proudly over the White Mountains or setting peacefully behind the towers that make up the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Reflection #2

Reflection.
Learning from the past. Little things in life that stick with you. Looking at things in a new light. Images I took a long time ago that were 'accidents' or horribly composed can be seen with a new sense of balance and understanding. Knowledge from the present applied to aspects of the past to better equip you for the future.


London, England with the Shank family in 2006. Stephen getting married to Nicola! Such an exciting time, good travels, good people. Cherish the time with friends and opportunity to travel!

Georgia. 2005. I spent one semester at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. I met some amazing people there. I know this one doesn't quite fit in the time frame of my stint here in California. But, this image was taken while on spring break with my buddy Chase. He is a huge reason for why I'm here. Going out taking pictures with Chase, him teaching me Photoshop stuff, collaborating and rock climbing. Chase, thanks for the inspiration and encouragement to pursue Brooks and photography!