Just a few of the many beautiful specimens at Hatley Castle in BC.
once more with feeling
Interrupting Canadian imagery from our trip to bring you a surprise I experienced at 11:07pm last night. It lasted about 15 minutes and was stronger in color visible to the naked eye than what we saw months ago.
I can’t believe I’ve now seen the aurora twice this year.. life is full of the unexpected.
Shape
Solidity in downtown Vancouver, BC.
Fan Tan
the narrowest commercial street in Canada
Fallen
“to our glorious dead”
Outside BC’s Parliament Building, in Victoria
+
Fisgard Lighthouse
Sisters
…let's give it up for sisters
And all the things they do
Not always so wonderful, but
We'd be lost without you
So keep doing what you do.
-Saint Motel
September
Maple turning in the gardens at Hatley Castle, British Columbia
context is everything
Windows and doors
and false starts
and hopes for nothing
and hopes for everything
and some longing for a view,
and others longing for a new path.
Breakwater
Ogden Point, Victoria BC
I can’t help but be drawn to these elements, even in new places.
Avast
in British Columbia waters, 2024
Grit
on the streets of Victoria, BC
Windows
The Passage from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, 2024
Victoria
The Parliament building in Victoria, via a slow shutter, 2024
Bound/Influenced
What it feels like to be a wave
Influenced by a small thing you can never touch,
Pushed and pulled always in motion.
To hold such force..
But only within the confines of
That small thing that binds you.
That thing that is smaller than you.
That thing you can never touch.
Maple Silhouette
A wish of noticing,
perspective, prayed for, yielded these thoughts:
Those small things that continue, unassuming and quiet, have their own say.
The beauty of man’s time spent on a monument to concepts cannot overtake that natural diligence of a maple seed growing slowly but surely against a backdrop of “progress”.
heart tangles
If I loved you less, I may be able to talk about it more.
– Emma, Jane Austen
the hymn
let her go to the sea
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!
Photowalks
A Glass meetup from last year, including Nick, Daniel, and Caleb doing what photographers do, in East Lake. Are you sensing a theme this week, dear reader?