portraits

Adventure In England: Part One

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This post is long, long overdue (as most of them have been, I suppose). But as the saying goes, "better late than never," so here we are!

This past July Scott and I went to England for roughly three weeks, with the bulk of our trip being spent in the Exeter area (with plenty of trips to the surrounding towns). We are lucky enough to have friends in Exeter who are extremely hospitable and allowed us to stay with them for most of our stay. Staying with friends not only made the trip more affordable but also provided us with some amazing views and experiences, as we were right in the heart of the city and got "tours" from the locals. The two photos below were taken our first night there, and needless to say it was an amazing introduction to Exeter.

Our second night in England was just as amazing, if not more so. After a home cooked meal, we drove to Topsham to get drinks at a pub called The Passage House Inn. Walking through the narrow streets was such a treat for me, and I quickly fell in love with the architecture of the area. The golden evening light certainly helped with the romantic feel of it all. We were treated to perfect weather that night, allowing us to sit outside and be treated to a fully spectacular sunset over the River Exe. 

Our first weekend in England was also all too perfect. On Saturday we went on a hike that was nothing short of stunning. We started on the coast in Wembury, continued through some rolling farms (all the while with views of Wembury Bay), crossed the River Yealm in a water taxi, and ended at The Ship Inn in Noss Mayo. The color of the water there was an unreal turquoise; it was absolutely unexpected for England. We ate a simple, fresh lunch outside at The Ship Inn while watching the tide come in. It was truly a magical day. 

Next up: Shockingly, part two of our England trip! Featuring the second part of our epic first weekend, though with drastically different scenery, and loads more as well. 

Spring In Ouray

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I've been anxious to share these images since the day I returned from this trip, but unfortunately I just recently was able to get around to finishing the edits. Back in March some friends and I took an adult spring break of sorts to Ouray, Colorado. Ouray has become a very special place to me; I have never left that area without images that I'm proud of, and this trip was no different. We had planned on spending the entire trip ice climbing, but due to warm temperatures the ice was a bit limited. Despite the weather we managed to do a good amount of climbing, and had an incredible time soaking up that pure mountain air.

The first day started out with warm weather, and a forecast of rain in the afternoon, which had us all a bit disappointed. We first hopped on the Kids' Wall (which is a shorter, easier section of ice, out of the actual canyon where the rest of the climbs are), since most of our group had never ice climbed before. After climbing a while, allowing people to get the hang of the process, we decided to switch it up and head down to the canyon to get on some of the more difficult ice.  

As we were walking down, dark clouds started rolling in; we were expecting that the rain was on its way, and therefore the climbing would likely soon be over for the day. To our surprise, however, the temperature dropped just enough and we were quickly surrounded by big, fluffy snowflakes. It was one of the most amazing scenes I have experienced. 

Day two was warmer yet, with much more sun. We headed a bit higher into the mountains, with the hopes of finding cooler temperatures and better ice conditions. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, so we were limited on what we could climb and how long we could climb it. The guys decided to try their hand at some dry tooling (climbing with ice tools on rock) once the ice was no longer safe to climb because of the heat and sun, and I happily snapped away as they climbed. We ended that day back out our rental with some guitar playing on the deck while we enjoyed the views. 

And with that, I am finally finished with all winter images! I can now get on to slightly more recent images that are more applicable for the current season! As always, thank you for taking the time to stop by, and don't forget to subscribe on the left, and share via the links below! 

The Blackhills 100 Mile Race

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So much for posting in a more timely manner; this summer has most definitely kept me busy.

I've decided to break from the order that I typically post in (chronological), to share the most recent adventure that I had the opportunity to be a part of. And brace yourselves, because this will be a long one. It was an extremely memorable experience, and although I'm not entirely happy with most of the images that I took (a severe lack of sleep may have played a role), I am extremely proud to share them because of how much of an accomplishment it was for my brother (or anyone for that matter).  

A few weeks ago my brother, Kyle, ran in the Black Hills 100, which is a 100 mile trail race through the Black Hills. Although the Black Hills are at a lower elevation, the race actually has more elevation change than the 100 mile race in Leadville, Colorado. The race is an out and back course, starting in Sturgis, SD and ending there as well. They started off on a Friday morning, and ran through the day with temperatures hovering around 100 degrees for most of the day. I worked until noon in Denver that Friday, and then drove six hours to meet Kyle and the two other members of the crew at the halfway point in Silver City, SD. 

Kyle had planned on being at Silver City by 7:30 pm, but because of the heat he, along with the entire field of racers, was well behind that pace. I spent the time waiting chatting up the women working the aid station, and then the other crew members as they began to show up. Kyle ended up getting in around 11:30 pm, and my crew duties kicked in. I mainly got him any food he wanted (which was ramen, lots of ramen), filled his water, and made sure he was doing alright. His friend Will also met us at Silver City, and served as his pacer for the last 50 miles, which made a huge difference for Kyle. 

Unfortunately I forgot my speedlight, and so was stuck with using an extremely high ISO in the images below, but I had to get at least some images of him during the night.

After Silver City I drove to the Pilot Knob aid station, where I met Will's brother, Michael, who crewed with me for the rest of the race. While we sat and waited for Kyle to arrive, I set up my camera for a brief time lapse. I didn't put a soundtrack on it, and as I said, it is brief, but I think it still does a nice enough job of showing the feeling of the aid stations at night. 

There was one more aid station in the dark, and then we drove to the Dalton Lake Campground to wait once again as the sun started to rise. It was such a welcome site to see the sun coming up for us crew members, and I can only imagine how it must have felt for the runners. 

I had been awake since 5 am the morning before (totaling nearly 30 hours awake at this point), and although I felt pretty great through the night, I started to crash after the Dalton Lake aid station once the sun was up. I was in desperate need of some sleep, and after slinging up my hammock I managed to get a light nap in this amazing spot while we waited for Kyle. 

We next saw Kyle and Will at the Elk Creek aid station, which was at mile 83. Another runner came into the aid station with some wildflowers that he picked along the trail for his crew members, which I couldn't resist documenting. One of the things that I loved about this experience was getting to know the other crew members. For the most part we saw the same people at every single spot, and by the end of the race it felt like we had known each other a lot longer than 12 hours or so. 

There was an aid station prior to Elk Creek that we didn't have access to, so the distance was about twice as long as when we normally saw the runners. This was the first aid station that Kyle started to show real signs of fatigue, and the first time I was even slightly concerned. His pacer was still full of energy however, and was excellent at keeping Kyle moving. 

The next aid station was the last before the finish, and like at Elk Creek, there was a station in between where we weren't able to see him. His wife and twin boys were at the last aid station as well, and as soon as Kyle saw them he visibly perked up. The boys saw him a ways off, and were so excited that they ran out to meet him!

We then drove to the finish in Sturgis and waited for Kyle and Will to arrive. My nephews were loving my camera while we waited; their new (at least new to me) thing to do is to make silly faces constantly while I take millions of pictures, and they loved getting to press the shutter as well. 

Kyle and Will came running in to the finish just before 3:00 pm on Saturday.  We found out later that he managed to finish in 28:48:33, and was 9th place overall! It was so exciting to see him finish the race, and to finish it running no less. 

Crewing for this race was one of the coolest experiences I have had. Seeing my brother accomplish something so major, and getting to help him through that process in even a small way was an incredibly impactful and unforgettable experience. 

And with that, I will finally wrap things up. Hopefully some of you stuck through it all. Thank you for taking the time to stop by, and don't forget to share via the links below!

Mills Lake Adventure

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Yikes; it has been almost two months since my last post.  I'd like to say that I waited to work on these so that when the early summer heat (I start to melt when it gets over 85 degrees) started to kick in I would have a way to daydream about cooler days. But in reality, my busy schedule and heavy editing load at work makes it difficult and not very appealing to edit at home. I have had a few little breaks however, and finally was able to edit some images from this past winter.

On an early morning in the middle of January, Scott and two of our friends, Katie and Ben, packed up our gear and headed to Rocky Mountain National Park for a day of ice climbing near Black Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. We planned to skin up (using skis with strips that attach to the bottom to allow you to ski uphill) to our climbing destination, spend the day climbing on the ice, and then ski back down to the car.

Unfortunately, the conditions that morning were not exactly ideal. The winds were blowing around 60 miles an hour, with temperatures well below zero and some light snow mixed in for good measure. We decided to head towards the climbs despite the weather, and set off skinning up the mountain. This was the first time I had skied in the back country, and only my third time skiing in the big mountains at all, which made the day even more interesting for me.

After a few hours of skinning we decided to stop and eat lunch in a somewhat sheltered spot in the forest. The sun managed to poke through slightly once or twice while there, and we got a tiny break from the wind as well. We boiled snow to make water for our instant noodles, stumbled around in the extremely deep snow, and just tried to keep warm as we made our lunch. 

After refueling with some instant noodles and granola bars, we popped our skis back on and continued up. We encountered quite a few people coming down the mountain that looked haggard from the weather, and let us know that they wouldn't recommend going all the way to where we were hoping to. One man told us that he had been completely blown over by the wind on one of the lakes, so I was fairly intimidated at that point.

When we got higher up, and the trees started getting thinner, the wind became even stronger. The visibility was extremely low at times, and standing upright was difficult when the big wind gusts came through. We reached a point where it was particularly bad and all decided it would be best to bail and head back to the car. 

After making the decision that we should head back, we opted to go down the main (and smoother) trail, instead of the "shortcut" that we had used on the way up. Before beginning our descent we had to stop and rip off the skins on our skis, and prepare our skis for the downhill portion of the trip. The wind was brutal at the spot we stopped at, with snow whipping our faces relentlessly. It was so windy that Scott had to stand and brace me as I clipped into my skis, since every time I tried to stand on one leg to do so I was getting blown over. 

We did manage to get down safely, despite my poor skiing skills, and were very glad to get in the car with the heaters blasting. The guys had some nice ice formations on their beards, a testament to the frigid temperature.

Next time: More winter adventure photos (this time a successful ice climbing day). Be sure to check back soon (I promise my next post will not take 2 months to publish)! 

Exploring The Catalina Mountains

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This year (or I suppose it is this past year at this point) Scott and I made the long drive to Tucson for Christmas to spend the week with some of his family. His sister, brother-in-law, and two nephews live there, and his parents flew in from Kansas as well.

Scott and I have spent a decent amount of time in the Catalina mountains, and we were both really looking forward to getting out to climb quite a bit while there over Christmas. On one of our first days in Tucson, we went out exploring with Scott's nephew and their two Australian Shepherds to scope out some climbs for the next few days. They had a fairly wet fall in Tuscson, so things looked much greener than the other times I have been there. There was also water running down the entire wash area, which I had not experienced there before. The water made everything much more lush and beautiful, and the dogs loved having the water to cool off in. 

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Next up: more images from Arizona, mainly some climbing photographs, as well as images of one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever witnessed. 

As always, feel free to share via the links below, and don't forget to hit subscribe to stay in touch! Thanks for stopping by!

Guanella Pass

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I have been living the Colorado life to the fullest so far (climbing every weekend, hiking. including hiking the tallest fourteener in Colorado, a camping trip, and lots of great beer and food) which has kept me quite busy and kept me away from my computer for the most part. This Sunday we finally had a somewhat lazy, plan-free day, which gave me a chance to get a new post up here. 

These images are from over a month ago, when Scott's Dad and I helped to move Scott out to Denver. It was a short trip, but we wanted to get at least a brief taste of the mountains while we were there. We ended up driving up to Guanella Pass, which always provides stunning views. The wildflowers were blooming all over as well, which made it extra pretty. 

Next up (which I still have to edit), are images from a hike up part of Longs Peak. So check back soon for lots more alpine views! 

Flashback Friday: Forward

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Welcome to the next installment of the Flashback Friday posts! This is a fairly long one, since there is some background information necessary, and lots of images to share. I considered only selecting a few images, but I think sharing nearly the entire series here is important. As mentioned yesterday, self-portraits have long been very significant to me. They have been important in terms of my photography, and have also been hugely valuable for personal reasons.

I began taking self-portraits in November, 2009 as part of a personal 52 week project. Every week of the year (or that was the goal at least) I photographed a new self-portrait. It was intended to challenge me creatively, but was also used as an outlet for what was going on in my life and in my head. My tendency is generally to keep everything bottled up and held in, and so those self-portraits (as well as current ones) were a way for me to get some of those emotions and thoughts out, in a mostly subtle way. It was a strange thing for me to start taking pictures of myself, as before that I hated being in front of the camera. But as the weeks went on, it felt more and more natural, and self-portraits started to become more significant and impactful on my life. 

During that 52 week project I essentially fell in love with self-portraits. I have to admit that I feel a bit vain saying that, though the reason I fell in love with them wasn't because I loved seeing myself in photographs. In fact, I always feel quite vulnerable when posting self-portraits, something I don't particularly enjoy. However, self-portraits became nearly essential to my sanity and emotional stability at various points in my life. When I was struggling with something, my instinct was to plan and shoot a self-portrait, and generally speaking it would feel like a small weight was lifted off my shoulders. Seeing a visual for those things I was working through, even if it didn't come across in the photographs to other people, helped me process them and start to make sense of it. 

One summer during undergrad I opted to take an independent study with a favorite photography professor of mine. For that class I decided that I wanted to create a series that was much more personal than anything I had done before, and in order to do so I felt it necessary to create a series of self-portraits. That project is perhaps one of the most significant series, at least for personal reasons, that I have completed. The process of working through and developing the concept alone was a process of great self-discovery. When I started the project, visually I knew what I had in mind, and I had a rough idea for the concept behind the series. And yet, as I took the early photographs in the series I began to realize some fears and worries I hadn't even fully admitted to myself yet. 

At the end of that summer I ended up with a series of photographs that were compiled into a book. Titled Forward, the series depicts the process of growing up, transitions, and gaining independence. This series seems especially relevant to me now as well, as I try to figure out my next steps after finishing graduate school. 

Below you will find a selection of images from the book. Not all images in the book are contained here (there has to be some element of surprise if you order the book!), though these are the main images.

It has been interesting re-evaluating this series lately. With the current state of flux that I am dealing with after graduating I don't feel as though I have yet reached the point of that last image, despite making this series years ago. In fact, it feels like a long ways down the road (no pun intended). Viewing these images again also gives me ideas to continue, or perhaps revise, the series. I am at a very different point in life as when these were shot, and though much of the original ideas hold true today, my growth and experiences have given me a new perspective on what this journey is (and yet there is still much to figure out). 

The book will soon be available for purchase, in various forms, here on my website. If you have any interest in the mean time, just let me know! 

Happy Friday, and have a great weekend!

Little Ones (Nanny Life)

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The first summer of my graduate school career I nannied full-time for a precious little family in Manhattan. I came to absolutely adore the kiddos (it didn't take long), so I was extremely excited when they asked me to spend the summer with them again!

They added one more little one to the bunch since the last time I was with them (the one below), and she has quickly stolen a piece of my heart as well. 

I'm always trying to think up new things to do that will keep them all occupied, and also burn off some of their energy for their mom and dad. This particular day we used up every last bit of the chalk to draw a massive road all over the driveway. We brought out cars (and a random Barbie), and had a blast "driving" around. 

When I first got my camera out they just wanted to pose for me, but after a bit they went back to playing, forgetting about me and my camera for the most part. I love sitting back and watching what their vivid imaginations come up with while they play. They are so creative, and the scenarios they come up with range from hysterical to super sweet, and everything in between.

It was a bit hot, and very humid that afternoon, so even though they weren't running around a ton, everyone was sweaty, dirty, and even a little tired. :)

I will likely be sharing lots more images of these guys throughout the summer, so be sure to check back in the coming weeks to see what we have been up to. In the mean time, have a great Wednesday! And, don't forget to check back on Friday for the Flashback Friday post (hint: more images of the beautiful Red Rive Gorge will be up)!

Estes Park (Mountain Views)

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Time for the second installment of our latest Colorado trip!

Normally our trips to Colorado revolve around the mountains and adventure. This time, however, we were in Denver for the entire week, and only saw the mountains from a distance a few times (they were covered in clouds nearly the entire time as well). That Friday, the day before we had to head back to Kansas, Scott was finally done with all of his obligations (and relieved after having a successful interview), and we had no plans until that evening. Since we hadn't really seen the mountains yet, we spontaneously decided to at least drive to Estes Park to get some mountain air for one afternoon.

It had been rainy all week, and was forecasted to be cloudy and rainy on that day as well. The mountains on the drive to Estes were so incredibly green and magical with the clouds low and dense, swirling around with the breeze; it was like a dream. Despite the incredible beauty with the rain and fog, we were pretty excited when the clouds broke to show off some of the mountains surrounding Estes after we arrived. The sun warmed things up pleasantly as well, making for a perfect afternoon. 

We grabbed lunch at one of our favorite Estes spots, and then wandered around some of the shops, trying to decide what to do with the rest of our day. Scott has a minor obsession with Longs Peak, so we decided to drive up to a lookout area to check it out before heading to Boulder for dinner. 

Unfortunately there was a patch of clouds that was hovering around the peak, never breaking up enough to allow us to catch a glimpse. We stood and watched for a while as they moved past, but the clouds were dense over the mountain and the Diamond and summit area never were visible. I took a few pictures, but then mostly photographed Scott as he looked on. (I think he looks like he belongs in a Barbour add in these images.) 

We then headed back to Boulder, via a bit of a random, backroads way. It brought us down some narrow, windy roads past some tiny little towns, all through dense fog and rain. It was beautiful and dreamy, though admittedly I wasn't the one driving, which was probably fairly stressful. 

This fall I will be moving to the Denver area, and am so very excited to be only a short drive from sites like these. Now to find a job and place to live (does anyone out there need a photographer or live-in nanny??).

Happy Monday all!

Spring Break (Day 4)

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Our final day in Colorado was spent on rock. We climbed most of the day, soaking up the sunshine and our last of the mountain air for a bit. 

The morning started out a bit brisk, as the cliffs around us blocked the sun for quite a while. Despite the lack of sun in the morning, the area we were in all day (The Pool Wall, Alcove Area) offered some really nice, mostly easy climbing. It was a great place to just hunker down and set up camp for the day as we worked our way through some routes. 

Eventually the sun did creep down into our little area, and quickly warmed us up. For the rest of the day we were climbing in t-shirts, which was a bit unexpected for March. It was a welcome treat though, especially on our last day. However, it did make leaving that much more difficult.

Scott was able to go into teacher mode that afternoon (something he is extremely good at), and taught both the other guys some new tricks/techniques. As usual with climbing, I think everyone came away with something new learned, either a skill or just something about themselves (as in my case). That is one of the things about climbing that I absolutely love; every time I climb I learn something. It may not be something monumental or significantly life changing, but I almost always walk away at the end of the day with a fresh perspective on something. 

This post officially wraps up the spring break series for now, unfortunately (at least unfortunately for me). I still have film I need to send off and develop/scan, so more images may be coming down the road. But, for the time being, there will be no more beautiful mountains featured here on my blog. I do have some projects in the works (or at least planned), so be sure to check back soon to see what I'm up to!

Spring Break (Day 3)

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Day three of our trip was, at least in some ways, a bit of a bust. We had originally planned on hiking up to Bridalveil Falls in Telluride; Scott had climbed it the last time we were in Colorado and he wanted to check it out again and show the rest of us just how incredible it is. Unfortunately, due to the warm weather, the avalanche danger was pretty high (a guy we talked to said he had already seen one that morning), so we opted to make it a very short hike. I was still able to get some pictures of the area that I'm happy with, and also grabbed some portraits that I'm really happy with.

(On a side note, make sure to click on the panoramic images to view them in their (almost) full glory via the Lightbox.)

Taking portraits in situations like these, in some sort of adventure setting, are some of my favorite images to get. Landscapes are wonderful and all (and, as you noticed, I shoot bunches of them), but a big part of what makes these trips so awesome is the people that I go with. It doesn't hurt that the people I tend to go on trips with are extremely laid back about me taking photographs of them, and are rather goofy and quite entertaining. Photographing people in a genuine and spontaneous way, as they go about their business, almost always gives me images that I'm proud of. The story telling aspect of photography is something essential for me, and is something that I'm hoping to push in the future. 

Images of our final day of this trip are up next. Be on the lookout for those to see some more climbing based photographs! 

Christmas in Spearfish (Part 3)

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This Christmas was perfect. We woke up while it was still dark, but as it got light we were able to see the snow coming down heavily outside, just like a snow globe. When I picture my ideal Christmas, this was it. Plus, Christmas morning is so much better with little nephews around. The excitement they have is absolutely contagious, and you can't help but smile as they scream with joy while ripping off wrapping paper to discover what is inside. After opening presents and eating too many waffles with whipped cream, we went for a walk in the snow with the boys, which may have been the highlight of the day for me.