Motion

June 24, 2016

Four images of a wheat field while the sun sets with the camera panning in motion with a long exposure.

Some Thoughts on Projects

June 13, 2016

A few days ago, I published a post on the work of Krista Wortendyke. In it, I explained I first saw her work in an email newsletter, and that it really "struck a chord." I didn't really elaborate on that in the post, because I wanted to focus on Krista's work. Today I'd like to talk about the way it affected and has already influenced me and my own photography.

I've mentioned in previous blog posts how the creative impulse has really taken hold of me again and I've begun sweeping the cobwebs out of the recesses of my mind that drove my creative thinking. It’s not that I quit exercising my creativity altogether—I just found different outlets, like tying flies and fly fishing, and I didn’t exercise photographically often at all. Or, I at least didn’t engage in it seriously, or with any real direction. It gradually fell pretty low on the list of priorities. It is true that I would occasionally think about a project that would help me get serious, but that’s as much work I put into it. Add to that the fact that after leaving grad school (the reasons for which I still haven’t ever fully addressed here), I haven’t really been part of a community to offer any valuable feedback or critiques beyond a “thumbs-up” or a “like” on Facebook or Instagram of any work I ever did do in the past several years. And that has been the hardest struggle.

So, as I’ve been going out around Cache Valley to photograph, and reading material to help get my brain in gear, I’ve been wondering and pondering on what to do for a project, and several ideas have popped up. I’ve always thought ever since moving here, about doing something with the Bear River. It’s a heavily exploited resource, so there’s lots I could say with it. But then I remember Craig Denton’s book “Bear River: Last Chance to Change Course” and shy away from a project of my own on the Bear River. That happens to me all the time: I think of a project or subject or process, then learn of or remember that someone else has done that exact thing or something very similar and I give up on whatever plans for a project I may have started to formulate. But I recently heard a quote from Mary Virginia Swanson who said (to paraphrase) that you should photograph the ideas or subjects that come from within. To photograph what you’re passionate about. She went on to say that after a while you will come into your own style. And then I later heard another paraphrased quote from Robert Adams: Art can’t awaken us if it merely copies what we already have. So, the first quote gave me some validation and encouragement to carry out a project that someone perhaps has already done. The second quote gave me the warning I need to not just copy. Which I’ve always had in mind when making photographs (though sometimes I’ve made photographs knowing full well it looks exactly like another photograph from someone who came before). In the Adams quote, he said something about taking what someone has already done (and this is where the real challenge lies) and to make it better. And he’s right. Every turn I take, it seems like I’ve seen something like it to varying degrees before. There’s little in the Arts that hasn’t been done before. Which can be debilitating, because I don’t want to copy. I just need to figure out how to improve upon work that has influenced me. That’s when a voice creeps in my head and says “How are you going to improve upon Mark Klett? or James Balog? or Peter Goin? and the list goes on.

Now let me discuss some thoughts on the project I have swimming around my mind, as well as what is an underlying element to all of my photography. I’ve always been fascinated at the way a photograph can freeze moments of time. Whether the length of that moment of time is only 1/500 of a second, or if three hours passed to make the exposure. My lumens, for example, are exposed anywhere between three hours and a week or more (I’ve done them as long as a month, but I feel like a day-long, or two-day-long exposure is sufficient for what I am trying to achieve). Within that time, the plants I use in the process die, along with any insects or other crawly things that are in the plants’ roots or leaves, and things begin to rot and decay fairly quickly, especially if it’s a hot summer day. The paper really changes from the intense UV light that is exposing it. The viewer may not know just how much time elapsed in the making each print, but the passage of time is a preeminent element in the creation of them. With my “camera photographs” (I use the term here to separate them from the camera-less photographs that lumen prints are), I almost always try to use as slow a shutter speed as possible. Within reason. I’m not usually interested in freezing motion in my photography. I aim to show motion—flowing water, tree branches swaying in the breeze, the streaks of headlights as cars drive by.

Which brings me back around to the photography of Krista Wortendyke, and the chord that was struck. In the blog post I did on her work, I explained (actually, I quoted her artist statement) that her photographs are composed of multi-frame images taken from video games, and photographs found on the internet to make a composite image that blurs the line between what is real, and what is fiction. Upon seeing that photograph in the email newsletter, I knew I had a direction I could take in a project on the Bear River. By making each photograph up of a composite of many photographs, I can show the passage of time in each individual photograph that makes up the whole, as well as the passage of time measured in days, weeks, months or even years, showing the effects of time and changes of seasons of a scene in a single photograph. Any changes in water levels of rivers and streams, the sprouting and death of leaves on trees, and any changes that Man might make on the landscape could all be observed in one image. That email arrived in my inbox at about nine a.m., and I wasn’t able to sit still or concentrate for the rest of the day. My mind was exploding with new ideas and locations to photograph and methods of display. In that post, I explained it wasn’t the first time I’d seen work done the way Krista created her photographs, and that I was familiar with James Balog. Even before I knew of Balog, Tyler Hopkins, a friend from college was doing mosaic-, multi-frame photographs. And since I came across Krista’s work, I’ve discovered a few more photographers working in this similar vein, such as Jake Weigel.

Over the past two or three weeks, I've been out a handful of times to start gathering photographs for finished pieces. I've returned to a few locations on different days, so that the larger photograph has photographs made on two different days.

Here is the first one I started working on, with photos made on two different days, and is by no means finished:

These pieces, as I mentioned above, may not be complete for up to, and maybe even more than, a year, since my goal currently is to include frames from all four seasons, from different times of day, under various weather conditions.

It had been a very long time since a project hit me and got me so excited as this one has made me. Stay tuned for more updates!

Krista Wortendyke

June 11, 2016

About eight or nine years ago, I created a blog titled 52 Photographers, where I would feature one photographer each week of the year. I don’t remember now just how many posts I made on the blog, but I know I didn’t make it a whole year. The purpose of the blog was to help me seek out photographers I hadn’t seen before to keep the creative juices flowing.

I recently had the thought of resurrecting that blog, but I don’t have the time to make it a weekly thing. So, I’ll make it as much of a regular thing that I post about on this, the Departures Blog. And so, with no further ado, I’ll introduce the first photographer I’ll be featuring: Krista Wortendyke.

One of Krista's photographs was featured in a recent Your Daily Photograph email. The photograph, Untitled_014, from her (re): media project struck a chord in me at the very moment I saw it.

It wasn’t the content of the photograph that grabbed my attention so immediately and completely. It was the way she had pieced multiple images together in a multi-frame mosaic. I had seen seen work in this same approach before though—I have been aware of James Balog’s photographs published in a book titled Tree: A New Vision of the American Forest. But it had been so long since I'd seen or thought of Balog's work, that I'd nearly forgotten all about it, so it was if I were seeing work done like this before, not in terms of content—in this case, a fireball in an unnamed or even unknown desert, presumably from an explosion, and a large, black and gray plume of smoke rising into the sky—but in technique.

The body of work "is an exploration of the way imagery and information from movies, videogames, newspapers, and the Internet come together to form our perception of war." She goes on to explain: "Explosions are war’s most universal and most spectacular signifiers. We are never falling short of this imagery. I have made use of these magnetizing images to show not only how the lines between fiction and non-fiction blur, but also to show how a mediated experience can become indecipherable from a real experience." I find the concept intriguing, and the implementation is quite apropos to the subject matter.

I love coming back to these photographs. There are so many things that go unnoticed on a first look because there are is so much imagery to take in in each piece. And with so much of war and violence in the news, the imagery of war has become so commonplace and mundane, and with the quality of graphics and the immersiveness of war video games, it is easy to confuse reality with fiction.

Take a look at Krista's website and other projects here.

*All images used by permission of the artist.

Bear River and Clay Slough

May 19, 2016

I've gone out several times over the past weeks, around Benson, and the Cutler Marsh, and I'm feeling like I'm really getting to know the Bear River and Cache Valley on a deeper level, though there's still so much more to discover.

I also bought a 6x9 medium format rangefinder recently, and it's been fun getting back into film photography, even though I haven't gotten any of the film developed yet. It's been nice to have to slow down and not take the "shotgun approach" that digital can allow you to take. I've noticed I approach the photographed scene just slightly differently with film. I'm sure the focal length of the lens and the fact that it's a rangefinder with no light meter has something to do with this change.

Here are some photos from the last few outings.

Tree Blown by the Breeze, Bear River, Benson, Utah, 2016

Irrigation Pump House, Clay Slough, Utah, 2016

Parking Lot and Sign Post, Clay Slough, Utah, 2016

Benson

April 13, 2016

On Saturday evening we drove out to Benson again so I could photograph. Here are a some of the evening's fruits:

Cottowoods, Bear River, Benson, Utah, 2016

Live and Fallen Cottonwood Trees, Benson, Utah, 2016

Cottonwood Trees on the Banks of Bear River, Benson, Utah, 2016

Grace, Idaho

April 9, 2016

The day after I went out to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, which was also Easter Sunday, Gina and I headed up to Grace, Idaho to photograph. It's only an hour and fifteen minutes away, and in all my 8 years of living here in Logan, I'd never made the drive to visit the place—it was my first time there since 2007 when my friend Jon Long and I made a trip down there. But a little while before this most recent trip, I knew I needed to return again, and Gina and I made plans to do so.

Aqueduct and Highway 34, Bear River, Grace, Idaho, 2016

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge—One Year Later

April 8, 2016

A couple weeks ago, I went out to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, accompanied by my father-in-law while Gina watched the LDS General Women's Conference broadcast.

As I mentioned in my last post, Gina and I went out there on our third date. It was my first time ever going there, and I knew that the place had a lot of potential for some really great photographs. The way the land has been altered, and the way the Bear River has been diverted and channelled really draws me in. Since around my time in college, I've been intrigued as to how we humans interact and change the land around us, for better or worse. And as I've been out photographing periodically over the last three or four weeks, I've ended up along the Bear River. Most of the time it's been intentional; I love to photograph water—I always have, ever since I first started learning how to really operate a camera and control exposure. There is a part of me that is concerned that that subject matter is low hanging fruit for me, creatively. It's pretty easy to make a good photograph of water. The land around Cache Valley still remains a challenge to me. Back in 2013, I discussed some of the challenges I faced in dealing with the landscape of Cache Valley, and I think I still struggle with it a little. At least when it comes to subjects of photographs that aren't rivers or streams or other bodies of water. One side of me says to not worry about it and to just stick with what I'm good at. And there's nothing really bad about that. I think it's a valid argument. But there's also part of me—a large part—that realizes that there's no growth in doing only what you're comfortable with.

But, I'll stop rambling for now, and get on with the photographs:

Bear River, East Pass, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah, 2016

Old River Channel, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah, 2016

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

March 18, 2016

A little over a year ago, Gina and I went on our third date out to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge west of Brigham City. While driving around after we had walked around for a bit, I stopped a few times to make a few photographs. This is the best one:

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah, 2015

Amalga and Bear River Bottoms WMA

March 15, 2016

Sunday, I was in the mood to go out and photograph after church, so Gina and I loaded the car and headed out. I had in mind to end up in the Preston area, but in a roundabout way. We headed out to Benson, and then turned the car north towards Idaho. We went through Amalga, and Trenton, and through the Bear River Bottoms Wildlife Management Area, and on through Cornish and then Preston. I'm starting to get a few more ideas for a project bouncing around in my head, and I feel like I'm getting a good amount of images to use as a foundation to whatever I decide to do.

Bear River Bottoms Wildlife Management Area, Utah, 2016

Latest Efforts

March 11, 2016

In my last post, I lamented how I felt I'd turned my back on my photographic education and friends and mentors I made and gained along the way, and I said I wanted to change that. I also mentioned that I went out last Saturday with the sole purpose of making photographs. Here are my two favorites from that evening:

Boat Launch, Bear River, Benson, Utah, 2016 — Boat Launch, Bear River, Benson, Utah, 2016

Cutler Marsh Near Benson Marina, Cache Valley, Utah, 2016

Last night Gina and I loaded up the car and headed back out to Benson, which is only about 10 minutes away. Instead of taking the tactic from last Saturday and drive from one spot to another, I decided to just go to one spot and stay there the entire evening. I think the exercise was fruitful. And even after about an hour of photographing there, I know there are many more hours of photographing to do just at that one location. Edward Weston spent much of his life photographing Point Lobos; he made 29 other photographs of peppers until he finally made Pepper No. 30 (part of me wonders if he finally thought "Eureka!" or if he continued with Peppers No. 31, 32, 33, etc...). Ansel Adams did the same with Yosemite. After years and years in those same places, they still continued to find new photographs to express the way they felt about those places. Back in college when I was living in Rexburg, Idaho, I returned time after time to Texas Slough. Something about that little body of water spoke to my soul. This is my favorite photograph from 2004:

It was so cold, and my fingers fumbled around trying to work my new 5x7 camera, and I stood shivering as I focused, took a light meter reading, and then waited the couple minutes while the film was exposed.

Like I said, I felt pretty successful last night. I took some of the lessons learned from Saturday's outing, and came away with stronger images. At least, I feel more confident in them.

I think I've found my "pepper" in this next photograph. That huge limb that's lying just above the water really drew me in, but this photograph (while I like it quite a lot) doesn't really emphasize that limb the way I'd hoped. I guess I'll have to go back and keep trying however many times it takes to get it right.

Setting Crescent Moon, Marsh, Benson, Utah, 2016

#challengeonnaturephotography

March 10, 2016

Last week, my friend and former photography professor, Darren Clark, nominated me to participate in a Facebook hashtag "campaign," #challengeonnaturephotography, where, for seven days, you post a nature or landscape photograph with that hashtag, and then nominate someone else to participate. As I've done so, I've had the opportunity to think back on my college education, and what I've been doing with myself photographically since then. Here are some lessons learned and thoughts I've had, in no particular order, over the past seven days (all the images I shared on Facebook are included at the end of this post):

I've lost the ability to really speak about photography as art. Not completely, but I've lost a lot of that ability. I want it back.
I need to come up with a new photographic project. Or two. Or five. No matter the quantity, I just need something to to keep me motivated. I guess setting some deadlines might help too.
When I decided not to pursue an M.F.A. after all, I lost focus (no pun intended) and motivation to just create art. I still photographed when I went on trips and went backpacking (sometimes), but I devolved into making photographs that were little more than just "pretty pictures of pretty places." They were, to me, a little empty. Not completely, because I never really photographed anything at any point in my photographic education or life afterwards that I didn't feel some emotional connection to, and felt a desire to express that connection through the photograph. But that's where any profundity in my photographs made in the last four or five years stops. Without an overarching purpose (see the previous point) behind my photographs, I feel there isn't lasting impact.
Since I did lose focus and motivation to create, I've felt like I'd turned my back on my education, and the friends that I made along the way. I felt like I betrayed them in some way. Within the last three or four weeks, I've felt the need to fix all of that. Participating in this hashtag thing has helped to light the fire of motivation.
I went out with Gina Saturday evening west of Logan specifically to photograph. In the long run, I'm not sure how successful the photographs all are, but getting out helped get the creative juices flowing again. And the outing revealed how out of practice I am with working a camera: I forgot to focus the lens on the first photograph I made!
Along with the loss of the ability to talk about my work, my eyes have lost some refinement in composing, and attention to areas of the photograph that need work (dodging, or burning, or overall color balance, or contrast). I also want that back. Probably more than the ability to talk.
I need to work on consistency—consistency in color balance, contrast in both black and white and color photographs—which I think has always been a problem for me.
I've always echoed the sentiment of Elliott Erwitt who said "The whole point of taking pictures is so you don't have to explain things in words." Early in my photographic education I felt in agreement with the statement that the more one felt they had to say about their art, the least successful it was. Now, I don't agree. I believe there is always some room to talk about the art one creates. Maybe a better way of thinking is that the image should be strong enough to stand on its own, and not require an explanation. Maybe that has been Erwitt's point all along, and I've just missed it...

Anyway, on with the images.

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

Day 4:

Day 5:

Rye Crisp, Elephant Rock, City of Rocks, Idaho, 2010

Day 6:

Scott and Jon Photographing Thousand Springs, Idaho, 2004

Day 7:

Pond, Footpath, Memorial Park, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2007

Banff National Park

January 8, 2016

I have to explain the following image and why it looks the way it does. Our first day in Banff National Park, we went for a walk down to Bow Falls, just outside of downtown Banff. While we walked, I would stop to make photographs, and I stopped to make this one. I got the tripod set up, and composed the photograph, and got the exposure figured out. It would be a six second exposure, with my neutral density and polarizer filter on. So, I started the exposure, and turned my back just real quick to see what Gina was doing. I only had my back turned away for one second. It was just one of those quick turns. When I turned back, I turned just in time to see the tripod tipping over. I jumped to try to save the camera from crashing to the ground, but I was too late. My camera face-planted right into the dirt. The fall crunched the two filters, and bent the front of the lens in (I was using a Tokina 12-24mm), sort of like a bike wheel after a real bad bike wreck. As far as I can tell the glass of the actual lens is ok, but with the front of the lens bent in the way it is, I can't get the filters off to really check out the glass. Even if I could get them off, I wouldn't trust the lens to be able to focus and operate properly. The camera body itself is ok, thank goodness. And I did finally just get a replacement, but this time, I got the Nikon 12-24mm. I should have just gone with that one to begin with, since the Tokina had some issues (chromatic aberration being the worst) that I had to fight a lot. But, I guess it's good that the cheaper Tokina got smashed, and not the more expensive Nikon.

The whole ordeal could have been prevented if I'd have checked a bit better on the stability of the tripod. While I had my hands on the camera, it was fine, but its center of gravity was forward enough that once I let go, gravity was allowed to do its thing. So, kids, learn from me and check your tripods.

This is the last photograph that lens made:

Bow River Through Broken Glass, Banff National Park, July 2015

Luckily, I had my Nikon 24-120mm lens, so I wasn't shut down from making photographs with a real camera, instead of finishing the trip with my phone's camera. Unfortunately, that lens was still in the hotel room. And, years ago dust got into the focus mechanism, so it won't autofocus, but it works, and it got me by for the rest of the trip.

Tree Roots Exposed by High Water, Bow River, Banff National Park, July 2015

Lake Louise, Banff National Park, July 2015

Aquaduct, Louise Creek, Lake Louise, Banff National Park, July 2015

Johnston Creek, Banff National Park, July 2015

Johnston Falls, Banff National Park, July 2015

Johnston Canyon, Banff National Park, July 2015

Waterton Lakes National Park

January 8, 2016

Cameron Falls, Waterton Lakes National Park, July 2015

Blakiston Creek, Waterton Lakes National Park, July 2015

Glacier National Park

January 8, 2016

Well, it's been almost six months since Gina and I got married, and it's been awesome! I've meant to post these photographs I made while we honeymooned in Glacier National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park, and Banff National Park for, well, almost six months. But, blogging hasn't been a huge priority...

Because I'm publishing a lot of photographs, I'll make three separate posts for each Park.

Anyway, on with the photographs:

Boat Dock at Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park, July 2015

McDonald Falls, McDonald Creek, Glacier National Park, July 2015

McDonald Creek, Glacier National Park, July 2015

Cedars, Trail of the Cedars Nature Trail, Glacier National Park, July 2015

Avalanche Gorge, Glacier National Park, July 2015

Trail of the Cedars, Glacier National Park, July 2015

Bird Woman Falls, McDonald Creek, Glacier National Park, July 2015

Mayor'sPond

June 6, 2015

And now for something completely different...

June 4, 2015

Okay, different may not be the best word. Maybe unexpected is better.

I don't typically post things from my personal life on here. Sure, I share experiences and thoughts from hikes and fishing outings, but I've mostly been a closed book when it comes to what's going on in my everyday life (partly because my everyday life is pretty mundane). But this particular thing is big and important enough that I thought I needed to share it.

On that note, welcome to a glimpse of my personal life.

I probably threw a lot of people for a loop when, on April 28, I posted on Facebook and Instagram that I was engaged. Not many people even knew I was dating anyone.

So, how did it all happen?

Back in September or October I decided to check out an app called Tinder. I'd heard about it before, and I'd always looked upon it with no small amount of disdain. For you who don't know what Tinder is, it is a dating app for smartphones that was originally created with the "one night stand" or the "hook up" in mind. Once you've created a profile, which is done by pulling info from your Facebook account, you can specify a few parameters for the kind of person you want to meet, as well as a proximity. From there, you're presented with other users (just a photo, really) that match those parameters. If you like a person, you can swipe right, or left if you don't like them. It can all be pretty superficial, and shallow, but, you can click through a person's profile and read their short bio and look at additional photos if they have any. If you like a person who has also liked you, you're matched with them, and after that, the two can message each other. If you don't like a person, they're never any the wiser, as they don't get any sort of notification that someone has swiped left on their profile.

Eventually the app became a legitimate dating tool for more than just the "one night stands". So, one evening I was bored and decided I'd give the app a look. I installed it, and set up a profile, and started swiping. For the sake of brevity, I'll say that nothing happened for months. Well, nothing serious. I was matched up with a few girls here and there, but nothing ever turned out from it. It didn't take long for me to lose a lot of interest in the service, but I'd still check in every week and a half to two weeks.

Now fast forward to February 15. I had just finished getting ready for church, and sat down on my couch to kill a few minutes before I left, and decided to just check Tinder, since it'd been about two weeks or more since my last check in. I went through a few profiles (swiping left) and then happened upon a certain girl named Gina that I thought was pretty. I never really liked to just swipe right—or left, for that matter—without reading their bio first. It just felt like I was giving the person a bit of a fighting chance if I read about them before I liked or rejected them. Anyways...I saw this girl, and wanted to learn more, so I clicked on her profile. She said she liked to hike! And then I looked through her other photos, and really thought she was pretty! And, she was close by! So, I swiped right. But, as was so often the case with so many other "right swipes" I didn't expect anything to come of it. But to my surprise we were immediately matched! Now, this wasn't the first time that had happened. I'd swiped right and been immediately matched before, and I'd send the girl a message right away, but I'd never hear back. So, I almost didn't message this newest match, but I just knew I needed to message her immediately. So I did. I never really thought I was good at the whole self-introduction, icebreaker sort of thing, but I had to message this girl. So I wrote some message about where she liked to hike. And then I went to church. At this point, I can't remember if she messaged me back while I was at church or shortly after I got home, but we spent the rest of the day messaging each other back and forth. It turned out that she was from Brigham City, but she was living in Idaho Falls and she was down visiting family. As the day progressed, and the end of it approached, I knew I had to find a way to meet this girl. The following day was President's Day, and I knew a lot of people had the day off (I didn't), so I asked about setting up a date for after work in Brigham, and she accepted.

I got to the restaurant at 5:30 exactly, and texted Gina to tell her I was there. But I didn't hear back from her. I kept scanning the parking lot as I sat in my car for a girl sitting in her car, but couldn't see anyone. After about 5 minutes of waiting, I decided to just go in and see if she was there. And she was. And she was even prettier in real life than she was in her pictures. We got seated, and then started talking. And talking. And talking some more. I was almost annoyed that I actually had to eat, and not talk with her. In fact, I only ate half my meal and said I was full just so I could talk with her more. She still had to drive up to Idaho Falls that night, so I had intended on it being a sort of short date...however, almost two and half hours later, I knew I very reluctantly needed to let her get on the road. So, we said goodbye and drove away. And like a stupid chicken, I let her go without even mentioning a second date! I knew I wanted to see her again, but was too scared to bring up or ask about a second date. Luckily, though, about half-way through Sardine Canyon on my way back to Logan I got a text from her thanking me for dinner. And there was my window of opportunity. I told her she was welcome and asked if she wanted to do it again some time. And she said yes!

Just after we knew for sure we wanted to get married.

To keep a long story short, we went on that second date. And then a third... And then a fourth... Things just felt so natural and right with Gina. Before long we knew marriage was on the table. On April 11, we went for a hike up Kelly Canyon. We were hoping to start at a different point than we did. There was still some snow on the road, so we had to just start right at the ski resort and go from there. Let me tell you now, this girl can hike. I like to keep a fast pace, but I think she could keep a faster one. So we walked along, trying not to slip on the snow, when there was a good clear opening off to the side of the road, and we decided to take a breather there. As we rested and hugged each other, I told her "my mind's made up. I want to marry you." And she replied "sounds good!" And then we realized what had just happened. I didn't mean for that to be the proposal, but it sort of was. Unofficially.

Just after we got engaged for real, but before it started raining.

Once we got back into town, we went an shopped around for rings. We didn't find any that we absolutely loved, but I at least got an idea of what she liked. Thanks to Pinterest and Etsy, I got some good inspiration for designing a ring, and got it ordered the following Monday, and it was finished a week later. On April 23, Gina came down to Logan, and we decided to go for a hike up Green Canyon. It was cloudy, and it looked like it was going to rain any second. We started up the trail (with a shiny new engagement ring in my pocket) at our usual quick pace, all the while scanning for a nice secluded spot for me to pop the question. We finally came to a good turning around point, and we started to head back, but we didn't even take one step before I pulled her close and kissed her, then told her I had something to ask her. I fished the ring out of my pocket, got down on my knee and asked her to marry me. And she said yes!

Things only seem crazy when I look at a calendar, and see how little time has elapsed. But, like I said before, things have just felt so right every step of the way with Gina. The Lord knew when we needed to meet and He knew we needed to be with each other for Eternity, and I can't wait to start a new life with her. She inspires me to be the very best man I can be, and I love her absolutely.

Thanks to my sister(-in-law) Hailey for our engagement photos!

Spring Hollow

February 22, 2015

Obsession

June 11, 2014

A O, River!

June 10, 2014

Get the Gear

June 7, 2014

departures

Once started as a blog to document my explorations and "departures" from my normal photographic stylings and wanderings, "Departures" now documents my explorations in the world I live in. No longer is "Departures" only about photographic and artistic endeavors, but about adventure, investigation, and even from time to time philosophic ramblings of a restless mind.