Living one shutter at a time
There’s magic in every sunrise. The aesthetic beauty of light bending and reflecting through layers of gaseous atmosphere paints with ever-shifting brush strokes of reds and purples. Each shutter captures differing images of this short-lived, quickly changing, and tricky to capture light. It feels as though time slows as each breath becomes sweeter than the next. I get lost in these slow, peaceful moonlit moments of solitude. Read more
Setting up our campervan, the smell of BBQ was undeniable; the seductive scent of giant pits carefully preparing chosen cuts of meat. Meats slowly cooked into submission, seasoned to perfection, and smothered in homemade super-secret sauces. In the South BBQ is an art-form, a near-religion, and all preparations were being made to usher us into heaven. Read more
No chance of rain in the forecast, a “mild” 102 degree Southern Summer weekend, what to do? The woods are too overgrown, and due to recent flooding there are no accessible sandbars on our favorite kayaking rivers….. Hum. We live an hour from the beach! Read more
I long to see people experience nature, not as a theme park, but as a sanctuary. To gaze upon the intertwined intricate cycles of it’s terrain, and to see their place within its balance. To sit near a campfire lost in the infinite shimmering lights of a night sky, a reminder of how tiny and finite we are. Yet to be equally aware of our potential to do beautiful and amazing things. Read more
Paddling across the Sabine River, I couldn’t escape the feeling I had forgotten something important. One of those nagging feelings in the back of your mind which sort of makes your stomach turn, but you don’t know why. Shoving this down I looked back at times to check on Lauren paddling 20 or so yards back. I was raised on these waters, what could I have possibly forgotten? Pushing my paddle under the washed out bank I hoped if there were a nesting alligator it would choose the paddle over my leg. Read more
Cutting through a carpet of water plants, yet having them close in as if to hide your path is somewhat unnerving. However, the balance and beauty of this place assures its visitor that respect will be respected. To one who knows the rules, Read more
So how did I start backpacking, kayaking, rock climbing, camping, caving, etc.. The short answer, my Dad. As a kid I struggled with Dyslexia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Asthma, add in very poor vision / depth perception, and you can imagine how much fun I had at school. At my lowest points my dad would pack my gear, check me out of class, and take me camping . Say what you will, but I learned more on those trips then I did watching Sesame Street in a Special Education department. Why did the cookie monster never swallow even the smallest morsel of cookie? Was he cursed to fiend for cookies like a crack addict, devour them voraciously, yet never be nourished? A Sesame Street version of Tantalus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantalus Read more
As a novice photographing manually forces me to slow down and be more aware of the world around me. I get lost in the moment just before the shutter opens, a millisecond in which all my attention is focused on a single object. Read more
I felt the arid heat of this terrain drawing vitality from us as it’s splendor encouraged exploration. The sun lived in this valley, against its rays my pale ginger skin stood no chance. If I removed my shirt at midday the radiance of my pale glow could blind everyone, at-least for the two minutes before I burst into flames. Read more
A snake in the tent, a random blizzard, or attracting the undesired attention of a large predatory cat, and yes all of this has happened to me. By its nature Adventure requires random variables which surprise and at times frighten us. I am a meticulous planner, an obsessive details driven, often over-prepared person. Yet somehow Adventure always finds me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Read more
Little Adventures 