Action

Lately I've been slacking, but I have decided to swing things around and pick myself up. Slacking doesn't make for happiness, at least for me.

I have now been trying much harder in school, and life in general. It feels good to do well. Progressing...

What I have been slacking on the most is my photography, which really breaks my balls. I seem to get stagnant sometimes and have trouble finding the motivation to shoot. I am trying to change that. I am deciding that I will start pushing myself to become a better photographer.

The Act of Action

Yesterday I joined up with Andrew Eckels, Tim Black, Patrick Longley, and local Baker legend 'Woods' to do some backcountry skiing.

We left Bellingham at 6:15 a.m. and drove as close as we could to Hadley Glacier. Hiking four miles through the snow, in a the forest which was transitioning beautifully between fall and winter, was an amazing way to start of the day.

Snow!

White Powda

The Crew from left to right: Patrick Longley, Andrew Ackles, Tim Black, Woods, I'm not pictured

Approaching

The ski bum, the legend

Contrast

Transitions

Eckels

Tim and Patrick scoping the zone

Hadley Glacier, where we ended up skiing, was covered with a foot to two feet of snow depending on wind direction. The snow made for some amazing skiing, but intensive hiking. We got two laps in and the skiing was incredible. We never even touched the hardpack of the glacier, just fresh white powder!

Woods getting his shred on

Tim lapping that white powda!

I am pretty out of shape, so the hiking took a toll on me. By the time we started heading back to the car I was already exhausted. The four mile trek proved to be rigorous, but a good wake up call for what is to come. We got to the car just as it got dark, completing our 10 hour, nine mile day in the beautiful Mt. Baker Wilderness. The adventure was the hardest, but most accomplishing thing I have done in months. It was refreshing to get out and shoot again, hopefully this will be the beginning of the end of my stagnation.

It was inspiring to get out into the land that I live so near to, and to do it with such energetic backcountrymen made the experience very influential. I have a feeling that this will be the first of many incredible backcountry adventures this year.

Escape

Escape [ih-skeyp] - To slip or get away, as from confinement or restraint; gain or regain liberty


Everyone needs to escape, and I feel we don't do it enough.

Escaping from the confines of daily life is beneficial for the mind, body, and soul. It gives you time to step back and reflect, to reform or change perspectives on events and actions within our lives, and to set our sites on goals that are important to us. We have to set aside time for our escape.

Escape sometimes involves spending time alone. Being alone can be good, let your mind wander and it will begin to think freely. Our thoughts are constantly controlled by our external environment, giving us little time to think independently. Escaping allows time to reconnect with yourself. It allows you to tweak or twist the paths in life path to follow the one that you deem correct. It gives you the chance to reflect on the past and grow from your experiences. I enjoy my escape time, it tends to keep me grounded.

Life, for me, has been incredibly hectic for the past month. School came to a close, right after my last final I packed up everything from my dorm room to head for home. The monotonous I-90 drive across Washington provided some much needed alone time to decompress from my chaotic freshman year of college. It gave me time to reflect on the unforgettable times and life lessons learned throughout the year. I made friendships that will last a lifetime and learned more about myself than any year prior.

My time at home came and went in a blink of an eye. I only had a few days to reconnect with my family and friends, but I made them count. I was able to spend some quality time with my Grandparents in Spokane, which helped me place a few missing pieces to my life:

Grandma, Diana Moberly

Grandpa, Merle Moberly

Rufus

While I was in Spokane I also broke away from my usual style of photography by taking some abstracts around downtown:

Parkade creature

I left home refreshed and open minded

Six days after my arrival in Sandpoint, I set off for Ashland, Oregon, where I will be working this summer as a wildland firefighter. Ashland has been liberating. It is the most eclectic place I have ever been. The people here are unique and they all have something to offer. My new friends have been incredibly open and accepting, I feel as if I have known them for years. When I wasn't in my wildfire certification course I was hiking around and getting to know my new home and friends:

Pilot Rock, Ashland, Oregon

Mt. Shasta from Pilot Rock

The gang on Pilot Rock

Mt. Shasta

On Thursday I made the trip up to central Washington by my lonesome to pick up my car and attend to some business. The trip turned out to be a great escape for me. I was finally alone, lost in my thoughts and the music pumping through my speakers....


Central Washington and Oregon have some spectacular scenery. The drive reminded me why I live in the Northwest, it is home to the most beautiful places I have ever seen:

Columbia River, Cape Horn

US Highway 14

The Gorge

Mt. Adams

Mt. Hood

Mt. Adams

North central Oregon

Mt. Hood, Or

Mt. Hood, Or

Mt. Hood, Or

Crater Lake, Or

Flow

Life happens when you go with the flow.

This last weekend a few friends and I made a trip down to southern Washington/northern Oregon for some fun. We shredded Mt. Hood and got into some other shenanigans along the way. While on the trip a friend of a friend was sooooo generous and let me take photos with his Nikon D3 and some really nice lenses. The shots turned out sick, the optics on the lenses made for incredible detail. It was eye opening shooting with that nice of a camera, I really need to upgrade.

I am starting to get my eye back. I have been shooting consistantly lately and it is doing wonders for my photography, I am noticing things from a photographer perspective again. I have been finding interesting lighting and seeing a lot more subtleties that I had come to overlook due to a lack of shooting.

Our trip was awesome. I got to know my friends a lot better and heard some cool stories along the way.

We stayed in Drew Swisher's home town of Camas, Wa. Camas was a little piece of paradise along Columbia River. The Swisher's treated us to a sunset boat ride up the Gorge, where we pulled to the side of the river to send some sand dunes.

Hood was epic, buttery rails and lofty booters. The parks were flawless and the weather was even better. We got to shred two days for $60 because the second day was free if you had a season pass somewhere else, which worked out nicely. It was good getting airborn again. I hadn't hit a park jump all year so it was  a nice change of pace. (some photos by Drew Swisher)

Kevin Curran

Buddy Chapman

Yours truly

Bare ass backflips kinda hurt...

The trip was 60 hours of nonstop fun, we barley slept and being able to shooting with that nice camera made everything better. It is awesome to know that there are such generous people out there in the world, thank you John for letting me use your set up!

Ski season is probably over for me, now on to the end of school/summer. I am excited for this summer but  amazed that this school year is almost over. It will be one for the memory bank.

Summer is going to be interesting. I am going to be fighting wildfires while stationed in Ashland, Oregon, as well as photo apprenticing under Patrick Orton. I feel like this summer will be quite an experience. It will be like nothing I have done before, I am excited to see how it plays out.