K

K

Saturday, May 19, 2012

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.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

College


This post will be my longest, it contains a lot of photos and a little bit of writing. This post portrays memories from my freshman year at WWU thus far. Please take 5-10 minutes to READ the text and view the photos, as the writing will help give a background.


My last post's title was Growth, and I now realize how aptly named it was. I was sitting with a friend revising my blog when I got freaked out, realizing I shouldn't have started this project without more experience. We talked about it and he brought up a great point. There is a lot I have to learn, so this blog should be a work in progress. I now know that I have so much to improve on before my photography is at the level that I want it to be. This blog will act as a reference for the development of my photography over the next few years as well as help me to share my experiences with friends and followers.
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College... College has been the best time of my life so far, I wouldn't trade the world for the friends I've made and the experiences I've had. I have learned so much about myself, how I want to live my life and how much learning I still have to do.

Fall

My school year began with a 5 day backpacking trip in the Chuckanuts, a wilderness area south of Bellingham. It got my year started off right, I was able to make some lasting connections with some real down-to-earth people within the Outdoor Center at Western. The trip had a profound impact on me, so much so that next year I will be guiding the same trip I participated in. Through the experience i found the importance of nature in my life. Nature slows down your mind and lets you reconnect with yourself, with others, and with mother nature.

Eric Messerchmidt, one of my trip leaders and a great mentor 

This photo made it on the cover of Western's AS (associated students) Review




Matt Birnbaum, another trip leader/badass


Soon after the backpacking trip actual school started, it was a sharp contrast to the peace and serenity of nature. The ensuing weeks involved too much partying and not enough school or sleep. It was a whirlwind of raging hormones and newfound freedom. I made my core group of friends and I couldn’t have asked for a better time, but I found out that partying like that isn’t conducive for productivity. Unfortunately, my grades reflected how much I fun I was having.











Winter

The winter quarter was absolutely insane, Mt. Baker went off this year with 800+ inches of snowfall. I meet a ton of gnarly shredders that all had every other day off of school so we could ski...talk about a party. I won’t soon forget the countless cliff drops and car rides to and from Baker, great memories with great friends. I felt like we never went to school. It was pretty dangerous; every other night seemed like a Friday then we would wake up to sooooo much fresh WHITE POWDA!!! I picked it up in school while shredding upwards of 50 days this winter. I’m super stoked on my college choice.


Here is the powder edit from our season:




Thanks to Kevin Curran for the edit!



During the winter I also went home for the holidays. It was good to get home. I always knew that Sandpoint was a spectacular place but you really realize it once your gone. Getting away made me appreciate where I was raised, it's one of the most breathtaking places I've ever been.

Road trip home with Jake Parrish, a great guy and an amazing photographer.
http://jakeparrishphotography.tumblr.com/
Home

Winter in Bellingham was temperate. We received snow in town once or twice but the rest of the time it was pretty rainy. We really cherish the sunny days here in Bellingham, everyone comes out when the sun breaks through the clouds. 

The Ridge at WWU








Check this out fullscreen, look at the detail





Spring

I had an amazing spring break, Connor Griesemer, Cameron Russel and I road tripped all the way from Bellingham to Dana Point, Ca. (South of LA). We were low on funds and it wasn't until the day of that we decided to take off. The trip had no agenda besides getting to Dana Point and back, it was probably the best plan we could have come up with. It led to impromptu wer camping along with some California hospitality from friends and family. The lack of planning showed us some amazing places. The California coast and the Redwoods are two of the most awe-inspiring places I've ever seen:

Carmel, Ca

Santa Barbara, Ca

Dana Point, Ca

San Clemente, Ca

San Clemente, Ca
Santa Cruz, Ca

Abandoned WWII lookout bunker

Sketchy Walk down from the Bunker

The majestic Redwoods

Avenue of the Giants, Subaru mobbin

Redwoods
Redwoods
(View this full screen)

Onward

Spring is finally showing in Bellingham and I am really settling in. Spring has been a time for reflection, learning and branching out. I am taking 18 credits, which is fun but hard. All my classes are super interesting but I have a lot less time for a social life.


I landed a position as a photographer on The Planet, a quarterly environmental science magazine at Western. The Planet has forced me to shoot differently than I usually would, really giving me a newfound love for photography. This quarter has made me become more independent and a lot more responsible. I am finally starting to grow up.


The people here in Bellingham are some of the most genuine, down to earth people I have met. I can't wait to spend the next three years with them in this magical place. The subjects in all of these photos are my dear friends, people that I have met and in less than a year I can call my family. I think thats pretty cool.









A more structured approach for my photography is needed. Hopefully this blog will allow me to build upon the skills I already have as well as help me to define my own style. I will do my best to make every post better than the last from here on out, but it won't happen without your comments and critiques. Please shoot me a comment so I can get some feedback!