Eastern Oregon, March 2024.
From the video The gift of the desert.
82,623 miles
in photographs
oregon
Mountain drive
in photographs
Oregon, July 2016.
The long way home
in photographs
Oregon, March 2024.
Path on Mars
in photographs
Oregon, March 2024.
From the video The gift of the desert.
Distant storm
in photographs
Oregon, March 2024.
From the video The gift of the desert.
Life and death in the desert
in photographs
Oregon, March 2024.
From the video The gift of the desert.
The roof of Smith Rock
in photographs
Oregon, March 2024.
From the video The gift of the desert.
John Day
in photographs
Oregon, March 2024.
From the video The gift of the desert.
Big skies
in photographs
Oregon, March 2024.
From the video The gift of the desert.
Martian landscape
in photographs
Central Oregon, March 2024.
From the video The gift of the desert.
Desert Tree
in photographs
Central Oregon, March 2024.
From the video The gift of the desert.
The gift of the desert
in photographs
Central Oregon, March 2024.
From the video The gift of the desert.
The gift of the desert
in journal
Weather and chance lead me to Central Oregon, the next destination on my road trip across the American West. But this leg of the journey wasn't going to be as smooth as I was hoping for.
There, far away from everything and everyone, I fight the elements and an even more powerful enemy: my inner demons. I doubt myself, my photography, and even my purpose. An accident that resulted in a broken lens didn't make things any better; neither did a very cluttered mind after spending several days trapped inside the car.
The isolation of the desert was another unpleasant layer, but as the days went by, and with no other option but to embrace it, it became exactly the medicine I needed. It was the gift of the desert.
Trees in a sea of clouds
in photographs
Oregon, March 2024.
From the video Snow, rain and fallen trees in the Redwoods.
Scars of a road trip
in journal
I’ve talked about the scars of war before. How cameras and lenses are meant to be used rather than left on a shelf.
This belief of mine was put to the test during my latest road trip across the West. I got snow, heavy rain, intense winds, and storms. I shot along the coast, in the rainforest, in the high desert, amidst the red landscapes of Utah, and on sand dunes. It was exhilarating at times, frustrating at others.
Twice, I dropped my cameras.
The first incident happened at the Painted Hills in Oregon. My video camera (a7iv) took a bad fall while I was recording myself on a windy late afternoon. I was rushing everything and failed to properly secure the tripod.
My heart skipped a few beats when I turned around and saw the destruction. I feared I’d lost the camera. Fortunately, it was “just” the 17-28mm lens that broke on the mount.
Now, that lens lives in my a7iv as I use it all the time for my videos. So hastily, I purchased another copy (a used one) on eBay. It turns out that was another bad, rushed decision on my part. Because once I got home a few days later, I managed to put the “broken” lens back together, and it seems to work just fine! So now, I own two 17-28mm lenses.
That wasn’t the end of my gear related accidents, though. A couple of weeks later, in the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, I dropped my stills camera in the sand.
This was a rare accident. I don’t remember what I was doing with my video camera, but I thought that holding the a7riv between my legs was a good idea. I often do it without any trouble. However, this was a very, very windy day. I lost a bit of balance at some point and I instinctively tried to correct myself by shifting one of my legs, which made the camera fall into the sand. Thankfully, these cameras are well sealed and nothing bad happened. I cleaned it with the air blower, and that was it.
We are all one road trip older now -- my cameras and I. They bear new scars, and I probably grew some new gray hairs. We stumbled, we fell, but we stood back up. We are prepared for the next adventure. Unsure if any wiser than before, but certainly still strong enough.
Old truck
in photographs
Oregon, March 2024.
From the video This is where I fell in love with Black and White photography.
This is where I fell in love with Black and White photography
in journal
A trip back in time, to the place where I fell in love with Black and White photography. The location where I made the first monochrome images... intentionally monochrome, at least. And I haven't looked back since.
House in the forest
in photographs
Oregon, October 2020.
Direction
in photographs
Oregon, June 2021.
From the video The gift of photography.
Ecola
in photographs
Ecola State Park, Oregon. October 2020.