Camping has always been a big part of my life, spending long winters as a kid (and hell, even now more so) daydreaming about spring coming and camping during the warm summer months. Hiking, exploring, swimming, sitting around that campfire with loved ones, friends… it feels like not much else in life can make me feel as alive. Lucky to live only a few hours drive from Jasper National Park, a special place in my life. Escaping the hustle and bustle of city life, instant this and instant that, it feels really good to connect with what really matters.
I spend a lot of time searching, looking… driving around trying to find new places to shoot. I love the exploration aspect, and I often find myself burning away endless hours just looking far outside the city. I love it. This particular time really stayed with me, as I entered this decaying barn, I found three horses guarding a small horse skeleton. We watched each other for ten minutes until I decided to give them their space back, and left.
A last minute trip down the Dave Thompson highway, near Crescent Falls, with a bunch of friends. Probably the most fun I’ve had in years. Big cookouts, swimming in freezing cold (but beautiful) lakes that we seemed to have to ourselves that trip, and long nights laughing and telling stories around the campfire. Can’t wait to go back.
New things, new people. One of my favourite aspects about being a photographer is meeting people who are passionate about what they do, the art they make and the life they live. I met Ryan while he was on tour with The Used, coming through Calgary and Edmonton of all places. Spent the afternoon walking around, taking photos and then went to the show later that night – it was a lot of fun.
For me photography is a lot like therapy, or at least I imagine it that way sometimes. A photo, or series of photos is first an idea, then a plan, then the work of taking the photo, getting there, using cameras, etc., then it’s waiting, developing, waiting, scanning, observing, judging… deciding, and finally overview. I try not to really think about those steps much, and truthfully it just feels organic now, there is tension there at times… was it good? Did it turn out? There can be fear, that nervous energy at times. It’s finally therapeutic when you’ve learned something, been let down, or perhaps pleasantly surprised… no matter what, it feels deeply introspective. After all, this is for me, really. You can spend so much time thinking, working and feeling your way through a photograph, and then it’s all over, all done. Start over, learn something new, grow, move on.
I wish I could say it’s always good, the truth is… it isn’t. I get stressed out, I get really fed up with myself, I go through periods of doubt and often feel distant, but I always seem to come back. It’s a messy world out there…