Meet 'n' Greet

Welcome to my blog! I’ve been trying to think of something witty and profound to welcome you all with but, well, I’m not witty or profound! Instead, here are some words about photography:

“…why choose (why photograph) this object, this moment, rather than some other?”
--Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography

“My shutter opened, then closed. My journey began.” --Jim Brandenburg, Chased by Light: A 90-Day Journey

“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.” --Ansel Adams

“A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.” --Diane Arbus

“This microwave is for testing dry down, not for heating your food!” --handwritten note left on the ancient microwave in my college photo lab

Please check out my photography and comment as much or as little as you’d like. I plan on updating my blog weekly, so I hope you’ll visit again. Thanks!

Last summer, I created yet another project for myself -- wildflowers, close-up -- and this was the image that sold me on the idea. I took it in Albion Basin at Alta, Utah, my new favorite place to shoot. Alta is known for its skiing in winter, but in the summer, it is a haven for photographers and hikers. The basin fills with vivid wildflowers like this arnica, while the surrounding trails fill with khaki-ed hikers like me. My favorite trail is Sunset Peak via Catherine Pass, a relatively easy four-mile round trip. Once at the pass, a high ridge between Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons, hikers can view Lakes Catherine, Martha and Mary in Big Cottonwood. Sunset Peak offers a 360 degree view of the area. It's incredible, one of my favorite all-time hikes.

For five months in 1999, my husband and I worked in Yellowstone National Park and have since developed a wild obsession with the place. Its scenery, geology and spirit are unmatched anywhere in the world. We have since made five return trips, including one in 2001 for our wedding at Mammoth Hot Springs. On the most recent trip in 2003, I took 19 rolls of Tri-X 400 for my "Photographing the West" class in college. These are two of my favorites. This image was taken at the Bunsen Peak trailhead near Mammoth Hot Springs in Swan Lake Flat. The trail is an easy 2.5 miles to the peak, with its sweeping views of the Beartooth, Gallatin and Madison mountain ranges, as well as the tiny establishment of Mammoth Hot Springs, the town of Gardiner, Montana and Swan Lake Flat below.

The above image was taken at Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone's hottest geothermal area. This is a view of lunar-like Porcelain Basin.

In college, my first photo assignment was to construct and successfully use a pinhole camera. I made it out of a 20-year old cookie tin, lined it with electrical tape and put a piece of Ilford b/w RC paper inside and went to town. The most successful image was simple, blurry and vignetted -- a single pine tree surrounded by snow. I wish I knew where I put the one print I made of it. In contrast, the pinhole image pictured here was made with my Pentax ZX-7 on some random Fuji color film. Since this day, I haven't been able to get a decent pinhole image using the same method. I guess I just got lucky!

In this world of bigger and better and hustle and bustle, it's very easy to forget simplicity. I am constantly on the lookout for simplicity in my photography and enjoy the calm I feel when I find it. This image is one of those instances. I call it "Stalk."

This is one of my favorite photographs which, believe it or not, was made on color Fuji film. I love this image for its simple composition. Utah is oft times known for its stark beauty and I think this image defines that.

My favorite thing about this photo is the illumination behind the bell. I love the background much more than the bell.