Hello after a long silence of few updates on what is supposed to be my official site on this series of tubes, also known as the internet...
I guess, like most people, I was distracted by easier forms of communication, like social media, and did a lot of updating there but none here.
It is sad to be honest, because my life has never been more perfect but didnt share much with who actually ever googled my name versus were directed to me via some absurd and ever changing algorithim. Anyway, life is sweet for a multitude of reasons which I will now update you on...
First, Last summer, after a long roadtrip to Colorado and Utah, I decided that I needed to depart the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor to settle back out west and find a more forever home. Thankfully, I was able to transition my old UofM team to new leadership and find a job that is a literal perfect fit for my skills and interests and I couldnt be more relieved to have pulled off one of my careers largest magic tricks to date: How to leave one job and somehow find another that is better in every possible way, better and more empathetic leadership, better work/life balance, and doing all of it without crying or losing my mind even once. Magic does exist in this world... :) UofM and Ann Arbor were great to/for me but that time needed to end as there was a lot of culture change due to significant brain drain and I missed the mountains... I am thankful I was able to do so. Life is now truly exciting and it is the adventure I have always dreamed it could be. (Photo below of the iconic ‘Delicate Arch’ in Arches NP, Moab, UT, taken obviously by me on the afforementioned trip. It has been shot a zillion times by people but think this is kind of a unique shot of it with the rain and shadows)
Second, my new position here in Bellingham is incredible and I am very thankful to be here and to be working with the brilliant and kind people at Western Washington University. I am truly excited by the possibilities of my position and living here in this beautiful place. It really is a unique university and town. (Photo of me on campus after being interviewed last November)
Third, I deactivated all of my social media and pages which may lead to a significant drop in engagement, sales, and commissions but I think it will lead to a much more focused and balanced life. When you unpack this whole “life sharing” thing that is monetized by billion dollar companies, it does sort of seem quite strange, right? Including when said companies are selling your data to anyone and making everyone miserable constantly with all of the endless posturing and fakery that people can do on there by obfuscating info, filters, etc. Its kind of sad we are now here to be honest. It reminds me of all of those social media CEO’s that dont let their own families and kids have social media. I feel like the world hasnt thought about that little nugget of information enough. I look to bands like Boards of Canada who never tweet photos of their breakfasts and havent released a single second of music in almost a decade and are still incredibly relevant in culture. They dont sacrifice their life to sell anything. They let their label do that work. I bet their lives are incredible and much simpler because of walking away from the temptation of sharing so much about ones life through a smartphone camera instead of capturing it in their minds. Maybe I am stretching a bit, but something tells me in a few hundred years we will look back at the nacency of the internet and social media and say “Wow! Remember how screwed up all of that made society! I’m glad I live in a world where that can’t happen now!” ((Or it will be even more saturated into daily life and I will be happy I turned into tree food centuries before) (Random photo included that I would have shared on social media but now take such images just for my fam and I)
Fourth, I recently returned from a life changing academic program to South America, namely regions of Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. I shot 23,000 images there so you will see a lot of content from that part of the world at some point down the line in some format. I will say this though: Some of the images I shot there are some of my favorites of my entire career. More on that soon. I did get very sick and lost almost ten pounds in the Amazon Basin but I snorkled with sealife a week later that made up for it. (Heres a photo of me looking like I finally self actualized into the photographer I always knew I was, on the Napo River, Ecuador)
Fifth, and most importantly, life is perfect and I found the love of my life and will spend the rest of my days on earth with this perfect human being.
Her name is Elise and we have been friends for over a decade but became fully intwined in each others existences and have merged our lives into one. And wow, what a life it is. Elise is the most incredible person you will ever have the honor of meeting and I really, truly can’t believe my luck that I will get to spend my entire life in the presence of such a wonderful, creative, and loving human. She is grace, color, smiles, and lightness. We have three cats, have a small airport nearby that can get us anywhere, and live in a simple, small house and are looking to buy one to establish some roots. We go climbing, walking around, and have picnics by the seaside. I love Elise with all of my heart and truly have never been happier, more centered, fufilled, and am so so loved. She, on a daily basis, makes me a better human and a better artist. Nothing will ever bring me down now that our lives are together. Our cats even get along too, albiet some hissing at each other here and there. (Photo taken last weekend of my beautiful Elise in front of the wonderfuly imposing Koma Kulshan aka Mt. Baker. We will climb that and many other things together someday)
❤️♾️❤️
And here are the gato beans bonding over dinner... (Monkii, Skittle aka Squid, Marty)
Anyway, that is all the news thats fit to print. Look for more updates soon. Thanks for reading and thanks for checking in in a way that feels a bit more nuaced and appreciated than the ways we passively became accustom to. Life is better this way I think.
Peace, Love, Mountains.
S.
08/10/21
Hello! I thought it would be a prudent move to finally update my old demo reel.
So, here is the newest version. As usual, it is all over the place in terms of content, but hey, thats what they hire me for.
Oh, also... I won an Emmy. Photo below. :)
12/24/20
Hello World. This is my new website. I will be updating this more in the future and my hope is to have short but interesting content in this space. My first attempt at this will be a very short story and a photograph...
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‘Ain’t no scoundrels, jus doller makins rounder.’ Duard slurred out as he lifted the sweat soaked, bloody brim to meet the approach of the clean Visitors advance. ‘You should probable scoot fore Tempests back.’
The Visitor looked down then quickly up and around tracking something fast and predator like. Diversions. Old fiction. ‘I hear that what smart does but ain’t what smart does today yaknow? Aright. No messin’ he fuck you up so get.’
What was that up there? Up that hill Duard thought.
‘Look over yer shoulder.’ The visitor said cleanly like the butcher he knew he was.
Duard Cahill. Father of none or nine or death but nothing no more. One shot rang loud around the valley. The Visitor holstered and kept ambling past the now crooked and slumped figure that now would be a feast for small and large. Six legged. Eight. Winged. Have at him. The burned air of Mexican fields one or two ranges away wafted northeast. The old sands and dry branches crack under rotted soles of boots bought in Tulsa five seasons past due.
‘Cactuss. You look like a spinster, wavin bein all misabehavin.’
Visitor rang out a handkerchief of sweat into his mouth. Keep walking.
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Photo from Tucson, AZ. Winter, 2019. Infrared 35mm - hand developed.
