If you’ve been following me on Instagram lately, you’ve probably seen a new and different type of work coming from me in the recent months. While this series of images is still growing rapidly, I feel that now is a good time to share the beginnings and what I’ve created so far. Many of you know that I’ve photographed the plains of Colorado for, well, about as long as I’ve been photographing anything. It’s always been one of my favorite areas for fresh subject matter, solitude, and a unique look on the landscape. The fact that I live right there gives me the chance to revisit scenes over and over and really work every subject as much as possible.
“Sunset Rails” - Colorado, January 2019
Often when shooting near home on the prairie, my focus has been on views that look as rural as possible. Open grasslands, lone fences, and vistas that stretch into the horizon. Lately I’ve been taking all of that local experience into play but working on the small towns, buildings, and the things that I find to be changing rapidly as population booms. History is being reworked at a break-neck pace with the influx of people and money, and I’ve watched first hand as old homesteads come down to make way for the new. I’m not implying that change is a bad thing, but it’s created an urgency to get out there and capture everything - and right now.
“Homestead Sunset” - Colorado, February 2019
This has had me wandering around a lot more lately; revisiting old scenes and finding new ones, but all with a different sense of purpose than in the past. I’ve also been working with a different color palette than you may be used to, focusing on using just one film type (Kodak Portra 160) for a sense of uniformity. This film is known for it’s soft and smooth colors and isn’t necessarily made for landscapes, but I’m finding the way it renders the early morning hues to be downright beautiful. You’ll notice that for the images in this blog post I’m also including the full bleed of the film borders. This isn’t to say that I’ll be printing them this way, but I think it helps to show the effort that’s gone into the precise compositions and helps make these scenes feel more tangible when viewed on a screen.
“Elevator Crossing” - Kansas, February 2019
At this point, I don’t want to say too many words about these images as I’m still deep in the process of creating. I’ll let the photos do the talking for now and come back later to revisit the ideas. During this stage where I’m still shooting nearly every day, it’s hard to say what will be done with the images once the collection grows. For now this is just an update so you don’t have to worry that I fell off the face of the earth this winter! Scroll down to see what I’ve started with so far, and please leave a comment to let me know your thoughts. Prints are available with any of these images.
“Texaco Twilight” - Colorado, February 2019
“Windmill Homestead” - Colorado, January 2019
“Windmill IV” - Colorado, January 2019
“Platte Valley Co-Op” Colorado, December 2018
“Elevator Tires” - Colorado, February 2019
“Sunrise Rails” - Colorado, February 2019
“Five Rivers” - Colorado, February 2019
“Ag-town Sunrise” - Colorado, February 2019
“Grainyard Dawn” - Kansas, February 2019
“Elevator Moonset” - Colorado, February 2019
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this content, perhaps you might also like my ebook “Film in a Digital Age.” Its 180 pages packed with knowledge and dive deep into all sorts of topics to help you master your film technique.