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All tagged Poetry
Some adventures come from spontaneous ideas, and this was one of them. Kristin and I, both having grown up near Lake Tahoe, realized that despite our roots, we had never spent a full day kayaking its iconic waters. So, we woke up at 3:30 a.m. with a bold plan: hit three stunning kayaking spots in a single day—Emerald Bay, Bonsai Rock, and Zephyr Cove.
We headed to places like Baja and Joshua Tree to surf, rock climb, high-line, and engage with the natural world instead of feeding into the addition of consumerism. We traded new clothes for dirty ones that smelled of sweat from a fun day out in the sun. There wasn’t a whole lot of computer time, but, boy oh boy, was it stressful as we learned to place our lives in cams and nuts while climbing cracks.
Bridalveil Falls in Yosemite Valley is the second most popular waterfall in Yosemite National Park. Before plummeting the 620 feet, the water travels 10 miles from Ostrander Lake located in the high country. Many recognize Bridalveil Falls from photographs of Tunnel View.
This nature poem is a thank you to mother nature. As a little boy, I would run around the “woods” of my backyard naked letting my imagination run free. In many ways, my work allows me to continue this adventure through my imagination (not so much the naked part), and explore the natural beauty of our planet. I am unsure why, but any chance I get to see this planet, I take it. From mountains to the ocean, I crave the beauty of our planet and attempt to share it with you all.
A gorgeous photo-essay combined with a guiding haikus tell the journey to a remote Alaskan Cabin. Seeking mental clarity and space to think, the characters in this photo essay reset their lives living off the grid. Chopping fire wood for heat, drinking creek water, and without electricity, this cabin in the Alaskan woods is a perfect place for a digital detox from our modern world.
When I sat down to write this poem, I imagined an older women living alone, off the grind, in a cabin. The cabin I had stayed at. This nature poem was an attempt at showcasing the mental battle of being alone in the woods, mixed with the reality of curiousity. I wanted the poem to have a sense of fun, yet be serious. Attempt a small commentary about living off the land and a slower pace life.
The childhood delight of oven baked cookies, warm, and aromatic. As if you could taste the melted sugar in the air that would soon be dipped in milk. Breath in those cookies and taste them, imagine your childhood home, and close your eyes. Now imagine…
Let go, allow yourself to flow and see where your feet, your thoughts, your life can take you. Free yourself of social normalities and let go. Allow yourself the space to think without criticism and fear of judgement. Be alone, be with others, that does is choice. Walk away, turn off your phone, or plug directly into the internet. What matters most is your ability to move beyond marketers grasp and free yourself from the entrapments holding you down, so you can be who you wish to be.
While hiking around Lake Sabrina—just outside of the city of Bishop, CA— in the winter, I sat down to watch the sun poke out from behind the range in the distance. As the wind picked up, I hunkered behind a rock to write this poem. Lake Sabrina is a summer destination that keeps holds water for Los Angeles. In this poem, I review an internal dialogue I have with myself about the human race.
As a photographer, my main focus is to chase light. A mentor of mine described photographers as the “Seekers of Light”. While I must admit, the majority of my work is focused more on the moment than light, I will say that my favorite photographs are those with unique light. Regardless, the purpose of the poem is to dive into what makes us human, keeping in mind the cycles of life. Hoping to highlight the daily as well as yearly cycles we all encounter, putting into perspective the one, hopefully long, cycle of life we are all living.
It's almost impossible to neglect the reality that most of us are wasting our lives. Taking notes and accounting of my interactions with others, I look at and observe how we waste our lives. Often these observations make me as questions like; Why do we do this? Why do we allow ourselves to live an unhappy life?
Chaos, uncertainty, fear. Most would say,
“You’re lost.”
However, I am just now beginning to find myself.
This world is like a blur, moving so quickly, it is hard to focus.
Click here, double-tap that, swipe left… no right…
Hang up the phone and begin looking beneath your nose.
This poem was written with the intention of encouraging others to step outside of thier comfort zone and start engaging with their dreams. I use the motif of watching your dreams go by, season after season, from a window. This idea is pulled from a quote I learned while I was working as an outdoor educator (teaching backpacking, rock climbing, etc.) for Outward Bound that goes like this: “A ship in harbor is safe, but that isn’t what a ship is for.”
Warming Rays
Warming rays beat down through the crystal-like sky,
upon the everlasting grassy plain, where you lay.
Exposed, your delicate body rests in the thick green grass
shimmering from the reflection off the beads of sweat
which trickle down your brow, across your chest, and down your elegant stomach.
Absorbing the rays of heat, like a butterfly preparing for flight,
your beauty radiates. Blinding all those
who look at your body, and not at you.
For your true beauty lays below the skin,
In your mind which creates and destroys
everlasting thoughts of love, harmony, and solidarity.
