* Field Trip

Here are a handful of favorites from our field trip day!


The same tree photographed about twenty minutes apart; before and after the snow.



Last bit of fall colors in the canyon.



Jane via 50 mm lens; Jane via 85 mm lens. F/2.8 aperture for both shots.



This is my favorite shot. Look at that snow in the canyon!



Little class, big mountain.



The master at work.

7. Typology of US Postcards

In 2006, I went on a road trip with my dad and younger sister across the country. My 14-year-old self set out to collect a postcard from every state we passed through - with a strict code of rules to follow. The postcard had to say the state name on the front. I had to choose the postcard whose image best represented what I saw and experienced in my time there. In 2009, I made another road trip out to school with my dad and continued to fill in the gaps of my postcard collection. Again in 2010, I made another cross-country road trip, this time with a roommate, and continued to collect.

Creating this typology was surprisingly personal, as it brought back many fond memories of driving with my dad. He has passed on to me a love of driving and of this beautiful country we live in. I hope that in the years to come, I can continue to fill in the gaps of my postcard typology.

A few favorites below.



On our way through South Dakota, we stopped at a pull-out area off the highway to take a break. My dad began a conversation with a woman there, who asked, "Are you heading to the Badlands?" We were not and did not even know what the Badlands were. "You have to see the Badlands" she said. She gave us directions and so we veered off our original course to see one of the most amazing, beautiful, alien-like landscapes in the United States. The Badlands left me awestruck - it is still one of the favorite places I have ever been today. My dad and I still have fond memories of the visit and gratitude for the random passerbyer who inspired the visit.



My family completed multiple drives up from Connecticut down to Florida for vacations to DisneyWorld. One of the "highlights" of the drive was always stopping at "South of the Border" between the borders of North and South Carolina. Billboards for the attraction plastered the highway for miles and miles to attract visitors. This postcard, no larger or sturdier than a 4X6 print from Walgreens is an amusingly accurate description of the cheap, run-down Little Mexico of South Carolina. You'll notice I had to write the title myself, too.



And this one just makes me smile. Those midwest states half-way through the cross-country drives could be a killer with their endless, flat fields and not much else.

* Ghosts

6. Marlow

My inspiration comes from Peter Marlow. He stood out among the Magnum photographers because he uses color film in a square crop. He photographs common scenes of life with few people and interesting, usually geometric compositions. I researched his intent as a photographer; what he said became the basis of my project.

"I'm fascinated by the idea of telling a story without much going on in the shot."

He has also described his photographs as "photographs [that] deal with a physical and personal landscape that is often over looked." He sees the "points of interest" around him that would usually go unnoticed. I applied this to my project by photographing eight simple scenes that don't seem to have any story going on, but actually they all do have a special story in common. As a nod to Marlow, I used a square crop and color format as well.

5. Getting Ready for a Hot Date

For my "process" assignment, I chose to depict getting ready for a hot date. It's a far more important process than getting ready for any other occasion and deserves some recognition. But then again, let's not take it all too seriously...

4. On The Dime

I found Jim, a campground host at Diamond Campground in the Diamond Fork Canyon east of Springville, Utah. His job requires him to live on-site at the rural campground from May to October. He, his wife, and dog have a humble campsite and trailer where they spend most of their summer days. Jim's wife works in Spanish Fork, too, because the campground host job only brings in minimum wage. Jim said sometimes on his day off, he proceeded to work up to ten hours a day, in need of the extra funds. The job is sometimes difficult, he said cleaning the bathrooms was by far his least favorite part of the work, but Jim takes great pride in running "his" campground in an orderly fashion. Above all else, he treasures the peace and solitude the canyon brings into his life.

Here is a small glimpse into the Diamond Campground and Jim's experiences there.

I asked Jim what he did at the campground. "Well, I mainly go around and make sure people pay the fee," he said with a laugh, "People are always messing up the campground and I make sure everything is order. I like having everything a certain way, my way, but that doesn't always happen."

Jim was slightly self-conscious when I asked to photograph his camp. "It's not much to look at," he said. Jim took the minimum wage job after being laid off. The work is hard and pay isn't much but he says, "You don't have to worry about any stress of the real world out here. It's a peaceful place."

Although he appeared rough on the exterior, it became apparent through our conversation that Jim had genuine care, concern, and worry for his campers. "It gets real cold at night sometimes," he explained, "And not everyone who comes out here is prepared. I worry about that."

"I've had a few times when a knock would come on my trailer door in the middle of the night. Accidents happen. Usually it's people hiking up to the hot springs not too far from here. They get wasted or drunk, that's when accidents happen. Not just teenagers, either, thirty-year-olds even. I get up in the middle of the night with these calls every once in a while."

I asked Jim what his favorite part of the job was. Without hesitation he replied, "Being up here surrounded by nature. It's a beautiful place and it's so peaceful. I'm older now so I don't go out and do hikes very much, but I love to sit and admire the place."

He continued, "It's nice to be secluded and away from the world." Internet service is not readily accessible and phone reception is sparse. Diamond Canyon is an off-shoot of the Route 6 Highway towards Price, Utah. Though only 40 minutes from Provo, it's a completely different environment. On a typical day for Jim, the only outside noise is the passing of the occasional car along the main road. Other than that, it's quiet. 

Jim also discussed some of the history of the Diamond Canyon area. "The name comes from a family name. 'Diamond' was a common name, like 'Jones' in the area and it was named after them. Funny thing is that for years a big family would come camping down here, their last name was Diamond, too. They never realized it, but they were camping in the place founded by their ancestors!"

"Up Wanrhode's Canyon, there's a series of hills up the road two miles that looks like a sleeping Indian. You can see one hill looking like a head, then the body over the next long hill" explained Jim. I was able to tell him my research, which discovered the name of Wanrhode Canyon in fact came from an Indian American who once lived and grazed cattle there. 

One week later, I returned to the canyon again. Diamond Campground's gates were closed with a "PARK CLOSED" sign overhead. Whether it is closed for the season or in connection to the government shutdown (perhaps both) is unclear. I realized that my visit to the campground and with Jim could not have been timed better, because within a week's time, the whole area became a different place with a different story.