Reminders of Home.

I travel a great deal for my “Day Job,” and as a result, I am in many different environments. I love the opportunities this gives me to experience a different place and to create images I could never create at home. The chance to stand in the desert and witness the grand cliffs rise from the desert floor. To witness the ocean crashing over grand shorelines and shaping the rocks and coastline of an entire continent is indeed a humbling experience. Standing in the shade and silence of an old-growth forest can fill a person with both a sense of insignificance and a deep appreciation. These are all experiences I have been lucky to have in my life, and I would not trade them for anything. 

Wth all this being said, all this travel also leaves me feeling lost at times. While it is amazing to experience all that the world has to offer, sometimes I just want to be home. This emotion leads me to photograph small things. Things that remind me of home. I live in Minnesota. So I look for things that remind me of Minnesota. This usually means leaves, trees, and water. It is the land of 10,000 lakes after all. I have at least 4 parks within 5 miles of my house with rivers or creeks running through them. Nothing reminds me of home more than a good stream with some rocks and trees in the mix. 

More often than not, this is what I seek out while working away from home. I go out looking for the rivers, streams, or creeks. A small glimpse of home, signs that maybe home is not so far away. Small places that can transport me to my own neighborhood, if only in my mind. It is through photography that I can both experience new places and stay connected to home.

While many people use their cameras as an excuse to travel to far-flung corners of the world, I use mine to transport myself home again.