I woke up with clouds in my head and upon opening my eyes I saw them, all of them. I saw them through my window sweeping by at an extraordinary speed as if they too have overslept and were behind with their earthly schedule.

“Get moving, let’s get this day started,” they whispered softly yet with sternness (as clouds sometimes do) as they quickly passed by.

“Ha! I replied, why should I? It seems like you’re doing a great job all by yourself. I should rather sleep if you don’t mind”

But alas, I am a photographer and I must chase the light.

…I did not fall back asleep after all.

I am,
The Urban Mountaineer

As photographer I have so much to learn. I know this will take time but I will learn and continue to do so as long as I have a camera to shoot. It is my deepest desire and passion to go well beyond just taking a picture; it is to capture truth, beauty and energy in a moment no matter the subject that might go unnoticed and slip away forever being unseen and known.

As a photographer I don’t want to merely present a picture; I want to tell a story, I want to share a beautiful image-driven story and evoke a feeling by those who view it. As a photographer I know my art is never complete until someone views and feels something about it.

And while I might occasionally stumble on exposure, miscalculate depth of field or miss my mark on lighting please know that with every image I share I have completely put myself into it with the best intentions of sharing something not just beautiful but meaningful as well for those interested in viewing my work.

Peace from Missoula…

I am,
The Urban Mountaineer

It’s Memorial Day and today I hang my American flag.  I hang my 13 year-old flag that’s very worn; the colors are faded and it bares many holes.  I worry for a moment if my neighbors think I’m cheap or disrespectful for hanging such a tired old flag but that moment quickly passes because I really don’t care.  This old flag that I hang year after year means more to me than just stars and stripes or a symbol that I too have much gratitude for all of our vets who have so selflessly and bravely fought for the freedom and safety of our country and others.

I continue to hang this flag year after year in honor of a friend and brave soldier I used to know.

I continue to hang it year after year for a friend who came over with his wife on September 11, 2001 to share in the grief our county was struck with on that very day.  And that flag I hang year after year regardless of its condition is the very same flag I ordered with my friends the day after 911.

I continue to hang this flag year after year in honor of my friend who was so inspired by the devastation on 911 he eventually reenlisted into the military.

I continue to hang this flag year after year in honor of my friend and brave soldier who, was so passionate about humanity he ended up in Afghanistan.

I hang this tired, old and worn out flag year after year in honor of my friend and brave soldier who never came home.

I hang this flag year after year in honor of  Sgt. Jon Stiles.

I know this flag will eventually be no more but as long as it’s willing to hang on proudly I will continue to hang it…year after year.

I am,
The Urban Mountaineer

My baby then…

This recent Mother’s day my daughter and I decided to chill on the couch and watch some movies.  We started to watch a movie about a stay-home mom of two children.  She desperately tried to weave in a career of blogging among all of the overly dramatized daily chaotic tasks of tending to the her children. I say overly dramatized not because I think raising children is easy, I say it because she forgot she was wearing pajamas while running out the door to take the kiddos to school.   This doesn’t happen in real life, I don’t care how busy things are, it just doesn’t happen. Continue reading →

Saturday morning rolls around and I wanted to sleep in.  Not that I really know what sleeping in feels like.  Quite honestly I can’t remember the last time I slept in.  I’m sure I have, I just can’t remember when.

I’m mentally exhausted and desperately in need of a cocktail-on-the-beach kind of vacation.  Reality says though, I’m waking up in my home not on a beach.  So I convince my eyes to slowly open and observe the four walls of an interior room sans sand, surf and umbrella drink.  In doing this I realize I have absolutely no excuse to be so leisurely.  You simply can’t be lazy unless of course you have an umbrella drink in your hand. Continue reading →

I recently received a letter in the mail.  Not some commercial printed for the masses kind of letter, a real letter.  A letter written by a person…someone I knew.  I received a handcrafted letter written specifically for me.  I’ll even go as far to share that not only was this letter hand written, it was written on regular ol’ lined notepad paper. Continue reading →