Joey's Guitar

Joey Burns of Calexico and his guitar. From Calexico's performance at the Urban Lounge, SLC, August 10, 2011.

Self-Conscious Waterfall

Also found at LDS Earth Stewardship

I took this picture at BYU's south campus stream and trail, a landscaping/restoration project completed in April 2011. It was apparently quite a project, and thus somewhat amusingly became an Event.

I admit, it looks nice. But there's something rather (to use my brother's description) self-conscious about this project. My picture doesn't show the stream, or the trail, but shows one of five waterfalls along the stream and trail. It also shows how badly BYU's landscaping team wants to create a natural scene. But by wanting a natural look that also imbues each waterfall with "its own personality" (Bruce Maw, BYU Campus Landscape Architect) they have constructed a natural look that is so calculated as to become unnatural. It's basically an outdoor set piece, where nature is a prop used primarily for our personal pleasure, rather than an autonomous group of systems that each have their own patterns of behavior.

I appreciate having a place for students to "get away from it all" and enjoy some nature - I want that, too. It's important to have gardens and responsibly integrate nature into the urban space. But I get uncomfortable when part of the motivation seems to be to construct a superficial image of beauty and prosperity that values nature solely for what it can do for us, something to be tamed and controlled. BYU sits at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, where trails aplenty take you out of the city and human-constructed natural landscapes into much more vibrant, rejuvenating and adventurous territory. I worry that creating such docile and predictable spaces hinders us from taking nature on its own terms, where it is not simply a submissive prop. We think we know how best to handle the environment, which is hardly true considering the strain Utah Valley, and BYU, put on our desert environment.

The south campus stream and trail is a nice gesture, but it's incomplete. For my part, the south campus stream and trail still lacks a genuine personality, and instead displays a self-conscious and somewhat superficial personality I too often find at the university.

Turn on the Bright Lights

Cascade

On flickr

Another shot from way back that seemed appropriate after this post. I'm still very fond of this one.

Two from Tennyson

On flickr

On flickr

It takes me a while to get to some things. These two pictures are personal favorites of mine, yet I had done nothing with them until now. Maybe I wanted them to myself for a while. But after two and a half years I think it's time to let them out.

Though I bet you can find them in here somewhere.

Happy New Year

From First Beach, La Push, WA

Tired of Christmas

Holiday Cheer

Power Surge

Electrical Storm

This was fun.

The Gentle Hum of Anxiety

These shots were taken during my wilderness writing cross-country ski tour in the Uintas. This is us in the yurt on the first night.

"If I close my eyes I see your face and I'm not without you"

"It's not dark yet, but it's gettin there."

"If I go to sleep I'll never wake, I'll no longer exist."

Six from our Abandoned House Shoot

I went on a shoot with Tiff and Michael a few weeks ago at this abandoned house and got a few shots I was rather pleased with. I already posted one shot, but wanted to share six more. Some of these I've already shared on flickr, but I felt like posting them here as well - like having them collected together would somehow mean something different from them individually. I was the only one who went in the abandoned house; Tiff and Michael were content with staying outside. After being in there I understand - it was kinda creepy in there. Later we found an old Dodge car that had been put out to pasture. Michael got some nice ones of it. All in all, a successful day.

Spit Flash

I have no idea what I was going for here. This is what happens when you have a few spare minutes and no direction.

But it appears that my flash spat all over the mirror.

I should clean that up.

Night Watch

Tonight Riku was getting really excited about a neighborhood cat who wandered into our yard. He'd scratch the front room window while meowing softly, then rush, bushy-tailed, upstairs to look out Mom's window - this elevated position apparently provides a necessary view of the invader. After confirming from the upstairs window that this other cat is in fact creeping into our yard, Riku would run back down to the front room. Then back upstairs. This continued until Mom went outside and shooed the intruder out of our yard.

Tonight's scene reminded me of this picture, taken last summer. When I shot this, I had Todd Hido's pictures on my mind. My picture isn't remotely as awesome as his stuff, which is fine. I'm still pleased with this picture.

Women of Rock

From the Cohab Canyon hike in Capitol Reef National Park.

One Night in Capitol Reef

I spent three days in Capitol Reef for my wilderness writing class. I don't think it was nearly long enough.

A Broken Frame

Pictures at Stonehenge

My good friend Heather Walker got me looking at my Stonehenge pictures again. It turns out that I'm quite fond of many of the pictures I took there. So I thought I'd highlight a few here. I don't think that my thin England journal contains any thoughts about Stonehenge, which I think is a shame. Now, almost a year and a half later, I'm still not sure what I'd say if I were to write about visiting Stonehenge. For now, the pictures are my journal entry, and they are probably better than any words I would have, or will write. If anyone who has visited Stonehenge has a thought or two about their experience, feel free to share it, if you like.

Where do we go from here?

This picture was an accident. In my haste to snap a picture of these deer, I forgot to switch my settings. But I rather like the picture. I don't know if it's a good picture, but I do like it.

This is from on top of Hurricane Ridge, Washington. I've been visiting the Washington Peninsula for years, and this was the first time I'd been on Hurricane Ridge. I wanna go back.

Berlin: a book, a review, and some pictures.

Berlin by Stefan Dauth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book is a wonderful collection of black and white photographs of my favorite city. I felt that this book captured the multitude of personalities, tones, histories, and cultures that make Berlin the fascinating city that it is and has been for at least the last century. Major city landmarks like Berliner Dom, Brandenburger Tor, the Reichstag, and such are all here, but there are also the great pictures of the alley way at Hackesche Hoefe (where you'll always find great graffiti art) and the street book market in from of the Humboldt Universitaet. You also get a good look at some of the people and fashion that populates the city. I like that the while you have the glamorous shots from down at Potsdamer Platz, you also have the less glamorous shots of anarchy symbols painted on walls and peeling, shredded poster ads pasted on the walls advertising concerts, protests and whatever else. A good collection that uses nice camera work to give an interesting portrait of a very vibrant, historical, and modern city.

View all my reviews

Looking at Dauth's photographs got me all nostalgic for Berlin and I felt like adding some of my own pictures that I took last fall when I was there doing a research project.

Renovations in the Alley at Hackesche Hoefe

Observing the Dead

Modern Times

Fall in the City