Finding the Stallion in the Colt

This is Matt McDonald.

Taking in Water

Tintagel, England; Summer 2009

Joey's Guitar

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

Telefunken

Kräftig, oder?

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

"Was ist die Befindlichkeit des Landes?"

Potsdamer Platz, Berlin; summer 2008

One of those lucky moments. This picture still just charms me and it's probably my favorite picture from Berlin. I don't think we have to be city people to be fascinated by the city and urbanity. Berlin is without a doubt my favorite big city and I'm hoping for the chance to go back.

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.

Remembering London

Next month it'll be two years since I was in London. It would seem rather cliche to say that the time has flown by and I can't believe it has already been that long. I guess cliches are appropriate sometimes.

For college students, summer provides the often much needed opportunity to get away from university and visit various parts of the world, either to study, vacation, live, work, or just disappear. This summer is no exception and many of my friends are vacating Utah County to spend their time elsewhere - Matt, and Lauran & Dustin are studying in Cambridge; Kylie is already doing her study abroad in Senegal; Talia will be working in China; Marshall & Beth have moved to San Francisco; Bentley is back in the English countryside; there are others I'm forgetting at the moment, too. Me, I'm staying here and am happy to be here. There's enough to do right in Utah that I'm happy to stay here and relax, though I'll soon be off for the Washington Peninsula with the family for a week.

Seeing new and/or familiar places is really cool and I really value the opportunities I've had to travel as much as I have. With all that travel I often get nostalgic for the places I've visited and the experiences I had there. It's just that nostalgia that has me writing this post. I went back through my London pictures and was reminded of how great the city was, even if I preferred the English countryside to the big city. After spending several weeks traipsing across the English countryside for my study abroad, the ten days we spent in London was quite a change of pace and tone. London reminded me just how beautiful, even spiritual, the weeks prior to our stay in the city really were. Hiking the stormy and windy mountains of Scotland and northern England, wandering across the haunted and lonely moors, laying on the grass at Tintagel listening to the ocean as the moon reflected off the water, and watching the sun set from Tennyson Downs  are just a few memorable moments of my time in the English countryside.

But London brought its own joys and overall was a very enjoyable experience. Much fun was had playing ultimate frisbee in their parks with really crappy grass; seeing really sweet plays like Death and the King's Horsemen and Arcadia; visiting the very impressive museums (the Soviet propaganda room of the Tate Modern was particularly awesome); and buying cheap CDs from street vendors on Portobello Road, then wandering the streets listening to Parts & Labor's Receivers. London has a charm that is all its own. It really is a unique place to England and to the world. Like Berlin (my favorite big city), it has an intriguing tone that is both modern and ancient. There is history there, but it's a city that has not lost touch with modern society, containing both positive and negative aspects of our day and age. It's a rather frantic city, but, if you're looking, you'll find ample opportunity to slow down and relax. All in all it's a place that I have fond memories of. But when you visit London, be sure to take some time, or a lot of time, and head for the countryside.

I could continue, but I'd rather just show some pictures and be done writing. The pictures are more interesting anyway.

Enjoy your travels.

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.