The Yellow Lake Fire burned over 30,000 acres in Wasatch and Duchesne County. Evacuation orders were in effect to small towns nearby. Many people on standby.

The winds played a huge role in the fast spread of flames originally, but by the time we were escorted into the fire line, smoke smoldered in the air as light rain fell.

Due to the resources and homes in the area, extra air support was called in to fight the fire. Planes and helicopters could be seen and heard around us. Helicopters picking up water from nearby streams and dumping it nearby.

A local volunteer firefighter from the nearby town of Tabiona told me, the community has many memories in these mountains and it’s hard to watch it burn.

Finally behind the lens again. I took a few months off of taking photos. Needed some time to refocus on my priorities and reconnect with myself. A lot of that involved getting quiet. Getting observant to the things and people around me.

In a world where we are constantly going, reaching for convenience and subconscious consumption of media and material things it’s hard to step away. In fact I’ve realized it’s hard to even survive and operate in a society that is conditioned to convenience and mass messaging.

Deleting social media used to be a strong-willed personal decision to me. Now it’s a sacrifice of missing an advertised event, a career opportunity, and for me as a journalist, the latest current events. A connection with a new friend.

Friendship has been so important to me more than ever. I realize it’s a main pillar of my life. Through moving to Salt Lake City and making new friends, my definition of love has changed. Relationships and connection is an essential in life as from the day we are born it takes a community to raise us. A community to survive. And a community to take pause and share presence with one another.

Through creating my home, my community I met Brea. Grateful for the opportunity to work with my friend and yoga teacher in this photoshoot. More collaborations to come!

Artwork can be purchased HERE.

Shoot.

My camera decided to die on me. I think I used it through its life span. It’s been with me on Air Force bases, ski hills, roadtrips across the US and finally decided to tap out in Morocco of all places.

The plan was to document my trip on video. I took some photos at our riad before it died. And I was able to get some video clips here and there on Maddie’s camera. So here is a very limited collection of photos and video of only a small slice of my trip to Morocco.

When someone asked me what my favorite part about Morocco was, I said the people.

Surrounded by makers and doers. Surrounded by real food, straight from farm to market. Inspiring artists and concept stores. (Shoutout to my favorite Moro Marrakech) The young women who shared with us their big dreams. Our hosts who made sure we safe and taken care of. Those who spoke to us in French and me going along with it with a smile.

Instead of writing a big long sappy post, I will say I left Morocco feeling inspired and ready to go back for more.

Madison and I had the greatest time shooting these photos. It was already memory for the books before we even started. A snowstorm had just hit Salt Lake City. Between navigating that and one stuck car later we were ready to shoot, even though we ran a little late. (Sorry Madi).

Whatever will be, will be. The lyrics of the song Que Sara just echoed in my mind. A song I would commonly practice yoga at my local studio to in high school. Being present and navigating uncertainty is really an art form in itself and I owe it to yoga to teach me that. I’m grateful I get to share my love of yoga and photography with a great friend. I would recommend Madi to anyone who needs help navigating yoga and the benefits that come along with it!

Super excited about these photos I got to take of my friend Ian. We drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon and we didn’t have to go far to get a good view. We worked with the setting sun to get lots of good shots. The overcast skies really helped even out the lighting and create a moody faded look. I couldn’t resist some creativity and double exposures here!

A collection of film taken in Park City, Salt Lake City and Zion National Park, along with some relevant thoughts.

Currently reading through Brené Brown’s Altas of the Heart.

I’ve been traveling through all the emotions she dissects in the book. Vulnerability, excitement, boredom, hopelessness. Nostalgia was one that caught me by surprise. I always pictured nostalgia as a romantic, reminiscent word. One that takes us back to relive sweet memories we once were so present with. But Brené defines nostalgia as a yearning for the way things used to be in our often idealized and self-protected version of the past. (p. 79)

Nostalgia is talked about as being deceptive and contradictory. I would like to know Brené’s thoughts on reminisce then. (Brené if you’re reading this, what is the difference?)

I found myself caught in a deep loop of nostalgia, reminisce whatever you want to call it, about a year ago. I don’t think it was the healthy kind though. I think it made me set up standards for people and experiences that were unrealistic and unlikely to be experienced in the same way again. Therefore, setting these expectations had a big chance of a let down in the future. And fun fact… it did. I still do this to myself today. So caught up in the past, I wasn’t present.

Okay, but here is where I have experienced a love and playfulness. Call it a positive remembrance of who I am. I hiked to a mountain lake this fall and was instantly brought back to memories of my childhood. I literally felt like I was a kid again, hiking through aspen trees in Tahoe, California. I realized for years I haven’t reflected on who I was because I was so focused on creating a successful future. A success I subconsciously told myself I haven’t experienced before.

Broke out my notes and just had to jot this down:

Things don’t always move in forward motions.

We are not meant to constantly climb stairs.

We are in constant flow and adjustments of remembering who we are and what matters to us.

If we are focusing too much on the future, we are forgetting what really matters to us and what parts of us have already been created.

Those parts are meant to be building blocks of who we really are.

These thoughts of nostalgia and deceptiveness are present with me now as I navigate new and unfortunately, the same kind of challenges I’ve faced in life before. (We’re still learning and growing over here.)

Through life experiences, our thoughts change, our memories are shaped in light of new lessons and information, but I still think we should never forget those present feelings we had at the time. Those feelings that the body stores within us to protect us or remind us the truth of who we are.

Ironically, these thoughts coincide with me posting these photos I captured on film. These photos are good memories, with good friends. These photos hold good conversation, laughter and health.

I wouldn’t call these photos nostalgic or reminiscent. Just pure joy.

When I’m older, maybe their meaning will change as my wisdom and experience changes too.

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Bruneau Sand Dunes is a quiet place just outside of Boise that fosters the child within us. Surrounded by piles of sand, it’s almost as if you are on a different planet. Maddie and I decided to embrace our time with a picnic filled with Trader Joes snacks and a pizza from The Wylder. We sat on a cozy blanket watching the sun go down and bugs crawl by. Grateful for these times when I can break out the camera and have a good bite in a beautiful place with my best friend.