A

YEAR

IN THE

CROSSFIRE

For the past two years I have spent my winters with a cross on my back. Ski Patrolling; a small niche not just skiing-not just medical profession that certainly is also not for the faint of heart. And it has in fact stolen mine on the off season of my photography work. Being a whole new world for someone who grew up nowhere near snow, this facet of my life has opened up new doors, new skills, and a new life path to connect with people far beyond city limits.

These are a few personal images I took last year while also rekindling my love for 120 film.

Welcome to the work that I am so proud of (equally if not more perhaps…) than any work I’ve done for brands. Here are the images of my story. These images are my adventures, my worlds, my friends, and my heart all captured in the art I love the most: images. Enjoy.

The first time I stepped foot at the rim of the Smith Rock valley I felt as if the sun’s rays were illuminating me for the first time. It was so warm and so simply beautiful; I could feel how special it was. A standalone mecca in the East, walking down that steep rippled pavement my partner gave me an in depth history lesson of how this place came to be. Alan Watts vital discovery in the 70’s, the birth of Chain Reaction, Monkey Face and many more. I believe it is vital to know the story of a place that will very likely (if you are a climber of the heart) change your own story. It was early in the morning on a chilly February weekend, bundling on the layers as we stomped down to the river’s edge. The only other person walking alongside us, an older gentleman and a stranger. He quietly says : “your history lesson is spot on…I haven’t heard many people tell it right.” We start to chat and walk alongside one another. “ what did you say your name was?" my partner concluded with at the bridge’s split trail.

“Oh I’m Alan…”

The Red River Gorge lives fiercely in many climbers hearts. And in many photographers all consuming eyes it demands constant attention. For me it takes up a large spot in both aspects of my life because it captured me in both ways from the moment I stepped into the PMRP.

Even after my ride home from Chattanooga bailed on me, even when two weeks before my trip south I was so ill I had to be hospitalized, even though there was no definitive reason to go out of my way to hitch a ride north to Kentucky, I never ceased feeling I had to go to the Red. I didn’t know it at the time but it was a step that would lead me down many roads in my career and in my personal life. I made friendships I hold dearly to this day, forged in the Miguels parking lot as I am sure many other climbers before me. I experienced the rainy days, the bowling nights, climbing in not so perfect conditions and loving it all the same. These pictures were taken for my friends. To show them what I see: people I care for and an experience so wildly perfect and imperfect: all in one.

THE SEND

A simple moment that is often missed. Of course it is a moment that does very little to encapsulate all of the chalk, sweat, frustration, almosts, and cursing. Below is a series of images putting together the send of Stone Fort’s classic V7 Deception by a friend Danny. All it is is a simple series of moves but put together we get something conclusive and something excitingly wholesome.