Lensche and the snow

jeremy johnson was not only cool because his name combines those of my current and past photo editors and therefore it was incredibly easy to remember. he also took me up in his helicopter through the rising icy morning sun and into tiny monticello air strip to get gas. yes, and he searched for days for the guy who tried to kill his friend.

feature hunt before the cold plucked the last leaves off the trees.

spent the last weekend in moab, following the search for the guy who shot down park ranger brody young on friday. grand county sheriff jim nyland had to face us bi-daily and feed the media beast despite him often having not much new to say. now, almost a week later, there's still no man.

byu v usu. byu won.

“Nothing is ever the same as they said it was.”

Self Assigned.
We had an exhibit up in Park City a few weeks ago. Above is half a quote from Diane Arbus and we had 48 hours to come up with four photos to match it. We means Trent Nelson, Mike Terry, Erik Daenitz, Grayson West, Mike Friberg, Tyler Cobb and I.
The assignment was a refreshing departure from what I usually shoot and sort of pushed me to think different I guess. Maybe it just happened because I didn't have any other, better ideas. Anyway. This is what I came up with and because the photos look a little less obvious than what is usually posted on this blog, there's an explanation below each photo and in the end if you're interested.

life, chaos, days fly by, my grandmothers' jewelry and dress and wisdom, it'll be over before we know it
self image, moving around and feeling my body, being happy and content but also obsessing over it
love, life with micha, our apartment, hopes that we'll stay together and fear that we won't
creativity, photography, letting the mind flow and stressing that it's not flowing well enough and that it's really only as creative as a rock and before long people will notice

The things I love most in life are also what I'm most concerned about.
From the outside they may seem exclusively positive, enviable even. I think as a society we do that. What we say about people is mostly what we can tell about them based on their outward appearance: they have money, a phd, a good job, are well-read, creative, a happy family, have tons of friends, and so on.

But I realize more and more that what I'm most attached to I am also incredibly tormented about, which is really hard at times. Photography is an example many of us can relate to. I don't know how many times I've been torn up and feeling terrible about my photos, doubtful, fake, and just ready to run away from it all. Anyway. I love it too. So that's why I stick with it.
The photos are trying to represent that chaos. They are collages from all the things I associate with a topic, stuck on top on each other in photoshop, voila.

girl love in ogden.

a show against bullying/homophobia/racism and anything along those lines put on at rose wagner that was so moving i had to hide behind my camera and stay busy so i wouldn't plop down on the ground and cry. one of those times when you leave and the world feels different somehow.

vet parade in ogden

oh hanging out...

it's been a while since i've just spent time with someone, trying to figure out who they were as much as looking for photos.
i could feel it in my bones rolling up to that family's house. it seems that seeing for me comes with having time to absorb, feeling thankful for being let into someone else's life for a while. three hours of having dinner and playing outside gave me a good dose of happiness. maybe a lot of the time we're looking for something extraordinary to document. but normality is so moving. we dream of heroes and award those who stand out. but people content with what they have teach me so much more. hanging out provides me that chance of seeing things for what they are, quietly, and celebrating them. it's a slideshow below

kitty!

picture this: tiny kitty teeth trying to eat your camera strap and clawing at your fingers. cute. meow. assignment on foster kitten almost had me bring some home. more than one, I mean. while I always feel awkward and slightly out of place around human babies, little animals make my heart explode with love immediately.

park city mayor dana williams and his buddy now run a guitar shop/coffe shop/hang out there. excuse me, but that's soooo park city...ha. awesome.

before they knew

tailgating before the utah - tcu game in which we got killed.

after

volleyball
one thing i admire about athletes is their ability to fight until the end. many times it doesn't matter and their team still loses. but every once in a while i've personally called a game but then the other team turns it around and wins. i don't think i would ever have that persistence and competitiveness in me. it's cool to watch though and it seems good teams don't give up until the clock stops running. i wonder if this makes sports so appealing: it's like life in a format your mind can actually grasp. sometimes it calls your game and you can't do a damn about it. but then sometimes - as in sports - you try harder and come back stronger.

before

volleyball

bison vol., uhm 4?

I've shot a lot of bison since moving to utah, it seems. two round-ups, vaccinations, ear piercings, calfs, bulls and lady bison, going wild, being calm...anyway. this time i rode in the roundup, which was awesome. frenchy, my 20+ year-old horse was a little sleepy at times but then i could let go completely and focus on shooting. he didn't go chasing after the bison. or away from them either. yes, so that was good.

too broke to go green

The Green Building Center, which focused on environmentally friendly and energy efficient building supplies, had to close because business dropped with the housing market. Owner Ashley Patterson poses for a portrait at the empty store in Salt Lake City, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010.