An exhibition: Fontenelle

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I've talked here and there in this blog about my on-going Fontenelle project. The project is a series of black-and-white photographs depicting Fontenelle Forest, a private nature reserve located in Bellevue, Nebraska that was founded in 1913. It's a documentation of a walk in the woods - landscapes and intricate details, changing seasons, and the process of getting to truly know a place.

Twenty images from Fontenelle will be on display at Fontenelle Forest's Nature Center beginning on Saturday, April 11th. The Nature Center is located at 1111 Bellevue Blvd North.

Visit fontenelleforest.org for more information.

First, a little back story to how all of this came to be...

I wandered onto Fontenelle Forest's flood plain on a chilly Saturday morning in early October, 2012 without much of a plan other than to get out of the house for a little while. The photographs and landscape immediately resonated with me and I began the task of exploring every single mile of trail in the reserve. By the next summer, the foundation of the project was firmly in place.

In a random twist of fate, I needed some volunteer hours for a class I was taking and received an email from Fontenelle Forest to its members looking for volunteers in July of 2013. Volunteering lead to an internship and a permanent communications position followed. I've now worked at the forest for over a year.

The result is a series of photographs that has become very personal to me in a lot of ways. 

As you may notice, the subject matter is very different from everything I've done to this point. This has been both exhilarating and terrifying for me. On one hand, I feel it's very important to push ones' self artistically rather than continue to just stagnate and keep reproducing the same thing for years. On the other, I feel as if I've established a very identifiable aesthetic that has grown with time, and that aesthetic does not necessarily lend itself to a large series of natural subjects. In the end, I've sided with growth and feel as if the challenge and experience of making Fontenelle has changed both me and my work for the better.

Planning and creating the exhibition has been very rewarding as well. I've been digitally printing black and white for the first time and really love the results. Everything has been done using archival materials, from the pigment inks and Hahnemuhle FineArt Baryta paper to the mat board and mounting materials. All photographs will be available in two sizes: 12x15" matted to 16x20" and 8x10" matted to 11x14" (smaller prints on Ilford paper). Pricing will be determined soon.

I'm excited to share this creation with the world and hope everyone gets a chance to see the exhibition. We'll have a small artist's reception in the coming week as well.

The first full day of Spring

Two photographs from a Saturday afternoon spent walking at Boyer Chute. While the whole area is still very different than it was before the 2011 flood, it's still one of my favorite places to get outside and stretch the legs a bit.

boyer2.jpg

State of the Artist: 2015

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As has become an annual tradition around these parts...

Grant, Iowa. 2015.

Looking back...

2014 was a very important year in my life. I married my amazing wife in October and spent much of the year acclimating myself to a new career. It was a year of growth and change, of new beginnings and developing ideas, and it seemed to pass almost before I fully realized it was even here. 

Photographically speaking, it was not my most productive year. I spent much of the second half preparing for a wedding and getting more involved in my job, and I struggled a bit with the concept of what to do next with my work. This struggle is a common issue for anyone in a creative endeavor, and I've found myself stuck many times over the almost-decade that I've been working on my various projects. In fact, the very mention of an "almost-decade" passing makes me wonder exactly what I've been up to all this time. It's not difficult to see some sort of progress in my photographs but I often feel like I've been standing far too still.

The answer to all of this artistic uncertainty? Work harder, continue to find inspiration, and find as much time as I possibly can to get out in the world and explore.

from Fontenelle. 2014.

Moving forward...

Two of my long-term projects are finished and ready to see the light of day. 

Fontenelle - This photographic exploration of Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, Nebraska will be exhibited this year at the Forest's Nature Center. I'm still toying with the idea of a book, but have not yet been satisfied with the black and white printing available at a more reasonable price. This is work that I'm very excited to share with everyone as it is such a big departure from everything I've worked on to this point. It's a project about a walk in the woods, exploring everything around, and finding something interesting in even the smallest details.

Untitled Loess Hills Project - I've decided that this Western Iowa project is now done, at least the photography part of it. Next up is to find a title and look for a way to exhibit as many of the images as possible. This is a black and white project that I've been working with off and on for quite a few years, wandering down nearly every road and into every town I can find.


I have three main goals for 2015: 

  • Exhibit more often. This begins with a few photographs from ninety-three on display at the Young Professionals Summit in Omaha on March 5.
  • Begin to look for new ways to fund both the making and exhibition of work.
  • Start something entirely new and finish at least one idea that I have been working on.


Thank you to everyone for your interest and support. I look forward to showing you more of what I've been working this year.

from Loess Hills. 2014.