“I’m seeking light, rediscovering myself in darkness..”

Winter 2020/2021 was my first winter sober in years; in my mid 20s, I began to drown in an alcohol addiction that almost killed me..trauma, an attempt on my own life, and my body starting to give out on me didn’t break my cycle.  I was resigned to what felt like an inevitable fate.

But on the morning of February 10, 2020, I finally broke through, and went all in on the seemingly impossible.  I’ve been sober ever since, and photography has been a huge reason why - it gives me hope, brings me to the present, and has had huge positive impacts on both my physical & mental health.

‘Book I - Expressions Of Presence’ is a collection of 20 aurora images from my first winter with a camera, and all images were shot in Juneau, Alaska.  Descriptions offer insight to my emotional presence during early recovery, as I chased aurora in the heart of the Tongass National Forest & continued with the biggest challenge of my life to date.

"Book I - Expressions Of Presence"

"Hope"

 “Clear.  Calm.  Flat, calm….not a soul in sight….a rare respite…

  To dream & hope, to hope & believe, to feel nothing outside of the current moment…I'm unable to grasp the scale of this beauty within the chaos, yet a smile is fitting.  

Click, pause….click, pause….set timer, sit back…click, pause…and smile…finally, a smile…  

Does anything that’s truly free actually labor?  

There’s no strain in seasons…or in the sky…or in these moments.  Catharsis.  Presence.  

A smile shouldn’t be straining or waning.  Not under this night; under this sky; a rare respite…a rare, yet sincere, feeling of hope overcomes.  

 *This* has got to be it.  *This* is presence.  *This* is hope.  It can be done.

#3 - Hope

What is the value?

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