SHELTER COVE, CALIFORNIA

BLACK DOG ON THE LOST COAST // Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. EF24-70mm ƒ4L IS USM. ISO 100. 24 mm. 0 ev. ƒ7.1. 1/125 s.

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We drove from San Francisco to Shelter Cove to see if we wanted to move there. I experienced physiological manifestations of mental illness in the form of elevated heart rate and shortness of breath. This photograph was taken after I had successfully beaten those symptoms into submission by running through the forest and the whole town with Ramona. We saw a bear shit and I felt better and Ramona had lots of fun running behind me formed up like a wolf. She got tired eventually and we went back to where we were staying to drink some water and we drove the truck back down to the beach so I could take a swim.

While we were in Shelter Cove a man at the general store told me how his bobcat broke and his portable milling business was on hold. A lady told me that the seaside air cured her asthma and that you should never go swimming here or you will die and I said don’t worry I’m a professional and the ocean is the least of my problems which she did not like but it’s true and swimming in the ocean was a brilliant part of our stay.

There was an airstrip, a house by the beach road with drawn curtains and “fuck rik” painted on the outside of the window. There was small fish processing station. There was a man who had an artistic garden and chickens who I complimented. There was lots of boats, some broken, some not, one with a statue of a shark driving it through someone’s front lawn.

The way the coastal range, covered in dark green forest slants into the grey rocks of the beach is quite magnificent. I could live there, but right now I don’t want to leave where I am. I feel that I’m being uprooted by force and cast to the wind. I hear the voices of people that scorn me for having these feelings, and thinking these thoughts. I am a failure, and an embarrassment and now I have the audacity to write about it.

I am writing into the void though dumbass. And the standards at which these accusations are rendered are not my own, any more than I am anything more or less than some mysterious, happenstance confluence of matter and energy. Now, finally the radio broadcasts, which pleases God. Does God desire an editor. I suspect so, but trust that position will be filled at the appropriate time and plac.e

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

KITCHEN THAT LOOKS LIKE A SPACESHIP PHOTOGRAPHED WITH POOR UNDERSTANDING OF LIGHT AND FOCUS // Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.    EF24-70mm ƒ4L IS USM.    ISO 1600.    24 mm.    0 ev.    ƒ4.5.   1/800 s.

BEDROOM ON A NORMAL DAY ON THE EVE OF A STRANGE PERIOD IN LIFE //  EOS 5D Mark IV.    EF24-70mm ƒ4L IS USM.    ISO 6400.     24 mm.    0 ev.    ƒ4.5.     1/800 s.

A WELL EXECUTED PHOTOGRAPH OF RAMONA RESTING  //  EOS 5D Mark IV.    EF24-70mm ƒ4L IS USM.    ISO 6400.    24 mm.      0 0 ev.    ƒ4.5.    1/800 s.

This was a time in life wherein I was stuck between worlds. I wanted to finish art projects but felt there was not enough time to do so. The house was relatively organized. The dog was healthy. The plants were healthy. I was not. I smoked cigarettes. I felt as if something was always somehow missing, and that whatever I did was never enough. There was a constant feeling of time running out and the world closing in around us. And yet the photographs are so still and quiet. Was it the loneliness that was getting us down, or rather, the feeling of being cloistered and constrained by signing up for agreements subconsciously that could never be fulfilled?

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

BLACK DOG PHOTOGRAPHED LOUNGING IN AFTERNOON FEET WITH PHOTOGRAPHER’S FEET IN THE FOREGROUND //. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. EF24-70mm ƒ4L IS USM. ISO 100. 24 mm. 0 ev. ƒ6.3. 1/80 s

Ramona is very cooperative with having her picture taken. She likes to participate in what ever I am doing. She prefers outdoor activities such as looking for animals and running through tall grass but is fairly supportive of my artistic career.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

POORLY LIT PHOTOGRAPH OF OLD FRIENDS REUNITING // Canon EOS 5D Mark IV EF24-70mm ƒ4L IS USM ISO 640 24 mm 0 ev ƒ4.5 1/30 s

I used to have parties. I haven’t for a long time. Bob Thayer and Assateague played music at this one, and Jen Kullbeck read poetry. It was a pleasant evening and everyone acted nice and normal.

PRAIRIE CREEK REDWOODS STATE PARK, CALIFORNIA

FERNS FOCUSED ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE FRAME // Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM ISO 320 24 mm 0 ev ƒ/4 1/30 s

FERNS WALL, CREEK IN FOREGROUND // Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM ISO 500 24 mm 0 ev ƒ/4 1/30 s

FERNS, STREAM + PEBBLES // Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM ISO 1000 26 mm 0 ev ƒ/4 1/30 s

HAPPY WOMAN, PENSIVE DOG // Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM ISO 100 70 mm 0 ev ƒ/5 1/125 s

WEARY BLACK DOG RESTING // Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM ISO 100 53 mm 0 ev ƒ/4 1/50 s

DOG + WOMAN PLAY ON GOLD BLUFFS BEACH // Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM ISO 100 24 mm 0 ev ƒ/10 1/200 s

A photographer documents a foggy, summer afternoon on the northern coast of California. The primary subjects are green ferns, a black dog, and a woman wearing orange sunglasses and a matching hat.

MATTOLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA

WOMAN AND DOG FOLLOW PHOTOGRAPHER DOWN A LONG AND EMPTY BEACH

BLACK DOG CATCHING UP TO HUMAN COMPANIONS

BLACK DOG ENJOYING FREEDOM AND BEING AWAY FROM THE CITY

WOMAN COMMUNICATING WITH INTELLIGENT BLACK DOG ON A WINDY BEACH IN SUMMER

THE PACIFIC OCEAN, A COASTAL MOUNTAIN, AND WILDFLOWERS

ELEPHANT SEALS + SHIPWRECK

WOMAN TAKES CHILDLIKE JOY IN OBSERVING WILDLIFE

ELEPHANT SEALS COMMUNICATE WITH PHOTOGRAPHER

PHOTOGRAPHER CLIMBS TO THE TOP OF ABANDONED LIGHTHOUSE AND USES PHOTOGRAPHY AND POETRY SKILLS

WOMAN AND DOG CROSS STREAM AND FRONT YARD OF THE KIND OF PLACE THE PHOTOGRAPHER DREAMS OF LIVING

DOG PLEADS TO NOT BE PLACED BACK IN HARNESS AND/OR EXPRESSES LOVE TO WOMAN

WOMAN AND DOG RETURN TO CAMPSITE AFTER A VERY LONG WALK

SHADOWS, TENT AND BRIGHT SUNSHINE OF EARLY EVENING IN HIGH SUMMER AS DINNER IS PREPARED

BLACK DOG FEELS AT HOME

These photographs were taken on the second stop of a camping / surfing trip we took. We hiked from the campsite along the Mattole river to a 100 year old lighthouse seven miles down the beach. We saw elephant seals. They made loud noises and scared our dog. I climbed to the top of the light house and it was spooky, but then I used talents to capture some beauty. There were not very many people and it felt like a wild place which was comforting. We belong out here more often.