2026 05 20
Iām still wandering down a dozen different paths these days. In reality, things will continue to be a struggle until I commit to one path and really nail the thing into the ground with steel stakes and wooden crossbars. Only then will the grand landscapes of the beyond become an opportunity. Of course, I could continue to wander for the rest of my days and be perfectly happy with it, but I need to acknowledge the costs associated with such a decision. Not deciding is also a decision.
Thank you for listening to my inner monologue with myself.
2026 05 14
Lately, Iāve been stuck in time jail. All week Iāve been nonstop busy, yet seemingly have nothing to show for it. Thatās not true, of course. But the progress Iāve been making is all of the boring (to me) kind: organization, removal of clutter, cleaning up, inventory, etc. This entire year, really, is being prioritized to getting all areas of my life in order. As my default is to neglect the boring-but-necessary behind-the-scenes work, itās easy to start to feel like Iām not really accomplishing much lately. Walking in to a far cleaner studio, as I did this morning, itās nice to remind myself that the gains, while largely invisible, are building a base thatās necessary for me to move forward.
Anyway, back to organizingā¦
2026 05 11
Just a house today. A recent b/w iphone snap that I likedā¦ Really, I wanted an image of a woman standing on the corner who was wearing a bunny rabbit hat. The light was perfect as a storm set in over the setting sun, spring flowers just in bloom, the earth saturated from a recent rain. āNo thanks,ā she said. So I settled on this snap instead and went home to eat fajitas.
2026 05 09
Today, Iām hosting a photo zine show at See You Soon that Iām really excited about. I met Nathan Pearce a few years back at a different show I also hosted at my space, and since then, heās been a big inspiration for me when it comes to the need to print my images and get them out into the world in physical form. Heāll be bringing 50 of his zines, which is what I find so impressive. The fact that heās been able to so consistently put out projects as a photographer, while also working a job outside of photography, has me feeling like I need to play catch up in this area of my practice that Iāve so thoroughly neglected.
Obviously, success is relative. The simple fact that you have released a bunch of zines doesnāt automatically make you great at what you do. But what Iām finding (all too late in my career) is that the two small book projects I have so far released, while not perfect, are more fulfilling to me than most anything else Iāve done to this point in my photo career. In large part, I think, itās the process you need to go through to get to the end product. Round after round of further distilling your output and ideas until it reaches a point that it becomes essentially frozen ā printed ā for other people to digest and interpret. Itās all very cool, and likely what Iām going to spend much of the next decade focused on myself, despite the difficulty associated with such work (honestly, the challenge is in part what attracts me to book making).
Anyway, off the the studio to get set up. If you happen to be reading this today, come join us! Weāll be looking at and discussing photozines (and snacking and drinking, of course) from 4pm-10pm at my space in the Kimball Arts Center.
2026 05 01
FARMER CITY, ILLINOIS
Aināt no people here. Except the two kids rolling by on bicycles who say to me, āHello. Hello.ā as they pass, while staring me down like Iām from another planet. There are eyes all over town. But the eyes are not human. Theyāre painted on various surfaces from a likely-bored artist Iād very much like to meet. I imagine heās behind a curtain up in one of these buildings on Main Street, peering down at me right now. Heās painting more eyes onto a large canvas while a police scanner crackles in the background. Another old man nearly walks into me, startled by another person walking down the sidewalk. I want to ask him about this place but heās in a hurry so I let him continue and keep it a mystery.
2026 04 27
A few weeks back, we decided to rank the seasons in order of our favorites. At the time, my list was:
Spring
Fall
Summer
Winter
Since then, my allergies have kicked into full gear and I would like to revisit and revise my Official List to this:
Fall
Summer
Winter
Spring
Jokes aside, I think this actually touches on an interesting point. I like to romanticize things based on their strongest properties. In my head at the time, I loved everything about spring: the rebirth and renewal, the return to life, growth, reintroduction of colors, plants, and animals; itās a fresh start. In practice, however, spring is a sloppy mess and I can hardly function half the time because Iām congested.
I think this is a nice observation that I need to keep in mind when deciding on major life choices. Oftentimes, the efforts required arenāt worth the rewards.
2026 04 21
Yet another image that could use a humanā¦ While walking this trail a few days back, I got very excited by the idea of hosting photography workshop/retreats to this property sometime in the future. A lot to consider, as Iām already plenty busy with a hundred other projects, however, I love to keep a big backlog of ideas floating around in the ole brain to help keep me going. If you happen to be reading this and like the idea ā let me know!
2026 04 20
Hereās another image I like, but again think itās missing a lil something to make it great. A human element, perhaps. Maybe Iāll start doing self portraits when I come across scenes like this. Kidding ā that will never happen (Iāve tried it and it does not work).
2026 04 19
We pulled into Kingdom a few nights back determined to show Haley a good time for her belated birthday celebration. As Allison was about to put a fresh homemade pizza into the oven, and I struggled over making cocktails without the prep Iād neglected to do, the house power shut off. Outside, a massive rush of wind had just moved through the surrounding farmland area, which properly spooked me enough to rush back inside, while struggling to close the kitchen door behind me. Would this be our first tornado experience?!
One problem you face inside a 150-year old stone farm house in the middle of nowhere is that youāre basically alone. Sure, the farmers across the road protecting their livestock are technically around, but thereās no municipal warning siren to alert you to take shelter. The small interior windows donāt give you much visibility to the potentially-impedning doom awaiting you outside (this must by why wrap-around porches were invented!). Best thing you can do is head to the basement and hope for the best. We, of course, finished our pizzas as the power thankfully kicked back on; I passed out some mediocre cocktails to help take our minds off the twisters; and once the storm passed we rode into town to partake in the weekly karaoke bar night along with a rather robust crowd, considering the situation.
Thatās springtime in the Midwest.
2026 04 17
Heading out this way soon to spend some time with Haley and very much looking forward to it, even with possible tornadoes in the forecast. Especially because of that, really.
Have a nice weekend, yāall.
2026 04 12
Iām finally getting on top of my Ill Wandering archives and edits from the last 2+ years. While I havenāt made this ambiguous project a priority, I do have quite a few nice images and hope to make it more of a focus this year. Iāll start to post more images here in hopes of keeping it top of mind.
2026 04 07
This was a spur-of-the-moment attempt at something while passing through Quincy last year on an Ill Wandering outing. Alec, a bank employee, was nice enough to pose for me as he was leaving work. Thereās definitely something here, but not sure my vision fully translated in the final image. Mainly, Iām obsessed with the church spire sticking out from Alecās head and wandered around town capturing it from every angle imaginable. If youād like to see a dozen more, let me know! Thanks to Alec for being a good sport and entertaining my artistic whims.
2026 03 28
Stumbled upon the below video while editing images at the studio and wanted to share it here. I was not previously familiar with Jaredās work, but Iām glad to be now! He does a nice job of explaining many things that have been rummaging around in my brain for some time now. These concepts are a big part of why Iām adjusting my approach to my personal IG page and, well, kind of reconfiguring my entire photography career.
Itās good to see the kids are alright and nature is healing.
2026 02 23: In Search of Myself
In search of higher ground; in search of my next wave; in search of myself.
I wanted to take a moment to attempt to roughly and quickly capture some of the struggle Iām currently going through as a creative in 2026. This wonāt be a polished thought piece, but instead likely a jumbled mess of thoughts with the main aim of being helpful to perhaps get me to better understand what I even think about the subject. We write so we can learn how we think, and these days Iām thinking far too many thoughts to even come close to comprehending where my head is at.
Iām doing way too many things and Iām well aware of this. The justifications are:
2026 02 18: Award-Nominated!
I sometimes joke that Iām an āAward-Nominated Photographer.ā Itās a cute dig at the world of Serious Photography, while letting you know that I donāt take myself too seriously. That said, I must admit that Iāve been having a bit of regret the last few days over my lack of engagement throughout my career. Living in my own world has its perks, but you gotta play the game a bit sometimes, too.
Early in my career, I attempted to do what youāre supposed to do. I was faced with rejection and made a decision that you canāt lose if you donāt play. This protected my ego for a time, but now that Iām an aging photographer posting to a blog with an audience thatās primarily Chinese ai-Bots, I gotta wonder if it was the right call. Okay, so thatās a harsh assessment. But in many ways, Iām back where I started in my photography career. Iām now focusing on things I want to focus on and doing things I want to do. This is giving me an opportunity, of sorts, to do things differently this time around. One of the things I aim to do is play the game. Not obsessively ā Iāll never be that guy ā but a little bit. Learn the names; meet the faces; submit to the awards and the grants; attend the shows.
You gotta play the game.
2026 01 19: Controlled Chaos
This is a visual representation of what my life feels like lately: semi-controlled chaos; rules & regulations; logistics & confusion; planning & plotting.
2026 01 17: Virtual Scouting
The last few days, in my spare time, Iāve been watching a youtube channel from a guy who explores places and does a really nice job of explaining the history and interesting angles (while being super enthusiastic about simple things which also get me excited inwardly). Iāve been enjoying them specifically because it feels a bit more āproductive,ā in the sense that Iām using the videos as virtual scouting trips covering places I aim to explore and photography myself in the coming years. The videos specific videos are covering areas in UP Michigan, but they also very much remind me of a lot of my own Ill Wandering trips over the last few years.
More on all of these thoughts another day, but for today, hereās a photo from Lincoln, Illinois (which also reminded me I need to dust off, finish, and post my āPlan for a New Illinoisā proposal. So much to doā¦