Banff, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks
My mom and I stopped in Banff, Yoho and Jasper National Parks for about a day on our way to Alaska. The neighboring parks were home to towering mountains, oddly blue and emerald-colored lakes and breathtaking waterfalls. Here are a few of my favorite landscapes from our time there.
Emerald Lake
Takakkaw Falls
Johnston Canyon Trail
Johnston Canyon Trail
Moraine Lake
Journey to the Last Frontier
In the middle of the summer, my mom and I made the drive from Ohio to Alaska, or as it says on every yellow Alaska license plate, the final frontier. Some great mother-daughter bonding, wide open roads and even wider-open skies made for a wonderful drive. Here are a few of my favorite images from the days we spent driving. More photos from Banff and Jasper National Parks to come. Enjoy!
Green hill
Rain
Hay Bales
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Americana
Dusk
Wires
Tree
Golden Hour
Golden Fields
Just after crossing the U.S. and Canada Border
The Eddie Adams Workshop
The Eddie Adams Workshop was an experience I will never forget. I can’t thank the Black Team, White Team, the Turquoise Team and Turquoise Team leaders, the inspiring speakers, all the editors who looked at my portfolio (you showed me I have so much left to learn about editing and sequencing images) and all the students enough for making it so memorable and life changing. Alicia Hansen, our team producer, found us all amazing stories. Kevin Goggin, our tech, made all our images look amazing and did a bunch of other things behind the scenes to make the Turquoise project a reality. Patrick Witty taught me a lot about editing (and made me look like a much better photographer with the images he chose). And Gerd Ludwig inspired me and helped me realize how to get the most storytelling images out of two shoots with Charlie Koh. I miss everyone already.
The story I had the pleasure of working on focused on Charlie Koh. He and his wife moved from South Korea to New York City in 1984 and practice Seon, a Korean-oriented meditation style now practiced all over the world. Charlie, now 61, and his wife have two grown children (his wife was gone the weekend I was there because she was visiting their daughter and grandson in Seattle). They live near Jefferson, New York, and cultivate the land. One day, Charlie hopes to create a place where he and his wife are living where people can come and learn and practice Seon and cultivate the land. I can’t thank Charlie and his friends enough for their warm welcomes and hospitality. If I’m ever back in the area I’ll be sure to stop by and say hello.
Here are some of the images from the story. Hope you enjoy!
(click on one of the images to view them in a slideshow)
A Great Week At Sarapiqui
I had an amazing week at Sarapiqui. The students and staff were wonderful to work with and I’m going to miss them all. Here are some of my favorite moments from my time there.
We saw a lot of interesting wildlife this week, including this spider in a garbage can at our worksite.
We went on a hike the first night to find frogs because they are nocturnal. Erica found this one within the first few minutes and it enjoyed crawling all over her.
Peyton, Zane and Brandon mix cement for the floor of a storage area while our friend Hector watches.
Erica wins a short sprint back to the covered porch at our worksite. It rained a lot this week but it made for some great light and clouds while I was taking photos!
Anne holds a little snake that was found at the worksite in San Ramon.
Edgar peels some oranges during a work and snack break in San Ramon.
Bridget leads her horse during a morning trail ride.
Molly leads our group around a pond on the trail ride.
Ralph, Saul, Kassaundra, Zane and Brandon look at a howler monkey up in the trees.
Kassaundra rappels on Sunday morning.
Students take turns trying to milk a cow during our morning of community service near a farm.
Brandon crosses a river with a young tree so it can be planted. The group planted fruit trees to attract more birds and other animals to the area.
Everyone learned how to press sugar cane to make cane juice and tried a glass of it.
A Week With Tortugas
I had an amazing week working with Laura, Edgardo, and a great group of kids on the Turtle Conservation Project. Most nights we go on 8 km night walks starting between 8:30 and 11:30 to find turtles laying their nests. It depends on the tide because the turtles usually come to shore close to high tide. Some weeks the groups see no turtles, but this week we saw six. They are amazing! The turtles dig their nests about a 1.5 feet in the sand in the shape of an upside-down lightbulb. While bracing themselves with three flippers, they use the fourth like a mittened hand to perfectly scoop out the sand. I always found turtles fascinating, but after this week it has grown to be slightly in awe of them. I’m so glad our group was able to see them and help build a hatchery.
These are some of my favorite images from the week. I hope you enjoy them! Pura vida!
Sandy legs and feet after learning how to dig a proper turtle nest at the future turtle hatchery.
Julie and Sergei walk back to our home for the week.
Marchella and Leo help a turtle lay its nest and gather the eggs to nest them in an area of the beach that won’t be washed away by the tide. When the turtles come out at night, any light other than red can scare them away.
A turtle walks back to the ocean after laying its eggs.
A horse wanders onto the beach right in front of our home.
Laura wins “Snap Crackle Pop” by grabbing the flip flop first.
Bridget walks back to the group following an afternoon of surfing in Jaco.
Sergei jumps off a waterfall during a break in our rafting trip.
Don Carlos makes a fire for roasting marshmallows.
Laura fetches starfruit for our group to try.
Sunset photo shoot on the beach.
Mercedes relaxes in a hammock right after sunset.
Blair collects turtle eggs from a nest so they can be relocated.
A Week of Language
After two weeks on Costa Rican Adventure, I headed off to Turrialba for a week on the Language Programs. The students and staff were all amazing to work with. Here are  some of my favorite images from the week.
Two Weeks of Fun, Travel and Adventure
The past two weeks I worked with the Costa Rican Adventure group. We had a great group and got to do everything from rappelling to bungee jumping to surfing to whitewater rafting. One of the first nights we hiked up to a waterfall and stayed under it for the night. It was an evening I will never forget. Here are some of my favorite images from the week. Pura Vida!
Marc drinks a cracked coconut on the beach in Uvita.
Sylvia rappels down a waterfall near Uvita, Costa Rica.
Danny heads back to the trail after our group swam in the pool at the base of the waterfall.
Megan takes a quick look behind her before heading to the pool at the base of Diamante Falls.
Our wonderful guides prepare a delicious vegetarian dinner by candlelight under Diamante Falls.
Under the lip of the cave we slept in for a night under Diamante Falls.
Megan and the rest of our group tell stories after dinner at Diamante Falls.
Divita and Marley watch the sunset at Avellanas Beach.
BIrds fly over Avellanas Beach.
Megan and Eduardo
Megan prepares for snorkeling off a catamaran.
Visitors lounge and swim at Catarata Rio Fortuna.
Eduardo searches for animals during a hike through Rio Celeste.
Marc jumps off a waterfall during our three-day rafting trip on the Pacuare River.
Megan looks out at the sunset on the second night of our three-day rafting trip.
Capi Capi
It has been another amazing week with Rustic Pathways. This week I was fortunate enough to work on the Maleku Cultural Immersion and Service Program. The Maleku are one of the few indigenous Costa Rican tribes that continue to practice their culture. My friend Max taught me my first Maleku word, Capi Capi. It’s used as a greeting or in a similar fashion to Pura Vida in Costa Rica.I’ve been gone less than 12 hours and I already miss the wonderful people I met and worked with. The hospitality and warm welcome from everyone in the community made me feel right at home. Here are some of my favorite images from the week.
Liam and Cell play soccer before dinner during the first day in Maleku
home for the week, a traditional Maleku house
learning to milk cows
Elizabeth during a hike to find seeds for reforestation
Sara looks out at the volcano at sunset
hiking in the jungle
learning Maleku and painting during a scavenger hunt
specimens at Rio Celeste
hiking in Rio Celeste
grabbing pinata candy
going for pinata treats at school
Adrian participates in a Maleku cultural presentation. Adrian and his sister Pamela greeted us with hugs at every meal if they didn’t have school.
Pura Vida
This summer I’m fortunate enough to be working in Costa Rica for Rustic Pathways as a Photographer/Guide. This starts my third week of three months in the beautiful country, so here are some of my favorite images from staff training and our first week of students. Everyone one staff and everyone I’ve met in Costa Rica have been so kind and welcoming. I’m learning a great deal, and am excited to learn more with this amazing staff this summer. Pura Vida!
Hungry
Here is a video created with Taehoon Kim, Jason Chow, and Jeremy Zerechak for our advanced video class. The audio and editing are not completely journalistic, but it was fun to create this!
Mardi Gras in the French Quarter
This year I was fortunate enough to road trip down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras with some amazing friends and photographers, Katharine Egli,Sarah Tilotta, and Meg Vogel.
Beignets, jambalaya, Cafe du Monde, the wonderful people I met, and all the crazy attire for Mardi Gras made the weekend one I will never forget. There were so many creative costumes, but if I had to pick a favorite Van Gogh would be it (although I’m slightly bias after creating a few projects on him in my high school art classes).
I met some amazing people and was blown away by how kind and welcoming everyone in the city was.
Needless to say, I can’t wait to return.
Here are some of my favorite images from the trip. Hope you enjoy!
Shavonne Butler stands outside the Krazy Korner, the bar where she MCs, while Bo Bordelon (left to right) and Chris Howard relax with their truck as it is unloaded on Bourbon Street
Cali (left to right), Paul, Tyler and Mike wait for their beignets at the famous Cafe du Monde. They are part of the Pasadena Beer Boys (and girls), from Houston, Texas. Though it is Cali and Mike first time traveling with the group, the Blues Boys have been coming to Mardi Gras every two years.
The Pasadena Beer Boys commemorate their friend Judy “Blue Eyes.” They began a tradition on their last visit to pay tribute to a friend that went to New Orleans with them but has since passed away. Their first ‘funeral’ was for Doc, Paul Kone’s mentor who came with him to New Orleans for the first time.
Lindsay Lew, right, holds up glasses so Lissa Lenis can check her lipstick while they take a break from dancing at the Zulu Festival.
Yolanda Naquin, left, and Wanda Punch, 66 and 65 respectively, dance during the Zulu Festival despite the rain. They have been coming to New Orleans for Mardi Gras from “just across the river” for over 50 years. This year, Wanda explains “we’re really glad we got to come. We didn’t think we’d be able to with the weather.” The day before Mardi Gras they attend the Zulu Festival in costumes made by Wanda. “We’re Zulu sisters.”
Yolanda Naquin dances in her cheetah costume, made by Wanda Punch, during the Zulu Festival. She has been coming with Wanda for over 50 years.
Mondo Kayo’s Mardi Gras parade
Judges cast their votes for the 49th Annual Bourbon Street Awards from the balcony of Oz. The Bourbon Street Awards is the ultimate costume contest.
Van Gogh
The 800 block of Bourbon Street during the 49th Annual Bourbon Street Awards from the balcony of Oz. The Bourbon Street Awards is the ultimate costume contest.
The Bourbon Street Awards
Maggie in Oz
Madame
Mari Anderson, 11 and in yellow, tries to catch beads during the Krewe of Endymion Parade on Canal Street. Mari traveled to New Orleans for a trip with her parents, Steve and Kathy, from Idaho.
Frenchmen Street
President Obama Speaks At Ohio Univeristy
President Obama came to Ohio University to speak at a rally.
View the story by The Post here and a pdf of the paper here. We had most of our photo staff at the event and were able to create a photo spread on the double truck (check out pages 4 and 5). The designers, picture editors and photographers all did an amazing job.
The International Sunflower Festival
Over Labor Day weekend, I was able to go to the International Sunflower Festival in Frankfort, Ohio. While there, I met Edna and her husband Deane Carter. Everyone in town that I met loved them, and they were honored in the festival.
Revisiting a Great Story in Athens
Last winter I had the opportunity to create a video for The Post on the Athens’ Police Academy. This week I lucky enough to create a short video on one of the graduates of last spring’s academy, Jen Atkins, who is the newest deputy at the Sheriff’s Office and a current senior at Ohio University. It was so much fun to get to know the students in the academy and see all the hard work they did every day. I couldn’t have been more excited to visit Jen at her new job and create another project for The Post.
Check out the new video and the one from last winter.
Getting back into the swing of things…
It’s difficult to believe summer has come to a close and school and work at the paper are beginning again on Monday. I was blessed with a wonderful summer internship with an amazing non-profit, Experience Mission. They sent to various locations around the world and country to document the communities they work in. The people I met each and every week taught me so much and were such a joy to get to know. Here is a small taste of what I experienced while traveling and working. Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting more in-depth pieces about my experiences abroad.
Enjoy!
Tyler and Audrey
A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of photographing and taking video for Tyler and Audrey’s wedding with Meg Vogel. It was such a joy to spend the day with them.
Fall in Washington, D.C.
The four months before Christmas, I interned in our nation’s capital. It was an amazing experience and a beautiful city. Here are some of my favorite images from my time there.
