Finding Focus

Photography, for me, has been a journey of phases. Initially it served to fulfill my love of scrapbooking and spending time with my best friend. When I grew tired of goading my kids into smiling, it became about capturing places we visited. Eventually it was a full-fledged obsession with backroads, barns and the out-of-doors. Today, I’m in search of a more focused approach (pun intended).

Last year, after spending a week at Waubonsie State Park as one of their artists in residence I began to appreciate the process of having a more concentrated attitude. Up until then much of my work was random outings based solely on whatever direction I decided to drive or walk. I would head out with the hope of coming across something interesting enough to photograph. It served me well as I got to know my camera and explore my surroundings, but it started feeling wasteful and a bit boring. I needed to change things up and Waubonsie made that clear.  

That brings me to Iowa99. I have loved exploring the various parts of Iowa for awhile now. I wish I had appreciated it more as a kid, but I digress. There has also been this growing desire to not just share what’s beautiful about my state but to encourage others to explore their own little corner of the world and find what’s interesting or beautiful to them. The ultimate hope being that it gets people outdoors and into nature.

Iowa99 brings together those hopes and wishes. As a project to keep me focused, I will be visiting each of the 99 Iowa counties over the next…well, let’s face it, few years and capturing as many of the landscapes, parks, and natural areas as I can. It is my intention to share the journey through photos, videos, blog posts and possibly a podcast but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. The culmination of the project is still a bit of a work in progress but will bring together a photo or photos from each county into one final exhibit piece.

There are many different ideas and a cacophony of iterations ricocheting about but for now I’m starting small and visiting counties within a 50-mile radius. I look forward to the project taking shape as I begin sharing more from the places and people I meet along the way but what I really hope is to communicate the importance of connecting with the natural world around us and the rich benefits that being out-of-doors offers for our mental, physical, and emotional health.

Photos:

First Row: Scrapbook pages from my first Expo in 2005, A later trip to Chicago, My wonder children who had just let me back into a fountain.

Second Row: Photos from my residency at Waubonsie State Park in 2023.

Third Row: Some of my first photos for Iowa99…Cinderpath in Lucas County, Clanton Creek Recreation Area in Madison County, Dale Maffitt Reservoir in Madison County