What is High Lonesome?

All the photos in this article are from various stories and personal projects I’ve shot over the years.

In short, High Lonesome is a storytelling platform where I write articles about the subjects I feature in my line of work as a photographer. Feature writing has been an important part of my commercial work, but I’ve never had a platform of my own. I created High Lonesome as a home for my personal work. This is a space for long form content where I can share personal projects exactly the way I envision them.

For those who like a little more sugar in their tea, High Lonesome is the natural progression of an endeavor I’ve been committed to for over a decade. It’s one more step in a journey that started the first time I loaded a roll of black & white film into my dad’s old 35mm camera.

Pentax K1000 - 2014

A fresh roll of Kodak Tri-X loaded in a Pentax K1000 - that’s how I got my start. I learned all the fundamentals of photography on my dad’s camera. It was a fully manual 35mm SLR with a black leatherette body and a silver top. As simplistic and beautiful as they come. Built like a tank. At some point he lost the lens cap, so he made a lens cover out of a spray can lid and covered it with black electrical tape to match the camera. That was him to a T.

2024

The camera was originally a gift from his mother. She gave it to him when I was born. I guess you could say this stage was set from day one. No one knew the object that would change the course of my life was there from the start. I’m not sure how much credit goes to the camera itself, but it planted the first seeds of curiosity, without a doubt. It was there waiting for me when the time came. I burned through hundreds of rolls of film and more sleepless darkroom nights than I can remember with that camera. The ol’ Pentax lives an easy retirement these days, but I still take it for a spin from time to time.

My dad’s mom. The grandma with the camera. Her name is Joann. If perfect humans exist, I can assure you she’s one of them.

I’ve always enjoyed that story. That’s the kind of detail I’m drawn to. In-depth storytelling lends itself to long form content. It’s a small example, but more or less what this whole High Lonesome thing is about.

So what’s the point, right? Why start something like this now? I know perfectly well that long form writing and online photo galleries aren’t about to break the internet in 2024. So why do it?

This is something I’m doing for myself. It’s about exploring new creative territory and continuing to grow as an artist. It’s a practice in strengthening and refining my creative process and the work I create.

It might seem like a strange choice, but a blog is just a blank canvas. It’s an empty page I can fill with photos, videos, VR, stories, educational content or anything else. It has every capability of evolving in any direction. It’s a space for stepping out and testing new ideas.

It also provides me with an alternative to the monotony of social media. I’m not one to complain about technology or progress. I enjoy all of it. Social media is in a weird phase though. The platforms that dominate public space have disproportionately prioritized engagement over quality, which is starting to have a downstream effect. They’re edging up against the one pitfall they can’t afford… They’ve become boring. They’ve become work. I never thought I would see the day when writing a blog was more exciting to me than sharing new work on social media, but here we are. It’s fine though. Better technology will come around. I’ll enjoy carving out a little space of my own in the meantime.

That said, I still enjoy social media. It’s still 100% relevant to my line of work. I would much rather have it than not. It’s just not living up to the potential I know it’s capable of. Luckily, I don’t have to spend any time deciding between the two. Each is an extension of the other. These two things are surprisingly compatible. I create the work and share previews on social media that lead right back here to the source where everything is presented exactly as it’s meant to be seen. 

I find myself considering the bigger picture now more than ever. When I first started out I couldn’t see beyond a nice portfolio and some paid work. I never considered that my perspective might change over time. I assumed if I ever got a photography career up and running, I would ride that wave to the end. With every year that passes, I see things a little more clearly. Answers slowly come into focus. These days I’m less concerned with racking up accomplishments or what other people might consider impressive or successful. I don’t care about the public image of it all. I’m more interested in the meaning and purpose behind the work and what it all amounts to in the long run. I’m interested in creating a balanced approach predicated on quality work and a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.

The purpose behind everything I’m doing right now is to build something new. I’m establishing a new system for managing the relationship between my creative process, professional life and personal life. I’ve spent years pushing forward as hard as I could. Months on the road. One project after another. I still enjoy it. I’m still as motivated as ever, but I am starting to learn the art of working smarter. I’m starting to understand the value of gearing down just enough to find a rhythm. I want to fill my life with the things I enjoy, set a pace that feels natural and create work as true to my own original ideas as I possibly can. High Lonesome is one aspect of that.

The great thing is, nothing is riding on this. I’m just doing it because it feels right and I enjoy it. I can keep at it, grow it, change it or quit it anytime. It doesn’t have to make sense. It’s not a new direction. It’s just one more step forward. If anything is different, it’s the effort I’m putting into it all. If it seems new, it’s because I can communicate it here in a way that makes sense to me. This format allows me to put my mind on the page in a way nothing else does.

I’ll close this out by leaving you with the first thing I ever said publicly about High Lonesome. The following is an excerpt from a post I made on IG last year:

“This is perpetually a work in progress, but it finally happened. IDK what it all looks like in the long run. Maybe this thing clicks and I go long term with it. We'll see. I have no expectations. It’s not some weird business move or anything. Nothing is riding on it. It’s just something I’ve wanted to do for myself. It’s a home to my work, a structure I enjoy and a space for long form content. It’s an active extension of my portfolio. The timing feels right. This is one way I’m stepping back and taking control of the creative process. I want to be selective about how I spend my time and where I give my attention. For now, this is how I plan to do it.”

Welcome to High Lonesome.