Inessential Stuff

Eastern Washington back roads. Dust and potholes. Scrubland. Red-tailed hawks on fence posts. Rolling hills, sudden gullies. Dilapidated barns. Abandoned houses. Under a massive timeless sky of pale blue. Images here.

Sometimes taking pictures can be a spiritual experience, life-affirming. It may be the beauty of the location. Or that the images capture something genuine about the person or place. When the model is–and I am–being authentic. No past, no future, no baggage, even no words. Just what is, in that moment.

The model is Piper. I had met her twenty minutes before we started shooting. She led me around places south of Spokane that were important to her: a cemetery, an old family home, a place by the river where she used to hang out with friends. It was chilly, and quiet, and we were in no hurry. And when the sun lowered, and after the air grew cold, and after Piper got into her truck and drove away, I returned to my car, walking through a field of dry, overgrown weeds, carrying my camera in one hand, my soul in the other.