Kolonia, Pohnpei, 1996

Let’s go way back, shall we?

This was a photo from one of my disposable Kodak 220 film cameras that I always tried to carry around because they were so small and effortless.

Of course the quality wasn’t all that great… but sometimes you just want to capture the moment, right?

For a couple years, I had the privilege of doing a tour in the USCG and our constantly-repainted, insanely BRIGHT WHITE high-endurance cutter was pretty much all over the Pacific, doing various missions from Alaska to the FSM, San Diego to Seattle… We were all over the place, and at sea for months at a time.

So of course anywhere we had a few hours to moor up (often just to refuel), I was doing all I could to get out and about. These crappy little disposable 220 cameras became kind of a ubiquitous tool for me.

In this image, some kids were just heading home from school near Kolonia, Pohnpei. Earlier that day, our ship came around to drop off thousands of various school books for them to use. Then yours truly went out and tried Sakau for the first time. (Bucket list, check) Also tried to check out Nan Madol, but I got way too distracted by the old Japanese military debris that was sunk, half-buried, or otherwise being replaced by new jungle trees and vines. I think I spent like eight hours there before we shipped back out into the wild blue yonder again.

So the photos back then aren’t my best… but still, they are really great memories. I’ll see if I can find some more to share.

Fern Canyon

I just found a short sweep I took of Fern Canyon, which is a cool spot in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. It’s a brief hike from the right by the coast in Humboldt County, California.

This area was the location for a few scenes in The Lost World: Jurassic Park because, well… it just looks so naturally prehistoric!

Comfy

Flashback to 2010; This was from a really simple but wonderful angora-fur shoot with Kate Troedsson.

Water Wells

This appears to be the truck that either got the most care over the years… or else it just suffered a lot less tragedy than the others.

It looks like it’s pretty decent shape, maybe it even still runs? Someone around here must be collecting these trucks, you think.

But who (and where) the hell are they? Enough trucks already; you decide to head over to the lively side of town: the Post Office.

How to Sweep

This is not the most efficient method, unless fun is your ultimate goal. Then this works really well.

And the Landlord Taketh Away

Interior image of a long lost roof, likely once a stable part of a farmer or rancher’s home. This is out in Eastern Oregon near the Ochoco National Forest. There were obviously a few tenants around still making use of the structure, but they weren’t up for talk about the matter; most of them just flew off when I approached. The rest scurried underground.

The Dry Spell in Shaniko

This fire hydrant has seen better days. Heck, the town of Shaniko has seen better days. But dry and slow as it might be now, it sure is still purty.