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Carnation, WA // October 2015

The Girl Scouts of Western Washington turned down a sizable donation that had strings attached. The money could not be used for anything pro-LGBT. Megan Ferland, CEO, rejected the money, making a statement of inclusion for the GSA. Her stance resulted funds raised that tripled the original donation. She’s photographed here for the NYTimes in Carnation, WA.

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This summer I photographed 53 boats as they left Port Townsend, WA en route to Ketchikan, AK. Assignments for Outside Magazine always bring something interesting and challenging. Photographing boats racing 750 miles in one of the most remote areas of the planet isn’t straightforward. Or maybe it is. You aren’t getting close unless you paid the entry fee and know how to sail and are on a boat. I wasn’t. Over the course of 2 weeks, I traveled on catamaran support boats, planes, small planes, one tiny plane, a coast guard boat, fishing boats. I walked to overlooks at midnight beneath full moons. I ended on a dock at 2am in Ketchikan, AK. My skin wasn’t as salty and worn but the assignment was an adventure.

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Strait of Juan de Fuca // September 2015

It’s constant motion the past couple of weeks from Canada to New York to Oregon and back to Canada. Going on 10 years in this career, I’ve learned to find comfort in that motion. Yet, I crave stillness. It’s an awkward place to be and maybe just sitting on the upper deck of a ferry is a perfect mix.

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Park Butte Fire Lookout // September 2015

I had one night between assignments and decided the best way to spend it would be in a fire lookout tower. I think we saw the seasons shifting as a partly cloudy evening slowly turn to thick fog and rain. Autumn is here and this thirsty landscape welcomes the shift.

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1000 Islands, New York // September 2015

Larry Kernehan cooked us a traditional ‘shore dinner’ after we caught one walleye and one large mouth bass on a 3 hour fishing tour. We docked at his private island, a small less-than-an-acre mound he bought in 1969. The meal dates back to the early 1900s and begins with a salad. Then a BLT. Then potatoes and the fish. The meal doesn’t get really strange until the pile of extra butter-soaked french toast arrives as dessert. We ate it, trying to not offend our host but as the 1959 Chris Craft puttered back to the marina, my arteries fought hard to not shut down amid the overload of grease and butter.

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Missoula, Montana ~ Dominican Baseball Project // August 2015

I met Raymel Flores 4 years ago at his house in the Dominican Republic. It was a small house with hotels in the tin roof. He lived there with his mother and brother. A few months later he signed with the Boston Red Sox and began his ascent to the big leagues. This week I made it to Missoula, Montana to see him play in Short Season Class A. I wanted to know what it’s like for a Dominican ballplayer to be in the middle of Montana. In my world, Missoula would be a great place to live. Mountain biking out the door, skiing within a short drive. Rivers and lakes to swim in. For Raymel, it’s a dry wasteland on the same level as remote Alaska. He focuses on baseball. That’s it. Eat, sleep and play. It doesn’t matter what surrounds him.

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Ketchikan, Alaska ~ Outside Magazine // June 2015

I made this photo just before checking in the hotel in Ketchikan. I’m here to photograph the Race to Alaska finish. Since the boats are spread out now, it’s been calmer and slower. After a month of bouncing between Texas, Oregon, Canada and now Alaska, it’s comforting to walk around town without hurrying.

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Ketchikan, Alaska ~ Outside Magazine // June 2015.

I watched Tripp and Chris Burd row their catamaran into the marina in Ketchikan, Alaska last night. It was a 750 mile trip from Port Townsend, most of which was on empty water. Wild empty water. They calmly walked onto the dock and rang the bell like they had been out for a Saturday afternoon sail. It didn’t culminate in an emphatic shout or dance. I guess they saw port for a few miles ahead and the excitement spread out over hours of rowing.  Or maybe they were just too tired. After they rang the bell, they did something I understood. They gave each other an awkward brother hug. I was immediately reminded of how I felt when paddling into Apalachicola after a month on the river with my brother. Relief, exhaustion and gratitude. I imagine in a week they will wish they were back on the catamaran moving silently through a distant fjord.

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Puget Sound // 2015.

Living near a wild landscape is a luxury. I grew up in the South where there are plenty of wild places just not near my childhood. I had to seek them as I grew older. That used to involve a plane ticket and a dedicated week in the Cascades with friends. Luckily, these places are now out the door, or sometimes as in this case, out the door and up in the air in a 2-seater prop plane. I’ve not been able to find anything to match the feeling of being in a place such as this. I find them on a glacier or in a remote alpine valley or over an empty body of water. They look different but feel the same. And, there’s no way to describe it.

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Governor Inslee for the New York Times // Olympia, WA

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New York Times story on immigration // Seattle, WA

I photographed Ofelia and her daughter in Seattle last week for an article about immigration. President Obama’s executive order on immigration would protect Ofelia from deportation. She crossed the border 15 years ago and has 2 children who are US citizens. At the same time, Washington has allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses making their daily lives easier.

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The Image, Deconstructed // January, 2015. One of my favorite photographers and all around great person, Erika Shultz, introduced me to Ross Taylor who runs The Image, Deconstructed. I’ve followed this resource as a way of learning how others shoot and what they see. I was honored to be on there and happy to talk about the experience I’ve had as a photographer for the last 10 years. See the interview at http://imagedeconstructed.com/post/spotlight-on-michael-hanson