Growing up, I always gravitated to the outdoors and was fascinated with the connection between the human body and nature. Attending Denver School of the Arts, studying film and cinematography, I was instantly drawn to the possibility of capturing my perspective on the world through a lens and sharing it with others. Jeff Orlowski, a close family friend and award-winning director of Chasing Coral, Chasing Ice, and the popular documentary The Social Dilemma, was a huge inspiration for me. Through Jeff’s small teachings in cinema and photography, I instantly had an eye for capturing the things I loved: the outdoors.
My roommate and I both share a common hobby, climbing. Within the past year, we have traveled all over the state finding new climbs and new canvases for my art of photography. One of the days spent climbing was at Natural Bridge State Park. I was fascinated with the park’s landscape and jaw-dropping rock surfaces. It was the first time we had all climbed this eroded limestone chasm.
Paradise Valley is a popular climbing area, only 30 minutes out of Bozeman. The clouds were covering the sky that day creating a flat lighting for our shoot, removing any shadows that would add unnecessary contrast to the shots. It was my first time using a fixed rope (the action of being suspended by a rope attached to a harness, with additional equipment to travel up and down with ease). Being suspended alongside the climbers helped push my creative boundaries in photography by means of experimenting with different angles and heights.