In my line of work as a photojournalist, I’m fortunate that I get to experience people and places I would not normally come across in my daily life. The challenge then for me is to document and capture the essence of the story I’m trying to tell through my images. Through these experiences and personal connections with the individuals I meet, I learn not just about their story but they help shape my own for the better. A couple weeks back, after many years of debating and being encouraged by close friends, I finally experienced my first Burning Man festival in Black Rock City in western Nevada and found a part of myself I never knew existed. The week long event has been happening in one form or another since the mid 80’s as counter culture, artistic, self expression annual celebration that accumulates as a city of 60,000+ individuals from around the world in the dried up alkali salt lake beds a couple hours northeast of Reno. It’s a surreal environment to live in for a week complete with white out dust storms and intense heat. It’s hard to put into words exactly what makes the event so special. To the outsider, the event could easily be written off as a bunch of hooligans partying out in the middle of the desert. On the Burning Man website, organizers state that “Trying to explain what Burning Man is to someone who has never been to the event is a bit like trying to explain what a particular color looks like to someone who is blind.” I really had no clue what I was getting into. But what I found was more special to me than anything I could ever have imaged. I danced, I laughed, I learned, I experienced, I dreamed, I loved. I would describe it as the most fantastic lucid dream where acceptance and a sense of community rein as king. For much of the week, I refrained from taking any images with the hopes of absorbing all I saw completely unfiltered. Obviously, that didn’t last long. For someone who was trying to take a vacation from creativity, I found myself at ground zero for creative expression and I soon gave myself completely to it gaining an intense gratification for all the wonderfully weird, creative, intelligent and inspiring group of people I encountered along the way. These photos are but a glimpse of the profound people I connected with for a week on the playa who showed me how to truly celebrate life to it’s fullest. It was an experience I won’t soon forget. -M
About a month ago, I headed over to Missoula, Montana to spend the day documenting the locally famous “Empanada Lady” for Montana Quarterly Magazine. These are the kind of assignments that I really love to do. Shooting for the magazine is a way to continue the long form journalism that we don’t get to do that often at the daily newspaper. For these I get to spend more time with my subjects and try to show more of what they are all about. The story was about Kimberly Olson who with her young daughter Lucia, has created a buzz around the local Missoula farmers markets as the “Empanada Lady” and has turned the small South American snack into a popular foodie favorite around town. What is unique about her business is that she uses all organic, local ingredients and operates her empanadas business all from the back of her bicycle. It was my goal to try to show her process of running her small business and give the readers slice of her life through images. When I was traveling down in southern Chile, my brother and I lived off of empanadas so this was a bit of a trip down taste bud lane for me. This woman is a talented chef and a hard working single mother. Her empanadas are delicious. If you are ever in Missoula during a weekend, be sure to swing by her food stand and try them out. Cheers! -M
When I was covering the recent Battle Under the Big Sky state roller derby tournament, I took the time to setup a portrait studio to capture all of the colorful character that participate in this up and coming sport. While roller derby is a team sport, it’s also a venue for the individual to shine through both in their game play and their decorations of their outfits. These are some of my favorite portraits I made that day. Thanks for looking. -M
About a month ago, I was assigned to document the rise of Women’s Roller Derby throughout the state for Montana Quarterly Magazine. The sport is growing both in participation of ladies who dig contact sports and with their fan base who like watching girls beat the crap out of eachother throughout many Montana towns. This year, the Battle Under the Big Sky state tournament was held in Billings, Montana and I spent the weekend hanging out with many of the teams with the goal of shedding some light onto this quickly growing sport and the artistic culture/comradery around it. These girls don’t mess around nor are they afraid to give or take a hit. These are some of my favorite images from covering the event. While I’m still trying to wrap my head around the rules of the sport, it is apparent that this high energy contact sport isn’t going anywhere but up. Thanks for looking. -M
I’m a little late with getting this good news posted but I was thrilled to learn that a couple of big projects I worked on while at my last newspaper, The Daily Republic, was recently recognized by the California Newspaper Publishers Association’s Better Newspapers Contest. Reporter Barry Eberling and I won first place for our year-long documentary series on the Suisun Marsh which looked at the culture, people and environmental impacts that were going on around the popular outdoor recreation area. In addition, I was stoked to see that I won first place for a multimedia project I did on Bob Waller, a finish carpenter who when the economy tanked took it upon himself to go another direction and tap into his life long love of surfing and skateboarding by blending the two and making his own custom longboard skateboards. I was also recognized in the Art/Nature Photo category for my coverage of a local duck hunting club and our photo department as a whole was honored for our Lifestyles coverage. I did a lot of growth while working at the “DR” and I’m proud to get a non for all the hard work we put into those stories. You can read the article about it on the Daily Republic website here.
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