Favorite Photos of 2017
This past week Owen and I sat down to look for a picture and remembered that we had yet to share our favorite images from 2017. We know, we know...we're about five months late getting this posted, but better late than never right? Looking back, 2017 was a year of change for us, and we have so many wonderful experiences, people, and places to thank for helping us evolve.
This is a collection of each of our favorite five photos from 2017 with a brief description about each! Cheers to 2017, and the adventures to come!
Owen
February : Baja California, Mexico
If I had to choose one image to sum up our time in Stanley this might be the one. This was the first surf spot around the Seven Sisters that we visited. We had the beach to ourselves (and our friends!) and we were right by the water. I caught the longest wave of my life while we were there and it was just an all around good time. I love how everything is strewn about in this photo. We were just having fun and nothing else mattered.
March : Death Valley National Park
We had some great times in Death Valley in 2017. This is down in Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America! All the white on the ground is salt and it's a pretty strange experience to walk out into it. Of course, we couldn't miss the opportunity to play around.
June : Grand Tetons
During our time in the Grand Tetons this summer we witnessed some incredible sunsets. We also met a lot of really cool people. During the days everyone went off and did beautiful hikes or other adventures (we even snuck in some climbing). At night, we would rendezvous back at camp and hear what people got into during the day and admire the mountains in the distance. We absolutely loved being there with those people this summer.
July : Banff National Park
Moraine Lake is famous for it's color. I've dreamed of going since I first saw a picture back in high school, and this summer I finally got to see it. Sometimes when you build things up in your head they don't live up to how you imagined them. That wasn't the case for Moraine Lake. Despite there being a good bit of people there we managed to find a quiet place to sit down and take it all in during sunset. This was also taken with my 35mm rangefinder which I was very new to. Getting used to focusing had been a challenge (and it still is) but I managed to get this one nice and sharp. Getting a great shot always feels good, but getting one with film is even better.
August : Portland, OR
Ahhh, Amelia. I couldn't leave her out. A major change happened to us this year when we switched from Stanley to Amelia. It wasn't an easy transition as there was a lot of emotional attachment to our dear Vanagon. Little did we know just how much of an undertaking we were getting ourselves into. As I'm writing this now, we're done with the rebuild of Amelia, and she's fantastic. It took us away from the road for 6 months but we're hoping to make up for those months by staying on the road even longer. The whole experience has been bittersweet for so many reasons but we're looking forward now and things look good!
MAK
FEBRUARY : Baja California, Mexico
Our trip to Baja was one of our most magical trips that we've been on since going on the road. For me, this picture sums up our time on the pacific side of Baja. We had a singular drive to find ridable waves, which seemed to exist around every corner. This image is of Stanley and our dear friend Matt when we were on our way to our second surf destination in the Seven Sisters. We spent days on roads like this without seeing a single paved road. We made frequent stops like this to get a quick surf report before pressing on to our next destination.
APRIL : Carizzo Plains, California
Last year in the spring, it seemed that the super bloom was all that anyone could talk about. Owen and I made several failed attempts to see the seemingly elusive super bloom. After a busy work week in the San Luis Obispo area we started to hear rumblings that a nearby National Monument was finally starting to bloom. Despite a bad weather report, Owen and I made our way out to Carizzo Plains. The wildflowers did not disappoint! We were so excited to finally have caught up with the blooms that we spent the better part of two hours enjoying the flowers! The bright flowers against the stormy sky made for some killer photos. **no flowers were killed or trampled in the making of this photo, I'm laying on a path as to not harm the wildflowers**
APRIL : LAKE MEAD, NEVADA
I think we all know why I like this photo! (Insert heart eyes here) In all seriousness, this photo was from our first evening back together after a week and a half apart. I went on a women's surf retreat down in Baja and flew back to meet up with Owen in Las Vegas. After Owen picked me up from the airport we went out to find a camp spot on Lake Mead to escape the heat. We had the best day playing in the lake and enjoying being back together. The evening brought an amazing sunset which we enjoyed around this fire. I love this picture so much because to me this is what home looks like.
May : Indian Peak Wilderness, Colorado
May as a whole, was a tough month for us. We spent the vast majority of May broken down in Boulder/FT. Collins, Colorado. Even though we were living in the parking lot of the shop that was working on Stanley, we still managed to get into some fun adventures with out friends who live in the area. We received an uncharacteristically late snow storm in Colorado which opened up a whole other world of activities. Owen and I had never been snowshoeing before and we jumped at the opportunity to give it a try. We rented some snowshoes from REI and set out on an adventure. We ended up getting really lost and never made it to our end destination...but it was beautiful and well worth it! This photo was shot on film with my 35mm Nikon FE.
July : Bugaboo Mountain Range, Canada
Canada was an unexpected trip for us. We made the call to head north into BC as an impromptu effort to escape the heat in the US. It was the most unexpectedly beautiful two weeks of the whole year in my opinion. After camping with some Canadian friends, they recommended that we try to make our way into the Bugaboos for some climbs as we headed west to the coast. We don't require much convincing to go check out a beautiful place. Once we made it to the Bugaboos we had to do an extremely steep and grueling hike to get to the base of the mountain where you then have to hike to the different climbs. Once we made it up to the glacier it quickly became evident that we didn't have the gear (or the glacier crossing skill set required) to make it to the climb that we were after. Instead we settled on a hike to the peak that Owen is standing on. Though we didn't get what we came for, we did get amazing views of the Bugaboo glacier which is behind Owen. This place was absolutely awe inspiring.