Howdy y’all,

One of the nicest things I ever hear about my blog and newsletter is about the genuineness and vulnerability I try to show. For me this entire journey has always been about connection above anything else, and I’ve been reminded lately just how important that is to me. We need other people in our lives, and we need to hear that other people are going through the same things we are. It’s comforting to hear or read someone else’s thoughts echoing our own. For me nothing else cuts through the loneliness quite like it.

So as these thoughts have occupied my mind for the better part of the month I’ve found it even easier to try to be open. In my post Meditations on Death & Life (linked below) I talk about grappling with my grandmother’s approaching death and the complex emotions that accompany such times. She passed away this morning and I wondered how I would feel going back and rereading that post. My words somehow feel even truer now than they did when I wrote them.

As you can imagine though I’m not feeling particularly newslettery today, so I’m going to keep this little intro section short. There's lots of good stuff below though. In fact, I told a friend earlier in the week as the newsletter was coming together that I thought this might be one of my favorite issues yet. Hopefully you’ll find something you connect to, or at least something you enjoy looking at.

As always, thanks so much to each of you for following along here. I truly do love hearing from you, so write me back!

kg

THE CURATED FRIDGE

My friend Donna had told me about The Curated Fridge a while back, and immediately I was enamored. Such a clever and fun idea, and a beautiful way to make fine art photography a bit more accessible, to everyone! Then back at the end of March I decided to start submitting work to some various online publications, galleries, and shows, and decided to make The Curated Fridge Spring 2022 Show my first submission. And to my delight, I got in! The theme for the this show is Interiors, and you can see the full show here.

PROJECT UPDATE

A few weeks ago I (finally!) got started on the portrait project I conceived late last fall. For the most part I don’t plan to share much from this project until closer to its completion. But I’m too excited not to share at least a small little snippet here with y’all.

The project looks at the importance of place on our lives; exploring through portraiture how places impact us, shape us, and the connection we have with the spaces we interact with. To learn more, or if you’d like to participate, check out the project page.

MORE FILM FUN

One of the great things about having photographers as friends is that when they decide to ditch all of their gear to switch camera brands you reap the benefit of their hand-me-downs, like a quirky lens that’s super fun to mess around with. One of the great things about developing your own film is that you can wake up one morning and decide to play with said lens, then be scanning the images into your computer by night. Also, it’s a huge bonus when upon scanning you discover that one of the cheapest films money can buy turns out to be a total winner.

Images made with the Nikon F3 and LensBaby Sweet Spot 35, on Lomography Earl Grey 100 Film.

RECENT POSTS

AT THE MOMENT

WATCHING

I’m changing up my “listening to” section this month as I really haven’t been into any one thing musically. Plus I never (and I mean NEVER) watch TV, so it’s a momentous occasion when I actually sit down to watch something. In this case it’s extra momentous. My friend Chris Greer just launched his TV Show View Finders, and y’all, it’s so good! Part eduction, part photography, all beauty, the show focuses on some of Georgia’s most scenic spaces. The show airs each Saturday morning on Georgia PBS, but for those of you not local you can stream it here. And I can promise no matter where you live if you appreciate the beauty of nature then this show is well worth the 27 minute watch! There are currently two episodes available for viewing, with three more on the way. (Both were excellent, but the one on Blood Mountain was my fave!)

Chris has also written and photographed an incredible Georgia travel guide called Georgia Discovered, and has a new book, Naturally Georgia, coming out next month. And be sure to check out his website and instagram for some of the most stunning landscape photography you’ve ever seen.

READING IN

In the spirit of Earth Month I picked up The Invention of Nature. The book explores the life of Alexander Von Humboldt. I was completely unfamiliar with Humboldt, which is kind of hard to believe. He was one of the world’s most influential scientists and writers; one of the first scientists to conceive and write about climate change, the possibility of evolution, and to argue for the connectedness of the natural world. His writings formed the foundation for Darwin to build on, and inspired Thoreau, Muir, and many others.

THINKING ABOUT

It’s easy to read climate news and feel completely defeated. But I came across this fantastic article about why a growing number of people are trying to change the language of climate doomism and instead focus on solutions. If ever there was an important article to read or word to spread, I really think it’s this. (And if you agree you might also like this NYT opinion piece on the return of the Lord God Bird.)

CRUSHING ON

Lately I’m loving all things Ocean Vuong. I listened to this podcast about mothers and sons with him back at the beginning of the month when it aired, and then immediately downloaded all of his books. I’ve been enjoying his most recent book of poetry, Time is a Mother, the last couple of weeks, and look forward to starting On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous as soon as I’m done. But mostly I just want to listen to that beautiful soul talk.