One of the most effective ways for me to re-ground myself is to interact with nature. This could take the shape of all sorts of activities. I was looking for something new, so a buddy of mine and I decided to build a Wigwam from White Birch. It was a great exercise in creativity and creation. We sourced each sapling, cut, bent and locked into place without any hardware. We wanted to keep it as natural as possible and this structure will be covered in layers of thick canvas and wool to become a steam lodge. We sourced river stones that will be heated to super hot temps and then transported into a cradle in the middle of the Wigwam. It will comfortably fit 6 people and is super light and easy to move. The frame is surprisingly strong and will last for years.

Yesterday was spent hiking in the Presidential Range of New Hampshire with a couple buddies. It has been a while since I laced up my hiking shoes and marched up and down mountains for a day. We blazed through fall colors up onto Mount Webster with great views of the surrounding steep walls and rolling hills, then traversed the saddle through the heavy pine scented forest up onto Mount Jackson which is the southern most point of the Presidential Range. The peak offered spectacular 360 degree views. With blue skies and full sun above, we found shelter from hard driving winds in a nook in the rocky top and enjoyed lunch. We sat and watched the continuous cloud stream blow over the cap of Mount Washington and the surrounding peaks. The hike down was a rock hopping scramble. To cap the day in N.Conway, we found an outdoor deck, and enjoyed some local brew with late day temps in the mid 70′s. This was my first time using my iPhone as my only way of recording the day. There is something to be said for the simplicity and lightness of this approach.

The latest issue of Maine Magazine arrived on my doorstep today. It’s the spring issue and is titled The Wellness Issue. My role in this issue was to photograph 3 local Doctors who focus on Integrative Medicine. My connection to this assignment was a bit closer then the normal since I believe and engage in this type of health philosophy. My own doctor practices this style of health-care and one of the doctors featured in the story was a former consultant of mine. I was excited to delve deeper into this mindset via photographic experience. Each doctor had a different specialty, but all full embraced this middle-ground between eastern and western medicine. They were great to work with within their work-spaces and hear stories from their field. Below are the tear sheets, plus a few more of my favorites from the shoots. A special thanks to the Docs, Craig Schneider, Matt Hands, Lisa Belisle and the amazingly resilient and inspirational young cancer patient who let us capture his acupuncture session at Maine Medical Center.

For the March issue of Maine Magazine, I shot my first assignment for our regional magazine that has turned heads with their great design sense, photography and local story telling. I spent about an hour with local guru of the sea, Rod Mitchell, at his warehouse and storefront on the waterfront in Portland. Rod has been running the show at Browne Trading Company since 1991 and is well known for providing the freshest seafood to the finest restaurants. The shoot rapped with a big ole’ spoonful of top shelf caviar.

Everyone recharges their batteries via different methods. My main way to refuel the soul is to break away from the grind and drop myself into anywhere outdoors. Last weekend I was treated to just that. It went something like this. Drive from home directly to Saddleback Mountain for a half day of skiing. With young kids and family usually in tow, this was a real treat to get out and ski top to bottom a dozen times. Conditions were stellar. After 4 hours of turns we saddled up to the bar at the lodge to cap the experience with some spirits. Day 2 we snowshoed up the east side of Saddleback to the AT ridgeline with hopes of traversing multiple peaks towards Sugarloaf, but snow and enveloping cloud cover limited the ridgeline jaunt to a much shorter experience. The pictures below are on the AT on the peak of Saddleback. We descended off the peaks shoulder through the trees arriving at the top trail of the ski mountain. We then descended through the new open glades to the the bottom. Upon returning to the camp we sparked up an outdoor fire and prepped the sweatlodge for Guys Winterfest 2011. Day 3 brought us into the back-country ski loop off Burnham Hill. That capped the extended weekend. Then homeward bound.

This one was handed down from the photo gods as the perfect match for me. A remote island, a funky refinished lodge, abundant fresh seafood perfectly served up, a diverse collection of Maine characters and full creative freedom to capture it all as I see it. The kind folks at McMurry hired me late this fall for my second feature for Amtrak’s in-train magazine called Arrive. I was hired to travel up and off the coast to North Haven Island, located an hour ferry ride out to sea. The feature was focusing on the Nebo Lodge and the amazing food they prepare for the island locals and guests. Two sisters who grew up on the island run the operation in the kitchen and cook up some mighty fine dishes that are for the most part locally sourced from organic farms, fisherman and oyster farmers in and around this dreamy island destination. The islanders could not have been more welcoming. I spent most of the day in the kitchen with head chef Amanda shooting them working their magic and capturing their culinary creations. Posted below is the magazine spread as well as a couple portraits of the sisters making it all happen.

My cousin Johnny got married this weekend in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.  Nic and I traveled sans kids for 2 full days of wedding celebration, carpooling up with Chris and Sarah in “Brownsty” the Westfalia 1985′ camper van.  Sat. was a perfect fall day under full sun in the low 50′s. We were outside from the moment we arrived at the family farm. This was my first time back at the barn for about 30 years.  Great memories were rooted there as a boy and they now continue. Back then we explored silos and got charged by sheep. This Saturday (pre-wedding day) was about playing games, carving pumpkins, enjoying cold local beer, hay rides through the big open hillside fields, listening to live music from early afternoon to past midnight, eating a large amount of great food and gathering around a campfire.  Seeing my cousin David sing and play guitar again was a highlight for Nic and I. It has been many years since I heard his voice and music. We set up our tent in the well manicured apple tree grove. We awoke to a hard frost in the low 20′s. Good clothing and gear prep led to at cozy warm all night. Saturday Nic and I hiked and ran in the hills around their farm. We ate lunch in the town of St. J with my folks, then headed to the wedding at another picture perfect farm, The Alerin Barn Farm. The wedding itself flowed at a wonderful pace of touching words and musicians that have been connected for years. The ceremony flowed into happy hour which was infused my bluegrass, fried crab nuggest and fine Scotch. We gathered under the tent (in the picture above) and then into the massive, two-story post and beam barn for dinner, music and dance. We ended the evening traveling with my parents back to North Conway for the night. Monday morning started with breakfast at The Staircase and onto work where now I set writing this.

Even with the down and dirty exercise of bending over and picking up other people’s trash, I am left with a feeling that I actually just made a positive impact on the planet.  Where I happen to work in Portland, there is an appalling abundance of trash. It’s everywhere. There are a few reasons for this. The main reason is decades of trash build up and abandonment by homeless camping in the private woods lots that border the sea. The other is lazy people who still throw their trash out their car windows because a trash can is just too much to bother with.  Lastly is people pulling up to the side of the street or woods-line and dumping TV’s, air conditioners, mattresses and pretty much anything else you can imagine because they would have to pay a nominal fee for disposal at the dump.

Last night I decided I would pack my work gloves, boots and trashbags and give an hour of greenup time to Portland today.  Here you can see what I just collected on Commercial Street.  This made a tiny dent in what needs to be picked up.  I bagged 4 full heavy duty trashbags of nastiness, pulled out a tire, air conditioner, blankets, a palette, and hundreds of pieces of plastic and Styrofoam. I will now call the city and tell them where the easy to access pile is and ask them to pick it up. Fingers crossed.

Let the migration begin.  Yesterday, 3 of our sleeping Monarch’s shed their chrysalis. My girls let each Monarch crawl out of their temporary home (a fish bowl) onto their hands to get adjusted to the outside world.  After some kid to Monarch bonding played out, the butterfly’s flapped their wings for their first flight landing on some ornamental grasses for a few hours of chill time before shoving off for Mexico. This season, we were lucky enough to actually witness the caterpillar spin itself into it’s chrysalis and also watched it emerge from it chrysalis as a vibrant Monarch.