I Wonder T-shirt design

Before I left Kansas, I did an interview session with all the guys in the Randy Baldwin Band, and I finally got around to going through all sorts of live footage that I had of Randy and the rest of the band. The result is that they have a video that is less than 5 minutes long, and it tells the story of how the Randy Baldwin Band started, and what each person's name is. This kind of video is very important for a band that is trying to get more gigs. When you can send an introduction video to a venue owner, that is a powerful resource to leverage.

I recently had the opportunity to go up to the Goose Creek campground, outside of Deckers and Cheeseman Reservoir. While I was there I went on some hikes, took photos, and a did few timelapse sequences. When I hiked up to a high point and set up the tripod to begin a timelapse. . . I realized that I was going to have plenty of time to think while I waited for the camera to acquire the sequence. It is inescapable that when I'm near an area that has been burned, I think about the chaos of the fire itself, and how it completely changed the balance of life in that wilderness. I wonder how long it will take to "grow back" and what it might look like then. Those types of cycles are large. Much larger than any of us. While I enjoy forested areas, I also realize that these cycles happen. While it is always regrettable when humans unnecessarily speed up that cycle and ruin things for others. . . burn areas in and of themselves are a part of nature. ( Important to Note: I am careful to obey the posted signs about what is off limits, as I do not want to cause any further erosion ). Many people would just choose to never visit an area that has been burned. But I have realized that there really is a lot of value in seeing nature in a state of recovery. Many of the rock outcroppings in the forest are obscured by trees and you never see them, but after a burn the landscape is revealed in various ways. You see that there is no "forest floor" anymore. It's more like the arid climate reveals that it's very much a mountainous desert. But I also noticed that in the valley where the river was, the trees sustained themselves from the fire by having roots close enough to the water that they were hydrated and protected against the inferno. A portion of this valley was left untouched even though the fire decimated the surrounding hillsides for miles. It is easy to find life metaphors in all of it: birth, chaos, death, rebirth. As I sat waiting on the camera to do its thing. . . I compared the chaos/rebirth cycle of a forest to things that have happened in my own life at times. Sometimes when a major life change happens, it feels like an inferno. But things always begin anew. It just takes time. P.S. I captured quite a few photos of Canadian Thistle blooms (in different stages). I have always loved this plant. They are prickly-as-can-be, but they have absolutely beautiful pink/purple flowers. It's a beautiful plant that says, "Don't mess with me."

My co-worker (Galen Reinhart) shared this story with me about how he saw a photoshoot with Stevie Wonder in a field of Kansas sunflowers. I asked him if he would be willing to share his story on a video, and he agreed to it.

I had the opportunity of making this video with the Randy Baldwin Band recently. They trusted me when I asked them to take their instruments out into the river. I think the final result turned out great. Randy's song about Salina made it all possible, and I think the video complements it well.

I had the opportunity to do a T-shirt design for Blind Melon recently. Another dream come true.

Pickin' Pear 03/08/2023 Wichita, Kansas - Kirby's Beer Store

I recently heard about these church ruins up in Lamar, Kansas (east of Delphos). The structure was amazing - on the verge of collapse - it looks as if it could meet its maker in the not-too-distant future.