Backpacking. Tramping. Trekking. Hiking. Travel.

Whichever term, whatever the environment and wherever the destination. It doesn’t matter. Traveling provides opportunities to explore the world. To view incomparable sights. To experience different cultures. To expand perspectives. To understand our integration with the environment. To share memories. To fully experience life.

Walking down canyons in Utah, roaming around small towns in Patagonia, wondering about the local bear population in Alaskan valleys, trudging up a seemingly endless mountainside in an Icelandic downpour, wandering around a small farm in rural Kansas, and exploring the North Shore of Lake Superior from my hometown of Duluth, MN. All of those moments and experiences, each an adventure in its own way, have provided life-long perspectives merely by getting outside and beginning some form of activity. And, over the years, I have usually decided to carry a camera with while adventuring, which has resulted in photography immortalizing many of those experiences.

To varying degrees of success, photography captured the solitude of my first solo backpacking trip to Montana's Lee Metcalf Wilderness, the lushness of New Zealand after a week’s worth of rain, and the majesty of Canada’s Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. The images taken during these wide-ranging journeys have only recently begun to display the character and feeling of the places photographed, which means many older trips' photographs remain in boxes in the basement and on various hard drives, but also means there are a few newer images worth sharing in these galleries.

I’ve only just begun exploring my ever-expanding list of places to visit. While certainly not unique to me, I try to see and experience as much as possible within the limited amount of time available and, at the same time, make every effort to leave no trace while passing through fragile environments.

Feel free to contact me at contourjourney@yahoo.com or through Instagram for any reason. I'll be sure to reply!