I love stepping back and seeing myself or my bicycle just dwarfed by the area it sits in, as if to say this tiny machine can overcome these endless expanses. I can’t help when seeing these settings but think of how this relatively uncomplicated machine could carry me around the world if I wished. I have come to think of this bicycle as my personal expression of freedom.
The more I contemplate what I do and why I do it the reason always seems to come back to freedom. That intense and very specific feeling of freedom, the kind where you can feel it through your whole body. England has been good for that.
This what many many miles of the English country side have looked like. These fields filled with little white flowers are my favorite type, I love the simplicity of their beauty. I think dreamy might be the right word, I wanted to nap here but with no shade I’d roast like the very un-tan white boy I am.
Sometimes I get lucky and find just the most incredible side roads that weave through the country with little or no traffic. 
The two people you see above were both photographed in the city you see below, Cromer. Cromer was one of my favorite cities yet, it is so classically European feeling and set right on the water. I ended up resting here for a whole day and sleeping on the beach, I am glad I did because it really gave me the opportunity to experience the city and people instead of just seeing it. 
I have never seen cobble stone used so extensively before. Here in the South East UK it seems like they use it for everything, from streets to churches(which literally every town seems to have!) to walls to houses. But then again I haven’t seen a whole lot of big rocks either so that may explain it
After leaving Cromer I headed south to Norwich a middle sized city with “a church for everyday of the year” as I was told. After doing the hopelessly lost tourist thing for a while found myself on a park bench next to another Englishman who told me I should go to Amsterdam and watch the WC final. I thought that was a pretty good idea so here I am, in Amsterdam blogging about the UK. Tonight is the Final and 50-100k people are expected in the main square to watch the game so of course I will be there. After that I have no idea where I will head…
So expect the next post to be all about Holland and my new cycle touring friend!
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The coolest part about this shoot was that it was more than just a shoot, it was a chance to really get to know Don, Laura and Emmet. Laura and Don were generous enough to host me for 5 days in Ely, UK(which you’ve already seen a bit of from my last post) Over the last 5 days I not only got to meet my new little cousin but I actually got know him a little bit and what I learned was he LOVES to sit in his high chair eat, AKA pound his fist on the table, squeal with excitement and laugh like it’s the coolest thing ever, and he has the most fun of any kid I have ever seen on the swing sets! I have so many awesome pictures of all his crazy energetic facial expressions, they go from fierce to happy to surprised looking all in the blink of an eye, I wish I could post them all but I will have to save some of those for the gallery. 
This shoot really wasn’t so different that any of the other 5 days I spent with Laura, Don and Emmet. Laura always seemed to be going for walks with Emmet and spending time in the park or downtown. Ely is such a great city for walking almost anywhere you want to go and is filled with great little parks a riverfront and an incredible downtown. For this shoot we really just made a loop around from the riverfront on up the hill to the front of the Cathedral, stopping for a snack on the way up. 
I said Iwanted something ‘classically British’ and as Don pointed out, you can’t really get any more British then a British flag atop a English Cathedral, so here it is Classically British
My time is Ely was fantastic and I feel really lucky to have had the chance to spend some time here. Thank you, Laura & Don, so much for the intro to the country, the incredible meals, Don and Laura are a team when it comes to whipping out fantastic meals, and for totally rocking this shoot
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First Impressions! 5 Days In.
Travel is always an adventure and this trip was no exception. From to the inevitable delays, to smashed boxes, absolutely mad traffic and beautifully quiet country side and interesting faces, this adventure is shaping up to be everything I was hoping for.
First hurdle came before I even left Kansas City, I was told my bike would fit on an itty bitty plane that quite obviously was much to small to carry the bicycle in the hold. That miscommunication condemned me to 7 hours of hanging out in my hometown airport waiting for a later flight. But fast forward 12hours and I find myself here, in the UK!
First thing I learned upon arrive was my packing job was woefully inadequate and I feel lucky that the box didn’t split open and dump everything on the tarmac! The other realization was that travel in London is expensive! I spent $32 taking a 15minute train ride to the city, that got me prepared for the $6 single use subway passes and 30$ commuter train rides. But after shelling out half my life savings on train rides I found a perfect spot behind some dumpsters to tear apart my box and build up my bike.
I have to admit building up my bike and cycling out onto the streets of London was such a thrill. I think it is one of those memories that will stick with me for a very long time. The streets are so narrow and the traffic is crazy, as a cyclist you are integrated into the traffic unlike in the US where you feel like a despised outcast pushed into the gutter. Being a first timer in London it just felt like a million things were coming at me at ounce, traffic, people, wrong side of the road, angry taxi drivers and of course amazing architecture and winding non-grid patterned streets. The other cyclist were so helpful in pointing me in the right direction and I struggled to keep up with their breakneck speed. I have yet to figure out how to weave and merge in heavy traffic the way the locals do!
Stranger Faces
- Philo of Alexandria: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.”
After being here only a few days I saw this quote and it struck me very keenly, as being absolutely true. I always attempt to learn something about and from the people I photograph and sometimes I learn more than I ever expected. But as always I never know what to expect, I’ve talked about everything from being 30,000 pounds down in business to the story of an attempted suicide. I find it incredible, you never know just by looking at someone what lies beneath the surface or in the years gone by. I feel as though I am biased, after interacting with these people and hearing their stories I find it so difficult to judge the quality of my portrait work. Their faces are so much more than just artistic expression.
Above is Jeremy, an extremely nice person and a lawyer from a nearby town offered to take me on a tour and drew me a map of places to go. 
And of course where would I be without some mandatory architectural work! Honestly I was very very impressed even after having seen hundreds of pictures, nothing compares to standing at the base of these amazing cathedrals and looking up. 
I want to extend a huge thank you to Laura and Don for hosting me in this beautiful city, which happens to contain the Cathedral above. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family and generous host. Both of them have given me the opportunity to slow down and really appreciate all the subtle beauty this city has to offer. Not even to mention how awesome the meals are at this house! We completed their family shoot today and it should be going up in the next week.
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Here I am composing a blog post 7 hours before my 630am flight departs for London UK.
This trip is actually quite multifaceted. The Goals are:
- Photograph, Laura, Don and Little ‘E‘ (It’s because he’s gangster like that)
- Gain some real world insight into international unsupported cycle touring
- Focus on pushing my personal artistic aspirations to new levels, especially travel and Stranger Portraits.
In this so called “BIG” family photography project we have completed 6 shoots, ranging in places from Portland Oregon to The Lake of the Ozarks to good ol’ Downtown Kansas City. This 7th shoot is going to be a little more involved. Shoot number seven is my Cousin Laura, her husband Don and the new addition to the family Little E or Emmet. What makes this shoot a little more involved is primarily due to the logistics, the three of them live in Ely, UK. I am going to use varying combinations of Planes, trains and one very cool bicycle to reach them. The plane and train part are rather straight forward and combined will, by early Tuesday morning, have carry me all the way to Cambridge, UK, from there I will assemble my bike, (which is in pieces as the moment) and ride the last 18miles to Laura & Don’s door step.
This Surly touring bike will be the machine carrying me around England for the next 3 weeks. As you see above I have outfitted it with front and rear racks for carrying a whole lot of gear, fenders to keep me mud free and three water bottle cages for extended riding. The plan is to tour England living almost entirely off my bike for the next few weeks after leaving my cousins house.
The final facet of this trip is tied very closely to the cycling part. What I love about cycle touring is that it requires you to be vulnerable. Vulnerable to changes in weather, fatigue and cars. But the best part about that vulnerability is that it also makes you vulnerable to people, to interaction and experience. I guarantee that traveling by bike will increase the intensity and frequency of the kind of memories that stick with you (whether there’re good memories in another question!) But at this point in my life I relish the thought “experience” whether that word implies, pleasure, pain, adversity or ease.
Now to sleep for a few hours before heading out to the airport, my next update will be from Ely, UK!
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