The Jervois Cobalt Mine for the Wall Street Journal

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to visit the Jervois Cobalt mine near Salmon, Idaho for the Wall Street Journal. I have wanted to cover this story for ages and I'm so grateful to @breanna.denney for thinking of me for this assignment.

This is the only cobalt mine in the United States and cobalt is an essential ingredient in rechargeable batteries. Although the mine is ready to start extracting the metal, the cost of production is too high so the mine is dormant, waiting for the price of cobalt to rise. Most cobalt is mined in DRC and is used by China.

Portrait is of Executive General Manager Matt Lengerich, who generously took me around the mine and taught me a ton about cobalt and a thing or two about how to make little kids like hiking.

#mining #cobalt #idaho #renewableenergy #photojournalism #salmonidaho #supplychain #salmonchallisnationalforest #climatechange

Recent work for the Jackson Hole News and Guide

It was a delight to take photos of the Jackson Juggernauts taking on the Pocatello Pont Neuf Bruisers at the Roller Derby.

Teton Valley Rodeo

More work for my little hometown paper, The Teton Valley News. They have a cowboy poet, no comics, and if you have some time, read the police report, it’s pretty funny.

Portrait of Miriam Volk for the Lonka Project

Portrait of holocaust survivor Miriam Volk for the Lonka Project. I am honored to participate in this amazing project, which is made even more meaningful to me since it is created by one of my main mentors, Jim Hollander, and his wife Rina Castelnuovo.

Miriam Volk, 99, a holocaust survivor is seen in her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, Saturday May 15, 2021. Ms. Volk survived the Warsaw Ghetto, Auschwitz, and a death march to Bergen-Belsen. After the war she returned to her hometown of Kalisz in Poland to see if she could find any relatives. "I did not find anybody, all my relatives did not make it. I was the only one."

Miriam’s message as a survivor “If you see someone teasing or bullying someone else because they are gay or black or another religion, or just different, You cannot stand there and do nothing. You must protect them and stand up against hatred. Be nice to each other. Life and be very precious and terrific if you do it the right way.”

Deep gratitude to August Miller, who helped me and delivered his lighting genius and magical charisma to the mix.

My Year with the Animals

Going through the images I made in 2020 mostly makes me cringe. I didn’t take any great photos. I didn’t have any spectacular assignments. I was in rural Idaho for most of the year, trying to keep a COVID-free bubble in a home with an elderly parent. There were no protests, or long lines at food pantries, just empty streets with occasional lawn mowing, rattling tractors and a sun-bleached polyester Trump flags.

So, I got my bear-spray and started going on long hikes in the nearby forest with my dog. I went farther and farther away from my dad’s home in the small village of Ashton, and ended up spending days in Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks, watching birds and animals. I started listening to bird watching podcasts and soon pitched up with my camera and a folding chair. Some days I burned a lot of gas and only saw a chipmunk. Other days I was lucky to see something wonderful like a hunting coyote or a swooping osprey clutching a fish. It was surprising to feel that excited feeling when you know you nailed something singular. Honestly, I hadn't felt like that in a while. Pretty much instantly, it triggered the magpie reflex and I became obsessed with collecting a little collection. 

I also baked a virgin loaf of bread and read some books, but my days in 2020 were mostly made meaningful once again by photography. Photography has given me my best friends, countless adventures, happy memories and some sad ones too. I shouldn’t be surprised the profession I love saved me in this most horrible of years.