Spring in the Midwest: A Season of Whiplash and Starting Again

A week ago it was 80 degrees.

Two days ago it snowed.

Spring in the Midwest doesn’t arrive all at once. It comes in fragments. Warm days that pull people back outside, followed by cold snaps that push everything back into pause.

That kind of seasonal whiplash is hard to settle into. You start to trust it, just a little, and then it’s gone.

Lately, I’ve been noticing that same pattern in my work as a photographer.

Most of the past few months have been spent behind the scenes. Rebuilding the foundation of this project. Rethinking how the work is presented. Reaching out, having conversations, and trying to understand where this project fits within outdoor storytelling and environmental work.

Some of those efforts are starting to take shape. A few conversations have turned into real opportunities. A few proposals are gaining traction.

Others haven’t gone anywhere.

And some opportunities are moving faster than this project is meant to.

That’s been the tension — not just finding work, but deciding what actually fits. Protecting the pace of something that was never meant to feel rushed or transactional.

It would be easy to say yes to everything. To follow the momentum wherever it goes. But that risks losing what made this work meaningful in the first place.

Portraits of Adventure started with simple, organic moments. Meeting someone on a trail. Taking the time to listen. Letting the interaction unfold before ever asking to make a portrait.

That process still feels essential.

When things start to feel rushed, I’ve been trying to return to that.

Go back outside.

Slow down.

Pay attention.

That’s usually where the next story reveals itself.

About the Project

Portraits of Adventure is an ongoing documentary photography project exploring people, place, and their relationship to the outdoors, with a focus on environmental connection, access, and lived experience.