Between Frames - October 2024
A long long long month has finally come to an end.
Fall, from coast to coast (twice, kinda).
This month featured three trips to other states (going back to NJ/NY in between each of them), birthdays for Paloma & myself, and a handful of friends visiting us in NY1. It was a lot.
First, Paloma and I visited Grand Rapids, MI (more on this later). Then, I went to Denver with some friends for a Goth Babe (he’s not goth, nor a girl, he’s indie & he’s amazing) concert. Finally, Paloma & I joined her parents for a trip out to visit Paloma’s paternal grandparents in San Diego.
Looking back on my images this month, I’m not the most proud of them, but 1) I’ve only touched the surface on editing them (I edited them today for this newsletter) and 2) I think that they serve their purpose well.
Enjoy!
Grand Rapids, MI
Paloma and I went to Grand Rapids (hereon out referred to as GR) because………..… we are moving there.
Paloma was laid off from her job in early September, and, by the grace of God, was able to secure & start a new job within a month (and a few days) of losing her old one. She is the Marketing Project Manager for CURE International, a non-profit specializing in surgeries for children in Africa & Asia born with genetic defects (bowed legs, clubbed feet, etc).
Paloma was flown out to GR for a final interview by CURE. We decided that it’d work best if I joined her on the trip in case we decided to move there. Surprise, we decided to do so and we moved there this past Sunday.
While we were there, we wandered a lot, exploring as much of the city as we could. Inevitably, I took tons of photos as we wandered. Here are two of them (I don’t have room for any more, sadly):
Fall wasn’t really “Fall-ing” in Grand Rapids. Some small trees had turned and it was beautiful to see with the late afternoon golden light beaming through on the golden leaves. Don’t worry, beautiful fall colors are coming soon :)
Denver, CO
Shortly after our trip to GR, I hopped on another plane. As I mentioned above, it was to Denver this time to see Goth Babe with my friend, Brennan. Somehow, life keeps pulling Brennan and I back together, no matter how far apart we live from one another. That’s something I hope never changes.
Despite neither of us living in Denver, we made our way there to see the show at my all-time favorite venue, Red Rocks.
Throughout our entire time in Denver, we seemed to have perfect light. Although the trees had changed and mostly fallen the week prior, there were still plenty of stragglers that held onto their leaves (you’ll see that this is a theme that continues).
The aspen trees in Denver (& all of CO and WY really) fell mostly the week before we arrived (major sad), but we still saw plenty of beautiful trees, including these as we hiked the Flatirons (10/10 hike! Go do it!):
*Side note: sorry the crop on these isn’t great. I had to split screen them (and thus make them 1:1) to save space :(
We grabbed coffee one day in Boulder at Alpine Modern (genuinely one of the best in the Denver metro). Next to it was beautiful cemetery with aspens full of leaves still. So, continuing my father’s legacy, I went and photographed it. Here’s a frame.
The last part of Denver that I want to highlight was the drive we took from Boulder to Morrison via Golden, CO. That night, Golden was golden. The sunset over the range was stunning, casting this beautiful golden haze (special thanks to the local wildfires) over the farmland.
San Diego, CA
Shortly after my Denver trip, Paloma, her family, and myself hopped on a plane to San Diego to visit Paloma’s paternal grandparents. Not 30 minutes after we arrived to SD, Paloma’s grandmother fell and broke her hip. The rest of our time in SD was spent bouncing between the hospital and Paloma’s grandparents’ home (visiting her grandfather). It wasn’t the trip we wanted, but we are so so grateful that we could be there to be support during a hard time like that.
We did sneak out twice to a place called “Sunset Cliffs” (you’ll see why in a minute) to watch the sunset. Us East Coast-ers don’t get to watch the sun dip below the horizon much, so we had to take the opportunity when we could.
I took a few photos of Paloma while we were there too. Here’s one of my favs from late:
Lastly, I added a few more photos to the project that I am working on for Paloma’s grandparents. I documented their new home some, even if it’s almost a one-to-one recreation of their old place. This project definitely has gained some ground, but the setback of Grammy breaking her hip didn’t help it progress far.
The In-Between
In between my visits to the various NYC airports for these trips, I would find myself documenting my autumn in New Jersey. Our last few days in NJ were spent hiking, exploring, and enjoying the changing leaves. Paloma’s family lives in the mountains of NJ, so our backyard was ablaze with orange trees shooting up the mountainside. Here’s a few photos from a hike I did my last week there.
This last frame is one of my favorites from the entire year. My paid subscribers will receive it as a print this month (sorry it’s so delayed, moving messed it all up haha).
Fall in Northern New Jersey feels like fall in Virginia, but crisper, almost like a fresh apple that you pick off the tree in your local apple orchard. It’s orange, almost like the color of the pumpkins you carve. It’s peaceful and slow, far different from the fast that you’ll find in the center of an island, named Manhattan, off of it’s shore.
Things I loved this month:
Making a home in Grand Rapids means finding new coffee shops. Please come visit so I can show you these two: Madcap and The Bradbury
Nuclear Fusion. At home.
I read this article about the stock market after a new president is elected and it made me realize that the markets will always do what they want. Presidents (& their economic plans) can’t really affect things that much. If you want to discuss this further, I’d love to chat!
Come see Lord Huron in May with us! We got even better tickets again this year.
I got a new tattoo. Maya is awesome and her work is stunning. Go get one!
You’ll notice that there aren’t any NYC photos in this issue. I’ll make a special issue and send it out later this month. I need to reminisce on them a little bit more. It’s hard to leave :(
Goth Babe is the BEST!!
Miss you and Paloma! 🙏
These are stunning!! The one of fall in NJ with the skyline in the distance is breathtaking