Campfire nights

My mind was heavy on the effort. I was forgetting the why.

I wasn’t excited for this trip. Before we even left, it felt like work. We load the Subaru to the brim — and then some. Camping, for us, leans toward convenience over necessity. And convenience comes at a cost. More gear. More setup. More effort. My mind was heavy on the effort.

We’re here so our child grows up with camping memories of his own. We’re here to bond as a family. We’re here to make photographs we’ll look back on one day.

When I think about my own childhood camping photos, they weren’t perfect. They were grainy. Hazy. Poorly exposed. At the time, they were just snapshots.

Now they feel nostalgic. Retro. But to me, they’re more than that. They’re a feeling.

This trip, in 2026, I get the best of both worlds.

I get to create new memories with my family — while photographing them in a way that carries the feeling of my childhood images. The grain. The softness. The imperfection.

It’s a reminder of why we’re here.

Not for the convenience. Not for the perfectly packed car.

For the memories being made in real time.

And that’s a special thing to get to do.