Jesse Murch 3/29/16 Jesse Murch 3/29/16

Recent Travels - Jefferson, NJ

It was late afternoon and the sun was high in the sky, the temperature was chilly but a jacket and one was fine. The group of us planned on meeting up at Steve’s ( @softfocusprod ) house and carpooling to the shoot location. There would be eight of us in total for todays excursion, and as i pulled down the road i was greeted by Kayla ( @kaylasavage_ ) who would be one of the models for the day, James ( @jamesorgyinthefacility ), Tori ( @graphicpsycheldelic ), and Robyn who would also model for the day. We all exchanged info and stories while waiting for Enzo ( @enzodadude ) and Jennie ( @jennyfromtherock ). Once they arrived we split up into two cars and headed off to the location for the day, an old church retreat buried deep in the woods, we parked at a forest service gate and proceeded to walk the long paved road that would end up at our destination.

The road was curved through bare forests and green pines before cresting a hill and revealing the retreat. This place was different then most abandoned places we venture to as the whole building was unlocked, and even with this there was no graffiti throughout, everything was clean and untouched. Also surprisingly the boiler was still kicking on and off providing heat throughout the building which was a pleasant surprise. We walked in through the front door and everyone split there separate ways like an episode of scooby doo to go explore the new terrain. The first floor consisted of a chapel hall, living quarters, a kitchen, and long hallways with ample light. The basement featured the boiler room, storage areas filled with old light bulbs and spare parts, and a full sized basketball court, while the top floor had a balcony overlooking the chapel, some bigger rooms leading to outdoor balconies, and access to the expansive roof via a runged ladder heading through the ceiling. After everyone had there fill of exploring we all gathered down stairs in the gym to begin shooting our first images.

These consisted of an antique couch being dragged to the center, a fire extinguisher being used to create atmosphere, and gorgeous rays of natural window light. Its always nice to have a big group on shoots from time to time, the interactions and the creative ideas that get thrown out consistently is always nice, as well as how much you learn by witnessing different peoples creative processes and ways of interacting while shooting or posing. After getting our image fill in the gym we broke off into smaller groups, some went to other rooms to do self portraits, others went to explore the roof before all gathering again by the waterfront behind the building where an expansive dock lay, James managed to open a nearby shed finding two sailboats that would provide a good backdrop and prop foursome photos, one by one everyone we had come with came out to the dock to utilize and photograph the happenings, weather it be James sailing the pond propelling himself with a fire extinguisher, kayla posing nude on a boat, or just to enjoy the sun on the water. The shenanigans lasted until all were cold and ready for the oddly climate controlled abandoned building once more.

One by one we tracked back into the brick building in search for more locations, we found this in the form of an outdoor balcony off of the third floor. Robyn had been out there smoking and the light that was coming through the trees lit her perfectly, after minimal posing instructions i shot off a few photos and moved back inside to see what else was around. Like a commune of artists each room had something creative going on in it as i wandered the empty halls, being surrounded by creatives always makes you push your work further and think outside of the box, being so i encourage you all to get out more with others and collaborate. We spent a few more hours wandering and shooting about the building before all getting hungry and wanting to head out in search for food and a re-charge. After some much needed pizza we drove around the town to a nearby reservoir where we planned on shooting until the sun set over the lake. This was cut short almost immediately as we hadn't even set our bags down before a self entitled park ranger showed up to accuses of being terrorists with no jobs and not paying taxes, i wish i were exaggerating but unfortunately this man was very ignorant, not wanting to further escalate and feed into this mans complex we packed up and went down the road to some power line trails to finish off our terroristicattacks, er i mean photographs, the sunset set in the perfect spot and we were all able to get beautifully backlit portraits. All in all the day was filled with adventures, new friendships, strengthened old ones, and as always photography and art.

-Stay Traveling Friends

Jesse Murch 12/30/15 Jesse Murch 12/30/15

Zion National Park - " I'm not ready to go home "

We arrived into Zion National park right at the tail end of golden hour, the rich cotton candy sky accented the golden cliffs in perfect form. Our eyes absorbed the scenes with deep concentration, the air was crisp but inviting. As we curved through the landscape on paved roads we took in scene after scene. Eventually we found a pull off and jumped out of the van eager to explore the landscape unclose in the fleeting moments before nightfall. The rocks formed intricate swirls and martian angles, the sand was smooth and cool with a hue of delicate orange, we spent an hour in the roadside canyon capturing what our eyes were experiencing. Once the light had receded below the mountainous horizon with climbed back into the van and proceeded through the only road that leads through Zion. We were led to a long dark tunnel that curled through a large mountain, and upon completing the tunnel were welcomed to hairpin turns of the road zig zagging back and forth down the mountain face to the valley below, once in the valley one felt as an ant must feel, everything around us seemed proper for giants. We found shelter for the night in the form of a parking lot to a campground, at this point all that was left in the deep blue sky was a blanket of twinkling diamonds and the pale moon hovering in the low horizon. We layered on jackets and hats before firing up the stoves and boiling the water that would be our source of cooking for the night. Tom manned the cooking while i wandered the parking lot looking for the idea spot to capture the night sky, upon reaching the top of the lot and turning back i was greeted by three majestic mountain tops peaking through the trees with stars peppering down upon them and the remaining trail of white exhaust from a passing prop plane, i set up and immediately knew what i wanted to capture. After hours of shooting and food in our stomachs we closed up the van and prepared for a cool night sleep among the stars and cliffs. We woke with the sun as it warmed the van and made leaving the comfort of warm blankets easier, we stumbled into a small village down the road that had a small coffee shop and eatery there to greet us. We entered and promptly made our orders eager to eat and get out on the trails. We enjoyed the hot coffee and morning conversations with locals before heading to the trail head that would lead us to a view of all of Zion, this was one of the few trails open as Zion is known for expeditions that lead you through caves and rivers alike, being around the thirties in temperature we thought that not smart and decided to strike with a dry trail blanketed in sun. As we started up the carved stairs leading upwards, still shaking off the morning cobwebs and aches that come with living out of a camper van for over a week, we talked of previous days excursions and the sad reality that this would be the last stop of the trip. The trail welcomed us over steel grated foot bridges, half caves, steep rocks, and pits of sand all the while climbing to the summit. Upon reaching the summit one could see all of Zion, from the winding roads we came in on to "Sacrifice rock" miles in the distance, named for the brilliant rusty red colors dripping down its facade. The Summit was scattered with massive boulders that stretched out from the cliffs edge, and if brave enough provided a panoramic view of the scene as your legs dangled with nothing but thousands of feet below them. Without reason or acknowledging one another we spilt and each found ourselves sitting out on these rocks, secluded from fellow hikers and each other, sitting, pondering, taking it all in. As i sat i realized how far i had come since departing from New Jersey a few days earlier, how these beautiful places really do hold a true form of magic, thee kind that transforms a person mentally as well as physically. My mind had been cleared and cleaned from everything that troubled me back home, i was truly at peace in every way for the first time in my life. I never wanted that feeling to leave, i never wanted to be anywhere other then these glorious places. I knew that upon returning home everyday life wouldn't be enough after experiencing this, i knew life was way to short not to get out and see these places and to live not just exist. We must have spent nearly four hours out on these rocks pondering life and where we needed to take our own. As we stumbled off the trails and back into the van for our last leg to Las Vegas to catch our flights back to home and reality, we couldn't help but smile and laugh knowing we truly did change out here in the midwest, knowing we stumbled and learned secrets few have a chance to. The roads that led us to the last city on our list were a bittersweet experience, in one hand we saw new landscapes once again, but in the other with every mile we took we were also a mile closer to heading back and away from the real magic that we were encompassed in. Stopping at the hover dam for one last site of wonder i threw a coin wrapped in a wish over the side in slight hope my life would end up how visioned it would be out on these roads. In conclusion to this trip i want to urge you to go out and see something grand before its to late, to travel with friends, hike a mountain that seems unattainable, talk with a stranger in a foreign place, find what you love and let it lead you, go out and live not just exist. Time is the most valuable asset we own in this life, done waste it on sitting behind a desk wishing spend it traveling and planning new and exciting adventures. I will be heading out on more road trips and adventures this summer and am currently looking for people that would like to join me in these, if interested contact me though the site. Keep traveling and stay outside.

Jesse Murch 11/18/15 Jesse Murch 11/18/15

Yosemite National Park - "The heat doesn't work"

Leaving the warm Venice air proved to be difficult knowing we would soon be welcomed to cooler winds and white powered on our boots, still we picked up the camper van, loaded our packs and gear into its selected places, picked our music for the five hour drive, and started up to Pacific coast highway toward our first national park of the trip. The drive started off slowly winding through the hollywood hills and the un-nerving Los Angeles traffic before having us climb over mountains wide and high. It was about two hours in of these hill climbs before we descended and had us traversing flat desert roads north through Bakersfield.After passing through Fresno we started heading east inward two the gates of Yosemite National Park, we heard reports of snow storms days prior but until reaching the gates we had no idea how they had and will affect our journey. The swirling roads that lead into the park were fine at first, then suddenly the sides of the roads became peppered white, then the roads themselves, eventually as we passed through the small mountain town of Fish Camp the roads had iced and the snow was coming down viciously. We passed sign after sign stating no vehicles past this point without chains and four wheel drive. It would be smart to turn back, then again no story ever begins with “and then we turned back ” so we proceeded on. Luckily for me Tom has had experience driving vans on snow covered roads, still the drive wasn't without its fears as Yosemite seems to not be one for guard rails or any other measures that would save a wayward vehicle from falling thousands of feet to its doom. We made it roughly a half hour past Fish Camp and decided to find a lot to park and camp for the night, the snow falling had made sight non existent and we were beginning to push more snow then driving over. Upon parking and setting up camp we thought it best to have a small quick snack of trail mix and water, then prepare for bed. The back of the van was spacious after folding out the cushions and the three hundred and sixty degrees of curtains covered all windows nicely for privacy and darkness. We did however have one downfall in our first night in the wilderness, the heater, we quickly figured out did not plug in and work. Of course we had the heat from the van but it would need to stay running in order for that to work, and being that we had not seen any gas stations since turning off the main highway we knew this wouldn't be an option. We threw on double layers of sweatpants and sweatshirts along with blankets and tucked in for a long cold night. We awoke early, minutes before the sun rose over the skyline to the sound of a plow truck, well that and the immense cold that had crept in while we slept. Taking the many clues that sleeping in wouldn't be an option we tossed our boots on jumped up front and headed out.The next stop? Half Dome, and yes that should sound familiar as aside from being featured as a backdrop on all apple computers and photographed by some of the worlds leading photographers. The roads although increasingly better then the night before were still slick with ice and snow unable to be scraped clean by the plows. We winded further and further, higher then we had ever traveled before in this journey. As we turned a corner before us like a glowing red fire on a sun-kissed horizon was the entrance to a tunnel, it was long and resembled more of a lit cave then anything, as we drove through anticipation to where this would lead out grew, words couldn't do justice what laid before our eyes upon reaching the end. We pulled off immediately into the lot on the left side of the road, there before us in all of its glory centered between its sister peaks, Half Dome. For this marked the first time in my life i was left utterly speechless, for all at once my eyes soaked in the rising sun, the deep teal aura of the sky, the snow topped peaks surrounded with brilliant green pines it seamed to suck any words from my grasp immediately. It took everything in us to peal ourselves away from this view but we knew more where to come and that the road was calling. Originally we had planned to head up and over the mountains and onto the eastern side of Yosemite but due to the overwhelming snow all roads but the one we were on had been closed, luckily the road was a massive loop so no back tracking needed.Upon getting into the van and heading out we started the decent into the valley of Yosemite. The mountain tops receded but we were rewarded with an increase in gorgeous pines and sun soaked fields. We soon found ourselves driving beside the Merced River down Northside Dr, we immediately found a clearing and pulled over. As soon as we pulled off i knew the image i wanted to take, i grabbed my camera and a wide angle lens and positioned myself onto the river bed facing upstream the river provided a mirror like surface that portrayed gorgeous symmetry and took in all the blue tones that saturated the landscape. By this point our less then small breakfast of trail mix and water was proving to not be sufficient, our stomachs growled and turned begging for nutrition. We set off to find food, this proved to be more difficult then anticipated, we traveled for miles on back winding roads with no sign of food. We stumbled onto a couple hopeful spots but due to the weather all were closed. What seemed forever but turned out to be only an hour or so of driving found us off of the snow covered mountain roads and proceeding off the mountain ranges, at the end of this road a quaint mountain town with a small diner/convenience store nestled in the center. The hosts were gracious and kind, asking about our journey and provided quick food and beverages to quench our hunger. We said our goodbyes and feeling well nourished we climbed into the van for the eight hour drive to Joshua Tree National Park in southern California.