Summer in Red Lodge

Essay 102 • Jan 9th 2017

I spent the summer essentially volunteering with the US Forest Service in Montana, fixing trails and cleaning campsites after graduating college in May of 2016.

I wanted to make a photo-story out of the summer, but because of my schedule, couldn't follow through with any ideas. But I kept photographing and ended up with an inconsistent mix of portraits, landscapes, journalistic and otherwise from my time in Montana, all revealing parts of myself as much as they do the subjects in the pictures.

Looking back at the images now, I see a story of seeking and not finding - of searching aimlessly - but in a good way.

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When the sun comes up and stirs me just a bit, it's almost impossible for me to stay asleep. I've seen too many scenes like this - soft sunrise hues hitting tall grass or gracing the sides of buildings - to ignore the possibility of seeing just one more. I grab my bike and ride through an ocean of changing pastel hues and warm morning breeze. When it's between sleep and that, I mean, is there even a choice?
Post-lunch nap.

 

My name is Ethan Fichtner, I live in Phoenix, Arizona, and I use a camera to try to understand what’s going on around me. When not photographing in a city, I’m usually found in some mountains or surfing in some ocean.

I have a website: ethanmfich.com and an Instagram: @ethanmfich.