Forked Road

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

Nicaragua | Sunday, September 11, 2011 | 5 photos

When I looked down at the two ash laden pathways on Volcano Masaya in Nicaragua last year I couldn’t help but compare my life to the diverging paths that were spread over the land I was exploring below me and the mixed thoughts occupying my head. The path on the left was straight, effortless, easy, and flowing in a determined direction. The path on the right represents what defines me: my pursuit of knowledge, learning, and following my dreams. The path on the right suits me; fearless, hanging on a cliff, uneven, undecided, not fully formed. I lust for new things; new cultures, new places, new beginnings and endings.
Over the past four years, I have spent a total of a year abroad in both Ecuador and Costa Rica studying howler monkeys. I graduated from Humboldt State University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology. I am currently in a teaching credential program to obtain a multiple subjects credential which I expect to finish in December 2012 to sustain me in my future endeavors. I am determined to fully support my dreams by obtaining a PhD in primatology in order to be a field primatologist and by enhancing my photographic skills to become a professional wildlife photographer.
Looking through a camera is like opening a secret door into a world of unexpected thrills, longing, and love of the subject. The separation of feathers, the texture of a brick, and the veins on a leaf seen in black and white is electrifying. My medium choice is black and white for that reason. The infinite details can be overlooked in the same shot with color.
I have traveled numerous places. Every time I come home I think, what’s next? The unknown is always calling me: softly, silently but strong.