© Shawn Records, from the series At a Loss
“Truth is, I’m not much of a naturalist. I can’t identify the trees in my yard, enjoy camping primarily for the drive to get there, and my appreciation for nature sounds as trite as a personals ad… full of a fondness for walks on the beach, sunsets, seagulls, and waterfalls. But mornings when it’s warm enough, I prefer to drink my coffee in the backyard, on the bench under the rose bush, watching the squirrels and birds fight over whatever it is that they find on top of the garage.
While I’m not sure that this should be considered an experience of nature, I’m not sure that it shouldn’t either. These photographs aren’t about drawing the line between natural and artificial, but instead, they take a step back and ask why the distinction matters? What is it that we’re really hoping to find in nature and is that experience any less authentic with a paid admission? Whether at the zoo, or at the ocean, or in a plastic lawn chair in my own backyard, my sense of enchantment in the natural world is still sincere. And I can’t help but think that there’s some sort of truth to be found, some important lessons to be learned in nature. Wherever or however we find it. “
Shawn
© Shawn Records, from the series Harbor
“Ultimately, Harbor is a project about hope, failure, ambition, tradition, and wildness, primarily set in and inspired by Gray’s Harbor in Washington state. When locals ask why I’m photographing there, I always tell them that the area has a long history of both optimism and failure that interests me: the rise and fall of logging, the construction and desertion of the nuclear plant, the spotted owl, the meth, Cobain’s rise and eventual suicide, etc…. At first, I worried about offending, but that’s never the case. They always laugh. They get it. In fact, I think they thrive on it.”
Shawn
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N I H I L S E N T I M E N T A L G I A, 