At the end of January I went to Texas to spend time at my parents house in Burnet. It was a perfect winter week in Texas – you know, 75 degree days and blue skies. I took a film camera (Mamiya 645) and shot 2 rolls (Kodak Portra 400). These are some of my favorite photos from my trip.
My grandather (Papoo) enjoying a margarita on the front porch at the young age of 96. The night before, my Dad was trying to convince him to grow a beard. Papoo’s winning defense: “I can’t get any better looking.”
On the right, Mom at Inks Lake State Park
Inks Lake State Park exploring.
Part of the ranch property where my parents live. There are some nearby texas ranches for sale that I would have loved to have explored too.
The little Oasis on the right is one of the coolest spots on the ranch.
In the background, a very dry Lake Buchanan.
When you see signs like this – follow them.
My Mom has a great book called Texas Backcountry Hangouts, a guide to country stores and backwood bars around the state. We want to visit every one featured in the book, and she’s been taking it with her and getting the owners to sign on their featured pages. A handful are within a short drive of my parents house so we decided to check another off of the list one afternoon.
Castell General Store – check!
Until next time, Texas…
I never got tired of the drive into Yosemite. It was so quiet and chilly and so still. It looked like it hadn’t been touched in ages.
We decided to go check out some redwoods and eat lunch. This is the one place I wish I had explored more but also felt super nervous about venturing out in alone. Yosemite is so big. The tree line goes for miles and miles.
We drove around for about 30 minutes before we found this amazing spot. A lot of times, Kern and I respected each others space. We would find a spot and we would go totally different ways. Often Kern would come back and I would regret not following him because he would always have these epic shots on his camera to show me. This time I saw this super white knee high grass that was calling me to it. It’s actually one of the places that didn’t translate to film well. I photographed it like crazy but I wasn’t happy with any of the images. I even took photos with the iPhone and no amount of editing would do it justice. Maybe I was just supposed to be there in the moment.
Scott + Amanda. I was walking around and I saw this super cute young couple with a camera. I immediately ran up to them and asked if I could photograph them. They were super down and after 30 minutes of hanging and shooting, we became fast friends. I really wish we could have hung out more. Turns out, 
The first time we saw Half Dome. This stone ended up being the center piece for most of the final journey.
This is a hilarious attempt at a self portrait with my Rolleiflex during our lunch at Mirror Lake. Mouth full of food, bad exposure, awkward angle. I love it all.
I never would have gotten this shot if it weren’t for Kern. He saw this earlier and I totally missed it. We had just finished our hike to Mirror Lake and he took us exactly to this spot for this shot. Extremely thankful as it’s one of my favorites.
The drive up to Glacier Point. We cruised up on fumes jamming 
Underexposed, but these tones. Damn. I love this shot.
The final big hike before we left up to Yosemite Falls.
At the top I took this guys photo. His posture bugs me but you can still get a feel for the vastness of the space. I honestly was scared to death taking this photo but I didn’t tell him.
The top of Yosemite Falls. If this were in the Spring, it would be rushing with water and we would’ve been dead in seconds. So quiet and calm now. I also thought I would fall to my death getting to this spot. Kern actually left me during our hike because I was holding him back. It was a really neat experience to do the last leg alone. I got up to the top and laid down for a nap.
You will see some guys on the top left that actually slack lined across the falls. It was the most insane thing. They were harnessed in but still the most epic thing to watch them walk across the gap. I could have gotten an amazing photo if I had gotten there an hour earlier. They were taking everything down by the time we got to the top.
Two photos of the same thing in a row, but still cool to see how different cameras and film captures the same subject differently.
What an incredible trip. Life changing in so many ways.
The Salt Flats. Our friends Matt + Ali told us we had to go visit the Salt Flats in Utah. I’m so glad we did. I’ve never been to a crazier looking place in my life. Shout out to 
This could be my favorite photo I took of Kern. It’s just epic. His look. The light. The bronco. The color contrast. I gotta frame this.
The Salt Flats are literally nothingness. Just miles and miles and miles of flat hard crusty salt-ground – that’s the best way to describe it. As soon as we got out there, Kern geeked out and started driving super fast with his hands behind his head looking at me. I mean, theres nothing to hit the car or cause us to flip or anything. Its just a flat surface with nothing in your way for miles. Someone told me next time I go, I should just close my eyes and run. Man. The thought gives me chills. I can’t wait to try that.
It definitely was not a perfect night. We cooked dinner and watched the most amazing moonrise ever. The biggest, most orange moon I had ever seen rose from the horizon. Of course it was too dark to capture on film and no iPhone could do it justice. You just had to be there. However, as we were leaving, we got the Bronco stuck about 5 feet from the road. Apparently the Salt Flats can also be like quick sand. I mean we got Buzz stuck. Thankfully some sweet guys helped us out super quick. Our trip could easily have been significantly changed if we hadn’t met those guys.
On the way to Yosemite, Kern noticed on Instagram that his friend from Santa Barbara, Dylan, was near us camping for a while. After an hour of searching random camp sites, we connected with Dylan. We ate, drank, and listened to 
The Crab Cooker. Kern took me to this badass natural hot spring in the middle of nowhere. The directions were super sketchy and Kern made me promise not to tell anyone. I can’t post a lot of photos from here because there were other people there when we arrived and there’s an unwritten rule that you have to be naked. It was easily one of the most badass times on the trip.
Matt helping Kern plan our trip from Boulder to Tahoe. I loved how much trust Kern put into his old paper map. Turns out there are some places google maps can’t take you.
Kern with Buzz the Bronco, a 1986 Bronco II all packed up ready to go. This bad boy rattled and hummed the entire trip but I grew to love it.
The first and only snow I saw the entire trip. One thing I thought I would see more of.
Kern. He KILLS it in front of the camera. This moment was fun. We were at a gas station in Colorado and the snow was perfect. I had to start throwing some snow balls at everything.
Kern with a good friend of mine Andy Sig in Breck. Andy also showing us some awesome spots to hit up on the way.
Kern is also a super rad photographer. We had a lot of fun comparing film vs. digital during certain shots.
Sunset as we came into Utah. We tried our best to get to Arches National Park before sunset. Our intentions were to hit up Delicate Arch that night as soon as we got there for sunset. In hindsight, there was absolutely no way we would have made it. If we had more time I would have absolutely loved to have completed the 
The beauty of Utah exceeded all expectations. It is such a weird and beautiful state. My film mentor 
This was taken as we pulled into Arches. I love how cool the moon looks at dusk on film.
Kern cooking. The dude is amazing on the camp stove. I never went hungry. I learned so much from the man. This was the first night in the middle of the desert in Utah. He made a pasta dish and I got us drunk on some Hot Toddies. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with this 
First morning in Arches. Kern decided to longboard down this sick stretch of pavement.
Following Kern was almost dream like. He would pop up somewhere. I would head his way and boom, he would show up somewhere else. He had been traveling out west for almost an entire year. I was a definite rookie and I learned that real quick when I woke up this morning.
I thought I was going to die probably every day on this trip. This was the first time and I basically just got used to it. I was such a rookie when it came to climbing around and hiking. Did I mention I absolutely hate heights? I followed Kern to that huge arch in the previous photo and by the time I showed up, he was across this sketchy rock just hanging out. After crawling on all fours for 10 minutes, I finally reached him. Then I had him carry my camera bag and his own gear back out of there. I’d be lying if I said that was the only time that happened on our trip. Having the right gear on ambitious hikes like these is absolutely essential, so always make sure you travel prepared for any and every eventuality. If you’re looking to buy some new equipment, check out somewhere like Bass Pro Shops where you can use discounts from Raise (see them here – 
The next day our mission was simple. Go through the Fiery Furnace (alone) and catch Delicate Arch at sunset.
Fiery Furnace could have been my favorite thing we did on the entire trip. Being inside slot canyons and the desert, it’s out of a science fiction film. You can’t explain it. We had to convince a girl to let us go alone. It actually wasn’t that hard. We just charmed her, paid her $8 per person and watched a 5 minute safety film. It is extremely easy to get lost inside the canyons. The normal tour covers 2 miles and takes 3 hours. We had no agenda, we just wanted to get lost. And then of course find our way out.
Our time in the Fiery Furnace mainly consisted of climbing over amazing rock formations, getting stuck in a giant maze, retracing our steps and figuring out a way to get out. The best way I could describe it is a giant playground for adults. The picture on the left is actually where we ate lunch. Probably my favorite lunch spot of the trip.
Shoutout to 
Hiking up to Delicate Arch for sunset.
We made it to the Arch! Only to find 50 other photographers already up there. Some joked about my film cameras, other people were super into it. We met an older couple at the top of the arch. We hit it off and they ended up taking us to dinner that night and we are now friends on Facebook. Easily one of the highlights of the trip. Hi Zava!
I have to share this photo because of the crazy story that comes with it. I took this photo on a hike in the middle of nowhere Utah. We left Arches at night and we stopped at a truck stop to catch some sleep. I convinced Kern to drive 30 minutes more to some campgrounds in this random erie suburban small Utah town. In the morning we woke up and saw that we were surrounded by hills. I was coming off this Arches high and so I go, “Dude let’s hike that.” Why? I have no idea. I’m an idiot. It was again one of the many times that I thought I was going to die. It was way too steep and rocky to even reach the top. I also realized how much better of a hiker Kern is than I am. The only thing I was content with was the realization my last meal would have been Kern’s breakfast tacos which still linger with me. Kern hiked up about 20 yards ahead of me and said, “Dude. Not all peaks are meant to be summited. Lets go back down.”
Move over, white shirts on the beach family photos. You just got gingham’d.
Cheesy beach portrait session? Totes.
Some strangers asked if there was going to be a wedding. One of the girls joked that there was going to be a vow renewal, and the strangers asked if they could watch from their porch. So, to not appear as the liars we were, an impromptu vow renewal for us, led by Captain Matt, took place. He pronounced us “still married.”
Mark: 
$4.25 blazer found at Goodwill, 
Enjoy the 
Meet Jed, the newest Fontenot family member. We got him 6 weeks ago and he is awesome!
On Jamie: 
Photographed in Santa Rosa Beach + Seaside, Florida.
The folks at 
When Texans who don’t live in Texas see a Whataburger, they stop, always. Luckily, there was one across the street from our hotel.
Dad and I shared a rack of ribs for dinner in Birmingham at 
Saturday was our first time to Tuscaloosa, so we parked our Corolla and wandered toward campus. We toured the grounds and tailgate spots and then did a little bar hopping. 
GIF time…
Photographed by Mark with 
Sarah: 
Tig: 
Allyson: 
Caroline: 
The Tres: 2 oz wheated bourbon (we used 
Flask: 
The Plaid Hatter: 2 oz bourbon (we used 
Enjoy the