January

January brought a whole new year; a year that we thought would change everything. But it didn’t… So we went duck hunting to finish out the season strong in Arkansas, Missouri and Washington. I also managed to get a winter blackmouth fishing trip in on the Puget Sound. I did a few shoots for my friends at First Lite, LaCrosse Footwear, and Bubba Blade.

February

February is typically a slow work month for me. Most hunting seasons are closed and the days are cold and short. But we found a nice weather window and headed to the Olympic Peninsula to try to find the silver ghost, otherwise known as a wild steelhead. This project was shot for Duck Camp Co.

March

March brought a little bit more sun and the early signs of spring approaching. I got the opportunity to document some tower climbers doing work for Filson and did some early shed hunting in the Central Washington high desert for White’s Boots.

April

April is when the spring truly set in. We got the canoe out on the lake for a few afternoon paddles and I did a shoot for Yeti’s Thin Ice launch. The afternoons got warm while the mornings remained cool. And if you listened closely, you’d hear the spring thunder of wild turkeys gobbling in the trees before flying off their roost. So we pursued them, doing a few shoots for Buck Knives and White’s Boots along the way.

May

May was a busy one! I traveled back to the west side of state for the Ling Cod opener in the San Juan Islands to do a shoot for Yeti and Oak & Eden Whiskey. I then ventured south to Utah and Colorado for a shoot for Marmot, before heading way up north to Alaska for some more fishing for Yeti and Mercury Marine. I also managed to sneak in some fun in my favorite mountain town, Winthrop, at the Memorial Day Rodeo.

June

June, for us, meant a vacation in Iceland. It was my first time and Whit’s second. That place is incredible with something new and unexpected at every turn. Not to mention how nice the people are and how good the food is! We circled the entirety of the island via the Ring Road over the course of 10 days and I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. After the jet-lag wore off, I did a shoot for Yeti in Idaho with a focus on their gear to bring to a picnic.

July

July was another busy month with lots of travel. I started in the greater Portland area for a shoot with a big crew to promote Yeti’s apparel line. In just two days we covered a lot of ground, shooting at a cattle ranch, on a trout stream, in downtown Portland, and out on the coast. I also returned to Alaska to shoot commercial fishing for an ongoing personal project, and I snuck out to Idaho for a day to do some fly fishing and shoot some more images for Yeti.

August

August brought intense heat throughout the PNW, so we took some personal trips to the Yellowstone and Jackson Hole regions of the West for some camping, hiking and a quick reset after the busy month of July. Then, I headed south of the border for a week to do a shoot for ExOfficio in the Zihuatanejo area of Mexico. After getting back home from Mexico, I hopped on a plane the next day to go spend time with family in Michigan and enjoy those Great Lakes.

September

September marks the start of fall for me, especially in the high country. So I headed to the Cascades with an incredible crew for another Marmot shoot. The light that we experienced on top of that mountain was a moment I’ll never forget. Down in the low country, however, it is definitely still hot and humid. I got the chance to experience Charleston, South Carolina with another incredible group of people to do a shoot for Mercury Marine. And at the end of the month, we snuck in a quick personal trip to Glacier National Park with some good friends to see the fall colors up high before the snow covers everything in its winter blanket of white.

October

October is probably one of my favorite months. It always has been. Fall is in full swing, the colors of the foliage turn to their brightly colored reds, oranges and yellows, the days are cool, but not too cold. I love it. In this month, I did my personal “larch march” to see the vibrant larches in the high country of the North Cascades. There was even a dusting of snow already up high. We hiked into our favorite Forest Service cabin for the second year in a row and I did a shoot for Vortex’s apparel line. And I headed out to the Olympic Peninsula to do a story on my friend and fishing guide, Lael Johnson, for Costa Sunglasses and Fly Lords.

November

November brought hunting seasons in full-swing again for me. With being so busy in September and October, I didn’t have much time afield until November. So we went hunting. A lot. I did some work for Buck Knives, Vortex Optics and First Lite while out on these hunts. I was able to successfully harvest my first cow elk in Washington at the beginning of the month. After elk season, Whit and I took a vacation to California and drove the coastal highways from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It was our first time down that part of the coast and it didn’t disappoint. After returning home from California, I hopped on a plane the next day to return home to Missouri for our annual family deer camp with my dad and brother. And it just so happened that I got lucky enough to harvest the biggest deer of my life, so far, and the biggest deer we’ve seen on that property in the 20 years we’ve been hunting there. I’m very thankful for these hunting seasons and the meat they provide my family and friends throughout the year.

December

In December, work usually starts to slow down a bit and I welcome that as the holidays approach. It also means I get to enjoy the remainder of hunting season and get out there just for fun. We started the month by renting a cabin with a good group of friends in the mountains of Idaho to celebrate the start of my 29th year on this planet. I spent the month doing a lot of waterfowl hunting for work and for play. I also tried something new and did a lot of late-season archery hunting for fun here in Washington. And I got the chance to work with some local farmers doing some cattle work on their farm on a blustery day.

I think we can all agree that 2021 was another weird year. But I believe that we made the most of this year and I’m so thankful and fortunate to be able to say that, and to have such incredible people that surround me and support me in this crazy thing we call life. And I hope the same is true for you. See ya next year.