Story is how we carry memory. It’s our first inheritance—beyond instinct, beyond evolution. It’s how we learn, how we grow, how we preserve ourselves. Story is how we heal. It reminds us that we’ve survived. That we’re still here—and that we can build meaning out of pain or silence. I think that’s why I write—and why I photograph.

I’m drawn to the spaces between people and place, loss and adaptation. Life is quiet, ugly, beautiful, and finite.

I’m interested in storytelling that watches closely, holds tension, and leaves room for the reader or viewer to find themselves.

In the small hours, where monsters feed and fires go to coals, no one’s coming to save you. Best to carry your own knife. Best to know how to make fire.

Be safe out there.
Leave no trace.

— J.D. Johnson
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