Hi, I'm Landon. This is my page, blog, thing. I take photos and I have big ideals that I attempt to match up to.

It's been... awhile.

Well that worked out. I started this little website to give me an idea whether or not I had the discipline to keep something like this going.  

Turns out, I don't. But I'm not too worried about it. In 2025, I reconnected with my love of reading. I've read 23 books this year, one more to make it an even 24. In 2026 I plan on setting a goal of 36 books. The books I chose during 2025 helped deepen my faith, forced me to question a ton of preconceived notions, and entrenched beliefs I've held, and transported me to rich worlds where miraculously, sometimes the Good Guys win. 

With all that reading, I came to a jarring and enlightening realization. I am a product of an education system that told a story. A story to make me feel good, to feel lucky, and to find easy answers. The progress of this country was foretold at the beginning. "We hold these truths to be self evident. . ." The march of freedom was inevitable. In broad strokes I was convinced that women, working class immigrants and black people were always going to come out of the system with more rights, because that's just what America is. A country focused on freedom, on fairness. 

The books I read this year told a different story. 

So, to celebrate my new ticket to reading, the next few posts to recording a few reviews of some of the standout books I read. I look forward to stretching my writing chops, and who knows? Maybe posting on a semi-regular schedule will motivate me to, you know, keep posting on a semi-regular schedule. 

Anyway, that's all for now. Thanks for reading. 

Withdrawing and Watching

A new year. New opportunities. New challenges to face. New experiences to live. New worries to carry. New burdens to accept. A new year, and all I feel is tired.

This election cycle, and the fruit it promises to bear in the coming years is a heavy weight. I'm watching the future erode and I'm paralyzed. I'm watching the promise of stability, and the ideals handed down for two hundred years crumble. Replaced by promises of retribution and the destruction of the status quo.

Add to this the simple but deeply important responsibility of being a father and trying to raise a little human in a world intent on falling into chaos.

I'm tired and breaking a bit. So, I'm stepping back and focusing on small this year. I'm going to take as much pride and time as I can in and with my little family. I will focus on being a good father and husband. I will delve deeper into Faith and Art. So this is the start of that. This site will be the place I showcase any and all of that (if it comes to fruition) but I'm not setting a hard line. There is no update schedule, and no timeline to deliver. 

2025 is going to be my soft year. As the world grows crueler I will live gentler. That's a good enough resolution for anyone.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

Pittsburgh: A Riverfront Walk

Continuing in August our final stop was the city of Pittsburgh.

I'll admit. I was not excited about visiting this city. There was something unpleasant about the thought of Pittsburgh. Some thought had entered into my mind that this was going to be a dirty, grimy city, and I'm sure there are dirty parts, but I was quickly taken in by the grandeur of it's riverfront views.

All of these photos were taken with an Olympus E-M1 Mk II or my phone and edited to taste in Adobe Photoshop Express.

I expected a rust-belt city. Filled with crumbling infrastructure and abandoned businesses. Instead I found a vibrant, walkable stretch, filled with beauty.

I would have loved to explore the whole thing, but it left me wanting more.

The whole experience shifted my perspective, and reminded me to keep an open mind for everything. That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

New York in August

Well this is new. And I'm not quite sure what to do with this space, but for the inaugural post. Here's some photos from NYC in August of 2024.

All of these photos were taken with an Olympus E-M1 Mk. II and all of them were edited to taste in Adobe Photoshop Express.

This was all for a work trip throughout the New England states, ending with New Jersey.

With a little time to spare, we decided to cross the Hudson and check in on the only true city in the U.S.

New York is unlike any other city I've visited, and whatever I say about it has been more eloquently said somewhere else, I'm sure. But I've been to most major metropolitan areas within the contiguous U.S. at this point, and NOTHING compares to NYC

I can't wait till I go back.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.