River Magazine: People by River Mag

RIVER MAGAZINE

ISSUE TWO 1

CONTENTS

06 JADE BERRY 14 CASSANDRA ARDEN KENT 26 ALYSON BOWEN 38 FEI YE 48 VINCE PERSEGHIN 50 JODI MELODY 64 NORMA ARATANI 72 CHOI HYERIN 84 BRENDAN KLEM 92 FREDERIC DITH 102 STEVE NAYLOR

Nothing is constant but change. Do you keep in touch with your best friend from third grade? People come and go freely from our lives, and sometimes the friendships we thought would last forever don’t end up that way. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. Often, the people who leave us leave lasting impressions on us, pushing us to explore new territory, break ourselves down and become new. For the second issue of River Magazine we explored the people in our lives and the changes they create in us. The people we spend time with change the way we see and experience the world, and that sometimes comes through in photography. They are the ones who push us to extend ourselves, they are our muses, they are the ones filling our memories of a time we’ll never get back.

River Magazine myrivermagazine@gmail.com http://rivermagazine.tumblr.com

JADE BERRY https://jadeberryphotography.com Cornwall, England

“You will realize who your real friends are when you leave school,” Mum used to always say to me. And I certainly did. They became my family, where we grew up together. I captured this in my work, in all my diary series, capturing our freedom and relationships. Most of my work is themed with the coming of age. As I'm growing up too, I want to document the things that become more important to me. All of my personal projects are based on the word change. Whether it’s a feeling, a moment, or the environment, everything is constantly changing and evolving, and I try to capture that. I was always making things, from stories to paintings. I had just turned 13 and my Granddad gave me his Konica film 35mm camera. I remember playing around trying to get the correct exposures, it took me a very long time, but I was obsessive, it just became second nature to me. Then from there I photographed everything and still do now!

I created a series called “Being a Girl” where I explored the moment when a girl becomes a woman, and when they feel a change. Getting intimate evermore with my friends, showing that their imperfections are beautiful, showing their true light, confidence, and low self esteem. For me it was a way to show them how I felt about them as people inside and out, how I saw them for who they are. Removing their clothes revealed more of their identity and it felt like viewer could really get to know them like how I did. It wasn't until recently I discovered what or who caused me to change. I had a very strong connection with my Grandad, who unfortunately passed away in February. He taught me things that a lot of people don't see. This was to appreciate life, because life is beautiful. When I was younger we used to sit and bird watch out the patio window and he used to tell me stories, and this ritual made me appreciate the little things. I think

this is very apparent in my photography, making memories are very important. My grandad was nostalgic, and that’s what I loved. I can get inspiration from meeting someone for a brief 5 seconds but they can also have the opposite effect. But for me my influences are so broad, from artists to photographers, writers and musicians. I feel that if you're surrounded with the right people you bounce of each other. Even if your interests are opposites. I am lucky to have amazing friends who support me and what I do, and push me forward. Music is very influential to me as a person. I can’t live without it. I was brought up with a range of music genres, but it was my Nan and Grandad’s music who was most influential to me: Motown and Northern Soul. Feel-good and story-telling lyrics that

paint a picture in your head. I like to tell stories throughout my work, weather the narrative is clear or not, I feel you can transform creativity over all media—from writing to music, from photography to design—it’s all connected. The people in my personal work I love. I want to show the world their identities, personalities and the feelings I have for them. They are close to me, and what they think are imperfections are beautiful to me. I love imperfections. I like to create a presence, like you're right there in that moment—you feel you know the person. When photographing new people, they easily become my muse. I try to get to know them as the shoot progresses, making a story as we go on.

Being a Girl

Asking me to pick my favorite photo is like asking me to pick my favorite song, favorite person, or favorite foodâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I can't make decisions like that! But I found two pictures that are not included in any series at the moment. Classic black and white, on my favorite film Ilford HP5, which has beautiful grain. I was with my boyfriend Lewis in the middle of winter when I was staying in a Caravan. We had a cozy, romantic evening, and I caught a portrait whilst he was watching television. He doesn't like having his photo taken, but I love the soft dreaminess of the photos, and I think you can really see how I feel about him.

CASSANDRA ARDEN KENT http://cassieardenkent.tumblr.com California, USA

What is change? Change is shift. Let it be the seasons, the way we move our bodies from one age to another, or emotions throughout the day. It can be any and all things, small and large, significant, and insignificant, good and bad. Change is what causes you to look at yourself in the morning and realize something is different. We too often think about change only as major things. But it is the small, intimate shifts that propel us forward into the people we are becoming. These small moments between yourself, the environment and people are some of the most influential without you even realizing it.

Who has changed you? I wrote a poem about how sometimes I’ll have a bad day and my brother, without saying anything, will give me a hug. There is nothing to be said—just a simple understanding of what I need at the moment. He has changed, challenged, and accepted my viewpoints in many ways. My family has a

long and complicated history. I could get into how we have both taken alternate paths in life, how we have both struggled with our own shadows, and how he can make me feel grounded. I could write pages on our relationship and how he has caused me to think about things in different ways. But if I could sum all those things into one, it would be through our hugs. Who is someone you never want to forget? This may come across as strange and even selfish, but I suppose we all have to be selfish at times. The person I never want to forget is the person I used to be. Someone who has etched me into the person I am today, but someone I no longer am nor a person I want to be. I would never regret the decisions I’ve made because inevitably you learn and grow from those mistakes. But, by the same token I would never want to be the person who made those choices. There are a lot of things people can teach you but perhaps the deepest lessons I’ve learned are

the ones I’ve learned on my own. You can learn from another person’s experiences, their emotions or their craft but the message fully comes through when you experience it yourself. The younger version of myself is someone I never want to forget.

I’ll admit I was left a broken person and there didn’t seem to be much I could rely on. I would see photos of mountains covered in fog, warm coffee shops with latte art, and people focusing on the beauty around them. I started to drive everywhere, seeking these places of beauty. I would get a thrill every time I discovered something new and was able to capture the beauty I found in the How do people influence each other? moment, place or person. I suppose I truly We can motivate one another to move got into photography to find the beauty in in many different directions. Inspiration, life again. disgust, hurt, love, the list goes on. Ultimately, you have to feel something for another to influence you. I think it is a shame that in the United States we are taught How have people influenced your work? not to pay attention to or be engulfed in our People have influenced my photoemotions. It is through our emotions that we graphy through inspiration mostly. I have connect and move in different directions. never taken a class or truly have any critiques. I kind of go out and take photos of little moments. I would love to take classes Why did you start taking photos? and be challenged to shoot in a different I’ve thought about this question a lot to way. I suppose I see photos I love and be honest. Did I always take photos without attempt to take similar ones and through that myself really noticing… In middle school process begin to build my own style. everyone did photo shoots and put on make up prematurely. Maybe it began then? I’m not too sure… I started taking photos more What do you think about when you seriously when I took a semester off of photograph people? college. It was a time when change came too Honestly, because I shoot in film, I quickly. Constants were no longer in my life. mostly hope they’re not blinking.

Cry Out // Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we all cry out? Sometimes murmured and soft Sometimes with an ache and a shriek Cold and black It can be muffled and unheard As though you are the only one on this blue earth That can feel the penetration of hurt I look down Lashes folding over my vision I inhale Sharply Looking at the scene around me Breathe, breathe I tell myself One in One out Not all days are like this I admit they come There is nothing to be ashamed in that But when they do I am there In a cave of darkness With light Aching to shine though But I shut the blinds

A small crack Golden Illuminating Blinding Warm He breaks through the rays Hickory colored With the tint of my mothers ancestors You have black hair I have brown Sometimes I wonder if we look similar My skin fair, yours rich Your arms encompass my shadowed body Bringing the warmth of your tone Your sun drenched skin that covers a delicate heart Squeezed around me The smallest actions Can provoke change Your embrace Brings light on dark days

// To you, my big brother Cassie Kent

This is my cousin Helena. When we were younger we were best friends. I can’t remember exactly when, but around the age of twelve we stopped talking. I was busy with my life; she was busy with her own. For about 7 years, we didn’t talk. Our families invited one another over for birthdays, holidays and other usual family things but either she didn’t come or I didn’t. A silence fell between us for no reason other than our lives diverged during that time. Christmas my freshman year of college I saw her for the first time in years. Her hair was dyed and she was dressed in black. My hair was pulled back in a bun and I was wearing a red cardigan. From the moment I saw her I was intimidated, not knowing what to say after years of stillness. That meeting was one of the moments that furthered my realization that you cannot judge someone by what they look like. We spent the night meeting each other again. The passions,

pains, joys, wishes, hopes and dreams I had over the past 7 years were ones she had as well. I had never met someone I could open up to so fully; someone that I could pour my heart to and have them understand. She is a year younger than I am but she was full of insight and wisdom. The following week we met for coffee. 9 hours later we left the coffee shop into a raining San Francisco. I can’t remember the exact feelings after we walked out but ever since that Christmas I have felt so blessed to have someone who can relate to me so deeply. I took this photo at Sightglass Coffee on 20th Street in San Francisco sometime in July, 2015. I was nineteen, she was eighteen. I suppose whenever you meet up with someone after awhile you speak about change. I decided to transfer schools, she finished her first year of college in New York City. Hours were spent at a coffee shop again.

This is my friend Sarah by the ocean near Pescadero, California. I remember the moment I got the film back from the store around my house. I gasp at how beautiful I thought it was. I thought, “My goodness, I took this photo?!” I think it can be difficult shooting in film because I wonder if it is my photography skills that make a photo turn out beautifully or if it was all an accident. I’m still so much in the learning process of it all that if I get a good photo I become wide eyed and giggly because I took something beautiful. There was nothing particularly amazing about that day. No special occasion, no fireworks off in the sky or a shooting star. It was an effortless day of ease and I have to say those are my favorite types of days. You’re with someone that you’re whole-

heartedly comfortable with. There’s no need to talk at times. You’re able to speak about all subjects. All depths. All realms. There is a certain softness to this type of friendship. I love this photo because the colors are exactly the same as I saw them that moment. There is a certain flow in her body shape. Moreover, there is the sentiment that we both felt. Slight angst, lust for the ocean, ease and tranquility. I haven’t quite established exactly my purpose of taking photos or my ultimate goal. For now I believe to be capture all that was that day. The person in their pure essence, the feelings surrounding the day and the colors as they truly were. I love this photo because I feel as though it is honest and true.

ALYSON BOWEN http://alysonbowen.com Daytona Beach, Florida

This series served a vital purpose in its time of creation. It spoke on behalf of the sometimes (more often than not, in my case) difficult and complex transitions from adolescent behaviors and ideals to those of a young adult, and the expectations of this age

which clash with the reality of what and who we are: as animals â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as human beings. Expectation. A force so strong it can provoke a feeling of drowning in even the strongest of swimmers. The best part about growing up is the realization that you can be

whatever kind of adult you want to be. You don’t have to live up to standards or fit in between lines at all. No one tells you this enough when you’re younger. Through these images I attempted to create a tangible representation of my personal internal shifts through adulthood. Each image reflects a time in which I felt haunted by my adolescent self, examining how that relates to who I am now, and who I ultimately want to be. It is in this reflection that I have come to realize, I spent years giving pieces of myself to those who did not want to nurture nor honor them in any way. I found myself deeply invested in the people I loved without knowing how to invest into myself, how to love myself. I never want to forget those who have pushed me outside of my comfort zone; who made me feel something new. The more I have spoken of my fears and dreams, the more I realized I am not the only one. We live our lives through chapters of desires and regrets, loss and growth. We are connected through our experiences, in that we are all constantly evolving— separately but together. All we know is rooted in perspective and all we want is everything. The possibilities within us are endless; this might just be our most destructive characteristic. I never want to forget the little things; the moments I was too busy to document. I never want to forget the sounds that I’ll never hear again. If I could remember these things forever they would be my most prized possessions. I know this is part of what drives my imagery. I remember to remember. We were young and thirsty. We were a lively bunch who loved too hard and lived too fast.

FEI YE http://www.flickr.com/photos/plusyf FuZhou, China

You need to break the rules to find yourself.

VINCE PERSEGHIN Southeast Asia Photo by Steve Naylor (pg 106)

A man provides for his family.

My father had a bronze cast of Frederick Remington’s The Bronco Buster sitting on our Ikea shelf for all my childhood. It’s a cowboy attempting to stay on his horse, which is startled by a snake. His father had three different Remington casts and each went to one of his three sons. Only later did I learn that this statue is worth somewhere in the vicinity of $3,000. Only later did I know how many times we almost had to pawn it. But he kept it every time we had to move, because he was determined to leave it to me one day. My father had a short haircut when I visited him in the army. I recall going to see him with my grandmother and we met him in a crowded room for a while and then we

had to go home. Only later did he explain to me that, while he had been in the army once, this particular memory was from when he was in prison. Only later did I learn from my grandmother that it was a hard-labor camp program he had signed up for to shorten his time to get out and raise me sooner. By this time the state had deemed my mother mentally unfit as a guardian. The weather could not have been more beautiful the night I finally saw my father weak. It was a warm evening in fall, the waning Indian summer my boyhood. We went down to the creek near our home, over the railroad tracks. The sun played beautifully off the water as the leaves turned to gold and a breeze came in off the bay. He started and stopped short of talking. His fiancée at the time hadn’t turned up for a few weeks. He finally mentioned that she wouldn’t be coming back. That was it. That was the end

of the conversation. He stared down at the ground and I kicked the leaves in silence for a while and then we walked home. I still don’t know the full story. I know he was self-conscious. I won a scholarship to a prestigious boys prep school. My classmates were the sons of doctors and lawyers. He was proud, but I know he became increasingly worried he wouldn’t measure up in my eyes. I wish I could say that I always knew the right things to say, but I was a teenager and teenagers don’t know these things. I know for sure that sometimes I said the absolute wrong things. My father called me on my 25th birthday this year. He mentioned that he was my age when he had me. I don’t feel old enough for a son, and I doubt he did either. Only later in life did I realize that providing for me

was likely the reason he hasn’t had a drop of alcohol since he was released or why he won’t even take morphine for surgery. A few years ago I was about to board a plane to Italy to study abroad. It was the first of many trips that I would have the ability to take after he had worked all those years to make sure I had an education. As I prepared to go through security, he told me to appreciate the works of the great artists there, but to remember that none of them compromised on their dreams. He told me that he wanted the same for me. He’s married again, and I have a sister now. My most recent trip home, I saw him fixing her hair and explaining something to her. On the mantle, the Remington bust is still there. A man provides for his family. Part of becoming an adult, was learning what that meant.

JODI MELODY https://www.flickr.com/photos/j-melody/ Wellington, New Zealand

What is change? How do we influence each other? Change is what happens when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re We influence each other through not looking but are moving. sharing. Sharing of memories, experiences and thoughts can influence those around you and the same in return. Who has caused you to change? I guess I associate change with my parents. When I was growing up they were Why/how did you start taking photos? obsessed with moving house. Every couple When I was a child I used to wish that of years it would be a new house in a new I had a camera in my eyes that could record suburb. Sometimes the houses were old, all of the beautiful things I saw. Only as I sometimes they were new, sometimes small, got older did I realize everybody else did not sometimes large. Even now that I have feel the same way. Around the age of nine moved out they are still jumping around the my parents bought me a little digital camera place - constantly searching for the next best for Christmas which I loved for about a year thing. I think all of this change has molded until it as lost. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really start taking me to think of most things as temporary. If photos with purpose again until I was nothing is forever than everything should be sixteen and took photography classes at high documented. A fear of forgetting is the main school. I chose to start again because I was reason I feel compelled to take photographs. obsessed with looking at images in books

and magazines and felt a desire to start creating my own. From there I had a wonderful teacher and a beautiful small class filled with talented people that pushed me to learn and challenged me become the photographer I am today. How have people influenced your work? This is a big question. I guess people are the driving force behind any image I take because I want to share how I see the world with others. The biggest influence has probably been encouragement from people to keep going and practicing—without that, I would maybe have stopped years ago.

What do you think about when you photograph people? What I dream of doing when I photograph someone is capturing them exactly as I see them. Not how they like themselves to look or how they ‘should’ look. If I can take a photo of someone that is exactly how they are in my eyes then I get a feeling that is completely unique. When photographing fashion portraits I think about different characters and moments that I want to capture but also let the model express herself. I feel photographing people is more an exchange in energy between two sources than the taking of something.

This picture was captured on a lazy Sunday with my childhood friend Amanda. We had been wandering around aimlessly, the weather was hot yet windy, and we had nothing to do. Unlike myself and most of my friends, Amanda has a car so we spent the day driving around the Wellington suburbs. The music was impossibly loud on the radio and we stopped occasionally to look at things that were probably not worth looking at. After buying â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Memphis Meltdownsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, the most expensive ice creams you could buy from a corner store, we decided to drive to Red Rocks just to eat them. This is the southern-most point of the North Island where you can see across the ocean to the South Island. It is called Red Rocks because of unusual rock formations created by lava thousands of years ago. When we got there we sat in the car and stared out the window before she said that we had to eat outside to not make a mess. Outside, the wind was crazy and eating the ice cream was a challenge as that summer we both wore our hair long and curly. This photo was taken the moment after I took a shot of her smiling at the camera.

This is my best friend Amelia. I have taken thousands of pictures of her in the eight years we have known each other but this one always sticks in my mind. We both live in New Zealand but after finishing high school, we felt the need to take a break from education and see the world. She went to Ireland and I went to England. This photo was taken when she traveled to stay with me a few days before her 19th birthday. We were wandering around Brighton City, both giddy with excitement about being together on the other side of the world. She looks beautiful and candid. Every time I look at it I can see a different emotion in her eyes. She looks scared. She looks wise. She looks calm. It is a perfect reflection of the reason I love her as a person, and a very special time is captured in one moment.

NORMA ARATANI http://normaratani.tumblr.com Tokyo, Japan

I love the process of looking back at photos. Yoknapatofa once told me, “taking pictures gives me comfort, it’s almost therapeutic.” I completely agree; photography gives relief in many ways. Sometimes, I get surprised of certain photos that I take. They’re neither superb like they would remain and be admired throughout the century, nor so bad that you think you wasted film. It is just a fragment of a moment; like a moment from a revolving lantern or memories from the past life. It’s a moment that all the logic in life did not catch up. It’s not something nostalgic but somehow produces a scent of preciousness. There are moments in life, when you’re walking outside and the wind brings you a

certain scent. When you’re walking the same street as any other day, that wind comes and takes you back to 10years ago or even to another country. It reminds you of your dearest person, the place that you miss, or that ordinary day that you cherish. That wind always comes suddenly when you’re off guard and just takes off in a moment. I like photos that gives people this kind of feeling. It just comes and goes, you forget about it but someday it will visit you again. Until a few months ago, I was sick of taking photos. All the photos looked arrogant and all I wanted to do was to burn all the negatives. I did not want to be reminded or remind someone of things through photography. In this century where all the things

we do remain whether you want them to or not, I wanted to leave nothing in this world. Although I felt so strongly about this, I stand here now with my camera, still taking photos. It is a strange thing. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what changed, but it is clear that something changed. It does not matter what or who changed me. There is a fact that there was a change, and now I am still taking photos. That is all that matters. I started taking photos when I was 16. I carried a small digital camera and took bunch of photos whenever I went out with my friends. I always thought people would forget what happened by the next day. I loved it when my friends and I looked back at the photos the next day and remembered what we did the day before. When I turned 17, I started using a film camera that my father used to use, but the way I took photos did not really change. However, gradually I was able to appreciate the temperature that the photos convey.

Photos have a temperature that is completely different from the time when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking back at them. I loved that feeling. I started looking back at the photos I took when I was 16, and the photos that my father took when I was 3 years old. I felt the temperature, air and even the weather that the photos carried within them. It was not that the photo I took changed; it was a moment when I realized there had been a change within myself. When you live day to day, you start to realize all the littlest and delicate details that do not seem to matter are the most beautiful things. Those things begin to touch your skin, go through your veins and become your bones. I used to be terrified of forgetting all these things, but I still live. You forget, reminisce, and forget again. Like when the wind brings you a scent. To be able to recall things that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve forgotten, even just for a moment, is what makes life a wonderful thing to experience.

This was the first time I visited my friend at work. After he finished at midnight, we were just walking without any plans. We found a chandelier thrown on the street so we just decided to carry it to the nearest station for no reason. Although the chandelier was very heavy and carrying it had no meaning since neither of us did not want a chandelier in our houses, it made a beautiful sound of bells as we walked the night.

CHOI HYE RIN http://hyerang2.tumblr.com Seoul, South Korea

BRENDAN KLEM http://brendanklemphotography.com Calgary, Canada

I have been trying to convey presence and stillness in image. The constant need to move and pursue has been overwhelming lately and I have been trying to tackle it through the process of a photo. This is where the action of shooting film comes into play. It makes me more deliberate and mindful of the person in front of meâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the light, shapes, emotions, and connection right in front of me. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want the possibility of being distracted by the ability to see the image right away.

Now this is not all about me. It is more about the person in front of me who is being photographed. Their time, awareness, and presence matters more. I want to respect and appreciate that, and even love it if possible. From this presence and stillness, it would be amazing to create a deeper connection. I am not the greatest at it, especially since I have never even conveyed this intention to the people whom I have been creating images ofâ&#x20AC;Ś hopefully it can be seen without being said.

FREDERIC DITH https://fre.tumblr.com Berlin, Germany

I've never thought about photography as a means of self-expression. Rather, I think of it as a function of memory. It relates to archiving and storing memories more than anything else. Memories, and therefore images of them, are probably the most valuable "things" I own. When I look back at photos taken years ago, it helps me remembering the journey to where I am right now. This journey is made of events, places and people, and the people are definitely the biggest part of it. People you meet along the way make you who you are. I like to define myself as independent, maybe lonesome, but deep down, I know that a handful of people I met in the past years shaped the person I am today. These are friends, colleagues, family or even random encounters. Some of these people may never even know how much they influenced my life, but that's also what makes these relationships so special.

The very few pictures of people I have remind me that my relationship to people didn't change that much over years. People change and will always be changing, but I'll always look at them in the same way. I'll always prefer when a subject doesn't look at me directly through my lens. This never changed over the years. I feel like I need to "steal" a picture to make it work. That's why most of my portraits are shot from the back, and my subjects very rarely face me. This is a reflection of how I behave in real life: never interrupt or get in the way of people's lives, but try to get along with them as well as you can. Because of my schedule, I wrote this on my way from Berlin (where I live) to Paris (where I used to live), where I'm going to meet see most of the people in these pictures. I am not taking this as a coincidence. But maybe I should.

A La Maison

Julien has been travelling the world even more than I have. Let's book some flights again.

Ivy is currently working on her own cookbook.

Raph was and always will be right about music. This probably won't change.

100

Antoine's deep and reassuring voice didn't change a bit (congrats on the wedding !)

101

102

STEVE NAYLOR http://steveknaylor.tumblr.com North Carolina

For me, change is a constant. A constant the shapes our lives continually. We are all constantly growing and changing in one way or another. So in my opinion, change is a beautiful thing. In a way I feel photography found me at just the right time and place in life. For me, photos transcend time and space and allow me to relive moments I hold dear. I started taking photos as an outward expression of moments and people that

inspire me. Photography allows me to take away something special from different trips I found myself on. These photos are something I can look back on and remember exactly how I felt in that moment. Whether it be a portrait or some type of candid photo I like to capture the person in the scene as a whole; as authentically and naturally as possible. And when I look back on these photos I can see that person for who they truly are, it truly is special.

103

104

I shot this photo of my girlfriend on a trip we made together driving south on Hwy 101 in Oregon. This scenic highway runs along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, offering beautiful sights throughout the entire drive. While driving south, my girlfriend and I saw a large hill ahead on the right with an unmarked trail. We decided to pull over and make our way up the short and steep trail to the top. Scurrying up the hill together we forged our way amongst the overgrowth and were rewarded with an amazing view accompanied by the sound of waves crashing far below us. We were alone, and in this moment everything seemed gave me perspective. This photograph is probably my favorite I've ever

made. For me it holds every thought and feeling I had in that particular moment. This photo allows me to relive this special moment that I so fortunately was able to share with my lovely girlfriend. Living this moment with my girlfriend there changed me. But what changed? I believe the change was the realization of the importance of sharing moments with those you love. We all view our surroundings differentlyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;my girlfriend noticed details I would've missed if I had been alone. As a photographer, change is a constant as I refine my craft. Without change my art would become too familiar and stagnant. This is why I create photos.

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

While standing atop a hill at Cape Kiwanda, Oregon I looked out over the beautiful landscape before me. A group of people I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know came down the path behind me. I heard bits and pieces of their conversations as they carried on. I was curious, so I turned around to find this group climbing a hill off to my left. I could still faintly hear their voices in the distance. This photo is special to me because if it were not for this group I probably wouldn't have turned around to see this view. I also found joy in these strangers being completely enthralled in this landscaped. Dust rose as the group climbed up the hill and I found inspiration in their desire to see more. I never said a word to these folks, but they left a lasting impression on me. Sometimes strangers or people we have fleeting encounters with can leave lasting impressions on us. Strangers urged me to become different, to grow, and to change. This group of strangers taught me to value and engage with those I surround myself with. Growing and becoming different is beautiful. Change is beautiful.

113

114

115

116

117

EDITOR Y. J. KIM (“KIMMY”) COVER PHOTO KIMMY CONTENTS PHOTO JODI MELODY LETTER PHOTO HYERIN CHOI THANKS TO ALL OF OUR CONTRIBUTORS. ALYSON BOWEN JADE BERRY CASSANDRA ARDEN KENT FEI YE JODI MELODY NORMA ARATANI CHOI HYERIN BRENDAN KLEM STEVE NAYLOR VINCENT PERSEGHIN FREDERIC DITH

MYRIVERMAGAZINE@GMAIL.COM HTTP://RIVERMAGAZINE.TUMBLR.COM HTTP://INSTAGRAM.COM/RIVERMAG

118

119

120