In his book Escapism, Yi-Fu Tuan explores the relationships between humans and nature. He argues that humans invite nature into their lives by planting gardens and growing grass, but try to escape that nature by trimming it back, forcing it into patterns and designated places, and arranging it according to our standards of beautiful.

I’ve thought about that a lot since I arrived in Colorado for the summer. My stereotype for Coloradans (particularly people who live in the Denver Metro area) is that everyone is very environmentally conscious, runs up and down mountains in the summer, skis all the time in winter, bikes to work or takes the bus, and is generally aware of their actions towards nature. Because of my stereotype, I thought that more people would prefer natural-looking flora over manipulated, pristine rows of common suburban plant-life. I was wrong, and I found that yuppie troops march in full force, leaving in their wake highly-structured and tightly-scheduled gardens.

I went looking for an ungroomed plot of nature that was within walking distance. I promised myself that I would look without touching, appreciate without prying, and seek to find beauty in even the ugliest of creatures.

All but the second-to-last photo are unposed.  Project Portraits has quickly become my personal favorite Flickr set.  

The semester is over.
My first year of college is over.
I can breathe for the first time in five months.