07/17/2026
The glamorous side of photography that nobody talks about…
Mosquitoes collected approximately three pints of blood from Jeff.
After chasing the Milky Way for ages, we finally had a cloudless night in the middle of nowhere. Every other trip I’ve planned around photographing it has been ruined by clouds, so there was no way I was missing this chance.
What I didn’t plan for? Mosquitoes. Approximately 47 billion of them.
We forgot mosquito nets, so we improvised. Jeff zipped himself into his rain jacket and cinched the hood down around his face like he was preparing for the apocalypse. I layered clothes, wrapped a bandana around my face and ears, and pulled my hat down as far as it would go.
The mosquitoes responded by biting me…on my eyelid and eyebrows.
Meanwhile, they ignored every layer Jeff was wearing and somehow bit straight through his pants. We had to stop for anti-itch cream the next day because they absolutely demolished him. He deserves some kind of wildlife conservation award for his sacrifice.
But standing under a sky like this with my person made every itchy bite worth it.
I’ve spent four years hoping for this photo. Four years of bad timing, cloudy forecasts, and “maybe next trip.”
This time, the stars literally aligned.
Life can be really hard sometimes. There has been grief, sadness, and the kind of days that make the world feel a little smaller than it used to. Moments like this remind me that even when life hurts, there’s still so much beauty waiting to be found if you’re willing to go looking for it.
For a few minutes, standing under a sky full of stars, everything else got quiet.
That’s why I keep chasing sunrises, mountains, wildlife, and nights like this. Not because every adventure goes according to plan (clearly), but because these are the moments that make me feel most alive.
Find the thing that makes your soul light up.
Even if it comes with mosquitoes.
