Time & Date: Tuesday, June 5, 2018 @ 7:30 PM (Social hour and free beer for members at 6:30)
Directions: From Highway 101 at Santa Rosa go west on Highway 12 to Stony Point Road Exit. Go straight from the middle lane at the light onto Occidental Road. The Round Table Pizza is on the right just down the road.
Andrew Mowery and his partner, Natalie, started their lives together in the backcountry. Every free weekend was spent on trail and occasionally at the climbing crag. They backpacked all over the Sierra, the Coast and Central ranges, Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona and even in The Adirondacks in New York. Always with camera in hand, the two were enjoying the splendor of the western mountains. All the trips up until then were training for the JMT in 2015.
In the fall, Natalie went back to school and Bealson (Andrew’s yellow labrador) was getting older and long backpacking trips slowed way down. That desire to get outside and play was still burning strong despite how life gets in the way. Over that winter, Andrew realized that the key to adventure is adaptation. Focusing on more four wheel drive inspired trips, Bealson would be able to go along and Natalie would have more time for school, yet still get outside for some great photography. Over the next year, Natalie went to class and Andrew went to work on his truck. He build his Tacoma for overland travel. It would be comfortable for long road trips on the highway and be able to craw back into most four wheel drive roads in the west. That truck enabled them to be self sufficient and to be able to explore way more than on foot.
They explored all over Inyo County, Bend Oregon, Death Valley, Mojave National Preserve, Great Basin in Nevada, and the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Now that the truck is mostly completed, Andrew has refocused on photography. He has learned from fellow photographers (thank you Jerry Dodrill and James Martin!) and by taking a class or two along the way. He has started a website focused on telling a story of adventure and backcountry experiences through his photography. His mission is to “Bring the joy, disappointment, exhaustion, and exhilaration to you through my photography”. Backpacking is still a huge part of Natalie’s and Andrew’s life, and there camping style shows that. The truck just gives them the ability to travel further and to more remote places to explore and to photograph.
You can see Andrew’s photography work on his website www.backcountryexposures.com and on his Instagram page at @backcountryexposures.
