Carl Zoch Photography Blog

August 30, 2010

I believe in creating images that make you feel something. One of the many reasons I love the Holga is that it comes alive in beautiful ways. It reconnects me to a space and time in a way that can never be replicated. I like that. It has a mind of its own and when it's having a good day it makes me feel and remember how beautiful this life is.

Go outside. Enjoy life.

The image above is one of my all-time favorites from my Holga!

In case you missed it click here to see the full Colorado backpacking post.

5 comments so far

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sara montour says:

That first one! That's the one I want in the great vagabond switch-a-roo!

(08.30.10 @ 11:22 PM)

Ela says:

I love these Holga pics. Amazing!

(08.30.10 @ 08:40 PM)

John Pascale says:

Welcome back, these were well worth the wait. The first and last are sick, abolutely amazing... blow up on canvas and put on my wall... amazing

(08.30.10 @ 07:15 PM)

Sarah Hodzic says:

I do declare! There are fabu Carl. That first one is especially fantastic. Once you go plastic you never go back!

(08.30.10 @ 04:42 PM)

Jeramie Shoda says:

Dude, I love these! I just took mine to Glacier National Park so I hope they come out even a fraction as awesome as these.

(08.30.10 @ 04:38 PM)

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July 28, 2010

colorado in all of its glory

Just a gentle reminder; we're not around forever. Soak up life while you can and in whatever way you can. When you do, be sure to soak it up in ways that make you feel alive.

Aaron Snow, Josh McCullock and I set aside the regularity of life to collapse into the beauty that Colorado has to offer. We spend a good chunk of time outside and saw some pretty amazing things. We also rented some downhill mountain bikes in Vail. It was unreal! I can't get over the detachment that I experienced and enjoyed. I'm so "connected" to technology and people day in and day out. It's not necessarily a bad thing but there's something about leaving that all behind and being confronted with silence for a while. In our typical lives I feel like we're able to dictate and have a good amount of control in what happens on a day to day basis. It's an awesome shake-up to be outside, disconnected and at the mercy of Mother Nature. It's a breath of fresh air to not be in control of so many areas of life.I want to live into this idea a bit more. I'd love to spend more nights in my sleeping bag and surrounded by unbiased mother nature. To me, that would be a success.

I hope you enjoy these images. There's a ton and I don't apologize for it. If you get a chance be sure to check out Josh and Aaron's work. They're killer artists and I couldn't have been happier to share my time with them on this trip. We missed our good friend John Sanderson who was unable to make the journey (this time.) If John was there he would've throat punched the images I took with his native Colorado photo taking skills! Love your face John!

I'll soon be posting some of the MANY Holga shots that I took. I can't wait. They're some of my favorite film images to date.

Go do something you love. Enjoy life.

Okay so there's a ton of reasons why we love Backwoods and Osprey. Backwoods owns a small chain of outdoor stores and one of them is located in north Oklahoma City (thank god.) The place is full of awesome employees and every year they team up with Osprey and give away FREE birthday bags to their customers! Each of us had one of these which was KILLER for a daypack! If you live in OKC be sure the check them out. They'll take care of you! CO.0063.jpg

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gdimond says:

There had to have been room for a forth.

(09.01.10 @ 04:20 PM)

jamesr0012 says:

if ever i need some inspiration, for any reason, this is the set of photo's i keep referring back to. they are all stunning.

(08.28.10 @ 09:28 AM)

Melissa Perlman says:

You guys are amazing! Totally inspired to go shoot right now. IT was really refreshing to look at your Colorado photos. I'm going there in a couple weeks. What lenses did you take with you?

(08.17.10 @ 01:51 AM)

Lydia says:

Got here by searching "tilt shift wedding" in flickr. Suddenly I'm so sad being in the city. Sigh.

(08.14.10 @ 10:51 AM)

A new fan says:

Hey, I don't really know how did I get to this site but I just love your pictures! I was wondering what kind of cameras do you use?

(08.09.10 @ 06:01 PM)

Alex says:

Wow!!!! I scrolled through this entire post and kept getting more and more amazed!!!! Your photos are just SOOO beautiful!!!!!! I LOVE the tree photos looking up. I love all of the scenic photos, the people photos. Just so cool!! :D

(08.04.10 @ 05:31 PM)

Aaron says:

Wow. The colors and details are so vibrant, I can almost smell the fresh air.

(08.04.10 @ 02:59 PM)

Michelle Stone says:

just found your blog from another blog and so glad I did; you have some awesome work!!! I've been dying to camping and looking at these gorgeous images does not help!

(08.03.10 @ 02:58 PM)

Jessica Kouns says:

Wow! Looks like you guys had a fantabulous time! I'm such a chicken when it comes to camping and backpacking, but I did hike to Crater Lake at the Maroon Bells just last week. This all makes me wish I could take a camping trip back in the mountains! Awesome mountains and awesome photos, you guys!

(08.02.10 @ 03:57 PM)

Emily Porter says:

I am so in love with your work.

(08.02.10 @ 01:12 PM)

Mike larson says:

Wow carl! Very epic, makes me want to get out there and backpack again! Thanks for sharing!

(07.30.10 @ 11:29 PM)

Jake says:

freakin epic! this makes me want to drop what i am doing (which isn't much), grab a few bros and scale something awesome!!

(07.30.10 @ 06:44 PM)

john pascale says:

Breathtaking shots... The milky way shot and the trees rock. Are you getting those tree shots with you TS lens?

(07.30.10 @ 04:19 PM)

Sheena says:

The one with the stars is fantastic. Wow.

(07.30.10 @ 02:36 PM)

Adam Hager says:

Simply awesome! Thanks for sharing! I'm still interested in your backpack/gear setup... :)

(07.29.10 @ 10:50 AM)

Jessica Miller says:

Phenomenal photos!!! The star field at night photo is spectacular. And the lens flare-turned-orb is pretty epic as well. LOVE love love!!!

(07.29.10 @ 08:25 AM)

Chris McCord says:

I love living in Oklahoma, but man these photos make me want to live in Colorado.
Awesome peek into your journey, thanks for sharing with us!

(07.29.10 @ 08:19 AM)

Denise Murdock says:

My family and I were recently in Rocky Mountain National Park, you captured the beauty!!

(07.29.10 @ 01:01 AM)

sara montour says:

These make my vagabond heart soar!

(07.28.10 @ 10:51 PM)

josh solar says:

I sure would love to be carried along in one of your backpacks for this trip. Awesome images of a beautiful place in our nation.

(07.28.10 @ 10:08 PM)

Becka @Studio222 says:

LOVE the stars! Insane.

(07.28.10 @ 09:54 PM)

hootenannie says:

Thanks for reminding me how lucky I am to live here. Sometimes I forget. But images like these are the best kind of heart attack.

(07.28.10 @ 09:54 PM)

Elizabeth says:

Love that starry night shot!

(07.28.10 @ 09:50 PM)

Tyler says:

That picture of the stars is disgusting. I want to go to there.

(07.28.10 @ 09:37 PM)

kim sanderson says:

Truly amazing my friend. You really made me homesick..... I have so many favorites that I can't even comment on them all but can I just say that the photo of Aaron holding the ball of flare made me laugh out loud. Pure awesomeness. (also, I think I might need that star photo blown up huge and hung on the ceiling above my bed.)

(07.28.10 @ 08:56 PM)

Anya Elise says:

These are terrific! You really captured what Colorado is made of, and - as a native myself - I have to say, I'm just so darn proud. Ha, yay for some Colorado love!

Can't wait to see the Holga shots.

(07.28.10 @ 08:51 PM)

mary says:

i think i just died. for every Christmas and birthday from now on forever i'll be asking for giant prints of your AWESOME photos. also, i want you to shoot my wedding carl zoch. i'll contact you about that when i actually get engaged. PLEASE keep kicking butt and taking names!

(07.28.10 @ 08:39 PM)

Aaron Snow says:

This only made me want to go again next week. How's Thursday look for you? Excellent photos mate!

(07.28.10 @ 08:35 PM)

Mary says:

so I'm not gonna lie..I was kinda waiting for you to post photos of your trip and now my heart hurts. i want to go to there. for now i shall just live in your photographs.

(07.28.10 @ 08:27 PM)

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July 21, 2010

100 eyes in 24 hours

Thank you everyone who entered the contest! I was blown away by the response! I enjoyed looking through all of the photographs and like the idea that this little project might have encouraged a few people to photograph something that they wouldn't have otherwise. I look forward to doing more of these contests in the future! Below are some common questions that I've received in emails so I thought I'd answer them here.

What is CARL//WAS//HERE?

CARL//WAS//HERE is an ongoing project and collection of images that document my travels and the ways in which I've come to see the beauty in this life. There are millions (and probably billions) of images that die on hard drives and I'm doing my best to not let that happen for myself. The site also exists in hopes that others might enjoy the imagery for themselves whether they're looking through the images or adding them to their walls.

What was the competition? The best sky photo taken on a cell phone within a 24 hours.

Why did you do this competition and will there be more in the future? I love the idea of how people collectively see life within a 24 hour time period. I think the idea of that is intriguing so I wanted to see if we could pull that off here. The response was overwhelming! The second reason is simple. I want to share my art. I'm looking forward to doing more in the future. I'll be making announcements for these competitions through twitter so be sure to follow along.

The Winner - Benny Jacobs!

To be as fair as possible I did my best to drag all of the images from my email to a folder on my desktop without looking at who the email was from. I then looked at all of the images in a grid form (like below) and then made my decision. I chose the image that I ended up staring at the most. I don't necessarily have words for why I chose this photo other than it was moving to me.

*Sorry for cropping all of your photos into a square. It was the only way I could share them all. Don't hate me too much :)

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AHyatt says:

I had fun with this too...maybe there can be a contest for people who don't have all those fancy and fun apps for pics. It would be interesting to see what raw images people could come up with. HOWEVER Good Job Benny really cool pic for sure!

(07.23.10 @ 04:20 PM)

Chris McCord says:

Yes very fun, I agree, more contest, random topics from you, and lots of participation...keep it up!

(07.21.10 @ 12:55 PM)

D.J. Ellis says:

That was fun...let's do it again. Some great shots in here for sure. Congrats Benny!

(07.21.10 @ 12:17 PM)

christian traina says:

From left to right in chronological order... what does #27 mean?

(07.21.10 @ 12:08 PM)

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