Field Journal | Where Music Belongs
The Assignment
When Aaron Walker, a local musician who plays throughout northwest Wyoming and into Montana, casually dropped into conversation after one of his sets that he needed new promotional photographs
My answer was pretty immediate: Yes, you do. Ironically, about a month earlier, I’d already found myself thinking that I’d really like to photograph him.
So a couple months later we made a plan, grabbed his guitar, and headed out to make photographs that felt a little more like the Aaron I’d come to know by listening to him play.
The Location
We started at Old Trail Town in Cody, Wyoming. That was Aaron’s idea.
Old Trail Town isn’t a reproduction of the West. Its historic buildings were gathered from across the region, carefully disassembled, moved to Cody, and rebuilt there. Cabins, a saloon, barns, and other structures preserve pieces of the country and the people who were here long before us.
It fit Aaron’s vibe perfectly.
There was something about hearing him play acoustically among those old buildings that made the whole place feel right. No amplification. No stage. Just Aaron and his guitar on the boardwalk. If anything felt out of place, it was probably me following him around with a camera.
From there, we headed into the Badlands.
This was the place I had wanted to photograph him.
There is a kind of silence out there, so far away from anything man-made. No other people, just us, the antelope, wild horses, and sage grouse, a stiff Wyoming breeze, Aaron playing his guitar, and an enormous amount of country around us.
I love putting a person into a landscape that big. It changes the perspective of the photographs. It changes the vibe of a shoot. Everything has room to breathe and be inspired.
The landscape doesn’t diminish the person. Somehow, the vastness makes their presence more noticeable. It brings you back to them.
The Reflection
For someone who regularly performs in front of a room full of people, Aaron wasn’t particularly comfortable being photographed at first.
I found that interesting.
But then he started playing.
Instead of asking him to perform for the camera, I could simply move around him while he did something that already came naturally. Little by little, everything loosened up. By the time we hit the second location, I felt like I was photographing the man that I had seen play on stage so many times.
Looking back, I think there was something else happening, too. There is something interesting about photographing another artist, especially someone whose work is completely different from your own. You recognize the way they settle into what they do. There is a familiarity in watching another artist find their flow and begin to work from instinct.
Maybe that was the part of what I was seeing in the Badlands. Aaron wasn’t there to perform for my camera. He was playing music, and I was making photographs. We were each doing something that belonged to us.
It’s one of the reasons I love photographing people while they’re actually doing something that belongs to them. Sometimes the best thing I can do is stop trying to make a photograph happen and give someone enough room to settle into themselves.
And with Aaron, that meant letting him play in the Badlands with the wild Wyoming wind accompanying him.
More Stories from the American West
The Shift Into Fall | Wyoming Adventure Elopements
Field Journal | A Summer Evening in the Big Horns
Engagement Sessions in Wyoming
If you’re planning an engagement session, elopement, or intimate wedding in Cody, The Tetons, Yellowstone, or the surrounding mountains, I’d love to help you find a place that feels as meaningful as your story.
