Contributors

John Hodgen’s first job was as a part-time gravedigger after school at the Pine Grove Cemetery in Templeton, Massachusetts. He’s since been a teacher, written six books, and now serves as Writer-in-Residence at Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Carrie Knowles’s mother named her Carrie Jane Knowles because she thought it would look good in print. She divides her time between Oberlin, Ohio, and Washington, DC. (cjanework.com)

Nikolina Kulidžan is or has been many unpopular things: a refugee, a government employee, a childless middle-aged woman, and a self-published novelist. She lives with her husband John and dog Felix in a hilly neighborhood in Istanbul, Turkey.

Rebecca Lawton grew up boating, birding, and exploring North American waterscapes and deserts. She’s now writing Boatwoman: A River Memoir, about the good, bad, and beautiful life of an early Grand Canyon whitewater guide. (beccalawton.com)

Daniel McDermon has tended bar, hosted a pub quiz, and reviewed motorcycles. An editor for twenty years, he has worked at Newsday, The New York Times, and Atlas Obscura. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, three children, and a dog named Queso.

Sybil Smith is a retired nurse who has lived on the banks of the Connecticut River in Vermont for thirty-four years. She can be reached at [email protected].

Jacki Dickert is enjoying her second career, as a photographer, after retiring from teaching elementary school in New Jersey. She volunteers with various environmental groups and has a soft spot for black cats.

Hiroto Hayashi grew up as a young angler hearing fables of Minnesota, the land of ten thousand lakes. He now lives there with his wife and works full-time in conservation communication and part-time with a local fishing-guide service. On the weekends he can be found with a line in the water and a camera in hand.

Becky Jaffe is an outspoken advocate for birds, a botanical evangelist, and a brazen peddler of ontological awe. When she is not lurking in the underbrush watching backlit dragonflies hunt gnats, she teaches classes in fine art photography. She lives in Oakland, California.

Tom Minty is a British-born, New Jersey–based photographer who believes photography helps shrink cultural, racial, and socioeconomic divides. In a world where the individual can feel more isolated than ever, he says, photography can help unite people. (unplugdphoto.com)

Brian Padian is a filmmaker based in Portland, Oregon. His latest film, Grief Stick, explores a loving couple’s response after one of them receives a fatal diagnosis. (northernflickerfilms.com)

Richard Schoellhorn lives in Sebastopol, California, with his wife of forty-six years and dog Izzy. During COVID he gave up golf and took on nature. More birdies that way.

Jon-Marc Seimon lives in Western Massachusetts, in an 1842 house with a backyard munched on by three goats. He’s been a (mostly) amateur photographer—happily so—for the past fifty years.

Laurie Smith lives in Colorado but is often on the road, chronicling immigration on the West Texas–Mexico borderlands. For more than thirty years she has also traveled around the world photographing food and culture for publications, including Food & Wine and Saveur.

Leon Werdinger is a professional photographer living in Joseph, Oregon, who’s trying (so far without success) to get influencers and politicians to use the term “death fuels” to highlight the health effects of extracting, transporting, refining, and burning fossil fuels. (leonwerdinger.com)

Nick Wilkes is a husband, father, rock climbing guide, website designer, and photographer who lives in Madison, Wisconsin. He took his first photographs at the age of twelve with a camera his parents received for touring a time-share condo. (nickwilkesphotography.com)

Jodi Frediani lives in California amid foxes, coyotes, and mountain lions. She took this month’s cover photo while swimming with humpbacks off the coast of Tonga. An award-winning photographer, she recently published Wild Monterey Bay, an anthology illustrated with her photos. (jodifrediani.com)