Small Photo Adventures FOR THE WIN!

A love letter to leaving the house and gathering stories.

Sometimes, my family and I get a little too comfortable indoors.

The crisp, dry A/C feels great, and television shows can be a little too tempting.

So it felt nice for us to get out of the house and go on a little adventure from Omaha to Des Moines.

(All photos - except a few noted at the end - taken with iPhone 17 Pro using the mood.camera app.)

It’s a 130-mile trip into Iowa that takes a quick 2 hours to complete. We didn’t have much of a plan, except to eventually make our way to Mainframe Studios for their First Friday art event.

We found ourselves first at the Des Moines Art Center. This place was wonderful to explore.

I forget how important it is for us as photographers to seek out and experience truly great art, from classic paintings and sculptures to entire architectural constructions, like the museum itself.

All the angles here weren’t just made to inhabit people - they were made to inspire them.

I was pretty sure this thing was going to come alive and get me:

While art galleries are made to inspire us to think, malls were designed to get us to buy. Here, in Des Moines, the Valley West Mall doesn’t have much to purchase.

But that doesn’t mean were didn’t have a blast exploring the well-kept, but definitely creepy, environment.

Many of the bigger plants are real, kept alive with wonderful natural light.

This is one of the saddest play areas I’ve ever seen. And kind of horrifying, as if it were designed by someone without emotions and who has never met children before.

The natural light and real trees are so amazing. But in the context of nearly everything being shut down, the vibe of the place was more slightly-ominous than calming.

And finally, we made it to our destination and saw more cool art. I didn’t take many photos at Mainframe Studios, mostly because it was so busy it was hard to move around. That’s good though. It meant people were out supporting the arts!

I liked this display from a local Des Moines photographer:

I really wanted this. I’m a big NIN fan:

I took these with an old 1970’s-era 135mm f/3.5 Minolta on a Nikon Z6iii, just to test it out. I like how it renders!

The last shot of the day, as I gassed up for our way home:

Each photo here is connected to a story in my head. My wife’s laughter, my son ignoring me with his headphones on, the chaotic sound of too many people jammed into small spaces, and my jaw hurting because I’m smiling so much.

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