THE EXTERNS
Kaixi Yang
Miguel Johnson
Miguel is a storyteller and advocate with a background in Political Science and Creative Writing. He blends climate work and grassroots action, now using drones and photography to help make environmental fieldwork smarter, safer, and more efficient.
Photo 1: I still don't know the name of these fungi...I should have used iNaturalist... Anyway, this is a super fun photo of Kaixi!
Photo 2: The Sludge Pit itself is striking, but the most surprising thing I saw during our time with the FODC were the white flowers edging up on the border of the polluted pond. This photo reminds me of the stark contrast between the mines and the woods we camped in every night.
Photo 3: This photo is oozing with character, so I'm submitting it unedited. After mushroom-hunting with Mr. Lopez, I didn't notice the dirt (or that stubborn strand of beard hair) on my lens until it was too late. When a rainbow appeared during a Stags supply run, I took a flurry of photos without paying much attention to the results; only to later realize these "imperfections" perfectly captured both the moment and everything that came before it. The dirt and hair invading the image suddenly became sentimental.
Capstone Project - Photos
This capstone is inspired by the Rhododendron flower and my trip to Nepal earlier this
year. On April 5th, my friends Prabhat, Monika and I hiked through Kathmandu Valley (Photos
1-3), where I first encountered Nepal's national flower, the Rhododendron. Their crimson pedals
are unmistakable, and we found three at different stages of bloom. The first was still just a bud,
but still pretty and worth a photo, I thought (Photo 4.) The second was far out of reach off the
cliff dawning in early bloom (Photo 5.) But, the third was in reach, all Prahbat had to do was a
bit of climbing to secure a closer look for the rest of the group (Photo 6.) “Try it, it’s sweet!” He
said. It was not (Photo 7...)
I’ll always remember that funny feeling after eating a random flower in the woods
because my friend told me to. So, imagine my surprise when I heard that West Virginia also has
Rhododendrons afoot! Little did I know, there was a thicket of Rhododendrons further into the
campsite. Unlike the red varieties I found in Nepal, these flowers bloomed in lovely white and
pink! (Photo 8-10)