Framing the Story
A familiar landscape held a story I wanted to understand more deeply
The assignment asked me to research and photograph a grant-funded project making a difference in Colorado. I chose forest restoration and wildfire risk mitigation because it connected my interest in biology with places close to home.
My research question was how to make the work behind forest restoration understandable through photographs. I needed to connect visible forest conditions with the decisions, people, and equipment involved. Research gave the images context; sequencing helped readers move from risk toward intervention and signs of recovery.
Hayman Fire landscape: a starting point for the visual story. Photograph by Jessica King.
Research and Interviews
Conversations helped me see the decisions behind the work
I paired background reading and project records with field visits to Flying J Ranch, Meyer Ranch, Elk Meadow, and areas affected by the Hayman Fire. Interviews explained what the landscape alone could not; follow-up emails helped me check my understanding before translating the research into captions and a photographic sequence.
Steve Murdock and Tony Auciello at Jefferson County Open Space helped me understand the project and its documentation. Resident ranger Jason Hamburg shared another perspective at Elk Meadow. Their explanations shaped the questions I asked, the photographs I pursued, and the information I included in the book.
Project records and conversations helped me understand the decisions behind the visible work.
Photography and Iteration
Forest conditions, people, and machinery became one visual sequence
I photographed dense stands of trees, marked trees, mitigation equipment, project records, and small signs of regrowth. Wide views established the setting; close details made parts of the process easier to notice.
Research changed what I needed to photograph. A field visit could clarify the story even when none of its images made the final edit. In Lightroom, I compared views, selected details that explained the work, and refined the sequence. Changing light and winter conditions meant revisiting both the photographs and the plan.
Machinery makes the scale and process of mitigation visible.
A marked tree turns a small detail into an explanation of what is being kept.
Close observations of regrowth bring the narrative back to my interest in biology.
Editorial Design
Sequencing turned individual photographs into a connected story
I organized the story around forest conditions and risk, the restoration work, the people carrying it out, and signs of regrowth. Across the book, prints, and Lightroom collection, wide views establish context while close details explain intervention. The book adds interviews and research so the photographs form an argument readers can follow.
Designing the pages meant deciding when an image could carry the story and when it needed supporting text. I wanted the photographs to invite attention while the captions and context gave that attention somewhere to go.
Explore the book
Turn the pages to follow the story from forest conditions through mitigation and regrowth. Use Previous and Next, swipe, or use the arrow keys while the book is focused. Expand the reader or open a full-size spread to read the details. All 26 original interior pages and both covers are included; the book preserves its original 2022 research and wording.
Deliverables and Exhibition
One researched story took shape as a book, ten prints, and a digital gallery
The finished project included ten feature photo prints, a Lightroom gallery, and a 26-page book. Completed in 2022, the project contributed to my Introduction to Photography Certificate at Red Rocks Community College. The book was exhibited in the VAMA Art Gallery in 2023.
Working across these formats taught me to edit for different ways of looking: a print needs to hold attention on its own, while a book can build meaning through the relationship between pages.
The printed book on display in the VAMA Art Gallery in 2023, with an invitation to pick it up and read.
With the finished book in the gallery.
Reflection
I learned to follow the research and keep making
This was one of my first substantial design projects, with several smaller deliverables connected by one larger purpose. It showed me how much I enjoy research, technical detail, and the work of turning a complicated subject into something other people can explore.
Managing the research, interviews, photography, editing, and book design independently taught me to carry a complex subject through to a finished form. Conversations and critique helped me question the selection and strengthen the story. I carry both habits into UX: taking responsibility for the work and inviting other perspectives to improve it.