Sarah C. Müller

These are the B-sides. They require you to read between the pixels. These are the words I can't ever seem to say.

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Mila’s first time in the Bay Area.

December, 2019

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Colorado National Monument, June 2018.

Stifling heat. Merciless sun. Heavy steps. Glorious wind.

First leg of last summer’s epic road trip.

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Santería at the mercados. Guatemala, 2018

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Denver’s Red Brigade premiering at Cherry Creek Mall for Black Friday.

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Xilbalbá. My secret cave of wishes in Guatemala. Its famous yet uncommon light show greeted us from the mouth of the cave, enticing to the point of hypnotism. Jaws dropped open as we spiraled down into the cave’s incense-filled belly. I first entered it when I was 6 months pregnant and this was the first time I came with my daughter, almost 10 years later. As per tradition, we lit a candle and walked towards the “altar”, an impressive series of stalagmites and stalactites near the cave’s wall. I felt very grateful to have been able to visit this sacred place once more, with my new family, on our way to Semuc Champey.

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Some shots from a camping trip Christian, Mila and I made to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado this summer. What stunning scenery! This canyon is not nearly as famous as the other canyons in North America, but I think it’s easily one of the most underrated and stunning canyons of all, mainly due to its depth and how narrow it is. Most of the rocks are over 500 million years old.

We drove around the South and North rim, gaping at the incredible vistas and learning about the different rock formations. One of the more famous wall faces is called the Painted Wall, which also happens to be the highest cliff in North America. If you look closely you can see a dragon. Black Canyon is infamously difficult to photograph during the day due to the extreme contrasts, which frustrated me greatly. Indeed, the canyon gets its name from the deep shadow filling the narrow gorge during most of the day. My photo ops were quite limited because of time and how difficult it was to get there and I couldn’t be picky about when or what to shoot, so these shots will have to do. After Mila had filled out the Junior Ranger booklet and received her badge at the Visitor’s Center, we went on a hike to “exclamation point” where we all exclaimed in our own particular way. It was great fun walking there with our usual repertoire of a handful of songs annoyingly sung over and over. We were lucky to have some shade as the sun was very hot. Sitting on the sharp edge of the abyss and dangling our feet above the plunging cliffs with the river carving through the middle of the canyon was exhilarating. Mila and Christian took turns spitting over the edge to watch their saliva vanish into thin air as I took a few minutes to meditate in such an incredible place. Our hike concluded with a huge thunderstorm just as we approached the van and we drove back to Denver in the dark.

Curious fact: Black Canyon is home to the fastest bird in the world, the Peregrine falcon.

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Loveland Pass - Mt Snicktau. 

Colorado, July 2019.

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Six mile hike with too many stops to attempt to pet chipmunks. Took a dip in glacial water, sat in the sun eating trailmix and then got soaked in a massive downpour on the way back.

Rocky Mountain National Park. August, 2019.

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Theatre blues, 2017

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MM, 2019.

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Bloom.

Portra 160.

May 2016.

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Artifacts.

2015.

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Quite surprised that I didn’t entirely lose this roll of film. Shot these over 2 years ago, possibly even 3?

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MW, 2015. Shot on a Rolleiflex with expired Portra 160, developed 2 years later.

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Who knows where the time goes?

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La Quema del Torito - arguably the strangest tradition in Guatemala. This practice first surged in the XVII century after the Spanish conquistadores introduced Chinese pyrotechnics for religious ceremonies. The Quema del Torito is nowadays carried out during an array of festivities throughout the country. During this risky activity, a person holds a wooden rig loaded with various pyrotechnics and moves to the rhythm of the music, while spectators try to dodge the fireworks. The rig is covered with a nylon sheet coated with lime powder to prevent burns. The design and style of the Torito differs in every place.

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Guatemala 2016-2017.