Charles Dharapak/AP

It has been a while since I last wrote but as I sit here on day four without electricity I feel compelled to write and get back to my blog. Never in my life did I think a natural disaster would happen anywhere near me; that is just stuff you see in the news right? No, is the hard lesson I have had to learn. Natural disasters can happen anywhere and everywhere.

I thought an earthquake was enough for one week but I guess Mother Nature had her own idea on what “enough” really meant. I was sitting in my office doing work when I realized my feet were shifting with the floor below me and then my body started to move with rolling chair I was sitting on. Then the entire office shook and I was dashing for cover under my desk. It was total mayhem. No one knew what to do and we did the one thing we weren’t supposed to do … go outside.

Now, a hurricane that will go down in the history books as one of the costliest storms ever. Day four and thousands of people up and down the east coast have either lost their possessions, are still stranded, or without electricity.  Thinking about the states this storm has affected (Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Connecticut) makes me think about how many farmers who have lost what they have been building for years. Their entire livelihood ripped from them. All I have lost is electricity and that feels like the end of my world.

Electricity to me is more than I ever realized or thought. I rely on electricity to keep my food cold, water to run into my house, shower, and so much more. Right now I would do anything to be able to sit in my own house with a light, a shower, and my own bed but I really should just be thankful that things weren’t worse.

I have been photographing the same area-the Albany Bowl- in Albany California for the past 5 years and capturing the change to the area. The Albany Bowl started off as an unclaimed piece of land that was used as dumping grounds after the 1906 earthquake. Since then “bohemians”, hippies, homeless and randoms have been using the rubble to create artwork out of it. I have been able to photograph a man-made skate park, sculptures, house, boat and solar-powered hot tub. These captured changes will eventually become a book or at least I hope.