Holi: Festival of Colors | Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple

I waited for years to photograph this particular event, and the time finally came: Holi, a Hindu celebration of happiness, love, peace and the end of the winter season. Celebrated for two days by over 80,000 people in the seemingly out-of-place location of Spanish Fork, Utah, Holi only continues the streak of bizarre, visually astounding, crowd-heavy events that never ceases to amaze me to photograph.

I originally thought I would be shooting it for the paper, but the assignment was handed off to staffer and buddy Spenser Heaps, who did a beautiful job for print the next day. That being said, I took the weekend to shoot Holi as both the casual observer and raging participant. The "assignment" was actually no assignment at all - in fact, it was the first event in three months that I shot for myself with no purpose but to simply enjoy. The result? It felt great. The pictures shown here represent the feel of Holi; the happiness, the struggle to breathe and the celebration of beauty in the marriage of crowds and colored chalk. In addition to making pictures that worked wonders as a creative release, I made new friends, strengthened current relationships and checked another life experience off the bucket list in one fell swoop.  While I scrub to rid myself of colored chalk in unspeakable places, I sure hope you enjoy.