It's a quagmire of black dirt, ringing ears, red SOLO cups and misplacement of responsibility. For the fifth time, I beat my body up at the annual Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheater overlooking the incredible Columbia Gorge, and managed to survive with my camera still intact. After shooting the festival for a publication while in college, this year I was able to bring my camera in and photograph just for myself and friends. It's a completely different experience; one I appreciate and will cherish forever. Here's just a few of those moments. 

I hope you enjoy, and thank you for looking. 

All images © Jake Parrish, 2016. 

Well, these months were a whirlwind, to say the least. I didn't quite find the energy to make a collection of my favorite images from February, so I thought I'd combine those photos with images from March. It was an exciting time though; I flew to Boise to cover high school state boys basketball, took a different position at The Press, and literally fell on my face once or twice.

Here's some of my favorite moments from these two months, along with a word or two. There's some weird images in here, but that's a big reason why I love photography. It can get pretty damn strange by a simple crop or pop of a flash. 

I hope you enjoy. 

Highland High School basketball players celebrate defeating Madison for the 5A State Basketball Title March 5, 2016 at the Idaho Center in Boise, Idaho. 

Vietnam veteran Bill Davis kisses his wife Lexey as they stand in front of their mobile home on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 in the River City Village in Post Falls. The couple, along with another veteran in the Village, was given an eviction notice without warning last December, and are still waiting for an answer as to why they are being evicted from their home of two years. 

Karen Yates is comforted and offered words of prayer by First Presbyterian Church pastor Craig Sumy on Thursday, March 24, 2016 during the church's Stations of the Cross gathering in Coeur d'Alene. 

Roosevelt Elementary School fourth grader Mason Hubble, right, waits for his opponent Olivia Hilton, from Pioneer Elementary School, to maker her next move at the Cougar Challenge Scholastic Chess Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016 at Canfield Middle School. 

Genesis Prep head coach Marsell Colbert consults his team during a timeout in the fourth quarter at the 1A Division II semifinal game on Friday, March 4, 2016 at Caldwell High School in Caldwell, Idaho. Genesis Prep fell to Council, 48-39, ending their chance at the state title. 

Easter Party at a retirement home. 

Water beads up on the feathers of a Canadian Goose. 

Madison High School students get riled up before their team takes on Highland at the 5A State Boys Basketball title game March 5, 2016 at the Idaho Center in Boise, Idaho. 

Kristy Johnson holds up ballots as she collects them from democrats casting their votes for their preferred presidential candidate on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at the democratic caucus held at North Idaho College. About 1,150 people showed up to caucus; Bernie Sanders beat out Hillary Clinton for the democratic delegates in Idaho.  

Jim Phillips is now in his eighteenth year as the fourth music director for Coeur d'Alene High School. In addition to teaching, he performs regularly with the Coeur d'Alene Symphony and the Bob Cunrow Big Band. 

Shawn Gust, who I had the amazing opportunity to learn from and produce all the visuals for The Coeur d'Alene Press with for more than eight months, took the chief photographer position at The Yakima Herald in March. He deserves it and he's already begun to create some stellar frames over there. That said, I was promoted to chief photographer, the position he held at the Press for a number of years. I'm incredibly excited for the opportunity to run the visuals for the paper and can't wait to continue my growth as a photographer as well as an editor. But wow... I'm so humbled to take this position. 

Kootenai Technical Education Campus student Caleb Search, left, and Post Falls High School student Ethan Litz build a "problem frame" on Friday, Feb. 26, 2016 during a building skills competition at Kootenai Technical Education Campus in Rathdrum. The competition between the two schools involves students using their construction skills to build a certain object in an allotted amount of time. The two top-placing students from each high school will move on to the state competition in April in Boise. 

Bridal Fashion Show.

St. Maries guard Dakota Wilson, center, attempts to get a pass off as Firth guard Dylan Holley (23) and Lucas Orme defend at the 2A state semifinal game on Friday, March 4, 2016 at Capital High School in Boise. 

Genesis Prep forward Jackson Ebune rests in the locker room during halftime of the 1A Division II semifinal game on Friday, March 4, 2016 at Caldwell High School in Caldwell, Idaho. Genesis Prep fell to Council, 48-39, ending their chance at the state title. 

Danica Lafay DeMoy-Allers, the first baby born in the new McIntire Birthing Center at Kootenai Health, is held by her mother Tessa DeMoy on Wednesday, March 16, 2016. Danica was born Tuesday evening at seven pounds, 11 ounces, and a lengthy 21.5 inches long. The state-of-the-art McIntire Birthing Center was open for eight hours when Danica was born.  

Breana Burke is looking to dominate the softball field again this year as Coeur d'Alene's starting pitcher. 

Valentine's Day at a retirement home.  

St. Patrick's Day party.

Amelia, when we explored Manito Park together in March. She is more colorful than any of the flora in the greenhouses. 

From their Radio Flyer wagon, Mason Sheckler, left, and Scarlet Wood, both four, watch horses trot by during the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sherman Avenue on March 12, 2016 in Coeur d'Alene. 

Members of the Kootenai County Sheriff and Coeur d'Alene Police SWAT teams closely watch a residence on Best Avenue occupied by 22-year-old Brandon Kremer of Post Falls on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016 in Coeur d'Alene. Kremer, who has multiple felony warrants, was arrested after a standoff with law enforcement. 

Ammon Wilhelm of Boise casts a fishing line on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 while fishing off the Coeur d'Alene Resort Marina. 

Sam Dowd is a redshirt freshman point guard for North Idaho College. Due to a troubled home life in his youth, Dowd bounced from house to house, living with coaches and friends in Seattle. New life was brought to Dowd when he entered high school, when he was welcomed to a family in Spokane, Wash., where he played for Gonzaga Preparatory School. He is photographed here on March 11, 2016. 

St. Patrick's Day party.

Linda Jones, who has attended the First Presbyterian Church of Coeur d'Alene for two decades, sings a hymn on March 24, 2016 at the church's Stations of the Cross gathering in Coeur d'Alene. 

A sedan smolders after fire fighters extinguish flames that consumed it on March 1, 2016 on Nettleton Gulch Road in Coeur d'Alene. The driver noticed flames coming from the hood of the car while she was driving, and escaped along with her two dogs with no injuries. A mechanical malfunction caused the fire. 

Things change, and you just have to adapt quickly and roll with whatever comes your way in order to stay on your feet. I found a mantra, if you will, that I like to live by: Be happy with where you are, but don't ever be satisfied. Like beer. Be happy with one, but don't be content with only two. 

As always, thank you for looking.

~J

One of the many things I love about being a photojournalist is that everyday, I find myself in situations and places I would never be in if I didn't have a camera or two in my hands. From the extreme mundane city council meeting to practically plunging in freezing lake water during a Polar Plunge, this job is teaching me how to walk into nearly any event or person's home and be comfortable shooting whatever is happing there in a documentary way. I meet and interact with countless people every day—some new in my life, some old—and I get to experience them and have the opportunity to attempt to understand who they are and why they are doing what they do. 

However, this month I had two opportunities to spend more than the usual hour or two with a group of people for two separate stories. I was allowed into their lives, and had to build trust with them to document their stories effectively and intimately. I feel honored to have the chance to tell their stories through photography, and be allowed into their personal lives. It truly is a blessing of being a photojournalist. 

These are some of my favorite moments from the month of January. I'm excited for what February has in store.

I hope you enjoy, and as always, thank you for looking!

The brave race back to the sandy beach after taking a New Year dip in frigid Lake Coeur d'Alene during the annual Polar Bear Plunge on Friday, Jan. 1, 2016 at Sanders Beach in Coeur d'Alene. 

Cody Gray, 23, who has autism, shares a moment with Laurie West, a caregiver for the nonprofit Milestone Decisions, on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 at Cody's home in Coeur d'Alene. West assists Cody and his two roommates and works with her own son, who is also mentally disabled but lives in another home. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare recently announced that Medicaid reimbursement rates funding supportive living and residential habilitation provider agencies, such as Milestone Decisions, would be significantly decreased and revert to 2012 rates as of Feb. 1, 2016. (Part of an ongoing series).

Kootenai County Fire and Rescue members inflate a water rescue raft before the start of annual ice rescue training Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016 at Riverstone Park in Coeur d'Alene. 

Jay Lamkin of Coeur d'Alene stands on the corner of Ironwood Drive and Northwest Boulevard while holding a sign reading, "End Federal Tyranny [sic]" on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 in Coeur d'Alene. "I want there to be a peaceful ending to the standoff in Oregon," Lamkin says. "No one needs to die or get hurt." 

Chad Bennett, the "unofficial" time keeper of the Polar Bear Plunge, waits for the clock to strike noon for the mad dash into the frigid waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene on Friday, Jan. 1, 2016 at the annual Polar Bear Plunge on Sanders Beach in Coeur d'Alene. 

The Mariner Moose makes a grand entrance into the student-packed gymnasium of Winton Elementary on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016 before the start of a Mariners DREAM Team assembly. The DREAM Team, consisting of the Mariner Moose, Mariners team members and broadcasters, travels to elementary schools around the Northwest to deliver the importance of the DREAM Team principles: Drug Free, Respect, Education, Attitude and Motivation. 

Amelia, on our anniversary trip in British Columbia. Taken on film. 

Bridget Schwenne, left, and Paige Harfield snowshoe between towering snow-laden trees as they finish up the roughly 5-mile jaunt of the 25th Annual Best Hand event, organized by the Panhandle Nordic Club, on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016 in the Fourth of July Pass Recreation Area. Participants of all ages can either snowshoe or cross-country ski, and collect playing cards at stations along the way in hopes of winning prizes. 

Two Kootenai County Fire and Rescue team members walk out on the frozen Riverstone Pond during annual ice rescue training on Jan. 13, 2016 at Riverstone Park in Coeur d'Alene. 

Lakeland's Dylan Knight, top, and Andrew Knight leave the Hawks' locker room before the start of the second half of a match-up with Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016 at Lakeland High School.

Milestones caregiver Robert Moore helps Cody wash his hands after eating lunch on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016 at Cody's home in Coeur d'Alene. Moore, who is the house manager at Cody's home, has worked with Cody for more than seven years. (Part of an ongoing series). 

Anniversary trip, Vancouver, British Columbia. 

Coeur d'Alene's Hunter Hawkins, bottom, and Lake City's Abe Rivera both run into trouble with their headgear during the 195-pound championship bout at the Van Tuinstra Memorial Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016 at Lakeland High School. Rivera emerged victorious. 

Post Falls' Tyler Wolf, in orange, grapples with Dylan Lockwood of Coeur d'Alene on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 at the North Idaho Rumble wrestling tournament at Coeur d'Alene High School. Wolf emerged victorious, making him champion of the 138-pound weight class. 

Toby Carrol, 26, stands amongst hundreds of costumes, hats and masks on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016 in the Special Needs Recreation Costume Rental shop in Post Falls. Carrol, who has developmental disabilities, helps his mother Wendy run the costume rental shop, where he specializes in organizing and indexing costumes. 

Teresa Cook Palin is still searching for answers surrounding the death of her daughter, Brianna, who was found dead on Oct. 26, 2013 in Brianna's home in Pinehurst. She is photographed here on Jan. 27, 2016, in her Pinehurst home. Brianna's ashes rest in an urn beside Palin. 

North Idaho Rumble wrestling tournament, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, at Coeur d'Alene High School.

Pam Moist, top, drills in the third and final panel of a military pin cabinet as she is helped by Vietnam veteran Chuck Schraeder, right, and others on Friday, Jan. 8, 2016 at the American Legion Post 143 in Post Falls. The cabinet, which was recently purchased from Phil's Army and Navy Store in Coeur d'Alene, holds several thousand military pins from all branches of the military. The American Legion Post is selling them to veterans who provide documentation showing they earned them during their service.

North Idaho College vs. Salt Lake Community College men's basketball, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016 at North Idaho College. 

Carl Knight of Coeur d'Alene sports a flowery swim cap as he waits for the start of the annual Polar Bear Plunge on Friday, Jan. 1, 2016 at Sanders Beach in Coeur d'Alene. "This ain't for wussies," Knight says. "Trust me, I'm a pro." 

North Idaho Rumble wrestling tournament, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 at Coeur d'Alene High School.