This is Michael and this is his place.
Who are you? I'm Michael Coiner, Office Assistant at the Weber State University Media Relations Department.
What is your place? Ensign Peak Nature Park above Salt Lake City.
Why is this place special to you? When I started school at the University of Utah, my friends and I would go up there at night to enjoy the view. It was just one of those things you did in the middle of the night when we were young and unemcumbered with "real world" commitments. We may or may not have been drinking as well.
The first time I went up there on a breezy August night and looked at the glittery landscape below, I not only felt the joy of youthful freedom, but also noticed just how small the city really was and became very excited for the future. At that point, Salt Lake had been my entire world and for the first time I was seeing it from an outside perspective. It was thrilling.
This peak was also where a student filmmaker interviewed me about being "out of the local norm" (a gay, liberal, agnostic democrat) and what it was like growing up in Utah under those conditions. Honestly it wasn't all that bad. Salt Lake has been good to me.
What do you enjoy most about Salt Lake City? The strong sense of community and the quiet acceptance (however perceived) of different people and lifestyles.
What do you dislike about Salt Lake City? The weather. I absolutely can't stand the weather. In the summer we get sweltering desert heat and in the winter we get subfreezing winds and mountains of snow. It's really the worst of both in my opinion. The people make up for most of it but that only goes so far, you know? The dryness is bothersome to me too. If the ocean were closer and the weather were just a bit more mild I wouldn't see a reason to leave.
Do you have any additional comments about living here? Salt Lake City is the only place I've been where transients not only ask for change because they need to break a bill (which they give you in exchange), but will dance along with you if you're playing a good song in the car.
How do you get around town? I bike when the weather is good and drive when it's not. It's the best I can do.
3 comments:
Thank you for taking such awesome photos of my brother! The last two are my favorite!
Mike,
I love this project! I have so many ideas of doing this kind of thing, but I never seem to get started (over-committed elsewhere). My newest one is to take photos of all my friends and their husbands, and have them tell me the story of their first meeting, or date :) I'm sure it's been done, but not of my friends :)
Love your work!
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