San Francisco Based Photographer
Erik Poppen
Erik Poppen Photography
WELCOME
Public Journal Project
Public journal project is a curated collection of stories, poetry, lyrics, philosophy, quotes, hot takes, photography and visual art. This Project is an ongoing archive for the purpose of manufacturing deeper thought, creativity, expression, growth, education and ultimately connection.
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Public Journal Project is contributed to and curated by yours truly, though an ongoing & free open call to all creatives, & individuals is welcomed with open arms.
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Submissions - Please include: Your name/authors name, dates, titles & applicable text. Socials & contact info welcome.
*Authors/creatives/producers retain full copyright of all original works ©2025
Feb 2025
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The Dive 2 (Intro)
“Take a deep breath.
There's nothing to be afraid of.​
What you just did was fall into the depths of existence.​
The place your mind keeps you away from by its own process of building models for understanding.​
This is not insanity.
This is, in fact, the ultimate reality.​
The union you've achieved is only possibly in thoughts no more.​
You never fall if you never fight.​
You found yourself falling to madness.
So you dove.
The best thing you ever did was let go”
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Shared by Connor Fischer, intro to the song "The Dive 2 by Eyedia & Abilities, 2001
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Photo by Erik Poppen, Connor Fischer Backflip, Eastern Sierra, California, 2022
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You start dying slowly.
You start dying slowly if you do not travel, if you do not read,
If you do not listen to the sounds of life, If you do not appreciate yourself.
You start dying slowly when you kill your self-esteem, when you do not let others help you.
You start dying slowly If you become a slave to your habits, walking everyday on the same paths ... If you do not change your routine,
If you do not wear different colors or you do not speak to those you don't know.
You start dying slowly If you avoid to feel passion & it's turbulent emotions, those that make your eyes glisten & your heart beat fast.
You start dying slowly If you do not change your life when you are not satisfied with your job, or with your love, or with your surroundings.
If you do not risk what is safe for the uncertain, If you do not go after a dream, If you do not allow yourself, at least once in your lifetime to run away from sensible advice.
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Shared by Connor Schwartz, written by Brazilian Poet, Martha Medeiros in 2016, through often attributed to Chilean Poet Pablo Neruda.
Photo by Erik Poppen, untitled, unknown, North Island, New Zealand, 2024
Aug 2018
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​Zone 6, Aspen springs, Colorado
Writing & photography by Erik Poppen, Images of Shay & Julian
As I was looking for a night’s stay near Pagosa Springs I recalled a friend who lived in the area, Shay, who has a small plot in the middle of zone 6. I wasn’t sure what to expect when taking turn after turn, on many dirt roads, each getting increasingly less maintained. When I arrived, I was damn well hoping I had the right address as the first sign read “we don’t call the police!” With an image of firearms depicted. But I was happily greeted and showed around by Shay’s older brother Julian and I must say, the $25,000 1.2-acre lot (including the yurt) that Shay purchased last year had been transformed into something far more then I had imagined. There was a large furnished yurt with a kitchen and wood burning stove, a hand-built storage shed made almost entirely out of left-
Aspen springs is a subdivision abutting north Pagosa Springs, Colorado and one of the largest in North America. In the early 1970’s it was divided into six different zones that span across over 6,000 acres on both sides of US highway 160. While zones 1-5 all have electric and cell service and lower zones with septic and water, zone 6 is almost entirely off the grid. With community mandated restriction of law enforcement access, zone 6 is a lawless, generator-powered, DIY community thriving on backwoods agriculture of hemp and cannabis. Since the early 1970’s, zones 4, 5 and 6 were a disarray of “meth addicts and tweakers” bringing violence, theft and increasingly lower property values. However during the last 10-12 years much of the drug-fueled chaos of upper aspen springs has been eradicated by pot farmers moving to the area.
over pallets left on the property, two hand-dug pools for irrigation, one 10,000 gallons and 500 gallons, and a 100’ x 30’ x 18’ greenhouse containing 35 of the healthiest 6-8-foot-tall cannabis plants I'd ever seen. The passion and determination that he applies to his craft certainly show in the plants. However, like every farmer knows and like any other agricultural product, anything can happen. Some summers are better than others. You go through drought, you get bugs, you can get robbed, there are natural disasters, you name it. As Shay says you just have to be positive and roll with the punches through the season. After all, nothing is said and done until the plant is grown, budded, harvested, dried, trimmed and sold.
While using various generators, he has power to heat a shower, light the yurt, run fans in the greenhouse, watch tv, pump water, fulfill general charging needs, and even phone access through a landline in the yurt.
Colorado is known for its notoriously short and tricky grow season. Compared to popular grow areas in California with more humidity and a near perfect vapor pressure deficit, Shay's grow lives at over 8,000 ft. above sea level in Colorado’s dry and hot-cold climate.
Shay’s grow is an all-from-seed, 100% organic and in-ground garden where he cultivates 8 different strains. There are 3 rows of plants all gravity fed and watered from three 300-gallon reservoirs at the top of his slightly sloped 100’ x 30’ greenhouse plot. The garden is given 900 gallons of water twice per week, 300 gallons per row, 16 gallons per plant. He uses a 12-seed-blend cover crop at the base of his plants which benefits the soil retention and aeration as well as helps colonization microbes and bacteria in organic soil. His base soil this year consists of peat moss, coco core, and pearl white to which he adds earthworm castings, Alaskan hummus compost, and other compost teas and periodically feeds with liquid bat guano, kelp meal, crab meal, alfalfa meal, green sand and dolomite lime.
“Aside from my interest and hunting and using rubber bullets to keep bears away, we do have guns. You know, you never want to point a gun at another person let alone pull the trigger, but you have to stand up for your shit, you know? For your livelihood, so yes we have guns.” -Shay
