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May 17, 2026 (Mount Laguna) — Star parties are back at Mount Laguna with the return of the Summer Visitors Program at the Mount Laguna Observatory. The public programs will be held on Saturday nights from 8 to 11 p.m., May 23 through August 15, with a special bonus mid-week viewing scheduled for Wednesday, August 12. Operated by the San Diego State University Department of Astronomy in partnership with the United States Forest Service, the outreach initiative has been connecting the public with the cosmos in various forms since the observatory’s dedication in 1968. According to Dr. Robert Quimby, MLO Director and Professor in the SDSU Department of Astronomy, each event will feature a public lecture at the Harrington Visitors Center. If weather permits, the lecture will be followed by direct stargazing through the observatory’s 0.5-meter (21-inch) Reginald Buller telescope. While MLO boasts larger instruments for deep-space science, the Buller telescope is specifically dedicated to instructional use and public outreach. Nestled in the Cleveland National Forest roughly 45 miles east of downtown San Diego, MLO sits at an elevation of 6,100 feet. The site is highly regarded by astronomers for its pristine dark skies, exceptional atmospheric conditions, and vital distance from city light pollution. Beyond its public outreach, MLO is a premier research and training facility. The mountain hosts an impressive array of cutting-edge technology, including the 1.25-meter Phillips Claud Telescope, which is used alongside the observatory’s 1.0-meter and 0.6-meter Clifford Smith telescopes to collect critical data on the age of and distance to star clusters. MLO also houses one of only two EvryScopes in the world. This specialized multi-camera array monitors the entire accessible sky simultaneously, making it an exceptional tool for detecting stellar activity and eclipsing binaries (co-orbiting star systems). Because the observatory is a functioning research station located in a rugged forest environment, organizers emphasize that safety and preparation are paramount for attendees. Visitors are advised to bring a small flashlight and park at the lower visitors parking lot located on Morris Ranch Road, follow the short trail from the parking lot to Observatory Road, and from there, look for the white dashes painted on the ground and follow them for a quarter-mile uphill to the Harrington Visitors Center. Note that visitors must remain on the designated road at all times. Morris Ranch Road is located off Sunrise Highway (S1) between mile markers 21.5 and 22, directly across from the Wooded Hill Campground sign. All stargazing events are weather-permitting. For daily operational updates, weather delays, or cancellations, visitors should call the observatory hotline at (619) 594-1415 before making the drive up the mountain.

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There are photographers who chase spectacle, and there are photographers who quietly ask people to slow down and look more carefully. The work of Brice Weaver belongs firmly in the latter. Through film photography, remote landscapes, abandoned spaces, layered histories, and reflective atmosphere, Weaver explores ideas surrounding memory, impermanence, and the traces humanity leaves behind. His images often feel suspended somewhere between documentary observation and emotional archaeology, asking viewers not simply to look at a place, but to consider who stood there before, what remains after time passes, and how photography itself becomes evidence that something briefly existed. From trekking to Everest Base Camp carrying the cremated remains of a fallen Marine Corps brother, to diving with great white sharks in fulfillment of a childhood dream inspired by Jacques Cousteau, Weaver’s photographic journey is deeply tied to exploration, personal reflection, and the emotional relationship between people and place. We spoke with Weaver about photography, memory, travel, film, and the evolving body of work he calls Evidence. Photography & Creative Beginnings “My interest in photography really began long before I ever owned a serious camera,” Weaver says. “Growing up around Washington D.C., some of my earliest school field trips were to places like the Smithsonian and the National Gallery of Art.” Those early experiences left a lasting impression. “I still vividly remember standing in front of the massive Megalodon jaws at the Smithsonian as a kid, completely in awe, and thinking, ‘That’s what I want to do someday.’ At the time, I was obsessed with the expeditions of Jacques Cousteau and dreamed about exploring the ocean and diving with sharks myself one day.” He also recalls standing in front of paintings such as Daniel in the Lions’ Den at the National Gallery and being struck by the emotional atmosphere they carried. “At home, I would spend hours in my grandparents’ basement reading old National Geographic magazines and musty volumes of Encyclopaedia Britannica, completely fascinated by exploration, history, wildlife, and distant places.” Photography eventually entered his life during a period of uncertainty. “At the time, I was working on an ambulance and had taken time off to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Around mile 250, an old hip injury from the Marines resurfaced badly enough that I eventually needed surgery. Suddenly I went from constantly moving and working in high-intensity environments to being laid up in bed wondering what came next.” During recovery, he reflected on the photographs he had casually taken during his travels. “People had responded well to photos I was taking on my phone and GoPro, and eventually I thought, why not actually buy a real camera and take it seriously?” What began as a creative outlet quickly became something deeper. “I realized the camera was changing the way I observed the world. I became less interested in simply documenting places and more interested in atmosphere, memory, light, and the emotional weight certain environments carry.” Exploration, Travel & Perspective For Weaver, travel has always represented more than movement. “A lot of my creative influences came less from photography specifically and more from exploration, atmosphere, and visual storytelling,” he explains. “There was always this sense of discovery, history, and wonder tied to imagery for me.” That fascination eventually took him across environments ranging from the Amazon and Peru to Nepal and Patagonia. One journey in particular remains deeply personal. “Trekking to Everest Base Camp was deeply meaningful for me,” he says. “One of my closest friends from the Marine Corps, someone I served with in Iraq and who was like a brother to me, and I used to talk about making that journey someday.” After his friend was murdered unexpectedly, Weaver decided to carry some of his cremated remains with him to Everest Base Camp. “So the trek became much more than just travel or adventure. There were moments on that mountain where I found myself thinking about friendship, mortality, memory, and how small we really are within landscapes that have existed for thousands of years.” Those experiences altered not only his worldview, but the way he approaches photography itself. “The more I’ve explored the world, the more I’ve realized how small we are within the larger scope of history, nature, and time. I think that perspective has shaped not only the way I photograph, but the way I move through life in general.” Travel, he says, has also taught him adaptability. “Travel places you into unfamiliar environments constantly, different cultures, languages, conditions, and situations where you have to learn to navigate uncertainty and trust yourself. There have been moments ranging from communication barriers in remote places to genuinely dangerous situations, including one experience in Nepal that almost resulted in me being kidnapped, which is probably a story for another day.” A Full Circle Beneath the Surface One of the most unforgettable moments of Weaver’s career came underwater at Guadalupe Island. “Growing up, I had spent countless hours fascinated by sharks, ocean exploration, and the expeditions of Jacques Cousteau ever since I was a kid standing in awe beneath the Megalodon jaws at the Smithsonian,” he says. Years later, that childhood fascination came full circle while photographing great white sharks. “One experience I’ll never forget was diving with great white sharks and photographing the image that later became known as Great Bite . What stayed with me most was the sense of respect and presence you feel underwater with an animal like that. There’s an intensity to it, but also an incredible calm. Everything becomes very quiet and focused.” The photograph would later receive international recognition and become one of his most widely known images. “Looking back, I think that photograph became meaningful to me not just because of the recognition it later received, but because it represented the realization of something that had lived in my imagination since childhood.” Atmosphere, Memory & Evidence Much of Weaver’s work focuses on subtle details, quiet environments, and traces of human presence. “What usually stops me first is light, specifically the way it interacts with a subject or environment and creates atmosphere,” he explains. “But beyond that, I’m often drawn to places because of the sense of history and human presence they carry.” He recalls sitting on a hillside overlooking the Acropolis in Greece and imagining the continuity of human experience across centuries. “I found myself thinking that I could quite literally be standing in the same place where someone like Socrates once stood thousands of years ago. Moments like that change the way you experience a landscape. It stops feeling like scenery and starts feeling connected to memory, history, and human continuity.” That fascination with traces of existence has become central to his evolving body of work. “I think I’m often responding to evidence of people more than the places themselves. When I encounter an abandoned building, a quiet landscape, or subtle traces left behind, I find myself wondering who those people were, what their lives were like, and what that place felt like in its prime.” For Weaver, photography exists in a complicated relationship with time. “Memory plays a significant role in my work because I think photography exists in this strange space between preservation and impermanence. On one hand, a photograph acts as evidence that something existed, a place, a moment, a specific atmosphere in time. But at the same time, even the things we photograph remain vulnerable to change, decay, and disappearance.” He points to his award-winning photograph Deserted Refuel as an example. “I recently went back to that location after the image had already received recognition. Part of the building had burned down, and even the graffiti on the gas station canopy had completely changed from what appears in the photograph. It was a reminder that the image had already become a document of something that no longer fully exists in the same way.” That realization helped shape the conceptual direction of his broader body of work, Evidence . “If I had to summarize my work philosophically, I think it revolves around evidence of existence and the fleeting nature of time. We are only here for an incredibly brief moment within a much larger continuum of history and existence, and photographs become small records of those moments before they disappear or change.” Film, Presence & Intentionality Although Weaver works across both film and digital formats, analog photography remains deeply important to his process. “What keeps me connected to analog film photography is the level of presence and intentionality it requires,” he says. “With film, every frame matters. When I press the shutter, I’ve consciously decided that particular moment is worth preserving.” For him, film photography changes not only the image, but the photographer. “With digital, there’s often an element of instant gratification, you can immediately review images, adjust, and continue shooting. Film removes that safety net entirely.” The uncertainty, he says, is part of the emotional connection. “With film, there’s always a degree of trust involved. So many factors exist outside your control, from how the film was stored, to lab processing, to whether airport security refuses to hand check it and sends it through scanners. You don’t fully know what you captured until much later.” Oddly enough, that unpredictability has become part of the appeal. “Getting scans back from a roll of film almost feels like opening a Christmas present because there’s still an element of discovery involved. Sometimes imperfections or unexpected moments become part of what gives the image character and emotional weight.” Recognition & Creative Growth Recognition arrived relatively quickly after Weaver first picked up a camera. “Not long after buying my first DSLR, I was already being published in places like Backpacker Magazine, and then receiving recognition such as the International Photography Awards Honorable Mention for Great Bite in 2019.” One moment still stands out vividly. “I remember attending the IPA gala in New York City wearing a black tie tuxedo and suddenly finding myself standing next to Annie Leibovitz. It was one of those moments where I had to pause and think about how unexpected the entire journey had been.” Despite the accolades, Weaver says recognition has not fundamentally changed his creative direction. “I still create the work I feel personally drawn to and photograph environments the way I naturally see and experience them. I think if you start chasing recognition too heavily, it can pull you away from authenticity and toward trying to predict what other people want to see.” The greater challenge, he says, has been visibility. “One of the biggest challenges in growing as a photographer has been simply being seen in an environment where attention moves incredibly fast. Social media algorithms tend to reward constant output, speed, and short attention spans, while a lot of the work I’m interested in creating is slower, more reflective, and asks people to spend time with an image.” Reflection & What Comes Next When asked what he hopes viewers experience through his work, Weaver’s answer is simple. “Curiosity and reflection.” “I’m more interested in creating images that invite people to slow down, look more carefully, and spend time thinking about what they’re seeing.” As for inspiration, he still returns to the same sources that shaped him early on. “I think staying creatively inspired starts with staying true to yourself and remaining curious about the world around you. For me, inspiration often comes less from social media and more from physically experiencing places, museums, galleries, history, travel, and simply paying attention.” And his advice to younger photographers? “Don’t become overly consumed with gear or the idea that equipment alone creates meaningful work. Far more important is developing your eye, learning how to observe, recognize atmosphere and emotion, and tell a story through an image.” Looking ahead, Weaver is preparing for the next chapter of his creative journey. “Right now, one of the things I’m most looking forward to is attending Les Rencontres d’Arles in France. It’s an opportunity to immerse myself in a space centered around photography, conversation, and creative exchange at an international level.” He also plans to continue expanding Evidence , the interconnected body of work exploring memory, atmosphere, and human presence through film photography. “I’m increasingly interested in creating work that feels interconnected conceptually rather than just individual images,” he says. And perhaps no place reflects those ideas more naturally than the desert community he now calls home. “What I love about Borrego Springs is the silence, the space, the light, and the sense of time that exists there. It’s an environment that constantly reminds you how temporary we are compared to the landscapes around us. I think that perspective inevitably finds its way into my work.” Learn more about Brice Weaver here: briceweaverphotography.com

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