Hey! I'm Shannon,
a tenderfoot trekker at heart. Witness is me handing you something I witnessed out there — a story, a photo — in hopes it sends you out to witness something of your own.
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Why "Tenderfoot"
Why Tenderfoot? Because my feet never get the chance to callus over. Some of that's new ground, a place I've never stood before. Some of it's old ground I loved enough to go back to, which somehow still finds a way to surprise me. Toughening up would mean stopping. I don't stop. So the feet stay tender, a little sore, a little new, every single time, because that's Tenderfoot: not a badge, not a phase, just what happens to your feet when you never let them stop learning where they're standing.
Photography is how I actually witness it
It's a real hobby of mine, not just something I do for content. I'll carry forty pounds of camera gear up a trail rather than leave it behind, because I need to be there when the light hits right: the exact moment a sunrise breaks over a ridge, the second before a sunset drops behind water, whatever wildlife decides to show up if I wait long enough. A photo, to me, isn't proof I went somewhere. It's the closest thing I have to bringing someone else with me, the actual color the sky was, not the filtered version."
That's what Witness actually is
Witness shows up once a month, and it's meant to do two things: make you feel something, and make you do something.
Once a month, you get a story, an adventure I was actually on, told the way I'd tell it to you in person. Alongside it, two postcards, both photos I took on that same trip, both different. One postage stamp, already included, no strings attached. It's yours. Pick whichever postcard you want to send onward, to whoever you've been thinking about, whoever's been on your mind, and keep the other for yourself.
Here's why. We're all living busy lives. While you're receiving a connection from me through this letter, I want it to spark one of your own. Send something to someone you've been meaning to reach. The world is better when we share it, especially while adventuring.
Each letter also comes with a couple of fun facts about the destination, plus the tips and tricks I picked up while I was actually there.
And it's meant to send you back out too
I want you to see that this is doable. That going somewhere new, trying something unfamiliar, saying yes to whatever adventure is in front of you, big or small, far away or five minutes from home, is something you can actually do, not just something you watch someone else do. Every letter is a nudge: go see something. Go witness something of your own.
My hope is small and specific: that somewhere in the reading, in holding the photo, in choosing who gets the postcard, you feel it too. And the next time an adventure crosses your mind, you go.
That's the whole idea. Tender feet, always moving, and now, hopefully, yours too.