The Southern California couple, both devout Christians, take every opportunity to travel into the wilderness with their cameras in tow. Whether it's the forests of Oregon or the sand dunes of their home state, nature is the place for them to meditate and be present.
“It feels like that’s truly where we belong,” Amanda told HuffPost. “There’s just something that happens in our souls where we’re able to disconnect from the busyness of life.”
There’s plenty of vast, wide open spaces in the couple’s photography -- a reminder, Sam says, of how small humans are compared to God’s creation.
He remembers standing on an Alaskan mountain top during one of their trips, looking out at startling white ice fields that stretched out as far as his eyes could see. He had the strange sense that he’d become witness to history, as he stared at the layers of snow that had crystallized over the centuries.
“It’s mind blowing,” Sam told HuffPost. “And humbling.”
The Ciurdars’ faith compels them to see the Earth as a gift, one that has been greatly misused by its recipients. In their travels, they’ve seen plenty of signs of nature being damaged -- trees that have been tagged with graffiti, trash that’s left out in the open for others to pick up.
“A lot of people look at the Earth as if it’s not theirs, so they don’t feel that responsibility,” Sam said. “But when you see a piece of trash in your own living room, we clean up after ourselves and our guests, as well. If everyone treated the earth that way, it would be beautiful.”
The Ciurdars have been sharing their wild adventures on Instagram. They agreed to take over Huffington Post Religion’s Instagram feed on April 22 for Earth Day. Here are just some of the amazing places where this couple has connected with God.
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