Been busy...making pictures for a change

I know it's been a while, but I've been spending most of my time posting stuff over on the blog for Joshua & Co. Photography the last few months.

In any case, here's a gallery from a recent engagement session with Jackie and Evan in Boulder. They are going to get married in The Big Easy in May 2012. I'm really looking forward to seeing New Orleans for the first time in my life. Should be fun and interesting, to say the least.

Engagement session

UPDATE 12-14-2010: How bad is this, I never hit the publish button when I built this post a month ago. You'd think I've never done this blogging thing before.

Ran up to Glenwood Springs, Colo., last weekend to shoot some engagement photos of a couple that will be getting married next June. The challenge was that the fall colors had fallen off the trees and the white blanket of winter has not yet arrived, so finding interesting backgrounds for a couple that is very active in the outdoors was a bit of a hurdle. Luckily happy couple, Audrey and Chad, made it easy on me. All they did was play around Grizzly Creek in Glenwood Canyon and in an alley in town and I just had to try and stay dry while making simple frames.

The happy couple liked what we were able to capture and now they are on to ironing out the many details to come for their day next summer. Now I just have to make sure that CF card I dunked in the creek has dried out...

Summer of weddings

So I know it's been a while since the last posting. I can only say one word: weddings.

First was a couple friends the first part of July. Next was my own wedding on the 23rd. The following week was another good friend's wedding, but it was on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. After that wedding my wife and I took a bit of a trip to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington on our way back from BC. Then after a couple weeks of trying to put our selves back together from back-to-back weddings we left once again for my brother's wedding in Minnesota. Needless to say, it's been a jam packed summer.

Hopefully I'll be able to get back in the groove and start posting more here again. There's a bunch of new projects and ideas to create visual goodies in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here's a few photos from the weddings of our friends and my brother and couple from the Northwest.

Southern Hemisphere, again

The trip to Peru was fantastic. Lots of hiking and walking, but well worth all the effort. Managed to hike to over 17,000 feet above sea level for the first time. Hadn't ever been over 14,200 feet (Grey and Torreys Peaks in Colorado) and learned that there is not much oxygen when you go up from five grand. Also learned the people of the southern Andes are strong and manage to live off very little that they raise from the high alpine tundra landscape. It was humbling. Reinforces the notion of our overzealous consumption society here in the States. When a young child manufactures a quality kite from some sticks and a plastic grocery bag, you take a moment and think.

Here's a gallery of what I narrowed down from the massive numbers of images I made. I went simple for the trip. Just took a 20mm f/2.8, 50mm f/1.8 and an 85mm f/1.8 and a full-frame digital body. Using your feet and head to work a better photo is paramount. Some days I just limited myself to one lens and made it work. It's always good to get back to the basics and be a photographer.

Working on a few more images and a video of the 45 mile-plus trek around Ausangate. Hoping to have it up here real soon. Feel free to give some feedback. Haven't had an honest critique in a very long time. Thanks.

Alpine Fun

Been doing a lot of outdoor playing the last month or so since moving my fiancé back to Colorado from the northwest. Here's a smattering of images from just a couple of our more recent travels. For a bit of info about where these gorgeous places are, click the photos to head over to their respective Flickr pages. I decided to dust off the 105mm micro and give it a go on the vast wildflowers that are blanketing the Rockies this year from the wet winter and spring.

Hoping to be able to post some frames on here in August while trekking through the realm of the Inca in South America. Just depends on a few logistical things that have yet to be ironed out. Debating a netbook for the trip or just wait until our return. I guess you will have to wait and see...

Omaha and the CWS

My best friend from high school and I decided to drive to Omaha for the College World Series this year. We had been wanting to see the spectacle that is the CWS since playing baseball those years of secondary education. Baseball was about the only thing that kept me in high school. I had to get a C average in order to play, so that's about all I did.

The drive out there was a bit long, but wouldn't have been so bad if both lanes of the interstate would have been open. There was a ton of single-lane highway that slowed us down a fair bit. Once we were to Rosenblatt Stadium it was very quiet. We were there about three hours before the first game. We were able to grab some general admission tickets, but the security guys said we had better get in line right away in order to get a seat. So we waited with a couple friends from Denver, one of which was originally from Omaha – we were able to graciously stay at her parents house for the weekend. Once in line it was apparent that the Louisiana State fans were out in force. All kinds of Tigers out and about waiting to see their team take on Arkansas. And they were crazy Cajuns. Wow.

Once inside the stadium a series of storm cells moved in and forced the stadium personnel to clear the outfield bleachers because of the lightning. So we waited another two and one half hours in the pouring rain, as to not lose our seats in the second row. Once the storms moved on, the sun baked the moisture out of the ground to add several percentage points to the humidity factor. But the sun was out and we watched the LSU Tigers destroy the Hogs. We also had tickets to the amazing night game, featuring Texas versus Arizona State. After a bit of an issue with my backpack earlier in the day, we decided to ditch most of our things into another friend's car. I was really disappointed in myself for not taking my camera back in for the second game. The light was beyond amazing as it slowly descended into the horizon.

So here are some frames from the first game. I was more in sponge mode than in shooting mode for the day. Taking in the atmosphere was fantastic. The CWS will only be held at Rosenblatt Stadium one more year, before a new stadium is completed in Omaha. I'm really glad I was able to get there this year before the move. Something about baseball and tradition going hand-in-hand. But there's not much traditional about these frames, at least I don't think there is...

Love

Had a trip up to Seattle and Sudden Valley, east of Bellingham, WA, last weekend. Love was heavy in the air like the rain soaked clouds hovering over the lush landscape.

As with my personal life, my personal vision has begun to shift into new dimensions. Seeing life differently with immense emotion and passion pumping through my mind and body is fascinating. In addition to the life changes, many notions of perception and interpretation from my courses at DU are impacting my motivations with visual capture/creation.

I've shifted away from having an overwhelming sense to have clean, structured and blatant storyline images. Embracing and connecting with the internal emotions and other perceptual senses of being present in a moment to drive the visual narrative is allowing me to not force images onto the sensor of the camera. Letting the light shine in and fall as it may is lifting the burden of wielding a heavy hand. Moments are coming together much more naturally and easier. All I need to do is simply press the button to open the lid to my light bucket.

Winter wonderland

Went up to eastern Washington again for a visit to see my wonderful girlfriend last weekend. We and a couple of her friends went for another trek up Moscow Mountain on snowshoes. The fresh snow and great light made for a few fun frames. Now I must get back at some grad school projects that are due relatively soon. Procrastination has become quite an anchor lately. Hopefully I'll shake it off and accomplish some goals for a change.

Quick clicks

Here's a couple frames I made on my weekend trip. Just things that caught my eye.

Southwestern Style

Cruised down to Santa Fe, New Mexico, over the weekend to fill-in as an instructor for a journalism project class. There was only one photog student, Barbara Ford, on the trek so decided to play with light and form with Chris Lawson and a fellow photog that made the trip as well. It's fun to see how others view the same situation with viewfinder.

Interesting town Santa Fe is. A bit too expensive and everything looks very similar for my tastes. But I sure do wish I had a cool $50,000 laying around to buy an Alfred Steglitz and Henri Carrtier-Bresson print at the photo gallery we found near the plaza. There was an Edward Steichen The Black Canyon print for 800 large.

When we made a trip south of the government city to Cerrillos on Saturday afternoon the light was magical and the town was enchanting. Images were abundant and easy to make. Only wish we had arrived an hour or two earlier. There was a 20 minute window to click away.

After the sun retreated to the west we stopped in Mary's Bar where we met the couple that owns the watering hole. There was much to learn about the high desert landscape. Lots of interesting storylines to follow and learn about, but then it was time to return to the concrete jungle. Now I just need to hunt down some E-6 processing...shot some more of that film stuff I found in the refrigerator drawer.

There's a few other frames over on Flickr.

Crestone and the Dunes

Made a little weekend trip to southern Colorado last weekend to see a new and interesting community in Crestone and to make a trek into the National Sand Dunes Monument and Preserve. I had never been to the Crestone area but I had been really craving a trip to the Dunes for a while. I've been there a few times and I have always really loved it. Such an odd geological feature to have a bunch of sand blown up against the towering 14,000 foot peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

The area of Crestone is home to one of the largest international interfaith communities in the world. There are nearly 30 various sites or centers for several different spiritual groups tucked into the brush and base of the Spanish peaks. The small town of Crestone is where all of these various faiths intersect as a collective community in support of each other. The long and easy transition into fall had transitioned many of the trees into gold, yet there were still many that had yet to start their molting process.

After a late arrival on Friday the 3rd and an incident with a mindless four-point buck that had a hard lesson of inertia and gravity, we set out to explore. Randomly driving up roads to see what kind of surprise was to be found, we happened upon a Temple of Enlightenment associated with the Pundarika Foundation.

After that we ventured up to a couple other sites before walking into a Fire Offering Ceremony at the Haidakhandi Universal Ashram center. The ceremony was in celebration of Navratri, nine days in honor of the Devine Mother. We were asked to wear a wrap around our selves, given a dot on our foreheads of three important elements and to remove our shoes as we watched, listened and I shot photos. There were several stages of the ceremony as various forms of food and offerings were tossed into a fire pit surrounded by the group. It was an interesting experience and very calming as the sun tried to peek out from behind the thin upper level clouds. The smells of elements burning in the fire had a distinct aroma. The circle of participants rhythmically chanting and throwing offerings into the fire created a unique environment.

After a bit more roaming and a stop into the town center for some coffee and a snack we drove into Alamosa for some lunch and a quick drive-by of the most populous center of the San Louis Valley. Then it was on to the Dunes to set up camp and take a jaunt into the sand. With a storm front approaching the winds were whipping up the finely ground grains of rock from the west as clouds obscured the sun. After a brief hike we returned for some dinner and then I passed out in my sleeping bag for nearly 12 hours of slumber. I still don't know why I was so exhausted, as I slept like a rock the night prior despite a bit of rain and chilly temperatures next to a flowing creek. But I awoke the following morning to a bit of a wet chill from some rain and more gray skies. The snow line was just a couple thousand feet above. After packing up the tents and the rest of the gear we cruised our way back to the metropolis. Winding up and over the Sangre de Cristos and their golden tinged arbor blankets. Before long the concrete jungle was once again dominating my view.

It was a brief adventure, yet very enjoyable. I was able to manipulate a camera again. I was able to play with light and form. I was able to explore and learn. I was able to have the comfortable sense of being a photographer and at times photojournalist again. It was delicious and bittersweet. It had been four weeks since I left my staff position at the Camera. And I felt like I had lost some of my identity as a problem-solver who happens to record events in split seconds of time. To have it back, even if for a weekend, felt right and good. Now I plan to work on my educational demands more efficiently in order to have more time to explore the world more often with the chunk of technology in my hand that is essentially just a light trap. Sometimes you get to meet the most interesting people around, or sometimes you just see uniqueness that is taken for granted.