Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Ewing Sunrise


During the calm before the storm, I rose early and got in some rowing as the sky brightened in the east.

It was an absolutely still day for an entire Saturday with gulls along the shore preening like mad.

Wait, isn't that a sign that something is about to change?*

Shot with a 7D & 12-24 @20mm, f8, 1/100th, iso 100

*We were in the middle of Sunday morning's blow, clocking a few gusts over 65 and taking green water over the bow a few times on the way home.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Theater Man


Heading out for an education in Drama (once he's graduated from high school) this young man has plans for the stage.

Shot with a 7D & 24-105 @ 40mm, f5.6, 1/250th, iso 100 on the outdoor stage at Boulevard Park.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Stairway to Heaven


Little stone/concrete steps that you never see if you only go to the ski area in the winter.

Shot with a 7D & 12-24 @ 13mm, f7.1, 1/200th, is0 400

Austin Moon


Knowing there was a full moon due (and not wanting to endanger the family with the change) I went up to Heather Meadows to see what I might see. Ok, there's no change. I already had the beard. And, my daughter went with me.

Anyway, moonlight makes for some interesting possibilities and I wanted to play with it a little. So, I set up my camera with an interval timer and shot a couple hundred frames over 4 hours. Just to watch the stars move over the mountains. I haven't put it together into a video yet, but here's one frame out of the bunch...

Shot with a 7D & 12-24 @12mm, f4, 30 seconds, iso 400.

Early Heather


My youngest & I spent the night in the back of the truck looking up at the stars & moon. There's just something about being on the mountain where all you can hear is your own breathing and a little breeze in the trees.

Of course, she's capable of sleeping in past 6:45 and I'm not. This photo is the proof...

Shot with a 7D & 12-24 @ 12mm, f7.1, 1/200th, iso 400.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Flashback




The Providence Bridge Pedal the week before in Portland Oregon. We rode the 13 mile route that took us over 6 different bridges in a couple of hours.

What a blast - and, we made 18,327 friends (not sure we met everybody)

More Skagit



A few more of the journey...

Skagit


My buddy, David, & I paddled down the Skagit River delta yesterday. I picked him up at 6:00 and by 7:30 we were on the water. Look at the map and you'll see the launch point at the North East end of Skagit State Wildlife Recreation Area.

We went with the river flow first. Then as we were back much too early, we paddled up river past the launch to see where the fork was. I was hearing Disney and hear was hearing banjos.

So, here's the math problem: one hour up river, and 20 minutes back. How fast is the river flowing?

Shot with a G7 (note to self: take it out of the housing so there're no water spots)

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Downtown Sounds



Downtown Sounds, Bellingham.

Shot out the lunchroom window on the second floor of Logos Software.

I wasn't there to record the music, but I found a track from one of the featured musicians that night - Robert Sarazin Blake.

1689 photos shot from 7:30 am untill the batteries died with a 7D & 12-24 @ 12mm, auto iso, 0.5 second each, shutter priority, 30 seconds apart - using a 4 stop ND filter.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Sit. Stay.


There were five on the trail down to Surveyors Lake. While they weren't too timid, they didn't want to pose for the camera either.

I think this one is mooning me...

Shot with a 7D & 70-200 @ 170mm, f2.8, 1/100th, iso 100.

Over the Mountain


Real "wildlife".

Right by the side of the road just south of Jasper, Alberta.

Stay in your car...

Shot with a 7D & 70-200 @ 130mm, f3.5, 1/400th, iso 100.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Pot 'O Gold


Back in Banff for the night - and we've found the pot.

Shot with a 7D & 12-24 @ 24mm, f5, 1/100th, iso 100.

Bilingual


Parlez-vous français ?

If not, you might be able to pick some up by reading the signs quickly as they pass.

Too bad there isn't a units conversion too...

Shot with a 7D & 12-24 @ 15mm, f6.3, 1/320th, iso 100.

The Watchman


Somebody ahead of us had some time to spend on the river. While there, they got creative with the materials at hand.

Shot with a 7D & 12-24 @ 16mm, f5.6, 1/200th, iso 100.

Jasper


We made it!

If you EVER get a chance to drive up the Icefield Parkway, well, just do it.


Sunday, July 10, 2011

Looking for Falls


We can hear 'em from here - but no glimpse of the falls just yet - we'll have to trek a little further around Moraine Lake to find 'em.

Shot with a 7D & 24-105 @ 28mm, f6.3, 1/400th, iso 400

True Love


My sweetie will go places - and I love her for that. She's happy to see the world from her bike, on foot, or paddling there.

Out on a hike around Moraine Lake, and she came up with our own bumper-sticker: "I Love My Dweeb".

Shot by a friendly passing tourist with my 7D & 24-105. (hold it this way, the button is here, get some of the mountain and lake too - thanks!)

Mt. Rorschach


What do you see in the snow?

Prancing Horse?
Surfer Dude?
Leaping Cat?

Shot with a 7D & 70-200 @ 200mm, f5.6, 1/800th, iso 200

Wildlife


We've been on the lookout for wild animals - there are signs along all the roads to be watchful for Elk, Bears, Mountain Goats, Bighorn Sheep, and Deer.

We've discovered that a gaggle of cars pulled off the side of the road is a good indicator that a wild animal was nearby.

So, far, we've only managed a picture of this little noisy fella.

Shot with a 7D & 70-200 @ 200mm, f3.5, 1/2500, iso 400.

Assension


There's more than one way to skin the mountain around here. Lifted serenely in your own little windowed cube, or under your own power on the switchbacks.

My knees made my decision for me...

Shot with a 7D & 70-200 @ 105mm, f2.8, 1/1250th, iso 200.

Minnewanka


A walk along the lake - more turquoise water around here than you can shake a paddle at.

Shot with a 7D & 24-105 @ 24mm, f5.6, 1/800th, iso 100.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Campsite Time-lapse



The view from our campsite in the Tunnel Mountain Trailer park, Banff Alberta

415 photos shot with a 7D & 12-24 @ 15mm, f13, 0.6 seconds each, 1 second apart - using a 4 stop ND filter.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

5 Day Home


Our site - with a view of the mountains...

Vermilion


Banff! We made it!

And a little paddle on one of the Vermilion lakes to celebrate.

Scat


We stopped along the way at a boardwalk trail (Skunk Cabbage Trail? - don't remember) and followed the bear sign to see where the best berries could be found.

Here's Jan confirming that there are no whistles nor pepper-spray - indicating it's not a grizzly bear in the area...

Cotton Headwaters


My bro, Tim, has had a fascination with slow shutter speeds and what they do to things that move. Moving water has been one of the subjects for him to experiment with.

So, here's a photo honoring his pursuit...

Shot with a 7D & 24-105 @ 35mm, 2 seconds, f22 with a 4-stop ND filter.

11:08 PM


Ok, here's the reality. We pulled up to the gate at Herald Provincial Park at 11:08 and learned that the gate is closed and locked at 11:00. How about that?

So, since we towed our hotel along with us, we found a quiet place off the road and slept soundly anyway.

In the back parking lot of the Salmon Arm Best Western. Right next to an RV for sale, and just through the trees from the busy railroad.

When you're tired you can sleep through anything.

Heading out!


We're on our way to Banff & Jasper! It's been a while in the planning, and on Jan's bucket list for longer still.

Here's our first night at Lake Shuswap - our designated half-way point. There's nothing like clear skies, trees & water to smooth the transition from work week to vacation week.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Reflection


A thoughtful moment after running the drill team through their paces. It all went smoothly - they looked really good and "together" this time around. I guess practice pays off after all.

Shot with a 7D & 70-200 @ 165mm, f2.8, 1/800th, iso 100

Monday, June 27, 2011

Kingston!


He's here, folks.

This little guy is the happy offspring of Julie & Tyler.

Shot with a 7D & 85mm & f2, 1/125th, iso 400, natural light.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Too Quick


Ok, I jumped the gun. Should have waited for all the pics to be in from the boat load of cameras I dragged along on this trip.


Here's the one I wish I'd posted under "Epic" last time 'round...



Shot with a 7D & 24-105 @ 105mm, 1/640th, f5, iso 200

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Epic


Epic. That describes my recent weekend to Sucia island with my buddy & my brother.

And, here's just one of the moments to prove it...

Shot with a 7D & 70-200 @ 75mm, 1/640th, f5.6, iso 200.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

15 Minutes


15 Minutes of fame? Maybe. To me they're quite famous and will be for as long as I live. No matter how old they get, they'll always be my babies.

15 minutes is also the little bit of time we spent making the pictures. Even the "advertising" images in the background were shot in that time frame. I love it when they're willing to spend a 1/4 hour with me.

Shot with a 7D & 70-200.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Oh! Happy Day!







A cross-border(s) romance for sure.


She's from Canada.

He's from Venezuela.

Married in the USA.


I'd love to know more of their story, but I only met them today. At the wedding. As their photographer. Hey, you gotta start somewhere I guess. In any case, it was an honor to be there.


All the best as they launch their lives together with a wonderful start...

Red light, Green light


The only way I could get this little one to sit still long enough for a photo was to play "red-light green-light". Stop! Ok, GO!, Stop!

More like:

Red Light!
Focus, click! focus, click!
Green light! RED LIGHT!
Focus, click, click, click.

Pray. (High shutter speeds help too)

Shot with a 7d & 70-200 at 200mm, 1/2000th, f2.8, iso 400.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

NBT - Airborne




Well, sort of.

This Next Big Thing is coming together and nearing the day when it'll slip the surly bonds.

I just didn't want to let go of the tiger just yet...

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Oasis


Here's Alyssa getting a little respite from the rain in Auntie's Bookstore in downtown Spokane today.

Shot with a 7D & 24-105 at the wide end, f4, 1/30th, iso 400.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Water Escher


Walking around the shore at Lake Chelan this morning, and the view from the boat dock is a little disconcerting.

Shot with a 7D & 24-105 @ 32mm, f8, 1/640th, iso 100

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Twenty!



My wife and I celebrated 20 years of marraige today. We've known each other half our lives now and are looking forward to more years together.


As a reader of MAKE I was excited by a particular project dreamed up by Mikal Hart called the "Reverse Geocache".

The idea is this: build a box with a latch that is only opened when the box is in a special location as determined by the on-board GPS.

Not being able to leave well enough alone, I made mine with multiple drawers - the first drawer opens easily, but the remaining drawers only open in order at different places around our home town and elsewhere.


The first contained a map and drawing compass, along with a small gift. She's managed to open the next two drawers, but we're nowhere near the final location.


To be continued...

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Ollie


Kate and her new horse, Ollie. If there's one thing that makes her happy, it's a big warm animal.

Shot with a 7D & 70-200 @ 135mm, f2.8, 1/80th, iso 400 in the filtered light of the barn.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

More Eats!


After lunch we wandered through Pike Place Market - coulda spent all day there just watching the people come and go.

LOVE them public markets. Can you tell that tomatoes are my favorite?

Eats!

We spent part of the day wandering downtown Seattle today. First, a stop for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. What? HARD ROCK CAFE. What? HARD ROCK CAFE!

Sorry. It's loud in there and I'm still hollering when I talk.

They make a mean dessert though - and I almost licked the bowl afterwards.


Friday, February 18, 2011

Crisp


I dragged the family out tonight for a paddling. We expected one more this trip, but car troubles kept him at the other end of the county.

It was a little bit cool out, which isn't easy for me to admit 'cause it was just so nice to be on the water. Ok, maybe low 40s, upper 30s does not provide the conditions necessary for warm blooded creatures to enjoy the great outdoors.

Maybe I should let them load and unload the boats, working up a sweat while they're at it. Hey, I did.

Shot with a 7D & 24-105 at 24mm, f5.6, 1/1000th, iso 100

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Timeslice


I spent another weekend in Ewing Cove in the Sucia Islands with my good buddy David. That place is a little slice of heaven for me.

I've been wanting to tell the story of our trips out there in video for a while now, but haven't been able to nail down the story. What's the story on that? Anyway, I don't just want a bunch of random scenes, I want there to be a thread that holds it all together.

David, the emerging writer (and a fine one too) talked through my difficulty with me and helped me think about it in terms of time. From that we came up with the idea of a time lapse of the tide rising, interrupted by real time video.

Here's the result of that experiment.

Shot with a 7D & 25mm Contax. 296 photos over 2 hours and 10 minutes of minimal tidal action (it only rose 2 feet during the day - the extreme tides were at night).

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Next Big Thing


Now that the little one worked (and served it's purpose) it's onto building a bigger one...

Shot with a 7D & 85mm with a little fill off the ceiling from an on camera 580 flash.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Rare Air




Yesterday was one of those rare days in the winter where the weather aligns with 7 different calendars. While my daughter spent a little time in her favorite bookstore, her parents, grandparents, and aunt & uncle got an afternoon out walking at American Camp.

What a gift a day can be...

Top photo shot with 7D & 12-24 @ 17mm, f8, 1/125th, iso 200.
Lower photo shot with 7D & 70-200 @ 170mm, f6.3, 1/500, iso 400.

They Live!




Ok. The paperwhites bloomed.

Creeps me out. I won't be putting plants near the head of my bed anytime soon.

This is three days, 270 photos, reduced to 9 seconds.

30D, 30mm Sigma at f11, iso 400, 125th, lit with a single AB800.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Watch this Space


This Paperwhite flower, in the window, is being watched right now. I set up my 30D on a tripod with an interval timer snapping a picture every 15 minutes.

We'll see if it moves.

I'm hoping this project won't keep us awake. And hey, is there such a thing as a 'Paperblack'?

Each frame is 1/125th, f8, iso 400, lit by an AB800 with 20 degree grid.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

'Lil Aroma

Poking around the kitchen tonight I sensed a sweetness in the air I didn't recognize as being part of the dinner was cleaning up.

Seems it came from these little tiny flowers coloring a corner of the counter top.

So, I got in close to see who the producer was...

Shot with a 7D & 50mm 1.4 on a 25mm extension tube, 1/80th, f5, iso 400, lit with a little LED desk lamp from Ikea.


Here's the setup shot, below

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Clutter of Life


We're pretty good at generating it, you & I.

The flotsam and detritus hints we drop that we've been through here too. Bits of metal & shards of wood, or scrap of cloth & paper clipping. Books we haven't read yet but mean to. Gadgets that overflow the camera bag and the tins of cookies that haven't been delivered yet.

Somehow, all by itself it seems, somehow it merges together into the evidence that you & me somehow became us.

Could some archaeologist separate it into it's component pieces? Or, has a little bit of you become me that can no longer be untangled? Would the untangling leave the two empty and no longer whole?

To the woman who married me: twist us like a pretzel, I want the untangling to be impossible.