Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the day to day 'work' part of my job that I forget to shoot for me. Luckily, my friend Michael doesn't let me get away with that. Michael is an amazing photographer and a great friend (maybe I will convince him to do a guest post). We met in October of last year when I was shooting at the Berkley Botanical Gardens. He was of course out shooting bugs and flowers (he does some awesome macro photography) and overheard me chatting away with my clients. After my shoot he approached me and asked if he could come along on some shoots with me. I never turn down a helping hand so I dumped him in the deep end and asked him to join me for an all day portrait shoot with 30-50 families. The poor guy didn't know what he was getting himself into. Amazingly, after that day he was still smiling and super keen. I knew right then he was a keeper.

Michael has come along with me on several shoots since then and he has managed to get me out of my digital dungeon and shooting for fun which is awesome. From my end, I just hope he has learned something about the business side of photography. I will be bringing him with me to Jessica & Charlie's wedding in a couple of weeks and I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with.

These photos are the result of our last adventure together. Unfortunately just as the tide was hitting negative it started to rain. We both managed to get a few shots, but I think out favorite part was the breakfast after. I guess that is the way it goes some times. We had fun anyway.


Thanks for the shot of me in action Michael!

Two weeks ago I was busy trying to wrap things up before heading on my big adventure to India. I had no idea what to expect really. I know what it is to travel in the developing world, but the things that I heard suggested that my time in South Africa would do little to prepare me for this experience in India. I was right.

I only had a few short days in India, but they were filled to the brim with sights, sounds and smells unlike anything I have experienced before. If nothing else, I can firmly say that India is an assault on the senses. Both good and bad. One of my most vivid memories will probably be riding through the market on the back of a rickshaw with my sister. The rickshaw driver took us bumping down the street, pointing out local landmarks while cursing at the honking cars all around us. People on the street where busy working, carrying baskets filled with colorful materials on their heads, bargaining with shoppers and picking out their favorite treat from the street vendor. The air was filled with dust making the afternoon light stream into the narrow allies in bold rays. Exploring the spice market filled my lungs with the most intoxicating and overwhelming scent of burning spices. It left me gasping for air. 

Just driving in India is a death defying act. My favorite quote from one of our drivers: 'to drive in India you need three good things. good horn, good breaks and good luck'. I agree on all accounts.

Below are a few of my favorite images from the trip. I have uploaded all of them and more to my personal page on facebook if you haven't seen enough here. To have an authentic viewing experience I suggest alternately taking deep breaths from a jar of cumin and a garbage can that has been left a little to long. It will also help to have a the sound of a horn honking on loop. Enjoy!
 

Over the holiday break Denise, Liat and myself decided to take a bit of a road-trip. You see, our fellas decided to bugger off to Kenya and we figured that as long as they where off exploring together so should we. So, on the 2nd of January we packed up the golf and made our way down to Santa Barbara where we jumped on a boat to the Channel Islands. We were pretty lucky, not only did we see dolphins in the first 5 minutes of the boat ride, but we saw whales. We did see them breaching, but I didn't manage to get a shot, though I did get a tail shot. We hiked around the island and took in the beautiful view. The day was absolutely perfect for it. We ended our stay on the island with a little fox viewing. What a day!

Here are a few images from our adventure...

Next adventure: Driving through the Desert

A somewhat last minute trip to Yosemite, our travel companions came from all corners of the globe. Taiwan, Iceland, South Africa (obviously), Argentina, Peru, Israel, and Dominica.  We piled into the golf, typical road-trip snacks stuffed in every available nook. It was a pretty tight fit. I don't think any of us were quite prepared for how cold it was. Not even the Icelander. Our first full day in the park and the biggest snowflakes I have ever seen started falling out of the sky: no hike to glacier point. We quickly rearranged our plans and decided to do a shorter hike up to Yosemite falls. We all snapped photos as we went along. I thought I would try my hand at HDR on this trip. The second day we did manage a hike up to Glacier point. The image above is the view from the top. The rest of the images below are a few of my favorites. We live in such an amazing part of the world. But after our trip, it sounds like I have a few more countries to visit.
  

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It seems like ages ago that Charlie and I went on our  Scandinavian getaway. I suppose it has been about a month and so much has happened since then. Now, finally, I have a moment to sit down and think about our trip. Our first stop was Bergen, a beautiful little fishing town. We explored the market, and went for walks. We hiked to the top of a nearby mountain and got a beautiful view of the city. While in Bergen we went on a train/boat fjord tour called 'Norway in a Nutshell'.  Highlights: Passing through the town of Evanger (my families namesake) and trying real Norwegian Kumla (a staple at all holidays in my family). One of the funniest things about Bergen was finding a place to eat. Not only was it truly expensive, but figuring out where to eat was hilarious. In most countries we try to avoid other tourists. We figure the only way to find good food is to eat where the people that live there eat. Well, in Bergen it seems that only the tourists eat in the 'Traditional Norwegian' establishments. The people of Bergen all seem to eat at Fridays. The same Fridays restaurant that we have here in the US with the same menu, only it is about triple the price.

Here are some photographs from the trip, enjoy!