Travel
I got the tour of Colorado Springs and saw Garden of the Gods. It was step one in opening my eyes to learning landscape photography. I've been shooting weddings for the last 3 years, and lanscapes are a totally different field! but after figuratively working on watercolor for so long, I'm enjoying the challenge of learning oil painting!
On the left here is Brody Hall again. Awesome to shoot with him, I love being able to meet other photographers because I can see a new perspective.
The Denver airport. This building is a work of art. It looks like a whole bunch of tents lit up, but apparently it's made of a Teflon-coated fiberglass material that is as thin as a credit card. So unique. Because I drove into Denver, I wasn't reminded of the airport until we went to the parking structure to get photos of Shane in uniform. I had a flood of memories come back from the last time I saw there. It was about five years ago, I was traveling for a weekend of swing dancing, called the Denver Lindy Exchange. There was a group of almost 10 of us flying on that plane because of the incredibly low rates of $30/flight, thank you Southwest Ding fares! An amazing friend of mine came to pick me up and everyone loaded into her van. Here's the funny part, though. She got her wisdom teeth out that morning. So she was... well, a little loopy. And probably a lot less safe than most of us thought she was! But it still makes for a good story and everyone ended up making it home ok.
So this was my second time to the airport, and seeing it right after sunset was absolutely beautiful.
For these shots, we used two speed lights for main and fill, and the car lights as backlight.
These shots were taken in the 10 minutes before pilot Shane actually had to report for his flight. I didn't know if we were allowed to shoot in the airport because of security reasons. I was honestly nervous someone would decide there was a law against it, but we didn't take any of the security screenings and one of the guards told us it was ok! And we had Shane there to look official if anything went wrong. I think people are less likely to ask questions when you're in uniform!
Photos of Garden of the Gods from Colorado Springs on the blog tomorrow!
I am not a morning person. If you catch me in a good mood at 6am, most of of the time it's because I haven't gone to sleep yet. But you should have seen the amount of energy I had the morning of this photo shoot. I barely got 3 hours of sleep, I was so excited! We met up with the other photographer, Brody Hall, around 7am and ate donuts to celebrate his birthday! Now, I definitely have a sweet tooth, but as I finished that Crispy Creme donut, I had flashbacks of motion-sickness - swimming 100m at summer swim team age 10 and throwing up the donut at the end. Uh oh... hope the plane ride wasn't going to be too bumpy! Oh well. :) Happy birthday Brody.
But I got all my nerves out the day before, so this morning, I'm not nervous at all - I'm just bouncing off the walls. Literally running away in middle of a conversation because I see some cool photo on the wall over there... Brody said I "pranced." I did feel a little bit like a little girl, but at least I was having fun!
As the photographers, we had to work really hard with space (or lack thereof), the windows (shooting through them was difficult!) and the angles (trying to tell one pilot to fly higher or lower so we could see them). I had my feet up against one wall and my back up against the other with my elbows on my knees to stabilize the lens - I've never had to shoot from such a fast and bumpy vehicle! As I've been shooting weddings full time for the last year, this was a brand new experience for me and I was very grateful for Brody's suggestions. I even got to shoot with his 300mm f/2.8 lens! That thing was heavy! But looking through the photos afterwards, I'm almost as excited as while I was flying. It was a challenge, so unique, and I got what I wanted!
Say "hi" to Shane!
And the Denver skyline.
What an amazing week! A week of new experiences and perspectives, beautiful scenery, lots of people, places, and music. Here's the beginning of the story:
I have never been in a small plane like a Cessna, and I've always wanted to. (I rode in a private jet as a teenager with some very generous family friends, but that's just like a smaller commercial plane.) And secretly, I'm an adrenaline junky. That slightly unsettled feeling in my stomach before I'm about to do something dangerous is quite the thrill. I think I get that from my mom. She pretends to be cautious and careful, but she broke her tibia and fibia in half skiing, broke a rib Kite surfing, and I've even seen her start wake boarding from a dock, pulled into the water, then bring herself closer to the boat and continue wake surfing. Adventure!
Anyway, when I was asked if I'd be interested to go to Denver for an aerial shoot, I was speechless from excitement. Giddy, even. There were not words to describe how I felt. Maybe "wahooooo!" haha.
So part 1. The drive from Salt Lake to Denver with two amazing people and some pretty incredible views. I forgot to take pictures this day (I think it was because I was still wearing my pajamas, but I wouldn't have been in the photos anyway!) Oh well. The couple I was staying with for the weekend took us to a very tasty Korean restaurant. Another first for me! Then I had the pleasure of listening to the band In-2-Wishin. These guys were really good! Just one new thing after another. Woke up the next morning and headed to the airport for the flight. I was rather quiet all day because, well, as much as I hate to admit it, I was actually getting nervous. The shoot was set up to have two pilots and a photographer in each plane shooting the other plane. Both pilots have had their licenses for about 10 years, one flies commercially, and the other is an instructor with the flight school. So I knew I was in good hands, but I was still getting a little nervous...
Here was our plane:
I was sitting in the airport awkwardly trying not to think about being nervous, so when people started taking pictures, I had to prove that I was excited. Here's my "oh wow, I get to go on a plane" face:
Then things actually got scary. We'd been sitting in the airport waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive and watching other planes take off and land. And several of them were having some trouble. The wings were wobbling and a few of them couldn't land, so they went back up into the air. Wind speeds were insane!!! We walked out to the plane and watched the parked plane move left and right. Ummmm.... yeah. I'm very grateful everyone wanted to be safe, so after 3 hours or so of waiting for winds to slow, we postponed the shoot to day 2. And of course, an hour later, the winds did drop. So before we took the plane back to the hanger, we decided to take the plane up for a quick flight, not flying in formation, not for the shoot, just for the experience. And what an experience it was. There is no feeling in the world that matches what it feels like to fly. I was singing and smiling and laughing and giggling... what a thrill!
I'm in awe of the mechanics of the plane itself and how far we as humans have developed to just hop in a metal thing with wings and take it up in the air. And the skill it takes to fly it! Shane (the pilot) had me do a flight simulator on the computer after the flight and as my fake plane landed in LAX, I almost crashed and it spun around in an amazing 180. I didn't crash it, but I ended up on the grass. The fake passengers walked away alive, but in their fake world I'm sure many of them would never get in a plane again... Let's just say everyone was grateful I wasn't the one to land the real plane!
Here's Shane in full concentration, just after take off:
And a few other favorites from the short trip:
With the photo above I learned that every pilot needs two things to be identified as a pilot - aviators and an awesome watch. Needless to say, I was feeling pretty cool with both of them... There's also the pilot's hat, but that didn't show up until the next day.
So thank you Shane for making my day! And for being safe when the winds were a little too crazy :)
Look for part 2 with the actual photo shoot tomorrow!
When Jasmine and I started looking for locations for our cruise, the first requirement was warm. She's moved out to New York City and I'm still in Utah, so we wanted to get away from the winter. This vetoed the Antarctica cruise. The second thing that sparked our interest was Jamaica. To be honest, we chose this cruise specifically so that we could go to Jamaica. We grew up with the movie "Cool Runnings", and we were just a little tinsey bit obsessed. We loved quoting the movie- "Ya mon!" "No problem, mon!" "Hey Sanka, ya dead?!" And everything you see if movies is true, right? OK, maybe not. But we were still excited.
Sooooo, we didn't see a bobsled team practicing going downhill, and there wasn't live music on every corner. But Jamaica did have vivid colors everywhere. The blues in the water, the umbrellas and clothes, the lush greenery and even some flowers. I was bummed we didn't really meet a "Sanka" character like in Cool Runnings, but we had a few funny experiences with some locals. "Can we get you girls anything? A taxi? ...Some grass?" Yeaaah, definitely not in Utah anymore ;-)
Below is the patio where we tried jerk chicken and pork. It was decent, but I imagine it's a lot like BBQ, the flavors, spiciness, and overall quality varies. I'll definitely try it again some time in a less tourist-y area. I love how the umbrellas match the flowers though.
This guy made me smile - singing "Don't worry about a thing, cuz every little thing is gonna be alright..." Love music like that! And the colors from the market behind him.
The top right photo above is my favorite from the whole trip - the yellow umbrella with the blue water and the gorgeous sand. Looks like the perfect vacation to me.
And I thought the bottom left photo below was really cool, but Thomas said you can't really tell it's a wave coming up on the sand. Maybe we'll call it abstract art?
Played a bit with the Canon G11 and the underwater casing, first time really using it and I say 2 thumbs up. However, we also had the rest of our camera gear and didn't want to just leave it sitting on the beach, so we actually traded off - Jasmine would go swimming while I sat on the beach, then I would go swimming while she sat on the beach. Definitely remembering to bring a larger group to the beach next time. We met a cute little old lady who seemed trustworthy (and apparently was since she didn't steal our stuff!) set the cameras by her for the last 10 minutes so we could play in the water together. Can you believe how blue that water is though? Unreal!
When I travel, I love to see the culture. The people in their daily lives. How are their lives different than mine? How are they the same? It's interesting to see a new perspective. So I was a little bit disappointed when I learned that the island in Haiti the cruise ship stops at was a private island and all tourism. But when I opened my eyes, I saw a little taste of heaven. The first photo I took when I got off the boat is this one below. It's interesting because I have so much experience photographing people that I wasn't sure what else to do for this scene. I tried a few different angles, but I couldn't change it up by asking the palm tree to pose differently. And ultimately, I was happiest with the very first photo. It's a new challenge and I will be learning how to improve.
I then walked closer to the water and a rock took off the top of my toe. The blood would have ruined the shot, so I took a little break until we got to a new location :)
I think these two should be on motivational posters or something. On the left: It's not about where the journey ends, it's the path you take to get there. And on the right, well, I don't know if a quote goes along with it, just a sigh. Doesn't that look amazing right now?
If you look carefully at the photo below, you can see several wires running across the water. These are not telephone lines, they are actually zip lines that Jasmine and I went down (daredevils, I tell ya!). I wish I had a video to show you of us, but to get an idea anyway, here's a link to some other guy going down the zip line: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixynfjhA5zk
This guy below did three things: 1. Danced (somewhat similar to a hulu? Lots of hip movements. It was... interesting). 2. Smiled and laughed. 3. And he ate fire. Over and over again. Can you say "Awesome"?
And this is one of my favorite photos - this guy was playing in a little trio as we waited in line to get back on the ship (anyone who hasn't been on a cruise should be warned that the lines you wait in to get on the ship, off the ship, to get food, photos, or into the theatres - they are as bad as an amusement park). We were very grateful for the entertainment as we waited this time. And isn't this little old guy adorable?
So there it was. Not tons of culture, but a view that took my breath away. Tomorrow - Jamaica!
Finding balance in life has always been a challenge. I have a wonderful husband and a fantastic photography business, but also have to fin time for a social life, down time, creative outlets, emotional and physical health, etc. Everyone has to juggle these things. So it comes down to priorities. Some of you might know that I've increased my prices again for 2012 to have just a little bit less photography in my life and a little bit more rock climbing and other exercise/activities, social life, and me time. Balance. I'm hoping my 60-80 hour weeks are over for good and I can improve some of the other areas of my life now.
Anyway, this is a good start. Last week, for the first time since I've started my photography career, I took a vacation where I was completely off the grid. No phone or internet because I was cruisin' in the Caribbean. Just my sister and me. ...And 6000 other people on the boat. And it was fantastic! Still a lot of photography, but I got to focus on a different side of photography than usual - the kind that doesn't include people. Definitely new for me! I used to see a sunset and say "I wish I could put a bride in front of this". Last week I succeeded in seeing the beauty of the sunset by itself.
I am such a social person. But there is something absolutely wonderful about simple sitting. Being alone with nature, thinking, breathing, feeling. I feel like this first photo captured how I feel about that experience. Life seems simple. It's just nice.
Below, the name of our boat - we sailed Royal Caribbean.
Jasmine and I on formal night with the huge Christmas tree behind. We were practicing one flash techniques to overpower the ugly tungsten lights that caused shadows on our eyes. Jasmine was just given a camera for her birthday, so it was awesome to practice and teach a little bit. We're coming up on 4 years that I got a camera for my birthday (thanks, Dad!) so I was a little sentimental.
The view from the boat, playing with white balances.
And I think this structure below looks a little bit like a space ship, though it was just a cool glass covering over the hot tub.
Again, palm trees make everything better.
And we played a little bit. Yay surfing. (I obviously didn't take the photo of myself, thanks Nate.)
Now I'm back and working like crazy again, but I going to try a little harder to stop and feel the sun, look at the sky, make some new friends. I don't think I need to go to the Caribbean to do that!
Photos from our stop in Haiti on the blog tomorrow.
I had the chance to take a holiday in the Carribean with my older sister last week and I took my little Nikon along. Cruising, seeing the sights, and soaking the sun. I think she may have gotten a little tan too... I know I did!
I'll post photos from the cruise ship and our stops in Haiti and Jamaica this week, definitely something new!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and we're looking forward to the New Year!
Spending time with the Gees is like being in a Broadway show. Literally, they randomly break out into song (often original music) and others join in with harmonies. It's quite a unique experience. The serenading started at the wedding dinner at Little Italy in San Antonio, Texas.
Katherine's brother Matt sang to the couple.
Then Katherine sang to Matt (the fiance, not the brother).
Then people talked, gave toasts, laughed, and sand. And there was much rejoicing.
Tomorrow we'll post the ring ceremony from Austin at Vineyards at Chappell Lodge.