A Rainy Day and a Walk Down Memory Lane

in

  What an incredible day. I have so many stories! But I'm about to run out and find dinner and traditional Irish music, so the stories will have to wait. Just this photo today and the emotion behind it.

 

I love the rain. I've always loved the sound, the smell, and singing in it! This was the first time I really noticed how beautiful the streets are when they get wet. This was taken in Temple Bar area before most people woke up. When I look back at this photo, the only way to describe my emotion is to close my eyes and take a deep breath. There are not words. It's just beautiful.

 

 

 

 

There's a song I like to sing when it rains - "In His Eyes" from the musical Jekyll and Hyde. I don't remember when I first heard this song - some time when I was a teenager I suppose, but I often cry when I sing it, it is so emotional and rain representing that is perfect.

 

 

"I sit and watch the rain And see my tears run down the windowpane I sit and watch the sky And I can hear it breathe a sigh...

 

I think of him, how we were And when I think of him Then I remember... remember...

 

In his eyes, I can see Where my heart longs to be. In his eyes I see a gentle glow. And that's where I'll be safe I know

 

Safe in his arms, close to his heart... But I don't know quite where to start By looking in his eyes Will I see beyond tomorrow? By looking in his eyes, Will I see beyond the sorrow That I feel?

 

Will his eyes reveal to me Promises or lies? But he can't conceal from me The love in his eyes!

 

I know their every look, His eyes! They're like an open book, His eyes! But most of all the look That hypnotized me!

 

If I'm wise, I will walk away, And gladly... But, sadly, I'm not wise, It's hard to talk away The mem'ries that you prize!

 

Love is worth forgiving for! Now I realize - Everything worth living for Is there, in his eyes!"

 

 

I remember singing this song with my childhood friend Katherine Morriss, we'd just sit at the piano and sing Broadway tunes for hours, it was a perfect sentimental day, what a walk down memory lane!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dublin - Part II

in



The first thing I noticed as I was riding the bus from the airport to downtown Dublin was all the colorful doors.  It was like the little monopoly houses - every door was a vivid color, and they alternated between 7 or 8 colors.  It made me smile to see that.  About a block down from where we've been staying is this very pink door.  The unique part about this one though, is that there is also a very pink bicycle on the porch.  And it looks like the bike is melting.  I can't quite figure this one out, other than to guess that no one intends to ride the bike, it's just for show :)  Still looks cool!




Here's me, shooting on the street.  I love that Annie also knows photography so I can ask her to get a few shots of me, proof that I was there!




The keyboard and drummer from the band last night




And my favorite shot of this bridge.  It is such a modern looking bridge, very unique architecture, and I loved the reflection in the water.



One more day in Dublin, then to Galway we go!!




Dublin, Ireland

in ,


 

 

 

I have seen seagulls before, but this little guy was like a cartoon.  He followed me around for a few minutes, clearly trying to get a start on his model career.  Annie was sad we forget to have him sign a model release but I said I'd use it anyway, I prefer not carrying bird poop around, thanks :)

 

 

 

Turns out Ireland in May is rainy (which I knew and came prepared with - my awesome REI raincoat) and cold.  Much colder than I expected.  But that's all part of the adventure, right?  Shouldn't have packed my winter clothes away quite this early!  

 

 

 

Everytime I do a photoshoot like this, I seem to find one obsession. One thing I can't take enough photos of, it's just perfect - from every angle, every lighting situation... Well, today it was my boat.  The adorable little blue tug boat.  Ok, I have no idea if it was a tug boat, but that sounds better for my story.  Just soo... cute!

 



We finished the evening stopping in to a couple pubs with live music.  I don't drink alcohol, so I got a great seafood chowder at the first place and awkwardly ordered CocaCola at the next pubs.  That's not usually weird for me when I'm going for the music, but something about being in Ireland and not drinking just made me feel out of place...  The people were so friendly though.  The last pub we went to had a very talented blues-y group and we sat with the groupies.  I met the wife of the drummer, the girlfriend of the singer, and several other friends.  And everyone just wanted to sit and chat and most of them were musicians too.  I got a quick lesson and a chance to play a bodhran, a traditional Irish drum, held sideways and played with one hand.  Loved the energy and the passion they all had in life.  One guy, Fred, was telling me why the English don't like the Irish. It's because the Irish are crazy, no one knows exactly what they are going to do next...  And I think he might be right, but that's why I've loved the culture!  Always something new.






Passport and Travel

in

  I've yet to import photos from Ireland, but I found internet access so I thought I'd drop in and share a couple stories.

 

First, the plane.  WOW.  This experience was different than I planned.  I intended on getting to my seat, eating the food (hopefully decent, but didn't have high expectations), then sleeping for 5 or 6 hours, getting to Ireland and be full of energy and life.  Instead I found an entertainment system.  I sat at my seat and saw movies and tv shows and everything in the screen on the seat right in front of me.  Sooooo... I was irresponsible and didn't sleep.  And I'm starting to see the consequences.  But when we arrived in Dublin, I bought a couple bags of salt and vinegar chips (or "crisps" I should say as "chips" in Europe usually mean French fries), rode a bus into town, and started walking.  I am amazed at how much history and interesting architecture there is.  And since Annie and I were in such an exciting new place, we had a lovely breakfast at a little shop... called McDonalds.  Pathetic, I know.  But my egg mcmuffin was delicious and we were entertained by a cute old Irish man for over an hour - he was an ex-cop, now a tour guide, and absolutely obsessed with American history.  Specifically, the Irish influence on our country.  I feel educated.  Or something like that.

 

My thought about having a passport and traveling though - speaking with this Irish man, he commented on how America is like several different countries all right there.  Some Europeans can't grasp the idea of Americans going throughout their lives without ever owning a passport.  But it's pretty simple - we don't really need it in order to find variety. Then again, I haven't seen anything like Ireland in my life.  So I'm glad for this chance.

 

That's all for now!  Ireland is beautiful, and I'm excited for some photography this week.  Check in tomorrow for photos.

 

 

 

 

New York City - Central Park

in

   

A new adventure, a chance to meet new people, see new places, take some awesome photos, and re-discover myself.  Here's the plan:

 

New York City this weekend, staying with my older sister Jasmine, traveling with my sister-in-law Annie, lots and lots of walking, a little bit of shopping, and a chance to feel the energy of a new city.  It is, after all, a little bit different than Salt Lake!

 

This evening, I leave for Ireland, where I'll travel around with Annie (luckily she's been there before) and see Dublin, Galway, and some other places I've never heard of.  But I've seen P.S. I Love You, so I know it will be absolutely beautiful!  (In case any clarification was needed, I'm talking about the countryside, not the men.)

 

After Ireland, I say goodbye to Annie and meet Thomas in London for a couple days, then on to Madrid for a week and Holland for a few days and an incredible wedding.  What a month we have planned!  You will not be able to reach me via phone over the next few weeks, but feel free to email. And I'll be back home at the end of May.

 

Here's part I from my trip - Central Park and the New York Skyline.  Well, not really the skyline, but some part of it - tall buildings and the sky.  Does that count?

 

I walked by the bridge several times and I just loved the way the light hit it this afternoon.  I took a nap on the other side - if you look really closely, there are some giant rocks.  Actually quite comfortable!  What I've thought was most interesting about New York, though, is how I can sit and have hundreds of people around me and still feel alone.  Because people are always around, everyone's developed a way of going about their lives anyway.  Street music, families playing, couples practicing martial arts, people napping, walking, jogging, sitting...  And yet it's as if I was there as an audience member, not part of the play.  There is such an amazing energy when that many people come together, but everyone has their own story, their own purpose to their day.  Fascinating.

 

 

One of my favorite movies is "Elf," and I discovered that his advice is true "Careful! The yellow ones don't stop!" ^

 

 

And the view from the park at night.  If I could take awesome night shots like this all day, I would be very happy (hrmmm... that doesn't make much sense, does it?)

 

 

 

So thank you New York for a new perspective and a new experience.  And for taking care of my sister, glad I got to see Jasmine too.

 

 

Leavin' on a jet plane...

in

  Well, the last couple weeks have been INSANE.  I'm getting everything ready for my trip to Europe (I leave in 1 hour and I'm STILL not done packing!)  This trip is for a wedding in Holland, but I'm headed to New York City, Ireland, London, and Spain first.  So excited for this opportunity.  I have a huge backlog of photoshoots to post about, so I'll try to get caught up on those as I travel as well as give you some updates on my trip, but for now I wanted to check in now, say adios, and we'll see you in June!

 

 

 

San Diego Skyline

in ,

 

 

I spent the afternoon of Day 2 in San Diego at  a beach, sitting, sleeping, and writing things in the sand.  Oh, how I would love to be on the beach right now!  Jealous seemed like the correct word to write :)  I first tried writing them with my toe, but the water kept beating me to it and washing the words away.  So I walked and walked and walked looking for a big stick.  And I couldn't find one anywhere!  Then Justin suggested a lightstand - turns out camera equipment has multiple purposes!

 

  

 

It was perfect :)

 

 

 

 

And the working part of the day - corporate photos.  Jeremy's business partner, Nate, flew in that morning so he could join us for photoshoot #2.  Nate has spent the last year or so traveling around the country - a couple weeks here, a couple weeks there (California, Colorado, Utah, Florida and a few other places) and has finally settled back in San Diego with a permanent address.  Most of the work they do is online anyway, or traveling to meet with clients in other states, so being able to move around without interrupting the business is pretty cool.  I love the perspective both of these guys have on life and people, though.  They make a huge effort to understand people and it shows in the relationships they have, even while not staying in one place for very long.  You can still connect with people and make a difference.  Everyone travels for different reasons, and I've loved the experiences I've been able to have traveling recently - new people, new places, new experiences.  I've gone out of the state at least once every month since November, and this will continue for almost a whole year.  I'm excited to see the connections I can make as this continues!

 

 

Nate and Jeremy run two businesses together, SpireWave and Mind Breakthrough.  (The SpireWave website is about to be relaunched, but until then, you can read a little bit about it on Jeremy's website here)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I loved the view of this skyline with the water.  For you photographers interested in the specs on this one below, I had one speedlight on my camera, two behind them for backlight, and one from the front right with a soft box. I used pocketwizards to trigger, and shot it at 1/15 sec, f/3.2, ISO 640.  Most importantly, though, I called ahead to make sure they'd turn all the lights on for the office buildings in the background ;)

 

 

 

And I hopped in one at the end - thanks Justin for taking the picture!

 

 

 

 

San Diego

in ,

  ...more from the California trip!  Justin and I arrived in San Diego and had a couple hours to kill before the photo shoot was scheduled, so we went to  Point Loma, some kind of cool historical overlook.  I found a lighthouse, which for some reason is always exciting to me.  I'm never quite sure what I'll do with photos like this, but at least it's pretttty :)

 

 

On our way back down, we were trying to find access to a beach somewhere and figured we'd turn left at the next spot since the water was... somewhere over in that direction.  (I discovered I've been really spoiled with Utah's directions... you can always see the mountains and know that that's East.  From there I can figure it out, but in California I was getting really turned around!)  Back to the story though, apparently the next left turn was into some Naval base!  I was "greeted" by a suspicious and heavily armed Navy guard wanting to know exactly why we were turning in there and what we wanted.  I tried to assure him that we were just tourists looking for the beach!  But it took a little while before he was convinced.  Maybe it was all the camera gear that made him nervous, I'm not sure, but I sure was intimidated!  After that, we gave up on trying to find a beach and found a very small park to sit and wait instead.

 

 

 

 

 

And then Jeremy showed up, the man that made this trip happen.  I met Jeremy back in December on the cruise with Jasmine.  Just for kicks, here he is wiping out on the simulated surfing back then:

 

  

 

Jeremy had 2 reasons for the photos in California.  The first was head shots of him: personal, approachable, and authentic.  Sure, he wanted a new Facebook profile (who doesn't?) but primarily, he wanted these for his efforts in the cause for childhood cancer.  Jeremy spends a lot of his time working with kids with cancer and I've loved the opportunity to see that perspective of learning about and giving time to a community and a cause.  I get so caught up in my own life, sometimes I forget how many people out there could use some help - or even just a smile.  Thanks Jeremy for that example!  You can read about what this means to him and look through the rest of his website here: http://www.jeremybliler.com/childhood-cancer/  The second reason for the photos was business, and you can see those photos (with the San Diego skyline) tomorrow!  But for now, here's Jeremy.

 

 

Jeremy grew up in Denver, but has lived in San Diego for several years.  He chose all the locations for the photos on this trip, and I was impressed!  Today was at Sunset Cliffs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The photo to the right here is what we call the "Jasmine" pose (named for my older sister).  Because she was there when I met Jeremy, we wanted to give a tribute to her.  She's always been more confident posing for the camera and she just has fun with it!  I would much prefer to be taking the pictures than to be in them, and Jeremy was also learning the art of being himself during the photoshoot.  It's always a challenge!  We often teach kids to smile and say "cheeeeeese" which turns into photos with cheesy smiles and shows very little of their personality, I prefer to see people laugh or find a genuine smile.  I'm glad we could take a que from Jasmine and have some fun with it.

 

(This is a flashback from 2010 to give you an idea of just how much fun she has...)

 

 

And back to Sunset Cliffs-

 

Jeremy always wears his "sTAY strong" bracelet, and he wrote a blog post about the story behind it here: http://www.jeremybliler.com/2012/02/09/stay-strong/