Engagements: Natalie and Steven

May 04, 2014 in Engagement

Another Engagement session! Yes, 'tis the season of Spring love.

I like to tell the engaged couple that our session is just "supervised flirting" and they are responsible for being playful and making each other laugh. Natalie and Steven were quite cute with it. They flirted and played all throughout City Creek and the Gallivan Center downtown. And it was a beautiful, beautiful day.

Going through so many engagement sessions this month, we plan to announce a special tomorrow! Keep your eyes open, we will have an 80% discount for engagement sessions scheduled for the week of May 18! Only those 7 days. We will have lots of playful photos, and we are excited for this whirlwind week. Check back tomorrow for details :)

And congratulations Natalie and Steven!

The World of National Parks

April 28, 2014 in Travel

Each day I wake up I have the opportunity to discover beauty newly. It's not enough to simply remember what I discovered yesterday, I get to actually open my eyes and experience it. Today. Now. In this world I live.

I live in Utah and when I truly open my eyes and see - not just look at, but SEE - the mountains and the nature around me, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Many drives through canyons and I want to yell out the window "I GET TO LIVE HERE!!" A photographer's paradise. So much to see, so nearby.

A couple days ago, I took an impromptu trip to Vernal, UT to visit a great friend, Mark, on his birthday. We found a decent restaurant to eat (one of half a dozen restaurants in Vernal!), had a bon fire, and then went to Dinosaur Land National Monument for night photography. It was cold, dark, scary, I whined way too much about the temperature, but still... it was absolutely beautiful.

This photo below is a 30 second shutter speed, flashlights to light up the background and a speedlight to light me on the rock. We had a lot of fun "painting with light."

One of the most inspiring aspects of photography for me is the beauty of nature at night. The way the stars light up the sky, I find such a sense of wonder and peace. It is awesome - in the truest sense of the word. Awe-inspiring. While at DinoLand, I made a commitment: This summer, I am committed to visiting at least one National or State Park each month! I am beyond excited to take this adventure on.

The photo above is no lights, the photo below is the result of walking around and using several speedlights from different angles (same location).

Then, just today (a few days after my trip), on a dusty bookshelf, I found an old book I'd forgotten about called "America Wide - Panographs by Ken Duncan". It's a book of photos of National Parks and other iconic views across the country. A close high school friend, Matt, gave it to me as a present for my 17th birthday. This was long before I had an SLR, before I had even CONSIDERED photography as a job or even a passion. I was focused on music at the time, but have always had an appreciation for nature. In the front of the book was a letter, and what an amazing thing to read through it and see where life has taken me from then to now. Here's an excerpt I'd like to share:

"I want to present this book to you as a gift of encouragement not only for your 17th year, but also for life beyond. We all have trials and tribulations of life set aside for us to overcome and defeat, but if I can get you to remember one thing; about this archetypal battle, it's that you can't ever shut your eyes to the world around you, even in the midst of utter despair. Once you do that, you close the gate to a rejuvenating source of beauty. Take this book... look at it... comment on it... then set it down for a long while. Force your eyes wide open to the picturesque beauty in your own world, and be amazed at the seemingly therapeutic results. Don't forget to open your eyes before the scenery whips by."

Thank you, Matt, for the example and encouragement of living an awesome life, full of awe for the world around.

Dan and Whitney's Excellent Adventure - Day 4 (Arches National Park)

April 01, 2014 in Other, Travel

Soo... Something strange happened when we left Lake Las Vegas and tried to go to the Grand Canyon. Siri didn't know how to get there. Really. I had no information about the Grand Canyon and it was the middle of the night. The internet wasn't helping much with direction either! We twiddled our thumbs for a bit, then I said "I've never been to Arches, want to try that?" And Dan, being the perfect travel companion, said "Yes. Let's!" A midnight stop at Walmart to try and find camping gear failed... and we got on the road anyway. 7 hours later, we showed up at the park. We drove the loop, hiked around a bit, tried to sleep in the car without much luck, I took a nap in this arch:

Drove into Moab when I realized 30 minutes asleep in the arch was picturesque, but not particularly restful and I got a hotel to nap through the afternoon. A 6 o' clock wake up call (pm... 6pm wakeup!), I threw on both lightweight jackets and whatever I could scrounge up for a hike, then headed back into Arches for the beautiful evening light and (once again!) night shots.

The destination: Delicate Arch.

The discovery of an Arches virgin: Here's the deal. I thought for photo purposes, we would want the lower or the upper view. We walked to the lower view, then hiked to the upper view, and soon realized there wasn't much possibility for variety from either perspective. Which trail to hike? Yes, apparently a photographer must actually hike TO the arch to get a view worth shooting.

The Challenge: 20 minutes to make it to the top by sunset. (We had wasted some time doing lower and upper views and the sun was on its way down!) I had a shoulder bag, bad shoes, a tripod, two lightweight jackets, a couple handwarmers. I was completely ill-equipped for hiking to Delicate Arch. Most people were already up there, but I was going to try it.

Now, apparently Moab in March is, uh, well, cold. At least much colder than Vegas and California (for which our wardrobes were catered...). While Dan wrapped himself up in a huge blanket and looked like a homeless guy walking up, I was determined to get there by sunset! Aaaaand, I discovered just how out of shape I was. My thighs started spasming, I almost threw up... And (here's the best reason to carry a camera when you hike) sometimes I would stop and pretend to take a photo just so people wouldn't judge me for having to stop. But I was found out. A little 7 year old girl stopped me and said "you're going to want to take a lot of pictures at the top. It's really pretty up there." A 4 year old boy saw me having a tough time and threw out a "you're almost there!" I'm still not sure if it was encouraging or humiliating, but either way, I MADE IT. Yes, I made it to the top... about 5 minutes after the sun went down. I finally turned the corner and saw this:

I found a spot on the rock next to a few other photographers and I almost cried (commitment to self: I am working out enough and will be in shape enough to make any photography hike I want this summer even with all the gear!) But a few breathtaking photos and everything was worth it.

(yes, Dan made it to the top too!)

One of the most interesting parts of Delicate Arch was the culture of photographers hanging out and practicing techniques together. If one person uses lights, it will affect everyone else there, so we work together. This photo was painting with light - a huge flashlight!

This is with no lights (just the glow of the moon on one side):

Then everyone cleared out except one other photographer and we took turned playing with speedlights Strobist style. Here's the winner of the night:

Yup. Arches is a 5 star photography resort in Whitney's book. I will DEFINITELY be back this summer.

We grabbed breakfast at a delightful diner and drove back in the morning! An inspiring trip, I'm excited for all the photography adventures coming up in the next couple months. We live in a beautiful world, don't we?

See the other blog posts from this Road Trip:

Day 1: Las Vegas

Day 2: Red Rock Conservation Area

Day 3: Lake Las Vegas

Happy New Year!

March 04, 2013 in Other

I have been so sick this winter! Living in Utah, the inversion has been causing respiratory problems for most of us in the valley and I keep picking up viruses. But I figure, as it is now March, I should probably post some photos form the beginning of the year. Here's the New Year's party from the Keys on Main dueling piano show!