Not Everyone Loves Santa....

Check out Myles....I don't think he's a big fan of Santa.

Breast Cancer Survivor

I had the opportunity to spend some time with Nedra Spaulding, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Here's the kicker, Nedra is a hospice nurse. She spends time with patients battling for their lives in their final days, and here she is now battling for her own life.

I wanted to do something a little different with my first time photographing her. So instead of being with her during a chemotherapy session, I decided to join her as she gets the remainder of her hair removed. She was very upbeat about her situation, and held her emotions very well as she had her head shaved.

She's a wonderful woman, and I hope to continue this story and spend more time photographing her in the future.

San Francisco and Sonoma Wine Country

I've been taking quite a few weekend trips throughout the summer, one of my favorites being a recent two-day trip to San Francisco. My friend Robin and I took a day trip out to Sonoma to do a little wine tasting, which was amazing....

Sonoma Wine Country:






San Francisco:






Robin's a bit shy around the camera:

Character

Character: The mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual; the quality of being individual.

Portrait photography is far more than just pointing a lens at an individual's face and pushing a button to record an image. What makes a great portrait is finding the true character within the individual, and recording a specific moment that displays the individual's uniqueness.

I met a nice man today, a man with good character. His name is Robert Bubai. He is from Maine. While traveling to the west coast a year ago, his van broke down. He was lost, with no where to go. That's when a citizen of Cedar City invited him into their home, soon after he was able to get a trailer to live in. Here he is a year later, still loving life, and in no hurry to get to the west coast. In some way that shows the true character of our city....welcoming.

Let's be honest, most of us would be hesitant to approach Robert and start up a conversation, at least without knowing the character of the individual. That's one of the benefits of documenting life with my camera, I meet tons of interesting people that I may have never met otherwise. I had a great conversation with Robert; he is one of the happiest individuals I've ever met. After our conversation I asked him if I could photograph him and his dog, Sierra (which he named after the Sierra Mountains). He said yes.

To me, this first portrait reveals Robert's true character, and the second portrait shows the love he has for his dog, Sierra. If you happen to see Robert and his dog hanging out at the many festivals we have in town this summer, be sure to say hi, he will brighten up your day....

California Dreamin'

Every time I'm in Los Angeles for work, or play, I crash with a few buddies of mine, one of them being my best friend of 27 years, Ryan. One of the other guys at the house happens to be a guitarist for Lifehouse, Ben Carey. What a perfect opportunity to get some edgy rock star portraits.

For this set I wanted a ring flash effect, which gives a very direct flash to the subject, filling all the shadows on the face and produces a "halo" around the subject. Since I don't have an extra $500 lying around, once again I had to improvise. I taped two Canon Speedlight handheld strobes directly to my 16-35mm lens, which unfortunately only created half a halo. I was still very happy with the results.

Ben Carey, guitarist, Lifehouse

Ben with his dog, Gibson

I also tested the system out on another buddy of mine. I love the urban look I get from this photo:



I love how this technique lights up the eyes:



A trip to southern Cali isn't complete without a ride on the Harleys. Ben on the left, Ryan on the right:




Matt Nelson, of the Nelson Brothers:



Matt on his shiny new bike:



Ryan cruisin' the 210:

Bikers

Here's a few portraits of some bikers that were in town for a fundraiser. You can check out the story behind the photos on my other blog, on my newspaper's website, thespectrum.com.

Seattle

This past weekend I was in Seattle for my two days off (quick trip....don't ask). Every time I make it back to my home town, I make sure I hit up the market (Pike Place Market) and take in the atmosphere, that always helps me feel like I'm really home again. And of course, I always take my camera. I like to challenge myself and try to focus on a different aspect of the most photographed site in Seattle; this time I wanted some black and white images. So I grabbed my 50mm and hit the market....

Seafood Stress:



Chinese:



Fruit:



Feet:



Love:



Market:



Sailing:



The Original:



Tourists:



Tunes: