Urban Family Shoot

The Childs' family wanted to do something non-traditional for their annual photo shoot so we headed downtown Vegas. I had scouted out the area earlier with my daughter to do a test shoot but when the family arrived that day we got a bonus. Someone had thrown away two surprisingly awesome velvet couches. We drug one down the alley to use as a prop. As you can see it turned out amazing.

On the downside alleys can tend to be unpredictable and changing environments. For example we had scouted it on a Sunday afternoon and it was tidy, quiet, and had empty dumpster. Tuesday afternoon there were full dumpsters, foot traffic, and cars that we had to deal with. Still a great location but will definitely pick a Sunday to do urban shoots from now on.

Saskatchewan

I spent two weeks recently in Big River, Saskatchewan. This was my 8th summer visiting but this summer I was seeing it from a different perspective. I have always dabbled in photography and have been pretty successful in capturing the unexpected in life. This year, however, I began to seriously pursue portrait photography, which is a different kind of bird. You start looking for locations everywhere. You see the color and texture as possibility for photographic backdrops. I had a blast dragging my daughter and friends and their kids all over to do pictures. My favorite location by far was the Davidson photo shoot (see SmugMug gallery for pics). We packed all 6 of them in the truck and four-wheeled it over an old creek bed and through the bush to an open meadow where the family log cabin stood. This is where the grandpa grew up as a kid. The cabin, the barn and various wagon wheels sat among the tall waving grass surrounded by a bank of trees. The sun was just getting ready to duck behind the trees so we had amazing warm light in the background and the simple fill flash did wonders with the rest of the lighting needs. The one drawback was time. It is a good thing they were photogenic because we really had to race the light to get all our shots done. But it worked...love the prairies.

Save the Date Pics

Had so much fun with my friends Garrett and Karrin. Their quirky personalities created some memorable pics. I had an idea to do a time elapsed effect showing the stages of their proposal. These church stairs were perfect. At home, Photoshop and I did the rest.
Check the website for more pictures soon.

1964 Triumph Photoshoot

So my neighbor and friend Jon asked me to take pictures of one of his vintage bikes for a British mag called "Dice." Of course I said yes. He had some good ideas of where he wanted to shoot the pictures so we spent one afternoon scoping out locations in Boulder City and ended with lunch at the Rainbow Casino (such a throwback lounge restaurant-very cool).

The bike is a 1964 Triumph named "ASSSASIN" (apparently "hooked on phonics" did not work for the artist who painted the name or drugs did). It is a rescue case and even though the engine is rebuilt and running the body work is rustically maintained as found.

Our first day of shooting we were aiming for afternoon light. We headed to the old water treatment plant and got some great pictures in front of the cracked glass and rusted door on the receiving dock. Next we headed to the old highway out by the quarry and gun range. We had missed the good light but decided to make the best of it. We were pretty far down doing shots of him riding the bike full speed toward me when a skanky gold truck pulled up the driveway of the gun range and out onto the road. Then an equally skanky guy steps out, gun securely shoved in the front of his greasy pants. It was all a little surreal for a second. I was waiting for Clint Eastwood's heroic entrance when a white Pit Bull jumps out of the back of the pick up and I am jolted into reality. Jon rides up and the pit bull becomes fascinated with his boot and pants leg instead. I was relieved, Jon, not so much. Apparently this was the security guard who told us we needed to leave the area. Yep, we left.

We actually shot pictures for close to 4 hours that day in the Vegas heat. It was amazing how many people stopped Jon to chat about the bike. It was a bit distracting but understandable. It is a smexie bike. Ended the day at a Mexican restuarant but after drinking 4 glasses of water and 3 ice teas who's hungry?

Second part of the photo shoot we did this past weekend. Since it was cloudy we went out earlier and had much better light and a great sky to shoot under. We went back to the old highway and risked the scary dog and deliverance security guard (they were both no-shows). We also shot pictures at a historic old haunted looking stone house and the railroad tracks. By the end of the shoot Jon was giving direction and even took the camera in hand to do a few shots. Then, since we seem to have to eat every time we do pics, we hit Pit Stop Burger. A great way to end a vintage shoot.

The write up is done, pictures edited, CD burned, hopefully off in the post this week...hope DICE magazine likes.

Life is a journey of moments woven together to create your unique history.

I simply capture moments along the way to remind you how beautiful the journey can be.