West Virginia

This is my first time visiting West Virginia and so far I am very pleased. We are here for a wedding and to visit some of Susan's family. While the women have been out pampering themselves I have been wandering around with my camera. We are staying in Vienna which is right next to the city of Parkersburg. Neither city is very large. I drove into the downtown area of Parkersburg this morning and quickly found a parking spot. I love how there is so much character in the cities in the east. There are modern buildings, of course, but there is also so much more history in the buildings than what I am use to in Salt Lake. I love how the city is right next to the Ohio River. I walked through the city for a few hours and really enjoyed watching the city life as it passed me by. Read more...

Bonneville Shoreline Trail/Bobsled

As with all good in my life, I have the tendency to abuse the hell out of them. A new camera? Shoot, shoot, shoot. A new drink? Drink, drink, drink. So is the case with this new lens I wrote about yesterday. I have barely put it down. I did a ton of research prior to buying this lens and I could give you the "classic" review of this thing. But that really isn't my style, now is it? Everyone said that you can't shoot sports with this lens. "It is too slow. It is too hard to focus." Then you had the others. "You have to use a tripod." I'm not shooting landscapes here! I am shooting guys bombing the Bobsled. I don't like to be told I can't do something, so I think I took the lens on our ride today just because everyone said you couldn't. I'll show them! Read more...

Tilt Shift

I bought a new lens the other day and I have been dying to try it. Literally! This evening I was sitting there watching Monday Night Football, like all good American men should be, and thought that I didn't know when the next time would be for me to get out there and shoot with it. Sure, it is going back East with me, but I wanted to take it out into an area I am intimately familiar with. Oh ya, it is a 35mm f/2.8 Tilt and Shift lens. Read on...

The World Is On Fire

Perhaps not the world, just Draper. I was photographing a house in Draper today and there was this fire on the ridge just above the property. As I was shooting the interior the home owner came frantically running in and was obviously very concerned about the proximity of the fire. I can't say I blame her, because I was actually planning my escape route out of the area if the flames turned down the mountains. More photos.

Crew

We welcomed another darling boy into the world today. Jill and Todd gave birth to their third child early today. Susan and I made it up to see the little one and Jill this evening and were very excited to see them. He is absolutely adorable. Baylie and Tyson are very cute with him and Tyson is more than excited to have a little brother. He was so gentle with him and always wanted to hold him. Even when Crew peed on Todd, they were still enamored with him. We are very exited to get to know this new soul and to watch him grow.

I enjoyed photographing this gorgeous family. The photos are always awesome. Here are some from our visit with them tonight.

Dog Lake Trail

I really enjoy this trail. It is a quick up and back, and I mean quick on the back. We took the long route down and it wasn't any longer than twenty minutes. Matt, Keith, Derrick and Fred showed up to ride today and we cruised up the trail. The climb is relentless and doesn't ever seem to let up. It is a fantastic work out. Here are some more pics.

Glenwild Loop

We had another awesome ride today. It was most of the usual guys that show up for all of the rides, but it was a blast nevertheless. The weather was perfect and we even got some rain. The rain was nice and way overdo. It was incredible!

Pics.