Lindsey and Josh Wedding, Mt. Timp

When I first started shooting weddings eight years ago I had a friend that was going to join the army. I told him wedding photography is a lot like combat. You have limited ammo (film back then) and there is only one of you and you have to shoot everyone in front of you. I explained to him how intense it can be at a ceremony that only happens once and you have to get the shots much like a sniper on a mission. Many times you must wait patiently for something to happen that never happens. When it does you can't be caught snoozing. If I am caught snoozing I to answer to an angry mother rather than a drill seargent. Equipment can fail (as it did when my Canon broke on Lindsey and Josh's engagement sitting) and people get sick. You must make a million split second decisions based on lighting, composition, shutter speed, aperture, film speed, which lens to use, angles, posing, flash, reflector, etc.. all the while making sure that everyone in front of you feels comfortable and is smiling. There are also politics. I have to please not only the bride but the mother of the bride. Rarely do they have the same taste. (For the record that was not an issue at this wedding). Eight years ago another friend said, "How hard could it be?" All you have to do is put somebody in front of you and push a button. If it were that easy I would get bored overnight. The amazing thing about what I do is I get to meet amazing people like Josh and Lindsey and their respective families and learn from them as I strive to perfect my trade. Unlike the Army I get to linger at receptions and mingle with people who want to talk to me not kill me. I slip in and out of crowds and eat amazing food and take pictures of amazing people. This reception was no exception. It was a blast and I made several new friends. It is now history, a very well documented history.

Sugar Park in Amalga with my kids

We are park hoppers. I get bored with the same ol parks so we explore new parks. We hit Sugar Park in Amalga yesterday. It is an old school park with all the hard metal and old iron tank merry-go-rounds. That is the way I like em. No school like the old school. There is a sign nailed to a tree that says something like "it is not our responsibility if you get hurt" I love it.

Quinceanera, Logan, UT

Last week I shot this quinceanera which for those of you who don't know it is kind of coming of age for a 15 year old girl. It is a huge thing in Mexico from what I understand. It is just as big an event as a wedding (to shoot anyway) The ceremony lasted at least an hour after which we went to a nearby park to get some shots with Daisy (the 15 year old) and six guys dressed in tuxes. When I went back to my car I looked at my seat and there was a blue crayon melted on my seat (it was a hot day). One of my kids had put a crayon on my seat and it melted and I turned to look at my butt and saw that I had blue crayon covering my whole right cheek. I had light tan slacks on with a tucked shirt and not one of those guys said anything to me!! I ran home to change my pants. Then we went to a reception that was full of dancing, cake cutting, food, musical chairs, toasts, gift giving, etc.. These guys really know how to throw a party. The food was amazing. I always make time for food. I usually don't care about cakes but this cake had like 6 tiers with a different flavor in each tier. It was full of peaches and bananas etc.. It was great. Anyway, it was a fun event even if I didn't understand anything anyone said.

My week in Arizona

Took a trip to Arizona with my oldest buddy Joe Andersen. When I say oldest I mean that he has been my friend as long as I have lived. He is the most imaginative friend I have and I love him for that reason. The purpose of the trip was to do a documentary of Joe's grandpa LaDell on video for posterity then to help his dad do some concrete in Arizona. LaDell has a long history of basketball in the state of Utah. He was Asst. coach at U of U, Head coach of Utah State University, Head coach of the Utah Stars (predecessor to the Jazz, ABA) Head coach at BYU. He has been as scout for the Utah Jazz and has made recommendations to the Jazz for players such as John Stockton and Darren Williams. He is a hero of mine because he is one of the most hard nosed people I have ever met yet extremely kind and generous. We stayed at his house in St. George and got some good footage the next day. After that we headed to Phoenix area where Joe lives and helped his dad for three days doing some concrete on the Paradise Valley Golf Course. It was hot and miserable. I got heat stroke (114 degrees) and smashed both my big toes. I will be losing both toenails shortly as they are purple and black. What was I thinking going to do concrete in Arizona in July? I actually love it after i am done because it cleans the creative pallet. Everything tastes better and smells better after you almost DIE doing something miserable. IT gets the creative juices flowing and puts everything back in perspective. For that it is worth it. Anyway, I ended up taking some pictures with my new camera that I bought on the way down. I switched to Nikon this week. Sick of Canon's breaking down!!