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!!

Lindsey Bridals

Never a dull moment. We shot Lindsey's bridals on Tuesday and it was like 95 degrees. During our day we shot some pics downtown Salt Lake, got harrassed by a homeless man, got attacked by more bugs than I have ever seen in my life, and were stuck in traffic for eternity, had the cops get after us at the State Capital and my car broke down on the way home at midnight(radiator hose exploded). I had my wife, my sister-in-law and my boy Jack stuck on the side of the rode on an off ramp immobile. I was walking to a gas station about a mile away and an older couple picked me up at midnight!! They took me to Smiths to get anti-freeze and on the way back we saw a cop and waved him down and I got in the car with him so we could take me back to the car. He lit up like a bolt of lightning. In the end we stayed the night at my sister in laws friends house on their floor. Jack slept with the dog's blanket and pillow. We were glad to be somewhere other than the car. Thank you Henderson family for your hospitality. We arrived home 16 hours later than expected.
All said and done Lindsey has been a die hard. I told her in the beginning if we want to get the best we have to work for it. She did all the way through and it was worth it. Thanks for your hard work Lindsey. Always an adventure!!

Good Things Utah!!

Last week I stayed at my little brother's house and the next morning we woke up and went to Good Things Utah with three of his friends Jordan, Jared and Bridger. We thought we would shake things up a bit since it is normally a show for females. We pulled up to the studio and saw a line of women and not one man. Someone asked if we should turn around. We decided to approach it like men and just go for it. When we got inside we sat between rows of Brownie scouts and Draper moms. The first thing the announcer asked was 'Why are you here?" My little brother Matt said, "Because we love the show". I personally had never seen it. In the end we learned about how to cook Beefalo ( a mix between a cow and buffalo) and how to plant trees with Grandma Joy. It was interesting and apparently quite a few moms watch it in Utah. When it was over we got to go take pictures with the hosts. I might add we got three television appearances as an audience and we can be heard yelling in the background with our masculine Arsenio type hoots. Fantastic adventure!

Nate Osmond

I love shoots that push me. This shoot with Nate was a fun one for that reason. He is a fantastic musician with more experience than most would have in a two or three lifetimes. He has some incredible music which you can hear on nathanosmond.com . Lots can happen when two artists put there minds together. We got some great stuff. Good luck with everything Nate!!