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Thanks again for stopping by!

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Thanks for stopping by! 

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All of these people mean something to me. When you create a portrait of someone it kind of becomes part of you. You look at it, study it, edit it, change it this way and back again, and finally you call it finished. But the story of the person in the portrait is never finished. I've only captured a small, short part of their life. If your portrait is here, thanks. I have found you inspirational in some way. If you would like your portrait to be here, please let me know. There are a lot of people out there that I'd love to shoot, and I'm always up for anything photographic!  

Thanks again for stopping by, Cheers!

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Jeff and Chika needed some engagement pictures to announce their upcoming wedding in November. The temps were high and it was humid, but these two were great! It's really been a pleasure getting to know such awesome people! Thanks, you two. I had a blast!

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Thanks for stopping by again!

Here ya go. These are from a small ghost town called Cisco in Utah, about 20 miles from Moab. It is on the "scenic longcut" to Moab that takes you through Castle Valley. Enjoy!

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Thanks for stopping by!

The shots that follow are "as shot" meaning no post processing, straight outta camera. Can't wait to start using this on a more regular basis. Enjoy!

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He is the owner of Flat Black Studios in Iowa City. He's been at it for a long time and he knows a thing or two about good sound, as is evident by his hectic schedule recording bands at a rate of about eight days per week.

I got to work with him today and it was really a pleasure. He's got about a thousand irons in the fire, and more stuff on the horizon. I see him around Iowa City a lot, mostly at the local coffee shop, Wake Up Iowa City.

Aside from being the premier recording studio in Iowa City he also creates amazing sculpture which will be on display at the local DIY shop, White Rabbit, beginning in March. For all you camera nerds out there, I'd love to let you know how I shot this. Ask any questions about the shots, or the dude, in the comments. Thanks, Luke, for letting me take an hour or two out of your busy day!

Here's a few shots from the evening.

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Thanks for stopping by,

jp

etc. It is, however, very close to the original. The "as shot" image is below it. I don't want to turn this into a tutorial on how, but if you're interested in learning about stuff like this I'd love to help you. Let me know!

I really love landscape shooting when the temps have been around freezing. It always creates a interesting feel. Driving into town for me was worse than texting while driving. I couldn't take my eyes off the trees and grasses in the ditches and fields.

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Hope you dig!

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Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

I'm to the point now that I need to specialize my work. I could be "freelance" like most of the other shooters around me, but I don't want to be "pretty good" at a lot of stuff, and not amazing at anything. Sometimes you hafta sacrifice the good for the best. 

So...narrowing down my work. Adventure, portraits, kids, weddings, advertising, editorial, landscape, architecture, all of which I've done a little of. 

I'll let you know as soon as I figure it out. In the meantime, let me know what you've like the best out of my shots. That may help me make some decisions. 

Thanks.

Better at:

1. Photoshop/Lightroom?

2. Manual mode?

3. Capturing in camera?

4. Understanding my subject?

5. Marketing?

6. Blogging/FB/Twitter/Flickr?

7. Lighting?

For me the answer lies in a mix of all of these answers. Take a look at these two, very important pictures.

I had the privilage of creating images with a family in early October of this year it kind of changed how I look at photography. I was there to shoot pics of the family together and also to shoot the senior pics for thier daughter. In between clothing changes for her, I asked these two to sit in this chair and to NOT smile. I was very adamant, DO NOT SMILE. These are some of the images that I captured. They were in hysterics, they couldn't sit still, and I was laughing just as hard as they were. Who could resist making images at this time. It was magical. These two young kids showed me that this SHOULD be a fun, exciting time. Learning things like this are what I'm trying to get better at. It's a process. I'm slowly learning to catch cues when they happen. So... for me to get "better" means to be just a little more open to those cues the next time I go out to create art.

Slow down.

Create images with meaning.

Observe.

We live in a fast paced world and it's important for us, as artists, to take a step back and chill out a bit. Relax and create great images that tell stories. I'm working on just that. How about you? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. What are you dealing with in your photographic career?

This is just one more thing that I will be adding to my list of "hope to accomplish". Hopefully it will stick. We'll see.

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I'll be posting again soon. Stay tuned. Thanks for stopping by, cheers!

Us at Gooseberry falls

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Couldn't pass this "photo-op"!

Pallisade Head. Man, this was amazing. Here it looks like maybe thirty feet or so, but it was really about one hundred and fifty feet in places! Giant. My hands were sweaty.

Nice view!

Inside the cabin.

The boys had rock throwing contests daily. Hourly.

Zoomed in on this boat to see it was swarmed with gulls.

Deep water bouldering with Josh at Grand Marais. That would've been a cold fall.

Fires on the shore.

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Rascal breakfast time.

Ike and Josh figured out how to juggle together.

More views.

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All of us together. 

Thanks for checking back in! Cheers!

Following up on the last post about our trip, I thought I would go ahead and show you some of the people there, and times we had. These will be from our trip with family near Longville. Kari's family has gone here, All Seasons Resort, for around forty years. We've gone several times as well. It's a fantastic place to do nothing at all. Enjoy the shots.

The Resort.

Fishing for crawdads.

The catch.

Cooked crawdads are so tasty!

Isaac canoeing

Owen floating in his raft.

Isaac being Isaac.

Owen couldn't get enough of the water!

Our dock on Woman Lake.

Playing cards with family is always a hit here. Owen isn't sure what to think of Trevor.

Owen still loves to have his picture taken.

He didn't mind so much here, but he didn't know till after.

Isaac floating in his new raft.

This is my favorite shot of this post. He fished so much! Up to 8 hours a day!

Feeding the ducks. They are everywhere in the summer and nowhere in the winter!

Throwing the ducks some corn always starts a frenzy.

Took a pontoon ride one day. We all loved it! Owen's rascalness is barely evident.

Tyler chillin'. Looks like a Gap ad!

Isaac caught a nice walleye, and it was delicious!

Immature loon on the lake.

Classic sunset over Woman Lake.

Thats a lot of images. Hope you dig them as much as I dig shooting them.

I'll be posting shots of our Lake Superior trip soon as well, so keep checkin'!

Cheers!

This is where the evening got REALLY exciting!! So far, nobody has been able to juggle SIX balls while swallowing a sword. Luther did it on his fourth try!! It was killer to see! He set the new world record! This isn't any kind of trick, either. The thing must've been three feet long and he downed it like it was nothing. 

Afterwords they invited all the kids to come on stage and Owen, in his usual fashion, obliged with crazy flips and dances.

What a determined look in this shot!

Way to go, Luther! You nailed it.

What a great evening of juggling, balancing, music, and best of all-going for a WORLD RECORD! Thanks a million and have a great time in Portland.

Till next time, Cheers!

One of the tables at Doug and Alecia's home.

Chris toasting bread.

Chris preparing asparagus shoots.

...more asparagus.

Stinging Nettle soup, you heard me. It was delicious!!

Some of the plates we all enjoyed.

...and more.

...and more.

The menu from the evening

The light coming in the windows made the evening perfect.

A shot of the deck in front of the home.

The home is beautifully landscaped.

Some of the goats and chickens.

Baby goats at rest.

A quaint little "guest home" on the farm.

Thanks again, you guys. The entire evening was very enjoyable for all who attended. Kari and I got to chat with Pete and Terra, drink some wine, laugh a lot, and eat an amazing meal. The whole night flowed perfectly!! Cheers! 

Thanks, Chris, for being a great sport!

Fun stuff, indeed!

In the living room of Tony and Alicia's home.

Quite the passionate vocalist.

Singing like he means it!

"...long walks with my daughter, who is lately full of questions about you." 

The poster from the evening.

James Bell and Frank House provided libations. The "Bazan Nut Brown" was a success with David, and everyone else.

Cheers!

We took our good friends, the Klefstads, to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, in Arkansas, and we all had a great time. The weather was great the first day, then rain the second, then sun on the third. Pretty much what you can expect for spring. With some new ascending gear I was able to position myself for some better shots.

I'm pretty proud and excited that Isaac is able to lead climb up to 5.9 now. Very cool!

Here are some climbing shots from our trip! Enjoy!

Kari on "Groovy", 5.8

Kate on her first lead!

Owen climbing as hard as ever!

Isaac on "Groovy", 5.8

Erik learning how to lead climb!

Brooks top-roping. He was scared at first, but I think he ended up liking it!

Portia top-roping. She ended up liking it, too!

Just a random Arkansas landscape.

Welcome to the ranch! It was great to have you guys along!

Cheers!

Thanks for stopping by. We should be able to get out and climb/boulder soon, so stay tuned here for shots!

OK, so after I posted the first time today I looked over the site and the shots were decent, but more of a "photojournalistic" style. "F8 and be there", if you will. However, if I'm calling myself a "creative", I should be doing more with my photos. So here's four more, with a creative twist! Cheers!

The CRWC (Campus Recreation and Wellness Center) in Iowa City put on the "Show You Care-abiner" climbing competition on Saturday. Top-rope climbing and bouldering were the two categories. It was a spandex competition, too! The turnout was great and the place was packed with energy! Here are shots from the event. I was climbing in the comp with my two boys, Isaac and Owen, so I didn't get any shots of them, but... Isaac won FIRST PLACE for the youth category and Owen won SECOND PLACE!! Way to go, boys!! (p.s. I had fun)

Cheers!

Thanks, Josh!

Mr. William Elliott Whitmore at Flat Black Studios. 

Thanks, Will and Luke, it was a blast!

We went to my parents house for Christmas this last weekend and on the way there I got a few shots of the cold Iowa countryside. Nothing major, just nice landscapes. This old barn is on the property where my sister's friend lived, between the Danville blacktop and highway 34. The road is just looking back the other direction. I couldn't pass it up, but it sure was cold. 

more tk!

Cheers!

Merry Christmas! More TK!!

We went to the annual "Wine Freak Out" at the New Pioneer Co-op with our good friends, the Grebners, the other day. We had a great time, some of us more so than others. For those that don't know, it is an event where they have six or more vendors that come, set up a table, and serve you several types of their wine in hopes that you'll like it enough to buy some. "Glazers" was by far our favorite vendor and the gentleman had six wines, five of which we really liked. Enjoy the photos from our evening!

The gent from Glazers was busy!

Our good friends, Chris and DeeAnn Grebner showing off their purple tongues! 

We all really wanted to try this one just because the name was awesome.

Kari's expression says it all, as well as DeeAnn's.

Thanks, guys, it was a great night!

I took the boys to the Sugar Bottom disc golf course today and it was a blast. We all had a great time! They are fast learners, so it won't be long for them to get closer to par. Here's some shots from our time today.

This is where Owen's driver ended up on one of the last throws of the course!

Cheers!

Kari and I went for a quick, seven mile ride today out to a peninsula on the lake. It was way cold. The colors in the sky were nice, though, and it was great to get back on our wheels. I thought I'd share some scenery shots of our small trip. Enjoy!

Cheers, ya'll!

I listened to an interview by Matt Brandon about creativity in photography. He was talking to Chris Orwig, whose link you see at the left. (Go there to be amazed) Chris said that some photos can't or won't stand alone. He went on to explain that some shots are better when next to others like it, or in sets. 

I went out and walked through the forest yesterday and just shot a few random pictures, 53 to be exact (digital is so amazing). I got home and looked through the shots and, as usual, was bummed that only a few turned out worthy of showing anyone. Then I remembered what Chris said. I decided to select a few to show you together that otherwise wouldn't be that good.

Very often I look around myself wherever I'm at and look for shots to take. These shots kind of broke that mold in that they are all shot straight up. Enjoy.

Cheers!

We had a great halloween this year in Solon. The boys were zombies! The weather was perfect for trick or treating, so we walked about eight blocks. They got SOOO much candy!! Enjoy the shots!

Isaac's is on the left, Owen's is on the right! Great job, fellas!

They got to go with their friends, Marcus and Chloe. Guess who the zombies are here.

Dig how the flash stops Isaac and owen in these next two. It was actually about a two second exposure!

Happy  Halloween, everyone!

Now it's time to start preparing for Thanksgiving!!

Cheers!

I was able to get out this morning and capture some amazing fall scenery. There is a hillside on Highway 1 that I have always wanted to shoot and the clouds, colors, and setting were all very nice. Hope you dig!

Cheers and Happy Halloween!

We went to a halloween party tonight at the Duncan's and, just like last year, had a great time. The whole place was lit up and webbed out like mad! 

Here is Scott officiating the costume contest.

The kids love the Duncan's parties!

Our boys were both zombies.

Isaac was tired after staying up late at a friends house the night before, so he crashed on (under) the huge comfy pillows.

It was a perfect night for a fire. There were rumors of a sasquatch sighting, but, thankfully, we had to leave a little early.

The gracious host, Scott Duncan.

Thanks again, Scott and Diana! We always have good time at your parties!

Cheers!!

This past weekend I was honored to shoot some studio shots for Steve Prottsman and his two daughters, Kate, and Kayla. Together they are putting together a christmas album. Can't wait to hear it!

Steve

Kate

Kayla

Glad to help out, Steve. Looking forward to hearing you guys!

Cheers!

Over the past two weeks we have been in Colorado and Utah. We did several amazing things during the trip, one of which was going to Arches National Park. These pics are from the hike in that day. Enjoy!

Some petroglyphs along the trail to Delicate arch. Petroglyphs are a form of native american art. You can see some of it over my right shoulder on the darker stone. Wild animals. We did our best to fit in.

Some of the scenery along the way.

Owen was so stoked to be able to touch an actual desert lizard!

Amos and Molly were our guides through much of our two week stay out west. Those who know them are very fortunate.

The long walk in and...

...the payoff!

The Delicate arch, named after how it resembles a pair of ladies' bloomers, is about five stories tall. It took us about an hour to arrive here, hiking through the desert with little shade, but the view was sooo worth it.

Amos and Molly wanted me to get their shot. 

Shot from under the center of the arch.

Isaac and Owen making sure it didn't fall over!

We had several great times on this vacation, some of which I will be showing you soon. Cheers!

The weather lately has been amazing for riding. I've been hitting the North Shore trail every other day for about three weeks now. It's a fourteen mile loop from our house and I can get it done in just under an hour. This last time I decided to shoot a little while I was out. Here are some random shots from along the way. 

Hope you all can get outside and enjoy this weather, before you know it all of the pics here will have snow in them!

Ride on!!

I've been fishing a lot with my boys lately. I don't really love to fish, but it's a great way to spend time with my two favorite rascals. Here are some shots from an outing with Owen and I.

Loving this new gear!

Cheers

I'm not much of a T.V. person. I never really have been, until the show "River Monsters" on Animal Planet came around. Jeremy Wade could talk about poop on a stick, and somehow with his British accent it would flow smooth enough for anyone to want to listen.

Now I'm fishing more, not just because of the show, but because Isaac and Owen love to go, too. After about twelve years of taking a break from fishing, I am back to it. I grew up fishing and caught, cleaned, and ate just about every fish you could catch in the Flint Creek. Not to mention going to Minnesota several times and catching walleye and perch.

I have recently been going to Macbride with the boys and catching bass. Here are some shots from recent trips. 

Isaac holding a white bass he caught at the spillway. The waters here are teaming with bass, but most of them are pretty small. This one was about twelve inches. The camera angle makes it look bigger.

Owen was pretty excited about this one. It measured eleven inches.

This little guy sleeps under the rocks and we throw him small fish to chow. He thanks us for it with long gazes. Good karma!

Even if we don't catch much, the view is great. I've seen some of the best sunsets of my life here.

At about 7:30 the sun starts to cast the red glow that photographers call the "golden hour" of sun. Everything is lit up very nicely and all the colors seem to "pop". 

Thanks for stopping by, and a bit of advice: Allow some of the things that you used to enjoy to come back into your life, it might end up meaning more now than it did then. My boys are showing me the joy that I used to get out of fishing.

Cheers!

We went to the Sugar Bottom Scramble a couple weekends ago and watched the some friends race. Josh, Deana, and Jacoa all did great. Although I didn't get pics of Deana, I did get some of the fellas. What a great atmosphere! I just love the community of mountain bikers. Anyway, we had a great time spectating and maybe next year we'll compete!

Here's Josh

...and Jacoa

One of the ladies starts

This is called "cyclocross hill". It looks so amazingly hard. These people REALLY ride fast to be able to get up this.

More of a creative shot. This guy was going so fast he almost got air off the top.

This was such a great time. We'll be back next year.

Cheers!

We've recently put up the slackline in our back yard. For those that don't know, a slackline is a piece of 1" webbing strung tight between two trees. You then walk across it, similar to tight rope walking only this is a lot less tight.

To master the slackline, it takes a lot of practice, and a lot of failure. Isaac is learning this. I told him, as part of his Phys. Ed. for homeschool, that if he could make it all the way across, I would pay him five dollars. He has been relentlessly trying. His best effort has been about 3/4 of the way across. Our line is about forty feet. Here are some shots I took of him today working it.

I'm sure he'll get it really soon!

Cheers.

We took the kiddos to Adventureland park a few weeks ago and had a great time. We also met Tyler and Shana there. Check out the shots of the day.

Isaac's reaction to the Space Shot!

On the ski lift

I did the Tornado with Isaac and tried to get shots while on the ride...

Good times. 

Thanks for checking out the blog again!

Cheers

This past weekend we visited downtown Des Moines, ate at Spaghetti Works, and checked out some of the sculptures. They looked like something Tim Burton would create. Very cool. Enjoy the shots!

This piece was made of the letters of the alphabet. It looks relatively small, but notice Kari inside. It was actually huge.

Cheers!

Saturday, we took the boys to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. We met with our good friends, Tyler and Shana. We are related, but its funky. Tyler is my cousin, and Shana is my sister-IN-LAW. (told you, funky) Kari's parents also met us there. 

We all had a good time. The heat was killer, so we saw most of the outside critters first, then inside when it got hotter.

I'll narrate each shot, the first one being our two boys inside the entrance.

These are the generous people who gave so that we all could see this place. It's cool that there are people that do things like this. Makes me think about the world differently when people give without thinking of themselves. 

Isaac checking out the giraffes.

They had a very cool sea lion show. 

We watched the lions eat. The male purred and it shook the ground! So much raw power.

A wad of fruit bats. Kari loved these.

The boys loved the parakeet cage. One dollar got you a stick with peanut butter and seeds on it. There were around fifty birds in here. 

There was also a small koi pond. These guys were hungry!

There were many, many more animals and birds and insects and etc., but you'll just hafta go see them yourself. The whole day went well for us. The boys had a fun time and there was no heat exhaustion, sickness, or barfing. Good to hang out with friends/family again, too! 

Stay tuned for my next post. We survived Adventureland!

I got up really early today, 5:40, and went to Anglers Point off of Mehaffey Bridge road to catch the sunrise. It was so peaceful and quiet. The sun came up and lit the sky, it was amazing. Hope you dig!

Cheers! 

I realize its been a while. We have recently moved and I will be posting about that soon. Meanwhile, I got a new lens, the 17-40 f4L that I've been lusting over. Here's a few from it, enjoy!

Not sure if these turned out the right size. I installed the new Photoshop, too. Still getting used to it!

Cheers.

After a full morning/afternoon of baseball games I was ready to let my hair down (as it were) and relax. I took Owen downtown Iowa City to see "Cirque Stupendo". They are a local act that has a burlesque/hillbilly feel with some great music and some hysterical acts. It's hard to say who my favorite act is, but the guy with the hula-hoops made Owen and I both laugh together. Enjoy!

The Band

The Juggler

The Singers

The Hoopist

They all played acoustically, so the vocals were hard to understand

Luther on the bowsaw! He also does tightrope walking and juggling, but had a problem with his back and could only sit this performance.

Andy playing and singing.

The accordian/skater girl.

What good hillbilly band would be without a bass player?

There were around 200 people looking on!

These people put on such an amazing show! Check them out sometime!

Cheers!

Took Owen out to the docks to check out the pontoons and the lake. It was great to feel the lake air and the sunshine. I think having a pontoon sounds like fun for a family, but it might just end up taking me away from other things that I really want to do. Who knows?

Here are some pics from our walk. Enjoy!

He thought he should put this in the water. No reason, it just needed to be there!

Careful, little man!

Notice the "Beetle Bailey" foot?

Cheers!

I took the boys out to the spillway, where Mcbride meets the Coralville reservoir. The water was rushing over the falls and they loved it. Even when its hot and humid, the wind coming up over the dam still feels cool. Enjoy the shots!

Hope you can get out and enjoy the outdoors. More climbing pics coming soon! Stay tuned! 

We all made it down to the Iowa City Farmers Market today. It's events like this that make me realize why I love Iowa City so much. What a great vibe! Enjoy the random shots.

Hope you get a chance to go to your local farmers market and help local farmers make a living. Till next time, Cheers!

Isaac turned eleven today! I went through our photo library and dug up some old (4 years old) pictures of him from then till now. I put them in chronological order, however some are just random, some are more meaningful shots. Enjoy!

This last one is my personal fave!

Thanks, Isaac, for being awesome!

Love ya, big guy!

I am very fortunate in that I get to spend time with some great people, and that I get to do some of the things I love with them. Luke Prottsman and I got up to Kepler State Park this morning and bouldered for about an hour and a half. It was so nice out. The temps were actually cool and we climbed hard. We worked a nice V4 out of the cave area on the Dam wall. Great times, enjoy the shots!

We also worked on topping out the center of the wall. It is probably just a V0 or V1, but it's pretty tall. I'd say eighteen feet to the top. Luke and I both got up there and over on our first tries! Woop! 

Thanks, Luke, for letting me try my photo skills out on ya!

Cheers! 

Great news! I have been in talks with an international magazine about Iowa climbing and they are interested in using some of my images and words for an article. I'm so stoked to be able to put Iowa "on the map" so to speak. In the climbing world, Iowa is the last place you would think of to go climbing, but there is actually some good stuff here. I will let you know how it turns out! In the meantime enjoy this shot from last week of Lake Macbride.

Cheers!

We got out to Pictured Rocks with the Klefstad's this morning. The weather was perfect, and we all had a great time. We took all four kids, and they all had a chance to pull, too.

Here's a shot of Erik leading on the Mild Iowa wall. I am really proud of him for having the salt to try to lead. It shows that he's at least willing to push it. Here's to you, bro!

Can't wait to get back!

     Kari and I took the boys for a walk tonight. We've been making it a definite point to get outside with them almost every night before it gets too hot. We really are trying to "instill" in our boys the value of being outside. Even if it is in town, the outdoors are still amazing. This time we went around the swamplands that are by the north shore trail entrance. It was beautiful and we took our time. I was able to snap off a few "trick" shots of the boys as they rode by on their scooters. Owen isn't quite as adventurous as Isaac, but they both love to ride. Enjoy!

    As much as I love a good movie, or clicking the keys on my Mac, there is nothing like spending a fourth of my day outside. Hope you value it as much as I do! Cheers.

I thought I would try my hand at HDR photography with a shot I took today. For those that don't know, high dynamic range photography is hard to explain, but I'll try. Here goes:

When we look at a scene, our eyes and brain see it differently than what a camera can actually capture. This is because our eyes see over several stops of light. What this means is that when we look into the shadows of a scene, we see what's in there, whether it be a dark alley, a shadow of a tree, or etc....whatever-because our eyes adjust to the darkness via our pupil dilating larger and smaller to allow more or less light in, just like the aperture of a camera. When we look into the sky, or a bright scene, our eyes also adjust to it to allow us to see definition and color and etc. This is the shot "as captured" by the camera. It's alright, but it isn't really how I remember the scene.

High dynamic range programs use several algorithms to "mesh" these different highs and lows, or brights and darks, to make a scene much closer to the way our brain remembers it. Some HDR shots, in my opinion, are really bad. Some look really good, it just depends on what the "shooter" saw when they took the picture. It really doesn't show much integrity as a photographer to say what is good or bad, just "not my style".

Here is the shot "post-processed" with HDR as my main focus.

In this second shot, I did what is called "dodging and burning"-that's making the darks a bit darker, and making the brights a bit brighter, as well as some color correction and layer masking. All of this is sometimes done in an HDR  program, but I use the simple Photoshop Elements 2 that came with my first camera. 

What I really like about photography is the "subjectiveness" of it, if I can use that word. You may like the first shot better, others may like the second. It really is up to you and me to decide.  Have a good day and get your rear outside, it just keeps getting bigger! (the outside, not your rear....I'll shut up).

Cheers!

Some of you have met my brother, Mike and his wife, Kim. However, as busy as they are, you may not have met my nephews, Steve and Nick. They are both about as active as you can get-skateboarding, bmx, climbing, working out, etc. Its really cool to have them for role models for my kids, cuz, even though they make mistakes (as we all do) you can tell they really care. 

We went to my dad and moms to celebrate mothers day and I decided to shoot Nick doing flips and stuff. Him and Steve are both strong, talented, and coordinated kids and its cool to see them grow up. Anyway, here are the shots of Nick doing his "thing". Enjoy!

Thanks, Nick, for being a good sport!

Cheers.

I've been trying to work on my studio product photos lately. Having lights and flashes really helps you get most of the shot in-camera, without the need for much photoshop stuff. Anyway, being a climber I have some cool gear and its pretty fun to shoot. 

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This is the setup in the lower bedroom. The locker is hanging from fishing line and the whole setup, except for the flash on the right, is all home-made. Pretty fun! It's good to know how to do these things in case there is ever a product shooter needed in the area. 'Till next time, 

Cheers

Isaac has joined a local baseball team and they will be having his first game this Friday. I thought I should get some shots of him before he gets his outfit scroungy. He's got a great arm and he's also accurate. I'm sure his team is glad he's there.

His "get real, ump" face

Hope he catches better than that for real

"Pop-fly"

I will have a post about his first game over the weekend, and maybe some in-between. Have fun and get outside! Cheers!

On one of our trips to the Red River Gorge, Kentucky, we bought a six pack of the infamous Ale8 soda. We have one left. It isn't very tasty, kinda like a more lemony 7up, but it is very rare to have one. I thought I'd set up my studio and shoot some product shots today, so here they are. Enjoy!

As many of you know, we have a rather large climbing wall in our garage. It has been the subject of many parties, some talk on the town, and has even appeared in Climbing magazine and Urban Climber. We are now faced with our fate of down-sizing our home. The home we are looking at (and have signed papers on) has a garage that would hold most of what you see here, but not all. It really depends on how much of it we would need for other stuff. (Leave it all outside in the rain is what I say)

I have the huge task ahead of me of taking this behemoth down and moving it in pieces to the other place, pending we get it. It is, after all, eleven sheets of 3/4" plywood, with over 200 holds, not to mention the 2x6 lumber to hold it all together.

I wanted to take a few pics this morning of the wall with my new flash kit and so I had to "pose" to get a sense of size for all of you that haven't seen it before.

Lately I haven't had the desire to "pull plastic" much and have really been wanting to get outside and climb alot more. I'm not sure, but it seems I'm "burnt out" on climbing in my garage. 

Anyway, we might be moving soon, but there are still a lot of formalities we need to filter out with this house and the other one. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, Cheers.

My family is now tired of me blinding them with my new flash, but it's fun. Here is Owen riding his scooter on our sidewalk.

Cheers!

I recently acquired a "strobist kit". It consists of a stand, umbrella, flash, and remote triggers. This has proven to be crazy fun, and a lot less $$$ than I expected- around $150 complete! Isaac and Owen were out bouncing on the trampoline so I set up next to them and started shooting. This is what I came up with.

I should be able to use this when we go out climbing and riding to capture my friends and family in action. It opens up new opportunities for me as a photog to branch out into commercial shooting, too. Till next time,

CHEERS!

The other day I got to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time-shoot some climbers at Pictured Rocks State Park, by Monticello. Alan Grau, Glenn Penny, and Matt (can't remember his last name, so we'll call him Tall) met me up there and we had a great time. Hanging in a harness for a half hour at a time while getting "the shot" is harder than I imagined. 

The shots didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped, but we still had a good time. It was a great learning experience for me. I now know how to get the better shots after looking over the almost 200 that I took. I really only got about 10 good ones, and only 3 or 4 of those are worthy of showing. 

The plan is to go back. I have to get some better ones and now that I have my flash kit for off camera lighting, I think it will be so much better. 

Anyway, here are the three that I might use for an article. Feel free to criticize, but be somewhat kind.

Glenn Penny

Glenn, and Matt

Alan Grau

Matt (Tall)

Even if the shots didn't turn out like I'd hoped, I still had a great time and got to climb with some cool people. As always- "next time it will be better"! Till then, Cheers!

Kari, Isaac, Owen, and I all went out to the dam between the res and Lake Mcbride tonight. It was a perfect night-no wind, great temps, and the water was crystal clear.

If you haven't been to the spillway before, it's a great place to take kiddos cuz they can throw rocks, see fish and birds, climb on some easy rock walls, see the waterfalls, and various other trouble.

Tonight we were even able to see a beaver meandering along the shore!

The sunsets from here are amazing, too. 

Great night with a great family!

Cheers!

     Stan Laverman, a friend of ours, had a poker night at his house the other day. This is the second one that I was invited to and I had an amazing time. Kudos to Stan-he really goes all out and makes sure we all have a great night. Greg Bell and I split the pot last time we all got together; this time...not so much. Greg was out first and had to do dishes, and I was out fifth and got to take pictures. Oh well, ten bucks isn't bad to lose when you still get to hang out with great guys.

The night was full of laughter and...

trying to read peoples body language. 

Ren Stinson graciously agreed to be the dealer during the last few rounds.

Some did better than others, but it really didn't matter-we all had a fun time.

Don't let Ren's flask fool you, it was full of wine.

The big winner that night was Luke Prottsman at about 11:30. Thanks again, Stanley! The night was a blast-even for us that lost big, and it was sure good to see everyone again.

Cheers

The Sugar Bottom mountain bike trail is an amazing place to ride. I was able to go there with a friend, Josh, last Thursday. It was the first time in about 5 years that I had ridden it. I totally forgot how great and scenic it was. For me, it is too easy to forget where I am and just try to ride as fast and hard as I can. I miss so much when I get into that mode, and just need to chill, relax, and stop to take it all in, because it really is a great place.

Today after work I was able to get out there and just walk the "201" trail that takes you through this forest where time almost stands still. The pines are fresh with the scent of spring and the floor is covered with needles. Beautiful.

Next time I ride there I won't feel so bad about not stopping to check it out, I can just ride it. (Although, it will be hard!) 

Cheers

On my way home from Iowa City today I was able to capture these images. Hope you like them.

Hope you had a good Easter weekend!

Cheers!

I am in the fortunate position of being surrounded by amazingly kind, generous people. Luke Prottsman is at the top of this list. We met about a year and a half ago, and I'm continually impressed with his giving and caring personality. Anyone who knows him can vouch that my words are true. 

He asked me to try to get some corporate portraits for his work. These are what I came up with. 

Till next time, Cheers!

I got to shoot pics of the most adorable (second to mine) kids the other day. Josh and Dana Cramer needed some shots of their kids, Zeke, Max, and Miriam. They are all great, well behaved, and it was a blast. The light was good and it just seemed like all the stars were aligned. Check them out!

Miriam

Max

Zeke

More adorableness!

SOOO cute, and handsome! Thanks, Josh and Dana, for letting me have your kids for a little while the other day. It was a terrific learning experience.

Cheers.

The last time we visited my Dad and Moms home I got to peer into my dads past a little. He isn't the type of person to get all blubbery (maybe that's where I get it), but sometimes you can tell when something really has "touched" him on a different level. He brought out an old logbook, and in it was the date journal of my grandfather, Harry, when he was aboard ship in the U.S. Navy. Dad just realized that he had it and had never looked at it before this week. It was very moving to open such an old document.

 It was very cool to see because I never really knew my grandpa much. I have a few memories of him and grandma living at Park Madison apartments, in Burlington, and needing to go see them more often than I wanted to as a kid. Talking to dad over this book was a way for me to see into the past a little. 

He would point at certain dates and tell a story about "Harry" that was relevant to the time. Then he would pause and I could tell that it was starting to choke him up. We looked at the dates and the places and we marveled at where he had been. N.G. is New Guinea. S.F. is San Fransisco. He went to Canada, and several other continents, basically all around the world. 

His ship was hit by a kamakaze airplane. He survived, and went on other ships until his tour was complete. As you can see in this lower photo, in handwriting by my grandfather Harry, he was discharged. He served from December 20, 1940 to August 27, 1945. "Home after-------4 years 9months and 12 days"

Its interesting to note that the man's hands you see in the photos are his son's, my dad, who followed his dads lead and enlisted in the U.S. Navy.

Cheers

I took the boys out for a scooter ride for a couple of miles so I could check out this barn I've been "eyeing" for a while. I really wanted to catch it with the sun in the afternoon or evening sky. The weather cooperated and I was able to shoot it from several angles, this one being the best. Hope you like it.

I've got great post coming about my grandfather and my dad, so stay tuned!

Cheers!

My sister, Molly, is back from Estes Park to visit while Amos, her husband, is in Austin at SXSW. She came up for a while with Dad and Mom today and I was able to talk them into getting their pic taken. It is weird shooting relatives, because you know them so well. 

I'm very fortunate to have a very loving and understanding family. 

Cheers!

I built a setup to really drown people with light so I could do more with white balance and ISO. This is the first time I have taken pics with the new lighting. It is comprised of six, 30 watt halogen bulbs, and two stands made with PVC tube. It seemed to work pretty well, but I still need to get a "seamless"-a backdrop that is pure white. With this shot, I was going for an "antique" look.

Owen is such a cute kid. His imagination is amazing, and he catches us off our guard a lot. He has helped me remain young at heart. I told him not to smile-just hold still. That is pretty hard for a 5 year old. 

By the way, I would love feedback on my portrait endeavors. I'm really interested in getting better, so please let me know what I could do better.

Cheers

I was able to get some more portraits today. This time it was my good friend, Josh Cramer. He is a successful businessman in Iowa City and Coralville, Iowa. He is CEO of Cramer IT, as well as Cramer Development. 

Josh is one of those people who will stick with you no matter what. He has been with me for a number of years as a person I can trust. He has had a big role in my life and I appreciate his friendship immensely. He's the kind of person who thinks for a while before he speaks, which is rare. He is calm, collected and rarely do you see him angry. I was also able to catch his funny side, too. 

Yes!

Thanks, Josh. It was fun.

     I have recently read a book-"Visual Poetry", by Chris Orwig. He has so much to say about photography and none of it is f-stops, gear, how to do this-or-that, etc. He talks about the philosophy behind what you are shooting. This approach is just what I needed because I feel that I get so wrapped up in gear, and acquiring stuff that I lose focus on what I'm doing and what the "end goal" is.

     The next few weeks I will be posting shots of stuff that I have learned about recently. Portraits are one thing that is, for me, telling. For me, to be able to get a "real" portrait, it has to feel like I have made some kind of connection with the person I'm shooting. I want you, the viewer, to see into the person and feel what they are feeling. I want their eyes to say something to you and leave you knowing something you might not have before.

    My first sucker was my cousin, Tony. At first glance he looks pretty rough. He's covered in tattoos, has a bald head and beard, and wears mostly black. Tony is one of the most caring and "real" people I know. He understands and listens. I wanted to catch that in a photo.

     I will be doing more shots of people this week and posting some of them here. Till then,

Cheers!

Sooooo fun!

Also I have been uploading "textures and nature shots" to several stock photography sites. A stock photo site is a site that:

1. you upload images (good ones) of stuff they want.

2. they, in turn, sell them to clients who use them for web production, design, etc. Such as: 

3. they give you between $.25 to $5.00 per download, depending on the size of the file that the customer wants. Pretty cool, that's for sure.

You have to pass a "test" of sorts-they make you upload ten of your best images and then if seven of them pass, you're in! (seven of mine passed, first try, and they weren't even my faves-oh well!)

I will be taking some pics of a lot of stuff soon, but I'm feeling a bit queasy. Might be a while. 

Till then!!

CHEERS!

Isaac with Pat Ament

Me with the ever towering Jim Halloway. BTW, I am 5'6" tall, evident here.

     For those that don't know, bouldering is climbing that is nearer to the ground and ropes are not needed. About 50 years ago a man named John Gill decided to hang up his trad climbing gear and just work on acrobatic, short routes. He became known as the grandfather of modern bouldering. By the mid to late 1950's he was doing problems that today would be rated around V9 and V10. (The "V" scale, named after John "The Verm" Sherman, who was also at this slide show, is a way of grading difficulty on a boulder problem-V0, easy-V10+, very hard. Some super humans today are calling out grades like V15 and V16!)
After him came gentlemen like Pat Ament, who, among others, were responsible for putting up large amounts of problems in the Eldorado Canyon area, as well as all over Colorado. Jim Halloway came later in the 1970's and put up more, harder problems all over Colorado, as well-some of which are STILL unrepeated. Amazing!

     Anyway, it was cool to be able to chat with these gentlemen, and I thought you might like a bouldering history lesson. 

Can't wait to get out and pull on some REAL ROCK!!

It will happen soon, my friends!

Cheers

Went to the beach at MacBride today, not to swim. I bought a pair of snowshoes and took the family sledding while I took pics. Snowshoeing is a BLAST!! I will do more! 

Kari's jump!

The return on her investment!!

Isaac's first run. 

Have fun and make sure you get outside, yourself!!

CHEERS!

I've been working on portraits lately because it is something that doesn't really come easy to me. Sounds silly, but I want to become a well rounded photographer. In order for me to do that, I have to practice what I find hard. Here is Isaac, my  son, and my very favorite 10 year old in the whole world.

Cheers!

It has been a while since I was able to go for a bike ride, so I decided to go after we got back. (see earlier post) It was breezy, to say the least. I knew that once I got into the woods from town I wouldn't be in so much wind, so I went about 18 mph average to get there. My ever expanding beard was frozen stiff from all the panting. When I reached the trailhead, I made the discovery that there was still snow on the trail, DUH!. Huge DUH! I pushed through about 2-4 inches of snowmobile packed ice and slush for about a half mile, and then decided to turn around. If you've ever tried riding through sand and turning, you'd realize that it is a lot harder than it looks. This was very similar. I was wiped. I got a drink, took some pics and headed back. Altogether about 4 miles, but I still got a great workout in.

Here I'm going about 10 mph and shooting the pic.

Till next time,

Cheers 

Took Kari and the rascals out on the North Shore trail today. The sunlight was so nice to be in. It was very squinty out. Snowball fights and walks on the ice. The sky was such an amazing blue that I couldn't help but shoot the tops of trees to catch it.

Be sure to get your vitamin D!

Cheers!

Fog truly does some amazing things around here. So many of us are sick of the snow and cold, myself included, but just when I think I've seen enough we get doused with more beauty. Here are some shots from this morning from the "swamp loop" around the rec plex in Solon. The scene was so surreal and quiet. The peace that I get when I'm out alone with nature always makes me feel small. I felt grateful to be alive.

Hope you get a chance to get out and enjoy it, too!

Cheers!

I know, I know. TWO posts in ONE day? Well, I wasn't going to, but the sunset was amazing and I got some new neutral density filters to use, so I had to. Anyway, here they are...

Footprints in the snow

Weeds

This looks like it should be taken at night, but with all of the filters in usage, it is actually the same sunset as above. Pretty cool effect, but I still have to "fine tune" it. Good looking sunset!

Cheers

Went for a walk on the Sugar Bottom road today. It was amazing to be outside. I had to park at the bottom and walk for a while. I didn't mind. The feeling of sunlight is never so welcome as when you haven't had it in so long. 

Nice, blue skies were sooo welcome!!!

Bullet holes

Bluebird home

Shagbark Hickory tree

Great to be out in the forest again!

Cheers.

Got outside with Kari and Owen today. It is always nice to have company with me to my usual "haunts". 

Owen hanging on the "Moby Dick" stump

The sun was barely peeking out. I can't wait for some springtime weather.

The only real color I could find to shoot

Cheers!

I made it back out to the lake today to try to catch the sunset. This time I got very brave and just walked across the lake on the ice. Got some fun shots on my way, too.

See you on the flipside!

Cheers!

Great night to be outside, the sky was amazing.

Cheers!

Great job, Isaac!

Cheers!

This was a cool looking root on the rocky shore.

Cheers!

Isaac is so cool!

I think you know where the other halves went!

Owen fishing off the dock at sunset. 

Isaac having fun from morning till night.

What a great place to relax.

Cheers!

Cheers!

Cheers!

Other-worldly!

Cheers!

Have a nice weekend! Cheers!

My favorite...

reminds me of an African landscape

Had fun just getting out. Getting some new filters and gear soon, so hopefully I'll be able to post something a little more interesting/exciting.

Cheers! 

Holes in the roof to let air/smoke out. Watch the progression of fire coming out and over the building. It only took about ten minutes and the whole building was going.

This was the next day. Since then they have cleared it and turned it into something cool. It was a little sad, but I'm glad that the kids will have a new place to play and have fun. 

Just some random shots for nostalgia.

I grew up about 15 minutes from here, so I was there a lot with my family, and friends. A lot of my friends, family and I have biked it several times together and have had so much fun swimming at the beach. If you ever get the chance and have a weekend to spend somewhere, go to Geode. It really is a wonderful place. Scenic views, a great 7.8 mile hiking/mountain biking trail around the lake, and very nice camping. About and hour south of Iowa City.

Worth the trip.

CHEERS

     Tonight was Owens first swim lesson! He was scared to go at first, but then got really excited. He had a great time and can't wait to go back.

Cheers!

I decided to dig up some pics from the trip to Arches that I took with Amos and Brent. This was such an amazing place. We did this route on Owl rock that was perfect! I think it was about 120 feet total.

Amos was the shooter on these pics. The one with the red shirt and white helmet is me, and Brent led it to the place where you see him (black shirt, orange helmet).

Enjoy.

Thanks, hopefully we'll be getting some nice weather soon!

I decided to work on an image from our trip to the Utah desert. Just fo' fun! Hope you like it. I'm still trying to "hone" my skills in black and white. 

Cheers!

See you next year!

Cheers

Cheers and Happy New Year!

     Whatever you believe, whatever you have hope in, whatever brings you and yours happiness-may it come true. Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year!

Peace

Thanks again for coming. Have a GREAT Christmas/holiday season!

Peace

We are having fun with Amos, Molly, and Brent here. I'll be posting more soon!

CHEERIO!

Thanks for checking it out!

Looks like they're having a blast!

CHEERS!

In other news, we were invited to a Christmas party on Saturday, the 12th. To the left you see a link to Scott Duncan. It was at his house. They didn't have anyone taking pics for them, so they asked if I could do it! I was so stoked to be able to shoot for people who are known around the world for great pics. After I got home I realized that my camera was on "manual focus" the whole night. His blog, at left, will post my pics on Tuesday, the 15th. They aren't very good, and I won't be surprised if they find someone else next time. We all had a great time.

The quality of the photo is directly

proportional to the amount of

Southern Comfort

in the

Egg 

nog!

Thanks a lot, Duncans!

I got up at 4:30 to get set up for some shots today. While it was great to be in the crisp, cold outdoors, it wasn't the best conditions for shooting. I was able to get this one picture with about an hour of waiting. The clouds rolled in and made the sky pretty bland about a minute after this was taken.

At the beach house

Cheers!

Larry, 15 years old

Lovey, 5 years old

Maxwell, 8 months old

Cheers!

As you can clearly see, it became a study in form. I totally dig being able to go out and shoot amazing stuff like this. I just hope my shots do the landscapes and scenery some form of justice.

Brent loving the camera

Isaac pulling down

Me posing

Some of the stuff we were going for

Cheers!

What a hottie!

That one is too small, Isaac!

Isaac trying to cut down the tree

Owen running from the camera.

Cheers!

The "Welcome to Utah" sign.

Cheers.

Enjoy!

Me, Amos, and Brent. 

Me walking the "sidewalk", which is VERY decieving because sidewalks are flat. This was more like the shape of a yoga ball, and 300 feet down on both sides.

Made it to the "diving board". From here the next move is to "belly flop" onto the top of it or go under it. I chose to go on top.

This was the hardest move to pull. Behind me is...well...a very large drop.

This was also a sort of "belly flop" move. Here I am trying to find the best way to do it. If I remember right, the move is to get your foot up and kinda stand on your ear, then put all your weight on it and stand up, which sounds somewhat easy but, believe me, I was gripped.

Here I am on top! I decided not to stand up, because my balance was a bit skewed and to fall from here would've hurt pretty bad. As I was on top, I had a few thoughts: 

1. I've never been so close to death

2. I've never felt so alive

You learn a lot about yourself doing things like this. I look forward to doing more climbs that totally challenge me, not only physically but mentally as well. Thanks a billion to Amos and Brent for taking a newbie multi-pitcher to somewhere so special. I can't wait to climb on Castleton with you guys next year.

Gassin up somewhere on the way from Estes Park to Moab.

Some of the views along the way!

This was our climb. The Fisher Towers encompass a great deal of the area we were in, but our route was this jagged pinnacle on the right. The route is called Ancient Art, and from bottom to top it is 325 feet. This was by far the most scary thing I've ever done.

The post-climb brew at Zax in Moab

This was the climb of the next day, called Castleton. We were going there to do the North Chimney route, but got shut down because the rock was in the shade and was waaaaaaaay cold. The approach to it was amazing. 

Since we got shut down on Castleton, we decided to go into Arches Natl. Park and climb a small pinnacle called Owl Rock. This place is amazing!

This was Amos belaying Brent on Owl Rock. Very fun route. Amazing lead climbing, Brent!

This is me on the same route.

So we went back to Colorado. We're still here as of 11-25 and still climbing almost every day. We'll be doing some more great stuff, but as for me-I'm pretty tired. I'll post some more pics and stories as the week goes on.

 HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Pretty cool, Isaac!

Cheers.

Kim and Victor, the owners

This was the usual stuff on the walls

She had the place decorated very cool, her own style. She would have different local artists put paintings, photos, or sculpture pieces up to change the feel of the room a bit. There were no two lamps alike in the place which made it have a different feel wherever you sat.

The menu had organically grown, local, in season foods that were amazing! There was a regular menu with burgers and foods of that nature, but then the special menu, pictured, was always delicious.

Who can forget the Chocolate Farmhouse Cake? 

We will miss having some cool people to talk to and a great place to eat here in Solon, but maybe someone will take it over and make it just as cool, who knows?

Cheers!

Isaac's first attempt.

Little "O" doing his thing!

Kari saying hi to my sister who couldn't be there. This is great because she thought the camera was done exposing and she ducked to get out of the shot, but it was still going for 3 or 4 seconds longer, and she didn't realize I had the lens so wide. 

Yup, me

Not bad, eh?

My bro having fun

Another thing I've been trying to perfect is to zoom while the sensor is exposing. This was the fire.

Good times!

CHEERS!!

This was a wine that isn't here in the states yet, but we all got a taste!

Cheers

If you are in the area, stop in and check it out. A lot of thought went into this building.

The sky was brilliant this morning!

Enjoyed this great weather today! I'm hoping to get out and shoot some landscapes within the next few days. I'll keep ya posted.

Cheers

AAAAARRRRRR!

So after we went around our block, we went to a party at our friends, the Duncans. It was huge fun. They, as usual, went all out. Great lighting, cobwebs everywhere, blacklights, dancing, scary haunted treehouse, huge bonfire (I helped "The Dude" with getting it going), very cool times! Here are some pics of the evening.

This is the hostess, Diana, temporarily of the B-52's

This is Jeff Davis, or Jeff Lebowski "The Dude" dancing the wave

yes!

Isaac gnarling something with cool back light

The lighting was awesome!

This was amazingly entertaining for the kids. It was a smoke bubble machine! When they popped, it was smoke.

Some random pics of the party, inside and outside.

civil engineers make the best James Bonds

Scott Duncan, the other host. He dressed as Bigfoot and prowled around the campfire in the dark to scare everyone.

Even more scary standing next to "The Dude"

A true bigfoot shot-blurry. 

Fireside Dude

The Italian mafia showed up and did away with the Spartan.

Someone brought some interesting food; cat litter-complete with hangover turds, and brains!

It was a cool night with a lot of cool people. Hope everyone else had as much fun as we did!

Peace

Raise a nice Chianti and enjoy!!

This is Owen running after the ball. He just got done playing last week and we still aren't sure if he really liked it or not, but he acted like he did while he was playing.

Halftime!

Isaac loves picking up Max while he's sleeping and making him do things he doesn't normally do. Here he is saying "Dad, I have a question".

This was on our last trip to Colorado. This is the Bear Lake area, which holds some great bouldering over my right shoulder. That area is called Chaos Canyon. Can't wait to go there and climb in November.

Anyway, that's pretty much it. Hope you all are enjoying the more frequent posts.

Peace 

My plan is to do a finger strength workout M, W, F, and a boulder workout in my gym on T, TH. Hopefully my strength as well as my endurance will improve immensely! BTW, I got this from my in-laws about a year ago and I'm just now deciding to put it to full use. Welcome to my world.

I'm also very stoked to hear that my nephews, Nik and Steve are getting into bouldering! They have convinced their dad and mom to build them a wall in their garage!! WOOP! Let me know when that goes down cuz I wanna be there!

Anyways, that's it. Nothing major-just a heads-up!

PEACE

This is what it looked like previously, for about a year.

The wall starting to come apart.

This is what it looked like as I was building it. Very sturdy.

My window cleaning ladder snapped into a scaffold and became very handy.

I failed to get pics of how to cut the wood, but I just used a circular saw. This is the start of the wave!

I tried VERY hard to make two peices of 3/4 plywood work, but I just couldn't. It kept snapping and popping off the braces so I decided to scratch that idea and just go with one solid piece.

This was the next day. I told myself that I could do it in a Saturday, which might have happened if the first go at the plywood would have worked. The end of the next day I still wasn't finished.

The finished product! Also notice that I changed the roof into a 25 degree wall. I figured I'd use it more.

Cheers!

The next day we took the family to a place called the Ironclads to climb. In 2007 we went there with Tyler and Shana, cousin and sister-IN-LAW. We hit some great climbs and had a great day. I climbed my first 5.11d on top-rope! That was probably graded a bit soft, but I'll take it.

Another day we went to a place right in Estes Park that was called the Thumb. Amos led the route and we all top-roped it. I made it to the top and stayed there while Isaac came up next. I could see a storm moving in from a few miles away, and by the time Isaac got to the top it was lightning all around. I decided to bail before I got smoked, so as soon as Isaac made it down, I had Amos belay me to the base. It was raining pretty hard by then and Isaac and I found a crevasse in the rock to hide in until it stopped. Pretty scary, actually. I didn't have my climbing shoes on at the top because it is a  flat pinnacle and you can just walk around up there. My feet got all scraped and banged up coming down, but it was all worth it.

Kari decided to take a few pictures to contrast her toes with the lichen on the rock.

Isaac, Owen, and I went down to Lake Estes (two blocks away!!) to chill and throw rocks.

Later in the week Brent, Amos, and I went to a place in RMNP called Fern Valley. It was about a 1.3 mile trek next to an idyllic stream with boulders strewn about the trail. We hiked in, bouldered for about an hour and hiked back out. I should preface this paragraph by saying that I hate flip-flops-the shoes. I can't walk right and they give me foot cramps. I have a hard time understanding how people can walk in them without looking like they've had hip replacement. That being said, we went to Estes Park Mountain Shop the day before and I found some on clearance cuz I really think the ease of wearing them overcomes all of my biases. I couldn't believe it, but I wore them that whole next day including the trek in and out. My feet have never been so happy. I was so skeptical and just let me say publicly that I'm sorry for making fun of all you flippers. (thats what I used to call you) I'm a changed man and I've hardly had them off since we left Estes. (wearing them now, FYI) 

The last climbing day we had available Amos, Brent, and I met up with Eric Morland and Travis Eiselstein (some old climbing friends) and we all  went down by Golden to a place called Clear Creek Canyon. It was great as well. We scrambled up to the climbs and jumped on some 5.10s and 5.11s. That place is great and I can't wait to go back. This is Brent about half-way up at Clear Creek.

Owen and Isaac have been talking about the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha for a long time so on our last day we decided to go. The weather was good and all the animals were up and about. We went to the IMAX theater and saw an underwater show narrated by Jim Carrey. It was the first IMAX I'd seen and my eyes weren't used to the 3D glasses, but it all worked out.

My last post consisted of plans to build a new home and all that. Those plans may be on hold. We are in love with the mountain lifestyle and to say that we are going to build here would solidify us here. We aren't sure what the future looks like, but living out there would certainly make us happy. We'll keep you posted with any news, but as I keep getting more work out there it seems easier to consider living there and here both.

Wild, I know.  

To be brief with the last few months, I could say that I've recently been playing guitar with a couple o' gents. We are looking to write some of our own material and play at open mike nights locally. Its nice to play with people who are talented.

I've also been working out a lot lately and have lost about 10 lbs! Still working on that. Running blows unless you're really motivated with something like a goal, or good music. I have resolved to work out at least 30 minutes daily by either running, lifting, biking, or climbing in the garage.

Most of my time has been taken with my boys and their baseball and tee-ball. Its over now, but it was about 2-3 nights a week. They both loved it and will probably do it next year too.

The most exciting thing that has been going on is that Kari and I are looking to build a home in the Solon area within the next 2-3 years. I have talked to an architect and he's excited to build the home that I have drawn up. It is very minimalist/modern and has a lot of windows, and its about 2000 sq.ft. It is one level, but it slopes at about 10 degrees downhill. Imagine a "V" shape with the opening at the bottom of the hill. This is where most of the windows will be, in the shape of a half-circle coming into the opening of the "V". The interior will be at least three levels, maybe four, with an open floor plan. Each level will be separated by a few steps, down to the next, with a large fireplace in the center of the home. A lot of the details are still up in the air, but so far what we want is a polished concrete floor, white walls, ten-foot ceilings, and a large fireplace. Our architect said that he could build this home for less than what our house now is worth, so we have to find some land soon. We are broke for about the next 2 years, but if a piece came up before then (and it was perfect) we might be able to swing it. We are looking for about 2-5 acres with a good view. 

One of the reasons for this post was to get some ideas from all of you creative people out there. I'd love to see pics and sites for home design, ideas from your perspective, and any other input you may have. I've recently taken an interest in interior design, so I'd love to see some or your favorite stuff. We have a long time to think about what we will actually implement into our home, but the basics are pretty much already in place. 

Thanks for reading,

Cheers 

The clan

One of the main reasons we went was to see if it will work to have a branch of my business out there, and it looks like it will! Woop! I am so stoked to have work in a place that I love. We met with some people who are interested in our work, so we're going back out in June! Anyway, on to the important stuff...

The first day we went bouldering at a place called Big Elk Meadows, specifically the "Dragons Den" area. We worked on several boulders in the area. Amos finally ticked a V4/5 problem that he'd been working for awhile called the "Dragon Fire Arete". I worked it for several goes, but couldn't quite finish.

Amos on his send of "Dragon Fire Arete" V4/5

Isaac on a V1 called "Whiner"

The next day we went out to a new slabby area to us called "Ravens Roost" for some roped climbing. I'm finding that slab climbing isn't my forte, though it is still fun and challenging. Kari and Isaac both love it. For those who don't know-slab climbing is climbing past vert. Imagine climbing on a very steep roof of a house. It sounds like it would be easier to climb this type than the other way, but the things you are trusting your hands and feet on are about the size of a pencil eraser, and are very sharp. It tends to make you think hard about your hand and foot placement. Still very fun.

Another day we went to the Jurassic Park area above Lily Lake for some more roped climbs. We did a few there that were also slab routes. 

Kari on a route that wasn't in the book, but probably a 5:8-9

The next day, we kinda took it easy for the morning and then Amos and I decided to go to Big Elk Meadows looking for new rock. We found some boulders up the hill and across the street from where we had been before. We quickly realized that we didn't bring food or water and, after working some projects for awhile, decided to head back. 

We had planned on seeing a new bouldering flick called "Pure" in Boulder on Friday, but we had our dates mixed up. We spent the day there at some shops and just kinda had a rest day.

The next day Brent, a friend of ours, came to climb with all of us and we decided to go back to Big Elk Meadows to a place called the Sanctuary. This was the high point of the trip for me because there were so many problems concentrated in one area and they were all good quality. We worked on several of them and had some success. The pictures that follow are all at the Sanctuary.

Warming up

This was a problem that took us a while to figure out. The sequence was hard to get and by the time we got it, we were too tired to go further on it.

This problem was a V5 in the book that Amos and I both sent. He said it was graded soft, but he's full of it. He's probably right, the next one we tried was a V4 and none of us got it, but whatever. The book says V5. I'm satisfied with that.

Bouldering is not Kari's forte!

Owen just hanging out

The best tasting brews in the whole valley!

Owen crack climbing

Sussing a problem. Brent, me, and Amos.

Brent sending a V4 on his THIRD try!!! Nice work, man!

Working it.

Way happy

Isaac being himself

The trip was a total blast and we can't wait to go back. There is so much to do and see. Till next time!!!!

CHEERS

After talking to some locals, I guess there are three known problems on that wall that "top out". I've seen the far left problem done and heard that it was a V6! I'm pretty sure that is out of my range, but with a few spotters and a lot of pads it should be a good time trying. The plan is to try it on Saturday mornings when the weather breaks. Any takers? Might try it the first few on top rope before I decide to call it a boulder problem. It is, after all, about 25 feet to the top with one sketchy move at the top. Yes my hands are sweaty!!!

I'll keep you all posted as to my progress.

By the way, I'm to the point now that I don't need to go to my garage to think of problems out there, I can just "envision" the wall and where all the holds/chips are and think of a problem on my couch.

So pathetic. I gotta get out!! 

We decided to go to Kepler S.P. to see what the dam wall looked like. I had driven back there on my way home thursday and saw that the hill to it had been closed all winter and was snowed/iced over. We thought it would be worth it if the wall was dry to walk a little ways. It was.

Heres Kari on our way down to the wall. It was icy and snowy, but not too bad. We knew the walk down was gonna be a lot easier than the walk back up. It looked like the road was well traveled.

When we got there we were sure that the water was gonna be pretty high from all of the snow melt, (50 plus degrees!) but it was actually low still. The "diving board" was really the only place where the water was running off of the wall itself, but there was water standing pretty much everywhere. This was not enough to stop us, as we decided to do some traversing along the dry section of the wall.

Here's Kari posing for a shot of the dam wall. As you can see, the diving board, above her, is really the only wet part of the wall.

It felt so great for both of us to be back outside in nature and enjoying it. The air was crisp and the sky was brilliant blue. It was very centering. I felt very alive, and when I started working inside the "cave" I actually sent the problem the first try-a first for me and I couldn't have felt higher. It always makes me feel like all is right when I send on the first try. It shows me that practice, even in a garage, really pays off.

This is one of the higher moves on the "cave problem" that made my day. I actually sent it the first two times I tried it, and then fell the next two, then sent it one more time! I figured that I should quit then.

We then decided to walk upstream to check on some stuff that I've been scouting for a while and it looks KILLER. Looking forward to trying some new stuff on here.

Anyway, we were getting pretty beat, and hungry. We left, showered, and then went to a new place in Iowa City that a friend of ours from Burlington, Kevin Bangert, had a hand in building. He owns/operates "Mr. Motos", in Burlington. If you ever get a chance, go there. You won't regret it.

The place in Iowa City is called "Shorts Burger and Shine". It is made in an old shoe shine shop and still has some of the old nostalgic pieces from the original shop on display. We picked up my cousin Tony, and his wife, Alicia and headed downtown. It was DELICIOUS! We enjoyed some great burgers (that's all they have) and some great brews. This is Tony and Alicia. I'm still not sure how to spell her name, but its alright cuz she's not looking anyway.

What a great day!

CHEERS!

I only mention this because I'm 36 now and for about a year I've had this thought process going on that I hate. For some reason I have it in my head that I've got about 3-4 good years left of climbing and enjoying the outdoors, which I know deep down is absurd. This bothers me the most when I see in magazines and movies how youth is celebrated and age isn't in the climbing world. I see people like Daniel Woods who is maybe 18 sending V15 in RMNP, or Chris Sharma who is now 26-ish sending 5.15b in Nevada-both of which are amazing. 

I think the thing that bothers me the most about all of it is that I didn't get into it when I was young. I kinda blew my youth away, and didn't really do much until I was older. This very thought brings me to an interesting "crux"- I feel better than I've ever felt. I feel like I'm about 25. I've never felt so strong. I know this kinda sounds proud, but that isn't my intent. I'm just trying to get over the age thing. 

My plan is to beat the "norm". I want to be even fitter/stronger when I turn 40 than I am now. I'm looking forward to climbing well into my 40s and getting better as I get older. I look forward to taking a lot of you with me.

I may not ever be as good as Chris Sharma or Daniel Woods, but I'm better than I was a year ago.

Anyway, while all the kids killed each other with swords and sugar highs, the guys plotted and schemed about Horseshoe Canyon Ranch as we looked at previous trip pictures, drooling for what lies ahead in March! Thanks for a great evening all!   

Lately I've noticed that my views have shifted far from where they once were. I grew up in the country close to Burlington, Iowa, about 20 minutes away. I went to school at Danville- 1st through 12th grade. (barely 12th, let's say...12.5) I went to Harmony Bible church until I was about 33. Growing up in that scenario had made me into someone I didn't realize I was. What I mean by that is that I was someone who was pretty conservative, not by choice, but because of my location. I didn't really know much better, nor did I have much influence any other way. I didn't really know about good music, didn't know that God was cool with booze, and I knew zip about culture in general. I was living in a "conservative christian bubble". All of my friends, co-workers, and almost everyone I knew were christians, which really made it very hard to see life as it really is.

My wife and kids have recently (about 1.5 years ago) moved to Solon, Iowa, which is located about 10 miles north of Iowa City. I have worked in Iowa City on a regular basis for about 4.5 years now and have been exposed to just about everything one can be exposed to, culture, music, booze, etc.

When I first saw the culture and lifestyle of the area I was in sort of a shock. I hadn't seen anything like it, ever. (BTW I wasn't really into movies, either-which could have broken me in a little). 

Now that I see life how it happens, I can totally see that I was wrong to judge. So wrong. I have deep regret that I used to look down on people for reasons that I won't mention. My biggest problem now is that I look down on people who are like I used to be. I decided to use all of this to preface what I'm about to say.

I heard today on NPR that President Obama has changed some of the rulings on abortion and stem-cell research.

To be very honest, I don't know for certain where I stand on these issues. I don't feel that I'm educated enough to make a stand one way or another. I will say that I feel sorry for people who have had to make those decisions. I can't imagine being in those shoes, which brings me to my point-I would love to live in a society where people would try to see things from a different perspective-a perspective other than their own. What I mean is that I understand both sides of the equation now; living in both types of lifestyles-conservative and liberal.

Where I'm from, abortion is wrong in every case. Just wrong. The problem with that is that the people who say that are the ones who live in the "bubble" and don't really know anyone who ever has had to make that decision. If you talk to someone who has, it is evident that it has changed their life, for the better or worse. It is life-changing, and to say that it is wrong only throws more guilt on those who are struggling with it. I want to be the kind of person who can see things through the eyes of the person who is having the issue and not try to be the "fixer" of the problem, but the friend to the person dealing with it. To me, it doesn't matter whether or not something is right or wrong, what matters now is how I respect and care for the person who is in the middle of it.

Whether or not you agree with our new president, I think it's important to see that every issue has two or more sides to it and we can't just take one and run with it.

Anyway...that's all pretty heavy and I'm sorry for throwing down, but I felt it all needed to be said. If you would like to comment I'd appreciate it if it was on the constructive side!  
 

First, let me say that my wife, Kari, and I are celebrating 15 years tomorrow! (she really needs a pat on the back for that). She is by far the best thing that's ever happened in my life! We have so much fun together and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. 

Second, let me say that I'm so excited that our Tuesday night bouldering in our garage has turned out to be such a huge success! We have tons of fun and look forward to it every week. It is truly the high point of my week. We are thinking of changing it to Saturday nights because the crowd in the kitchen and garage is becoming huge, not to mention that on weekends we wouldn't need to rush to get the kiddos off to bed. 

I'm so new to the blogosphere that I'm not sure how to post pics yet, but when I figure that out, I'll put up some of what's going on in my world.

Laters