A couple of months ago Gina & I got to take a trip to NYC for work & play. Who am I kidding—most of my work is play. One of my favorite photographers & online friends, Ryan Brenizer was hosting a workshop at his Manhattan home. Since I appreciate his creativity, the way he pushes himself I figured this would be a workshop that’s right up my alley. Plus, who could turn down a trip to one of the most exciting cities in the world. It was amazing. I can’t wait to get back there. Here are some pictures from the trip.

These first photos were taken during the workshop. There were many others but it’s really important that I only show photos that are my vision & not Ryan’s or anyone else’s.  So these photos are all set up by me & not technically ‘workshop’ photos. I have plenty of those, but you’ll never see them because I don’t think it’s fair to try to pass off photos that were set up by someone else as my own. I think it’s a little silly when photographers post photos from a workshop where every photographer has the exact same photos that they all took in the same place, during the same time, of the same models.

I also have to add that the workshop was immensely valuable to me. In addition to the techniques that I’ve already implemented to great success, it was a great time to recharge my photographic batteries. Ryan answered every question & was an outstanding host. I can’t imagine a workshop that holds a better value. If the workshop mirrors the value he gives his clients, those are some very lucky people.

The view from Ryan’s roof.

Valerie (an incredible photographer herself) was a wonderful model & completely up for adventure. So when I wandered from the group while in Central Park & found this stream, waterfall, & sun combo, I ran back to the group & asked Valerie & a couple of other photographers to come check out what I found, she was completely up for it. This is the result. Magic.

I felt like that shot needed a full crop to see it’s full beauty.

After that shot, I ran around the big rock & saw the light hitting her. Again, magic.

Not a bad location for a workshop.

Valerie again. While waiting for the subway to take us to Harlem I figured it was a good time to take some photos.

Getting our learning on.

In Central Park. I’m convinced it wasn’t an accident that Ryan stopped to teach by this tree. See Ryan’s book, “Subliminal teaching techniques.”

Some NYC wildlife was on display.

An amazing place. Inspiring on so many levels. All photos in MOMA were taken with the Fuji x100.

Jackson Pollock. I spent a solid 15 minutes staring at this piece, section by section, & as a whole. Seeing it in person was definitely a highlight of the trip. The textures are shocking. Half of the beauty is lost by viewing it on a paper page. I tried to capture it in my close up (my current desktop photo). The textures of all the pieces were wonderful to see. I’d seen so many of the works on display in 2D. They beg to be seen in 3D.

ICP, AKA the International Center of Photography. No photos allowed inside for obvious reasons. 9/11 memorial was on display. I’ll never forget some of the photos on display. The power of photography was on full display.

Got to meet up with some friends & walk around. Brittany (during her USA walkabout), Heidi, Dennis (the only local among us), & Luis.

Some attempts at street photography.

I love contrasts. Especially the contrasts of buildings & trees. Normally in NYC you’re surrounded by buildings & can see some trees. Central park makes the opposite true.

Central Park. One of my favorite places in the world. Even while suffering with massively bruised ribs I had to go for a run in Central Park. Every step hurt, but it was fun crossing the New York City Marathon finish line which was set up for the race.

On the streets of NYC.

What can I say, I love taking picture of couples. It’s what I do.

So many landmarks that, to me, had before only existed in movies, music, & on TV.

The only place in the world where you hear the word ‘subway’ & sandwiches are the second thing you think of.

The amazing food was one of the things I miss most about NYC. Our hotel was on the edge of Hell’s Kitchen. Since we walked most places, there was great food everywhere. These photos were taken at eatery nyc. Yumm.

We stayed at the Hudson New York Hotel. This is the lobby. Definitely a cool place. I could have spent hours photographing the different places just in the hotel. Our room was TINY. I’d have taken a photograph of it, but my macro lens wouldn’t fit inside. But that’s what you get when you want to stay a block away from Central Park. Hey, it’s Gina (talking to our girls)!

The end.

**For the best viewing experience, open up the first photo & use the left & right arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the photos.**

Here’s Lindsey & David’s engagement session we shot in downtown Spokane. We had a blast getting these shots. At least I did, & they said they did. That’s good enough for me.

**For the best viewing experience, open up the first photo & use the left & right arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the photos.**

Amber & Alex got to participate in one of my favorite activities recently for their engagement photos. I call it the “jump in the car & drive in that direction” photo shoot. To be honest we knew we were heading in the direction of Liberty Lake, but beyond that, we didn’t know where we were going. I really love the excitement of looking for a spot to shoot when it’s somewhere I’ve never been before. Fortunately we found some incredible locations that I’m sure I’ll be going back to regularly.

First off, I have the best clients. I don’t know why I’m so lucky. I love hanging out with these couples & getting to know them. Amber & Alex were no exception. We were laughing the whole time & I can’t wait to shoot their wedding!

This photo shoot had it’s share of wildlife. First there were some deer running around us while I took the photo on the walking bridge. Then we got to watch the osprey hunt over the lake. Then a dragonfly landed on Amber’s shoulder. Then we made our way to the ‘forest’ & there were bats, owls, & mosquitoes. I didn’t do so well with the mosquitoes—not sure where the bats were on that one. Then while editing photos I saw an eyeball of something reflecting back at me. Not sure what it was, but it was some kind of animal watching us (you can see the orange dot in the last photo about 150 pixels to the right of Alex’s shoulder). Creepy.

For photographers: The forest shots were shot with 2 lights, an AB800 8′ up at camera right & a Nikon SB600 at 3′ about 25′ behind A & A pointing at the trees. Some adjustments made in LR. None in Photoshop. The best thing is that the final photos look exactly how they looked in my head.

I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while, and a photo I took last night gave me a good opportunity to get to it. I hope to make it a regular feature. If anybody reading this has a good suggestion for one of my photos you’d like to see deconstructed then let me know in the comments or send me an email.

This shot stems from needing a portrait for a local online arts magazine, SPOKE(a)N(e), that was doing a profile on my photography and I thought it would be a good opportunity to play around with some ideas I’d had (see the interview here). The full concept came together in a quick brainstorm while standing in the back yard where Gina was fixing the treehouse ladder and the girls were riding their bikes & scooters with their friends.

1. AlienBee 800 with a beauty dish & grid. 1/2 power. This is the main light that’s lighting the front of me and the front of the treehouse.

2. Vivitar 285 flash on 1/2 power. Gives me some separation from the dark background as an effective rim light.

3. Olympus Fl-36 fl on 1/4 power propped up on the tree & shot through a 20″ softbox. This light is meant to light the girls. Had to have Kelsey lean way forward & Reagan stand in back with baby G in the middle (& standing on a foot stool) so the light would hit them all.

4. Another Vivitar flash sitting under an umbrella behind the girls in the treehouse. Not sure of the power & it was meant to separate the girls from the sky. Didn’t exactly do what I needed. I probably should have propped it up on a tripod so it was higher.

5. Rebounder/trampoline that launched me in the air. If only I could carry one of these on the basketball court, I could probably dunk.:)

6. The most expensive prop ever. My Nikon D3. Didn’t even turn it on.

This was shot with my soon to be sold Olympus E-3 with the ZD 14-54mm lens on a tripod. The lights were triggered with Cybersyncs. Settings: 14mm (28mm at the 35mm equiv) f/10, 1/13 (trying to keep a little sky in the photo), ISO 200. Post processing done in Lightroom & resized/sharpened in Photoshop.

Thankfully I had awesome models for this shoot who were just happy to stay outside a little longer than they would have been able to if dad wasn’t working on something. The MVP for it goes to Gina who had to hit the shutter button at the exact time when I was at my apex, and did every time. She made it look so easy, I’m thinking about dropping her pay.

If I left anything out, ask in the comments & I’ll get you an answer.