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.**

I have limited my senior sessions this year to focus on my weddings but the sessions I have had, have been a blast. No doubt, next year I’ll give seniors more of a focus. Rachel is the youngest sister of one of my recent brides (who’s wedding I’m editing right now & should be up soon). We started at the skate park in downtown Spokane where Ryan helped us by biking around Rachel on one of the ramps. Then we headed further downtown & played at the Masonic Center & even got a tour of the facility by one of the members. We ended up on the corner waiting for cars to drive in front of us. Thanks to Colleen, a passer-by who jumped in front of the camera & showed Rachel what a good jump looked like .

I had a blast & Rachel looked incredible in every. single. shot.  Makes my job easy.

Last Saturday I was down at the Finch Arboretum for a family portrait session (I’m still working on those photos and they’ll be up as soon as I’m finished with them). Due to the beautiful Fall colors the Finch was packed with people. The title of this blog is more than just a title, it really is my philosophy. As much as I enjoy taking pictures, I really feel at my best when I can find people who are willing to step in front of the lens.

So for an hour or so after my portrait session I wandered around and asked to make portraits of people. The weather was just about perfect for photography—bright and overcast with some cloud definition. Here are a handful of the photos I took. Many, many thanks to my willing subjects who were all a lot of fun and allow me to do what I love.

The reason that this is part 1 is I have a couple more family shoots at the Finch this coming Saturday, and if time (and weather) allows, I hope to be able to run around like a crazy person, meet more people, and get some great portraits.

I’m adding an iPhone photo I took of my shoe. Sometimes when I’m shooting I completely forget where I am. You know, like standing precariously on the edge of a stream. Inevitably, all it takes to get the perfect shot is one more step, so I take it and end up with a shoe full of mud. It happens—frequently.

I’m also including a TTV (through the viewfinder) photo I took at the end of the portraits. To see more about TTV photos click here.

Click the thumbnails to see the full photos.

Last night we had our Inland NW Photographers Assembly (INPA) meeting where it’s always nice to talk to people who enjoy the minutiae  of photography as much as I do. Afterward a few of us headed  in to downtown Spokane for a photo safari. We started taking pictures of the normal downtown things (hence the trash can hand warming shot). We were across the street from the bus depot and I saw some interesting people hanging out so I grabbed Shane Savage (who volunteered to be my voice activated light stand) and headed over there to make some portraits.

LIke my business card says, I shoot people. I really enjoy the interactions with people, asking strangers if I can make a portrait of them is a lot of fun for me. When the results are great, I enjoy it all the better.

I wasn’t sure what I had but when I got them on the computer I was really pleased with how they turned out. Hopefully you’ll think so too.

Big thanks to Shane, Jon, Lacey, & Tyson for the invite and a really fun evening

As usual, click the thumbnails to see the photos.

P.S. The officer was fine with us taking pictures, even of him, and didn’t try to stop us at all. He and his partner even did some joking around with us.

Last week I was wandering around Riverfront Park with my family (and taking pictures of course) and I saw a group of kids dressed for prom. I went up and asked if they’d like to be photographed. Of course they did. If you were dressed up for a night on the town, you’d jump at the chance to be shot too.

So I whipped out some business cards and a flash and took some shots. They were appreciative and I got some good photos. Win/win. Later on I saw another couple from the same event and got some really cool night shots.

You can see for yourself they’re a great looking bunch of kids and from what I could tell, they seemed like a really nice group as well. Besides, they were a lot of fun to shoot.

Plus Reagan & Kelsey thought it was cool that daddy was taking pictures of princesses.  :)