Father's Day

Wow, a father of three. When my wife and I married we had decided not to have any children because we didn't want to be "tied down" or otherwise kept from the fun and excitement that awaited us as a couple. Hah! Here I am almost eleven years later, three kids running around and still blissfully married. My life is so much more full now with my kids. The joy that comes from seeing the world open up through their eyes is something that I never could have imagined. Every time they discover or accomplish something new I get to experience that with them. If they are hurt or sad I can be the one that kisses their boo boo or comforts them in my arms. It can be difficult to find special time with each of them, but it is so worth the effort and I get rewarded with the unexpected "I love you" or the little "Mmmm" sound Marlie makes when she wants a kiss.

When I take pictures of kids I am trying to capture the moment that shows their true self. I get lots of opportunities with my own kids and these are some that I think capture who my kids are.




I couldn't forget the woman who started it all. The one who made me a husband and a father, and who continues to love and support me in everything that I do. I love her.


Oh, and here I am. My three year old took this picture with me holding the camera. He put his eye right up to the viewfinder, found the shutter button and snapped away. I was so proud.

Travel Town

I had a day off during the week this past week so we decided to take the kids to Travel Town. We picked up some sandwiches from our favorite deli in Burbank and had a little picnic before exploring the trains. We used to go there fairly regularly when we just had one kid, but since our second son came along we've only been once. Even though it was a bit hot, the kids had a great time.

My sweet girl.


Seamus enjoying being a big boy in the cab of the train.


My big boy posing for the camera.


We took a ride on the small scale train they have that takes you around the outside of the museum.



Too cute for words.

Yosemite workshop

We recently took a trip up to Yosemite National Park so I could attend a workshop conducted by professional photographer Bob Evans. I had been looking for a workshop to attend and an excuse to return to Yosemite so this seemed like a perfect match. I've taken an online photography course before, but I'd never attended a workshop or done much shooting with other photographers in general, so I was really looking forward to it.

If you've never been to Yosemite before, you really owe it to yourself to got at least once. The majesty and grandeur of Yosemite valley is something that's impossible to describe and difficult to capture with a camera. If you're entering the park from the south your first real view of the valley will be just as you exit the tunnel at the appropriately named Tunnel View.


From this view you can see El Capitan on the left, Bridalveil Falls on the right and in the distant center, Half Dome. There are more dramatic times of day and year to photography here, but most of my time was spent down in the valley.

Bridalveil Falls has a beautiful creek below it that offers, like most of Yosemite, wonderful photographic opportunities.



Bob took us to a meadow that sat underneath El Capitan with beautiful views in all directions. We arrived there a little before 7 in the morning so we were able to see the sun break over the mountains and start its' sweep across the valley.



Just a few feet from where I took the pictures above, I had an awesome view of Higher Cathedral Spire, Higher Cathedral Rock and Middle Cathedral Rock..


Turning around from there, El Capitan rose straight up for 3000 feet.


The tallest falls in the park, actually in any national park, is Yosemite Falls. The falls consist of an upper and lower falls and can be seen from many places around the valley. Here is a view of the upper falls from Swinging Bridge.


Here's another view of the upper falls from the appropriately named, Falls View.


Getting a view of both falls takes a bit of positioning, but it's well worth the effort.


At the end of the valley sits the most iconic site in Yosemite, Half Dome. The clouds never materialized during my visit and we didn't get any great color at sunset, but it was still awesome to capture a few images of this icon.


Did you notice the deer in the picture above? This next image was taken on the road to Glacier Point, above the valley.


This last image is one I had imagined after visiting last year and I spent a few nights trying to get it right. The view is exactly opposite the first image in this post, at the tunnel exit.


This is a 13 second exposure with both a car coming and going. It turned out even better than I had imagined and I am glad that I took the time.

Paradise found

I've been wanting to go out shooting with another photographer for a while. I've always heard that this can be a fun and educational experience, but except for a brief outing with my father-in-law, I haven't been able to organize this. So, a couple of weeks ago I called up a good friend of mine who shoots with a medium format film (yes film) camera and asked if he wanted to go out shooting. He was excited about the idea as he hadn't been able to go out much lately and we would also get a chance to hang out. He told me about a park very close to his house that has a waterfall, and even though close to the city, felt like it was very remote. I was excited about shooting a waterfall as I will be going to Yosemite in a few weeks for a photography workshop and I need to get my waterfall shootin' skills up.

The waterfall, named Paradise Falls, was a pleasant 20 minute hike from the parking lot through open fields and down winding trails. We went late in the afternoon so the sun wouldn't be so harsh and there would be a bit more texture to the canyon walls. It was so relaxing to descend the trail and hear the rushing of the waterfall echoing through the canyon.


We spent about 2 hours exploring the different shooting possibilities and watching the light move and change. It was so cool to be able to bounce ideas off one another and discuss to pros and cons of camera placement, filter use and composition in general. I was also nice just to spend time with my friend.


After we had exhausted the last bit of light down in the canyon we started our hike back. An almost full moon was rising and lighting our way.


Once at the top we were treated to the last remnants of light silhouetting the distant hills. A perfect end to a perfect evening.

Afternoon at the Dam

I've lived here for almost 12 years and I'd never been to visit the Dam. I've passed by it countless times, but never found the time to just walk out there. Last weekend I went out to catch the sunset, but realized I had gone out too early and was trying to think of something to shoot; the Dam! I parked and walked along the long curving levee and to my surprise found that I had the place all to myself. Also surprising was the fact that I could actually walk right up to the structure.


I was fascinated by all the symmetry and angles that provided such a wealth of photographic opportunities. The beautiful blue sky also made a great backdrop for many of the images.


The were such cool textures with all the aged wood and metal.

I stayed about an hour and a half and had such an amazing time exploring and shooting. I look forward to going back and seeing the things I overlooked and also how a different time of day will change things. This has also motivated me to not be a "someday" kinda person but to take advantage of these kinds of opportunities.

Baby girl

Oh my baby girl. My youngest, my only girl, my little heart-stealer. She loves the camera and the camera loves her. There is not a lens wide enough to capture that smile, nor one long enough to see all the way into those eyes. The frame cannot contain her, it can only hope to capture a moment.

My wife and I traveled half way around the world and adopted not only our daughter but the rich history and culture of Ethiopia. We had decided that if we were going to have a third child we wanted a baby girl. The only avenue that would promise us that was international adoption. We had seen a program some time ago that showed a Canadian couple adopting from Ethiopia and at the time that seemed rather random. Delving a little deeper though showed us the deep love Ethiopians have for their children and their strong desire to give the best to them. As a result of this even the children in orphanages are given great attention and shown love as if they were family.

We embarked on a journey that eventually led us to a orphanage run by an American adoption agency in the country's capital, Addis Ababa.

There, in a city of 10 million, through the deserted streets, down a nondescript alley, behind iron gates, across the courtyard and into a room full of cribs and sleeping babies, we found the baby whose pictures we had been pouring over for weeks and weeks. After all the paper work, and shots, and fingerprinting, and paperwork, there she was; curly hair and sleepy smile.





That day was 8 months ago and there has been great change in our family. Prayers have been answered, dreams fulfilled and new challenges have arisen. We feel our family is complete now, our hearts content. God only knew that the one to complete our family was being born on Christmas Eve, 2005 in a faraway land called Ethiopia.


She joined our family at a time when I was discovering my love for photography and the power it has not only to record events but to move people and express emotion. My children were my initial motivation for buying a digital SLR camera. Their movements and moments of showing their true selves were too quick to be caught by shutter-lagged point and shoots. And though I have found many interesting and creatively fulfilling avenues in photography, none brings me greater joy than photographing my kids.

Day at the airport

My younger son and I were taking out some trash this morning when we heard an airplane approaching that didn't sound like one of the planes that come and go from our local airport. We looked up to see a Boeing B17 flying overhead and he exclaimed, "Whoa!".


We rushed inside and grabbed my older son and my camera and drove to the airport. We arrived in time to see the B17 preparing to take off with a load of people who had paid for the chance to take a flight in this beautifully restored aircraft. After watching it take off, and knowing that it would be back in a little while, we enjoyed the comings and goings of the other aircraft and the kid friendly viewing area.







This lovingly restored DC3 is owned by Clay Lacy.


We watched the B17 come and go a few times and each time was just as exciting as the last. Hearing those four engines wind up and seeing that big bird start to lumber down the runway and then lift majestically in the sky are wonderful things to behold. Those sights and sounds take you back to another time and place when radial engines were high tech and flights of bombers were measured in the hundreds. Seeing it land is almost surreal. Here comes this massive aircraft, hardly making a sound, seeming as though it will fall out of the sky it's going so slow. And yet land it does, with the chirp of it's two massive tires and the gentle let down of it's tail.



The grace with which this aircraft flies is from a bygone era and I'm so glad I could share this experience and this time with my boys. They left with the sound of those big radial engines in the ears and their heads in the clouds.


Here's a video I made a few years ago at the same airport of another B17 giving rides.

Sunday at Rocky Peak

I got to spend some quality time with my big boy today while we hiked in the hills at the edge of the San Fernando valley. It rained a bit as we were driving there but had stopped by the time we parked. This was the first time I had taken him there and he loved it.


He wanted to explore every nook and cranny and was determined to find a suitable walking stick.

In the end we didn't find a walking stick that was up to par but we had great time just being together, exploring, and enjoying the beauty of the day.