If you go to San Francisco...

Well, the photos from my Northern California trip are finally done and in my California Gallery. I must say it is quite an amazing place. Even though I've been to California many times before, I was still astounded by all it has to offer a photographer.

I started in the awesome city by the bay, and it only got better from there. I explored waterfalls, mountains, giant redwood forests, coastal cliffs, lakes, rivers -- you name it, I saw it and photographed it. Overall, I was very happy with the trip and resulting photos.

Not everything went according to plan, however.

For starters, I got a bad cold the day before I left Minneapolis. It was severe enough that if I had I been going by car, I would've postponed the trip. But, I wasn't driving, I was flying. So, there was nothing to do but just grin and bear it. Getting up at the crack of dawn and hiking through wilderness with a backpack of camera gear can be tough. Doing it while sporting a fever and coughing every five seconds is an altogether different challenge. Thank God for willpower and Benadryl!

About five days into the trip, with my cold in full swing, I parked my rental vehicle near some railroad tracks running parallel to a river and proceeded to hike along them. I had been told by a guidebook that at the end of this hike was one of the most spectacular waterfalls in California. But, after awhile I realized that the book must be wrong. It said that the waterfall was only 1.5 miles down the tracks and I had already gone two miles. Then, I read more closely and saw a bit of info I had missed: I was supposed to hike the tracks upstream. And guess which way I had been hiking? Sigh... yep... I was hiking downstream.

I stood there numb for a moment and let it sink in. There I was, with a raging cold and a heavy burden, and I had just gone two miles in the wrong direction. Which, of course, meant that I had to hike those two miles back, and then from there go another mile and a half to the falls. And then another mile and a half back. So, instead of hiking three miles, I, navigational genius, would end up hiking seven. Yay.

I begrudgingly did an about face and began hiking back, when something else happened. A train decided that this would be the perfect time to come rumbling along on the tracks behind me. The tracks I was walking on. The guidebook had warned that the tracks were still in use and to watch out for trains, but I figured they were just being overly cautious. What were the chances that a train would really come along while I was there? Turns out the chances were pretty damn good.

I quickened my pace until I found a spot where I could get off the tracks, and I watched the metal monster chug by me. I really had serious thoughts about jumping it and riding it all the way to the falls. It'd be awesome! I would have an exhilarating ride, and cut four miles off of my hike! Then, I woke up. I'd already made enough blunders for the day. No sense in making a FINAL one. Besides, what would my tens of millions of blog fans do without me?

Tomorrow, I leave for Hawaii. I'll be back in a couple weeks with more photos and tales. Until then, take care.

A sign o' the times.

During my recent trip to Northern California, something terrible happened: an oil tanker hit a bridge in the San Francisco bay and spilled a large amount of oil. This happened the day after I arrived. So, when I went down to Fort Point to shoot some photos of the underside of the Golden Gate Bridge, this is what I saw:

Needless to say, this really pissed me off (and continues to do so). I mean, honestly, how hard is it to drive a boat without hitting something? Apparently, the captain got his license out of a Cheerios box. The authorities are considering bringing criminal charges. Give 'em hell, I say!

Sorry for such a depressing blog entry. It had to be done. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming very soon. I am ALMOST done with all the photos from Northern California, and should have them posted later today.

Les is more.

Whew! I've just returned from my trip to Northern California, and I must say it was quite a good time. There are so many different types of wilderness to photograph there that it's almost hard to know where to start. Mountains, waterfalls, vineyards, rivers, deserts, rainforests, giant redwood forests, the sea -- you name it, it's there. I'm pretty happy with the shots I got, and I'll post them here as soon as they're all done and edited. (And yes, I promise I'll get them done just a wee bit faster than the Wildflowers gallery.)

For now, I have something special to share with you.

As a matter of course, I don't post personal photos of friends, family or myself here. This photoblog is solely for my fine art photography. It would be unprofessional of me to post anything else. (Besides, something tells me that pictures of me sunbathing on the beach just might scar your brain forever.)

This time, however, I am going to break the rule. You see, I don't really have any choice. The Gods of Rock and Roll demand that I show this photo to you. And, who am I to disobey Them?

One night in California I was at a nice resturaunt with my sister (she lives there), her boyfriend and some of their friends. The place was packed, so we were all sitting at the bar eating our dinners. And guess who bellied up to the bar next to us? None other than Les Claypool himself! (If you don't know who he is, slap yourself and emerge from your hermit cave.) I didn't have my SLR with me, so I had to use my cell phone camera to get this photo. Oh, the irony. I never thought I'd actually use that cheapo camera.

That's me in the middle. The girl on the left is my sister. And the man on the right needs no further introduction.

I saw a butterfly flutter by!

Aren't butterflies just the coolest things? I mean, honestly, who doesn't like them? Evolution has brought us many lifeforms ranging from mosquitos (the Minnesota state bird) to grizzly bears, but butterflies are something truly special. Mother Nature was obviously showing off when she made them.

Her work certainly hasn't gone unnoticed. For thousands of years, butterflies have captivated people the world over. The ancient Egyptians depicted butterflies in their hieroglyphs. The Chinese believe that two butterflies flying together are a symbol of love. The Japanese see a butterfly as the personification of a person's soul, yet, strangely they see large groups of butterflies as a bad omen. In Greece, the word "butterfly" literally means "soul". In other ancient cultures, butterflies symbolized rebirth. And, most importantly, butterflies are the number one tattoo choice for women everywhere. (Years of painstaking scientific research of womens' midriffs has confirmed this.)

Now, I don't know too much about all of that. For me, butterflies are just damn cool to look at. Thus, it should come as no surprise that I love photographing them, too. After culling through all of my butterfly photos, I have selected my favorites and created a new Butterflies Gallery. Take a look and let me know what you think.

(Tomorrow, I leave for a two-week photo excusrion to Northern California. You'll have to find some way to survive without my riveting photoblog entries. I'll post some shots from the trip when I return. Until then, farewell.)

More flowers than a royal wedding.

In July, I had the good fortune to be able to do something that I've always wanted to do: explore vast mountain meadows brimming with wildflowers. It was so magical, that I ended up shooting a pile of photos. On my way back to Minnesota, I wondered how long it would take me to get all of them culled, edited and finished. I had a sneaking suspicion that Mars might be colonized before I finished my task.

But all that worry was for naught. Somehow, I got them all done. And it only took me four months. (Hey, that gives me an idea! I should go work for the highway department. I bet they could use a speedy guy like me!)

Anyhow, go to this gallery to see the fruits of my efforts. Below is a small taste of what awaits you.

I knew there was a reason I became a photographer.

A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine approached me and asked if I would do nude photos of her -- nothing racy, just artistic photos. She said she wanted them because one day she'll be an old lady and she wants to be able to remember herself in her prime. Can't argue with that logic.

I must tell you I can't remember that last time I faced such an agonizing decision. Talk about having your arm twisted! After deliberating over her request for approximately 1.8 seconds, I agreed to it. Portrait photography -- including nude photography -- is something that I've been wanting to explore and work on and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to do just that.

This past Saturday was the big day. We found a secluded spot in a far flung park and did the shoot. It went pretty well! I realized that I have a knack for this stuff and, *gasp* actually kind of know what I'm doing. Despite the cold weather, my friend was a real trooper and had no problem getting into the swing of it. Because things went so well, we plan on doing a studio shoot in the near future. I will be sure and post photos from that shoot once it's done.

Here a couple of photos from Saturday's shoot. For obvious reasons, I can't show you very many of the shots here on my photoblog. If you would like to see the rest of the photos, please email me and I'll give you the password to the gallery that houses them. And yes, my friend is fine with that -- she agreed that the photos should be viewable to all who want to see them. Otherwise, what's the point?

Lastly, I'd like to give a shout out to my girlfriend, Stephanie, who was cool enough to allow me to do this. Thanks, babe!

Without further ado, I give you Genevieve.

Better late than never.

As promised, here are some more shots from my Canyonlands trip. Yeah, I know it took me over a week to post them, but I did say I'd post them later, didn't I? So, sue me if my definition of "later" differs from yours! (Nevermind my grumpiness, it's just that... well... I'm still finding sand in places that sand has no business being in.)

By the way, if you'd like to see more of my pictures from Canyonlands, then just go to my Canyonlands gallery.