Spent a quick weekend out east for a wedding. Craig and Julia Dilger left the Beehive and got hitched in West Orange, New Jersey. Such a great weekend.
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Captions are there as well.
To see a short video on David and where he is headed, please click HERE.
To read the full article, please click HERE.
Had to go for a quick roll on my bike this evening after watching "Waltz with Bashir." Yesterday I photographed a social event for Iraqi refugee families at Camp Williams, the event was put on by the Utah National Guard. Most of the families were here because being home was especially unsafe because they had either worked with contracted with the US over there. They were all gracious and friendly, but I didn't even try to imagine what they feel right now, transitioning, etc. I know that violence isn't exclusive to the Middle East and also that film (Waltz) wasn't even about Iraq, but it and yesterday just kinda sent my head rolling a bit about what goes on in the world. I just coasted down 900 East here in town and thought about the movie and the families I met yesterday, it's hard not to feel like such a spoiled brat sometimes when even a light wave of perspective pays you a visit.
So you can't shoot a harp competition from inside the auditorium. Luckily I was shown this extremely vertical window - I didn't know whether to photograph her or shoot her with a bow and arrow. (Liked the tuning shot the most)
On assignment today at a media gathering and snuck a photo of Trib photographer Al Hartman transmitting from the car. He had a laugh about it so I figured it was cool to post it.
Thunderstorms have brought some adverse weather to town. Spend Thursday morning wading through mud as a large group of friends and neighbors cleaned up.
So I had to post this, just barely walked out of a Yanni concert for work. Anyways, all day I've been making jokes about it, saying stuff like I forgot he even existed till today, etc. etc. Sarcastically acting like I was super pumped to shoot his show, and on and on. I do remember Yanni playing at home when I was a kid, I think I even liked it back then, used to get me pumped to clean my room. Anyways, in the beginning of his show he warmly greeted the crowd as they cheered for him and he made some interesting body gestures, one of which caught my eye.
Now I just barely started Facebook like yesterday and my older brother had some pictures posted of us as kiddies on there. Just minutes ago as I was sending pictures back to the paper from the concert I saw this picture (above) and immediately remembered seeing this picture (below) on Bill's Facebook page.
I don't think I need to tell you who the little circus monkey in the middle is.
So here I sit in my car outside of the arena, humbled by the fact that Yanni, as much as I was ripping on him and the music today...probably had some sort of effect on little Mikey. Woah.
My camera battery wigged out and stopped working on Saturday night after a week on the road, all I was looking foward to doing was shooting and exploring. There was no way I was going to spend my day off in my hometown sans camera. At the end of my rope I went out and bought a little Nikon D60 from a camera shop five minutes before closing. The shop worker literally tried to talk me out of dropping 400 euro on the camera either because he thought I was crazy, (I was pretty sweaty cause I ran all the way to the store I had seen earlier that day) or cause he was too lazy to rebalance his books. Either way I got the camera and was able to shoot the next day. It was almost frightening to me how I reacted to not having the possibility to shoot. I guess that is indicative of my life...an optimistic yet frantic and well mannered panic that I am going to miss something or never be in a certain place again. I walked back to the hotel to charge up the batteries on this tiny camera and had to laugh - luckily I was able to sell the camera when I got home and it all worked out alright, but regardless thats the backstory to these photos.
Enjoy.
The camera makes everyone a tourist in other people's reality, and eventually in one's own.
-Susan Sontag
While trucking around Heidelberg I was stuck between remembering places from being a kid and walking the Haupstrasse with my brothers and trying to rationalize that I wasn't a tourist...so I took photos of the really obvious ones. Whats funny though - in the end, I was the guy gawking all over with a camera around his neck.
In more ways than one, "German-ness" has sprinkled itself across the first half of this year. I returned early this month from translating and slanging skateboards - even had some time to spend back in my hometown. From Mitch on the Alte Bruecke smoking sans shirt to the Fiat Punto we trashed, from the lonely honeymoon suite i had to myself in Regensburg to a crazy Sunday night in Heidelberg when I could only open one eye - it was youth disguised in determination and trying to be disciplined and swallow Europe in one gulp, simultaneously. Here is your first installment - Munich and Weissenburg.
You can click on the photo to scroll through the slideshow, to enable the captions for your traditional random pie experience, just click on the little word "captions" in the bottom right corner...if you see it, doesn't work on all browsers.
Let us rejoice in David Hasslehoff on dubbed German re-runs of Knight Rider ushering in a bunch of Germany posts. Bereitet ihr euch vor.... (prepare yourselves)
(CLICK PICTURE TO ROLL THROUGH SLIDESHOW)
Recently finished a short feature project on the Madeleine Choir School here in Salt Lake City. To steal a quote from the story, "If you were asked to name a Utah choir that toured Europe and sang at St. Peters Basilica in Rome, you'd likely pick the wrong choir." I have always wanted to photograph the school and choir which is a mission of the Cathedral of the Madeleine. The students at the school were all very warm and friendly kids, couldn't believe how well mannered they were. After I had visited the school a few times, they would wave short little waves and say "Hi Mike," en route to the next class. Usually at schools, it's something like, "HEY picture guy..." "HEY camera guy..." "HEY put me on tv"... The choir school kids were different, perhaps it's the music that surrounds their life or the purpose and message of that music.
Either way, if you are interested, here is the VIDEO I put together with some stills.
Enjoy.
Rodeo season is he-ere! This morning I drove through some nasty weather up to Heber in Wasatch County for the first morning of the Utah High School Rodeo Championships. I had a great year last year chasing rodeos around and I am looking forward to getting to as many as I can this year to continue working on my rodeo culture project. There is so much outside and on the fringes of the arena that I tend to miss whats happening on the bull or bronc most of the time. It isn't really the sport that has interested me so far, it is the families, individuals and communities that surround this sport that resembles pageantry...just in a rougher and raw form I should add. My mother's uncles and cousins were all Utah cowboys. My mother remembers starched Levi's standing up on their own in the corner of a room. I remember the first time I met my Great Uncle George, he was wearing a giant yellow cowboy hat. Growing up so far from any 'real' cowboys I had a hard time imagining what my family's life must have been like. I think a peripheral hope of photographing rodeo and the Western lifestyle the last couple years is to see into that same heritage I was never privy to. So hopefully this is the first of plenty more from this year. If you are curious to see what I put together from last years rodeo season click here.
Had to shoot a portrait of a rural high school football player and I am not the most talented person with lights in a yellow gym, decided by default to do it gritty style instead of sportrait steezy. I had to snap it fast before the giant cartoon horse that was bursting through the wall would run me over....har har.
We search the arenas of everyday for warm pockets of acceptance and inspiration. You just have to be alone in a new place once in awhile to be reminded. I have been traveling a bit lately and I would notice across a soft lit restaurant or bar, groups of friends gathering, the I would remember how nice it is to have a community, a group, a haunt, maybe even a legacy in embryo. For being such a small place, we have an extraordinary tight photo community here along the Wasatch Front and a new blog has recently been launched to keep up connected. So if you're into photojournalism and are curious about what we're up to out here, pay us a visit.
(Click Image for Link)
This photo is from a recent party we had as a bon voyage sort of thing for Craig Dilger.
Because the actual guy who conceptualized and launched the blog wasn't there (Trent Nelson) I snuck his picture in the group photo. See if you can find him...shouldn't be too hard.
There are dozens of photographers not pictured who contribute as well, so bookmark the site and check out their work.
Florian "Burny" Hopfensperger is one of the most genuine folks I have met here in Bavaria. Good people, he and his family quasi sponsor the skate company I translate for here im Abendland. Check out his site at www.florianhopfensperger.com
Sorry for the pause. Been watching scenery pass by a little too quickly lately. I'll have some new stuff here soon...as I get home.
Sunday: Laid on blankets while Mila and I shot the breeze with the Lady of the Day and Dad perched in lawn chairs as the sun went down on Brigham City. Happy Mothers Day, thanks for looking into the sun when I asked you what was in the neighbors yard. Love you.
Trent showed me this book called Dream/life by Trent Parke last night and it's been stuck in my brain since. These are my imitations with what I was shooting today - his would have about 7 more layers and a crazy foggy sky over Sydney Harbor.
