What jumps, swims, runs, and fetches? Naturally, Cody and Gomez. Poor Dash tries, and usually ends up leading from behind!



Ryan tosses the rock the lake. Dogs run, jump in, swim, and search for rocks. Repeat for hours.


Dash leaping for a rock toss!


Kinda wish us humans could dry off this easily!


Gomez doing what he does best, bring us back sticks bigger than him!


Cody, a natural athlete, displays his athletic prowess with his keen eye on the prize!


Dash thinks he sees a stick moving!

We had a yummy dinner in Boulder with Jayme and Ryan to celebrate the birthdays!


Jayme, Boulder's very own Yoga Jedi master, in her very special elvin charm!

Hundreds of participants strut their stuff during the Kinetics Parade, earning points for awards, winning the crowd over, and just trying not to fall down. See the gallery of fun >>

Broncos mascot, ahoy!


There's some talent!


Lockheed Martin's ASStronaunts.


The fine folks at Croc's strut their stuff!






This boa didn't get the judges too excited for a hug!

So tonight I was feeling kinda down with me being gone for so long. My 12 days in Alaska have been action packed, but I am ready to head home tomorrow at 11:30pm. I decided I couldn't sit my Anchorage hotel room any longer and had to get out. I gave myself one fixed-focal length camera lens and no tripod and set out on a self-prescribed creative project. I noticed this town lives on espresso. Dinky drive through-espresso are scattered here and there, sometimes in predicable places (like vacant lots on major intersections) and sometimes not (behind barbed wire in a Bail Bond parking lot). They have color to say the least. Considering this town experiences the midnight sun in the summer (thus, the need for coffee) and practically no sun in the winter (thus, the need for coffee), I find my urban Alaskan experience illustrates the land of the extremes. Twilight lingers for hours, but I gave myself one hour to photograph as many of these things as I could.

77 minutes later, I found and photographed 12. Here's how I saw them >>

Happy zooming!

Sometimes I forget just how BIG Alaska is (and as a geographer, I should know that!). Spending almost two weeks there teaching GIS for the Bureau of Indian affairs, gave me great time to explore what this place has to offer. See the entire gallery for more >>



Kinda reminded me set from 'X-Files' or 'Lost'....I totally stumbled upon this while exploring Talkeetna, Alaska and looking for a good view of Denali, the highest point in North America.


Sometimes I forget to look at the small things under our nose, like this tiny leaf melting snow, slowly, slowly, slowly over the past weeks (note the subtle ice rings).


"I'm not lost, I'm exploring" (a favorite R. J. quote).


Denali on a clear day as seen from Talkeetna, AK.

It doesn't get much better than this....anticipation of a nice, cool swim in front of crowds! The Slush Cup is an annual event held at the Alyeska Ski Resort in AK, which is almost at sea level!



Did dude didn't quite make it across!


This guy got a free season's pass for making it all the way!


Now that is style!


Even the ski patrol has a good sense of fun!

In search of our American icon, I traveled to Homar, AK, home to many American Bald Eagles. Yes, these dudes are real. Yes, these dudes are in the wild!



Female in her nest.


So graceful, bald eagles are!

Does this count as wildlife watching?

Shaking off my jet lag, I went exploring in and around Anchorage in search of some inspiring reflections. Here is what I found:

Pam & Nathan were such great sports! We love shooting clients with a sense of humor....why else get married on Friday the 13th??!!! We've posted some images below, but don't forget to look at Gallery 1 AND Gallery 2.



We love window light of those little details!


Can it get any simpler than a guy and his best friend?


...and not to mention shadow paintings in the grass!


The lighting at the ceremony was super dramatic and complimented the emotions of the day.


Wow....those vow reading moments get us all.


What cool, cool light!


Simple color, check!


We caught the bride and groom having a moment together shortly after the ceremony.


The wedding party. Quality over quantity, right?

Laser light effects on the wall brought the curiosity out of Dash (spot the small red dot on the wall!)....


A little wireless Nikon SB-800 off-camera (what I call "R2-D2"), added some nice lighting and textures.

We had a Whole Foods fest with favorite friends, Jayme and Ryan (Cody, too!). Nothing like a good glass (or two!) of vino and laughter!


Just after dinner, Cody had his portrait taken. What a handsome dog!

Sunset just outside of Anchorage.


Boat portal in Seward...love that blue color!


A real, wild mini-iceberg in tidal flats near Alyeska, AK, an area which experiences has the second greatest tidal change on Earth, next to the Bay of Fundy.