The Parade Route - Quincey's, Rohnert Park, Aug. 21, 2009

I think this is the most difficult place I've photographed a band. Not only was the lighting really poor, but there were mirrors I had to avoid on both sides of the stage. You will notice that I also just introduced myself to vignetting. I think it gives the photos a "rock-show" edge.







I like the dichotomy between rockstar Andrew and the pretty, flowered wallpaper.


I like that all the light is focused on his guitar.






I just really like this.


Stephen had very red eyes and try as I might, photoshop just wasn't doing what I wanted it to. So, what is another solution for getting rid of red eye? Make it black and white! I really like Russ' expression in this one.


Thanks Russ (guitar/vocals), Andrew (drums), and Stephen (bass) for rocking Quincey's!

Parade Route Photoshoot - Aug. 2009

I had the opportunity to photograph a band hailing from the Sonoma/Marin area called "The Parade Route". These guys are hilarious and they had me laughing the whole time. They had a very specific idea in mind, even bringing along a CD cover they were trying to emulate. I don't own any lighting equipment, so we made do. We tried turning lights off and on in the area as well as bringing in the lamp from the living room. They seemed to think it turned out well.

The two shots they used for their new album, Wreckage and Disaster:




My personal favorite was not an actual shot, I was just shooting to check out the light:


Them enveloped in all their hilarity:


I learned something as well. I need to learn how to make paint through photoshop. I mean actual, physical paint. We've taken samples of the kitchen/diningroom paint to have it matched and it just hasn't come out quite right, yet. You can see the different paint spots we've tried. Not in the photos however, because Photoshop matches those spots perfectly. Amazing!

Alaska - July/Aug. 2009

Alaska was amazing. The first couple of days were drizzly and foggy and I have very few pictures from then, however, the days after that were sunny and warm, almost felt like I was in California. It was absolutely stunning. I'm looking at my photographs and they don't even begin to show the beauty.
The water is the color it is, not blue, because of glacier silt. As the glacier pushes down, it collects dirt and rocks grinding them into very fine sand that floats in the water.

I followed this seagull for awhile trying to get a picture. I was a little disappointed that he was so close to the edge of the frame, but happy that I caught him with his wings expanded.




This was one of the first sights Russ and I saw together. We took a 9 mile bike ride around Juneau and this was a lake as seen from Chapel by the lake.


In order to get where we were, you had to boat in. These kayakers had to come from pretty far and had a long ways to get back home. I'm sure their view was much better than mine from the cruise ship though.


The water melting from this glacier was massive. It seemed to be never ending. I'd like to come back in a couple of years and see the difference.




This guy was running around on my hike to Lower Dewey Lake in Skagway. He was very camera shy. After scaring him, I had to quietly wait for him to come back out.




I was so excited to see a bald eagle and I waited a good half hour for this guy to fly but he wasn't having any of that. It was his rest time.


Alaska is an amazing and wonderful place. If you ever have the chance to visit, I highly recommend it!