"WE SHOOT AT DAWN!!!"

 Remember Colleen? 

I went up to the mountains with her yesterday to shoot some photos. 

She's really into photography too. 

It was lots of fun. 

We're already planning urban excursions to old signs and abandoned amusement parks and buildings.

Photo shoots with friends covered in chocolate and more dawn shoots and 

(I'm not going to stop bugging until someone goes with me, but I hope it's Colleen and my sister)

a trip to Yosemite next year with 100 rented lenses. 

So, Colleen got up at dawn for me and waited at Lake Gregory.

Then I was late. 

I fixed her camera, 

and she filled up 3 of my almost flat tires while I fix it flatted my tire that really was flat. 

We shot the lake that we both grew up by and 

conversed as to how non-cool the lake we both grew up by actually is now. 

We hung out at her mom's house and played with her baby 

and attempted a cat rescue.

This culminated in a cat that screamed its head off 

(and to the detriment of my nerves sounded like a wailing toddler

still stuck in a drainage pipe and Colleen scratched up by the hill of berry bushes she fell into 

while trying to rescue the toddler cat. I hope it got free somehow. 

THINGS YOU PREFER TO NEVER HEAR. EVER. 

1. Paris Hilton saying any word in the human language. 

2. Styrofoam squeaking as you rub two pieces together. 

3. Fingernails down a chalkboard. 

4. Arnold Schwarzenegger doing a reading of the 'sex life' parts of his book. 

4. A cat screaming its head off and sounding like a baby in despair. 

It was a really fun day!

Below, Colleen at dawn. 

DAWN LIGHT IS THE FREAKING BEST. 

I believe the line "WE RIDE AT DAWN!" was written by a photographer. 

EYES.

Gotta say. 

James holds the monopoly on eyes. 

It's like, Lance Armstrong and the Tour all over France.

or-

Michael Phelps and the 400 swimming medals he's won. 

J.K. Rowling and Magic. 

Me and bad luck. 

Me and Humiliating incidents. 

Celine Dion and wine glass shattering power ballads. 

Some people just corner the market on their little piece of real estate in this thing we call LIFE. 

And James, (sorry folks, don't even try, you've lost already),

holds it down FOREVER when it comes to eyes. 

I love this photo because it perfectly got what crystal, heavenly, perfect, wondrous eyes James has. 

That girl with the light eyes on Nat Geo cover comes close, but not quite. 

Click on this photo. Now Look. It's ok, you can grab a tissue : )

No one will EVER trump James eyes. : )

When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another. – Helen Keller.

A good friend once told me that they knew without a doubt that Randa was

truly meant to be James mother. 

Randa is the strongest woman and the strongest mother I know. 

She is funny, and kind and sweet and amazing. A wonderful friend. 

This is her son James. 

I had the very very fortunate experience of staring at James for two hours last week. 

You don't go around staring at people's kids. 

They tend to call the cops if you stare for longer than 14 seconds. 

And 14 seconds is still in "you're a creeper" territory. 

But :) 

When you are a photographer, YOU GET TO STARE! 

You really get to see how beautiful kids really are. 

And staring into this kiddo's eyes is literally, (and I do mean literally) staring through the clouds into heaven. 

So, Randa let me stare into heaven for two hours. 

He is an angel. 

And Randa fights for him and protects him and cares for him and loves him so much being around them plasters a big goofy grin on your face before even know your mouth is twitching. 

Everyone at my church gets very excited when James and Randa arrive. We both love them so much. 

I want to be a good mom. A strong mom. Which has the exact same meaning as, 

I want to be like Randa. : )

Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Denise. 

She grew up and married a man named John. 

Together, they knew every fact, trivia tidbit and secret
 that could ever possibly be known about Disneyland. 

And they lived happily ever after. 

(And they were loved fervently by their good friend Melanie.)

Pretty Perfect Pacified Pedrozas

Since all my posts seem to highlight families and people that I love....

Here's another one! 

This is John and Denise Pedroza and their son A.J.

They taught me long ago that being chill is way cooler than worrying. 

So even though I worry more than any other person I've ever met,

I love hanging out with them because they make me chill out and feel calm. 

 

Incidentally, I typed that last sentence as I burnt my throat bellowing at my children to pick up the puzzle pieces they just scattered all over the floor. (Seventeenth mess in the last hour, one mess for each dish I've been able to wash in that time.) True Story. 

Anyway, I love 'em. And you can be jealous that I get to have them as friends, because they are that awesome.

THE WEDDING PHOTO

Doesn't that sound dramatic?

THE WEDDING PHOTO. 

It's really, "a wedding photo."

I can't lay claim to it, I was not the photographer, the assistant photographer, the videographer or the assistant videographer. I was the assistant times three general media person who wore the only black shirt she had in her closet and the black shiny shoes that looked serviceable that she thought belonged to her husband and wondered why they kind of hurt all day and got home and found out they belonged to her 8 year old son. 

That's a true story.

But I did take one photo I liked. 

Closeup of something sparkly. 

I'm into sparkly. 

And lace. 

This wedding dress was a phantagasm of gorgeous. 

All you get is a teaser though! Since I technically have smuggled this photo (which I took) onto my photo page.

All right, one more smuggled photo. Just one. : )

Ciao y'all : )

Marlo and her Marlo Man.

Marlboro man. 

Can you call a Mormon man that? 

No really, if a Mormon guy is hot and wears Levi's over very well sculpted buttocks and has an extremely sexy stetson hat and smoldering eyes and does things like chew toothpicks on country store porches and straddle wood pole fences in dusty ares of the country-

-but does not smoke ever-

can you nickname him The Marlboro Man? 

Yes, yes, The Pioneer Woman has claimed that nickname for her extremely hot, stetson wearing smoldering eye sportin', Levi mastering, horse riding husband, but I want to know in general what the protocol is for calling a Mormon cowboy the Marlboro man. 

This train of thought came from trying to think up a pun for Marlo's husband. Marlo Man, get it? : ) 

Yet we Mormon folk don't smoke. 

Wait, wait, wait!!!!

T. SHIRT. SLOGAN. 

"We Mormon folk don't smoke."

or just

"Mormon folk don't smoke."

Hell yeah.

Anyways, we Mormon folk don't smoke, so maybe the pun would be lost. 

This is Marlo and her Marlo man. 

If we all had husbands who loved us like Marlo Man loves his wife, then...

what's a good then for that?

No wars?

Smiles all the time?

Candy thoughts and Chocolate dreams?

Yeah, all that. 

This was one of my first photo shoots ever, and this photo is in my top ten faves I've ever taken.

I suggested a silly pose, and then Marlo Man got down and looked into his wife's eyes, 

and dang. 

I always hate it when people are beautiful AND FREAKING NICE. 

Like, Marlo is the person you WANT to get stuck in the elevator with for 7 hours in a cheese factory. 

You'd think wistfully when you turn 80,

"Remember when I got stuck with Marlo for 7 hours in the cheese factory elevator? 

That was the best day."

Ok, here's the photo, I've kept you in suspense long enough : )

Don't they look like a classic couple from the 40's? 

More Yosemite.

Colleen and I spoke on the phone today. 

Colleen is a woman who you stare at from afar and think, "I should be friends with that chick."

But you feel intimidated because she is so cool, you think, there's no way on this planet that I could ever be cool enough to be friends with someone that cool. 

I want to write two children's books about my friends that are both alliterative, and perfectly describe who they are. 

Carrie, the Caring Canary, 

and Cool Colleen. 

This post brought to you by the letter C. 

Anyways....

Colleen and I spoke about Yosemite. She got the scoop on the Hantavirus epidemicing its way through Curry village. We felt very sad that this is happening, and then we both laughed when Colleen suggested that their passing might have been filled with last moment memories of the splendorous beauty of Yosemite. 

It was one of those phone calls. Where you laugh, and it's all very witty and funny, and then you try to describe it to someone else and realize you have now made yourself sound like a heartless, feelingless wench. 

We're not, seriously. We just really love Yosemite. 

I've been there twice! 

Colleen has been there 12 times. 

Anyways......

Oh, and by the way, this is Colleen. These are shamelessly pirated photos.

I did not take these photos. 

Below are four that I did take : )

Of Magnificent Yosemite, and you know what?

Having this beauty in your file of "last beautiful things seen before I kick the bucket"

(Which I say not heartlessly, but with love and compassion)

wouldn't be too bad. 

That's it. I've decided to kick the bucket in Yosemite. 

Anyways.....

Y'all should 'git yeselves thar. 

And I meant it when I said I'm going to spend a weekend there with a 100 rented lenses next year! 

Ciao for now y'all : )

Oh and by the way. 

Colleen looks cool, she really does, but then you hang out with her and realize that she 

IS THE COOLEST FREAKING CHICK ON THE PLANET. 

For serious.

Yosemite

The Great Mountains of Yosemite have been done. 

They're so....last century.

They've been photographed too death and are passe now.

Which is a schmancy way of Melanie saying,

"The mountains are freaking incredible and they take my breath away and sadly I do not have the proper equipment to photograph them the way I want to."

So, I have to stick to the woods of Yosemite.

Which are always changing, always different. 

Which are breathtaking and magnificent and smell so good and are SO GREEN!

Which have inspired me that this is where I want to end up.

In the woods, taking pictures. 

And for the first time I took a picture that made me feel like this could actually be in my future. 

Next year I'm going back for an entire week with about 600 different rented lenses. 

I'm going to get up at 5 am every morning and catch every sunset. 

I want to devour these woods!! 

They are incredible!

The Campgrounds aren't too shabby either : ) (Crane Flat)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portraits of my offspring

Photographers usually defy that old saying, Doctors kids get sick and shoemaker's kids...or whatever. (I've yet to ever visit a shoemaker, though my sandals broke yesterday so I limped ridiculously through the Doctor's office yesterday. Apropos of this story, though I didn't know it then.)

They practice on their kids, they portrait-ize their kids because that's whose first at hand. 

I love my kids, but usually I snapshot them. A LOT. But not portrait. They don't stand still for me. I've taken so many pictures of them that they are jaded and whatever now. I don't even take pictures of them. Just 'pics.' 

But on the 4th of July, I declared my independence of pics. 

It was time to portrait-ize. 

And with the help of lots of bribing treats, I got 'em. 

And they are the most beautiful children I have ever seen. 

I don't stay home with my kids by accident. I do it on purpose. I do it when we're very poor.

 (most of the time)

I do it because, look at these faces. I need to see them as much as possible, drink in every moment! 

Before they are gone forever. 

They take my cheesy breath away. 

I love my angels! 

(Oh yeah, portraits bring out the angel in them, so I have these so I can look at them on the days when I'm gritting my teeth so tightly the dreams I have about all my teeth shattering are seconds away from becoming reality)

ZACHARY THE WONDERFUL SENIOR BOY

Theoretically there will be more photos in a later post of this really great guy Zach here. 

He just graduated a few weeks ago.

He is VERY sweet : )

I tend to get backed up on photos. 

Photo Constipation. 

It's a disease I suffer from. 

I'm sure it's incredibly annoying to have me take your photos and get them back to you....eventually.

This is DEFINITELY something I need to work on. 

I just don't have an eye for business.

I've got an eye for the sky. 

(Light)

I need a business manager that will force me to be responsible and make tons of money.

Any applicants?

(It's 2 in the morning and I have a severe toothache and so I am caffeinated on Excedrin.)

So I am rambling.

And people who know me know I ramble when I am tired. 

It's what I do. 

Ahem.

I'd like to call the classes' attention to the below photos.

Examine the light here.

Ask yourself, what the heck is going on?

Is it Sunset? 

How can it look like sunset and yet avoid being so yellow?

What is WITH THIS FANCY LIGHT?

Well people. 

This is dawn light. 

6 am (or earlier depending on the time of year) light.

This light is like, Dreyer's Ice Cream as opposed to the store brand.

Dawn light is Rolls Royce Light. 

The Salt Lake Temple light of Temples. 

(2 am. I should move on.)

(One more)

Marie Callendar's pie light. 

In N Out hamburger light. 

Disneyland light. 

Ahem. 

You have to get up. The battle's mostly won right there.

You have to move quickly. 

You have to bring a diet coke with you. 

But it is golden, pure, sweet beautiful perfection.

I have yet to arise this early again. I need to. 

Pure Cocaine Light. 

(Inappropriate reference? Sorry)

And when you put a boy of this golden magnitude into light of this golden magnitude?

MAGIC.

Thanks for getting up with me W. Family! 

Off to bed. 

G'night!

More of the Angel babies

Early in their career,

every Dr. will kill a patient. 

every judge will wrongfully send someone to death row. 

every bus driver will run over a homeless man. 

every teacher will derail a brilliant student. 

every chef will slice off one of their fingers. 

And every (recent history as in digital) photographer will discover Adobe Photoshop.

And use it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much. 

Maybe some of these aren't always true. 

Except for the photographer one.

I just meant, when you are passionate about something

(yes, even bus drivers. Go out there and talk to them. A lotta them LOVE IT.)

you make a lot of mistakes in the beginning, you just do. 

And every Photographer who discovers Photoshop gorges on it.

Until they wake up and realize they've gotten photoshop fat and just want organic food again. 

That's where I am. 

Back to FEELING the photo.

READING the photo.

WHY did I take this photo?

WHAT IS THE POINT of it?

WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE?

And that's what you focus on. Slightly enhancing that bit. 

Slightly. 

Each situation has a different question. A different reason to take a photo.

In National Geographic world, you want to perfectly capture everything in THAT MOMENT you are standing in. No editing. Well, you "sweep the dust" off it, but that's it. 

You want the blood. You want the dust. The sweat and fear and love and life and EVERYTHING.

Man I wish I worked for them.

Conversely, a portrait. Do you want zits?

Do you want snot hanging six feet off your baby's nose?

What about those yellow teeth?

Nope. 

You want your PORTRAIT (there is a difference between portrait and just getting pre-weight loss surgery Uncle Arnold belly flopping into the pool)

to match the wonderfulness of your memory. 

Yes, zits are part of teenagerhood. 

Snot is part of babyhood.

Those of us who haven't paid for perfection (most of us) have yellow teeth.

But you don't want to remember those things.

Did you take the picture for the architectural detail?

Did you like the color?

What was the point of this photo?

And direct your....what do you call people who look at your photos? For authors its readers, for movie stars its audience, for doctors its patients, for bus drivers its passengers....

...your lookers. Yes, you direct your Lookers eyes to that thing that made you take the picture.

(Looker rhymes with hooker)

And you emphasize it a little. 

The End.

Do as I say, not as I do.

'Cuz I'm still in Photoshop Rehab.

Moving right along........

This is Angel. 

I say this with the same reverence as I would draw back the curtains and say,

This is Elvis. 

(I don't really like Elvis. Let's try this again.)

I say this with the same reverence as I would draw back the curtains and say,

This is Sinead O'Connor. 

(My favorite singer of all time. Bald? Hater of The Pope? Yeah, that one : )

One day she (Angel, not Sinead, though I kind of think that about Sinead as well) will be a famous professor. 

One day this boy will be The President of The United States

and an apostle (someone high up in our LDS church)

Twin 1 will cure cancer.

Twin 2 will discover a free and limitless transportation energy solution.

And you know what all three will say?

"I owe it all to my mother."

Truer words never spoken. 

I, unlike every other teenager out there, had a difficult adolescence. 

Then I became a lame-o twenty something.

I have a lot of...energy. 

And like a blazing forest fire in Yellowstone, it's not always good. 

But this lady right here.

She's always listened to me, and offered THE MOST BRILLANT ADVICE EVER

and helped me, 

and loved me

and is my sister Shannon's best friend

and is a member of our family as sure as anyone else. 

Here are some more pictures of this wonderful lady person and her sweet as Indian candy

(try some, you'll have 8 cavities within three days,

and that's candy from India, not candy from South Dakota)

chitlins.

The green of the grass. The smile. The babies. That's why I took the photo.

I love the crying. This, unlike zits, is something to remember fondly. (kind of : ) I left the red in on purpose. The red really drives that screaming home. I love this baby.

The tear! The tear! Like I placed it there on purpose. Why can't our eyes always be the color they are after we cry for a while?

You can't find a cuter expression EVER IN THE WORLD.  Try it. I dare you.

Oh and one last thing about Photoshop
DON'T ERASE FRECKLES.
You want to remember those : )