The Greenhouse

So Erin has been slaving in the greenhouse for the last 3 weeks and I thought I'd show you some of the fruits of her labor in this post.

Also found out today that my job just got a lot better.  How you ask? Well not only am I here to help the Boss photograph; but I get to take part in all the guest adventures.

So if the guests go Horseback riding guess who is going 5 yards behind sniping all the days adventures.  I feel real blessed. This job is like a paid vacation for me.

 I get to do a lot of things I love, as well as learn some new skills - all while being with my wife and dog.  It's perfect.

Sorry for the delay in Blog posts; it's been a busy week.

Bonneville Speedway ~  Bonneville, Utah

Home to multiple land speed records and 30,000 acres of dry salt lake bed.  I was so excited to get to see this place after hearing about all the lore of the 300mph + top speed records.  I dreamed of taking the Hummer across the flats at 100+ mph.  However mother nature had different plans for us.  It rained alot the last few weeks - rendering the salt flats into mud flats.  Either way, we still had a good time venturing out onto the salt flats, slinging mud everywhere.  FYI - when you are traveling in salty mud it fills the treads on your tires giving you no grip. I wasn’t able to get up to a speed over about 45 mph on the flats in the mud.  Needless to say I’ll be going back to Bonneville in the future in the summer for some better weather and some fast speeds on the flats.

It rained and created a lake on the flats H3 looks right at home though

Here are a few photo tips when shooting on gray days.  Set your white balance in your camera or in your editing program to a shady setting thus giving you a warmer looking photo.  If you are using Capture One or Photoshop, white balance off of some clouds or a pure white object.  Also, if your subject matter happens to be pure white, for example salt flats, make sure you underexpose your images to account for the fact that your meter is affected by all the bright white objects.  Also, don’t forget when nature throws you gray days with very little contrast it’s actually doing you a favor in a few ways. 

1. All the cloud cover makes everything like a giant soft box with lots of diffused light which is great for some really vibrant colors.

1. Also don’t be afraid to change your digital photos to black and white and really add  some contrast to bring out those clouds and some rich blacks.

1. Make sure you meter correctly find something that is middle gray or the (Zone V) equivalent ( Examples : green grass, blue jeans, grey t-shirts, brown/ green bushes).

Have fun with it and keep shooting especially if you shoot digital - its free!!!!

THE LAND OF MORMON

Kolob Canyons Pano ~ Zion National Park

Ah..... Utah...... a state with the most National Parks in it and a state that also has the most mormons in it.  Mormon - is that code for redneck? - cause this is what i have observed while in Utah so far.

Zion National Park

So here are a few steps on blending in while in Utah

Step 1 : Wear some type of Harley Gear

Step 2 : Wear Cammo to blend in to your natural surroundings (ie Walmart)

Step 3 : Drive something real big and make sure the exhaust decibels are on the verge     ear shattering

Step 4 : Apply some sort of manly branding to your car, Nascar Sticker, Gun Brand logo,   NRA Sticker, Awesome trailer hitch cover “ Cowgirl butts make me go Nuts”.

Step 5 : Walmart is your one stop shop for everything.  Need a hair cut, prescription      filled, taxes filed, checks cashed, oil changed, dental work, family portraits       taken, or just want to hang out with your friends for dinner, WALMART is the    place to be

My wife Erin really excited to be at Bass Pro Shop in Las Vegas

So enough about Utah.  The road trip is going super.  We drove 750 miles today in about 10 hours making great time from LA to Salt Lake City.  On the way we made a few stops at some of my favorite places.  God bless my wife - she is such a great sport for putting up with this awesome MAN day!  We started the morning off at 6am freeway driving to one of the four Chick Fila’s in the greater LA area.  While driving through Vegas we stopped at the Silverton Casino, which has a massive Bass Pro Shop attached where dogs are welcome inside (kudos for Indy).  In this particular Bass Pro shop they have a golf simulator which I could not resist. I tested out a driver and cranked a few shots about 300 yards.  While playing this wonderful game i set my sunglasses down and forgot upon leaving the store i didn’t realize this till we were about 200 miles away.  Oh well - they had served me well i had worn them for the better part of 9 years and my wife hated them. I think internally she was imitating the, Montgomery Burns evil saying “ yes my plan is working, Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha”.  With Vegas behind us and my back up pair of 5 dollar sunglasses on we made it to Zion where we explored the Kolob Canyons part of the park.  There was still snow and it was a perfect 75 degrees.  We had a great driving tour of the park with a few stops for photos.  After that we made a beeline for Salt Lake City, full speed ahead captain 80mph speed limit, did I mention “I wanna go fast” ~ Ricky Bobby.  While filling up at a gas station on the way I noticed a cool storm coming in snapped a few photos and noticed a Petting Zoo at the gas station with a Zebra. Are Zebra’s normal animals at Petting Zoo’s in Utah?  I have no idea but the llama’s looked happy. 

Storm rolling in at the Flying J

Happy Llama's