Been having a hard time keeping the blog updated. Thought I would share a quick pic of the Ogden temple, and I have so many more photos of family stuff, events I have attended that I plan on sharing so please stay tuned!

This is a 1 second exposure handheld! I cheated and braced myself on a nearby light post.



Also I am working up another tutorial for those who enjoy those...

Portraits for the Slagle family

Clayton is funny, I was looking through photos I did for our cousins (the Slagles) and Clayton exclaimed "Hey those are my friends. I have a lot of friends huh dad."

The Slagle family was brave enough to have me take their family portraits. I had a lot of fun, and wanted to share some of results.

The Slagles are cousins (Brandy is more like a sister than a cousin). Brandy wanted red in the family portrait to contrast with the green she painted her family room. I suggested that we make portraits when the leaves turn red.



Aren't the Slagels a beautiful family (it comes from the Marx side;)



Sometimes the sun can create cool effects like lens flare.



Something a little different...



Da boyz...



Da Girlz (the girls rule the house by more than sheer numbers)...



See Brook in the middle? She is the most photogenic girl I have ever met.



One of the fun moments was when I had mom and dad do a couple's photo. All the kids were chanting along with me Kiss, Kiss, Kiss... The kids thought it was great!



Here is Kennedy...



And Natalie...



Brook...



Ethan...



Mom and Dad again...



This is probably my favorite...



Had to pull out the strobe for some of these, can you tell which???

Jade-O Potat-O

I was looking through my photos, and noticed a slight trend. It seems that I am making more photos of things. I mean landscapes, macro, etc. When I first started, it was all about Clayton, and from there my photography morphed. I really began to want to take nice photos of family and friends (now I don't care who it is). That is where I left off for a very long time. Not long ago I found a love for landscape photography, so I began to experiment, branch out.

I guess it is time to go back to the roots, to what first got me picking up the camera over and over again.

A couple of weeks back, we went to the Union Station at Ogden (I know three times in a row now). Papa wanted to see the cars and trains. Clayton loves both of those so we thought it would be fun to go. Last minute we had an unexpected surprise, Lynn was coming too. OK so we all know we don't care a Nat's eyelash about Lynn, but he brought his little girl Jade (or like we all like to say, Jade-O potato).

Clayton hasn't gotten to know his cousin that well. I remember for Christmas I was putting photo-books together for the Grandparents of the Grand kids. I looked through the millions of photos I had captured, and found I did not have one single photo of Jade.



Well it is about time that I get a few photos of Jade!

There are so many fun things to do at the Union station for these little people (I think Clayton's favorite was actually the model trains inside). We could mostly just relax and let them do their thing.



They liked the fountain too.



At first Jade wasn't sure about me (being a near stranger to her, though I am her only bald uncle, and the funnest guy she will probably ever know). She eventually warmed up to me...





Jade, glad to get to see you. Clayton had a blast, and we can't wait to do it again. Clayton will never get bored of the train station!

August photowalk

It is only the second time that I have made it to a Utah Photowalking event since I joined the group back in November. I almost made it to the June Photowalk but arrived late. I ended up walking solo in June.

This time I arrived on time to meet the group. We met for a short time talked about next months meet and then headed out. Some how I ended up doing the group photo…

The coolest thing about the meet is the chance to rub shoulders with photographers who see differently, have different experience, and are willing to share their knowledge and skills with others. I tend to get a little excited when it comes to photography jumping into things when I only half know what I am doing and sharing knowledge that I think I have but really am just learning about. So being able to absorb others experience is exciting.

Photo is property of Rich Legg, model is me...

The shot above was taken by Richard Legg (Stock photographer extraordinary). For the shot he borrowed a lens from Dave Ward, and used my lights to light the dim train interior of this train. That is input from three different photographers (I feel lucky to be one of them)!

After shooting a little at the train station we headed off down 25th street, Ogden for some street photography. I am amazed at how others can see things along the streets. I just don’t see the way others do. I was very impressed with what Scott Smith came away with.

Photo is property of Scott Smith

Of course I was searching for abstract subjects and well came away with this (sigh...).

Hit the post title to check out what some of the other fellow photowalkers came away with.

There was a moment where Rich and David Ward did a little available light technique (learned from work shops done with the amazing Kenneth Linge). One thing I realized is how slow I am when it comes to being ready for a shot. Many of the others were ready in an instant. Goes to show how much I still need to learn… Dave Ward came away with some amazing photos of a biker.

Photo is property of Dave Ward

We arrived back at the train station and decided to do a couple of Strobist inspired photos. We used the speed lights from the group pool to get some interesting shots. I was amazed at how at easily other photographers found it to convince others to let us shoot them (with cameras). Someone was able to coax two young men getting ready to catch a train hobo style, to pose for the group. We were already using hard light creating hard shadows creating a mood that fit perfectly with the transient/hobo look. Many others came up with lighting ideas (using gels etc.) that added to the look of the photos! For some this was the first experience using speed lights and others it was part of the norm. It was a true learning experience for all!

Can't wait for the next photowalk!

One of the really great things is that I met a few photographers that live near where I do. Can't wait to hang out again...

Ogden Union station

Again trying to catch up on events. Again I am amazed at how much cool stuff there is to do and see in Ogden...

Clayton was in second heaven when we stopped for a visit at the Ogden Union station (he is a huge Thomas the Train fanatic). There is only one thing he likes better than airplanes and that is trains. These trains are large and at first Clayton was a bit intimidated by the sheer size of these engines.



At the station there is a museum (we didn't go in as it was closed) but outside there are a half dozen engines that you can touch, climb on, and well get up close and personal with. These things are sooo cool!



Look how small Clayton is compared to the engines. Even Anji looks like a mini person.



The coolest train was the steamy (as Clayton would say). Look at the detail in the iron work...



When Dani and Jason visit from Colorado, Clayton will be so excited to show his cool older cousins the train museum. His bigger cousin Jackson is probably more of a train fanatic than Clayton is (if that is possible)?