Amazing Weekend with E and the Guys

I was so happy and fortunate to spend an amazing weekend in Idaho with my best friend who was getting married to an amazing girl, Emilie. My only problem was that I got way too caught up in the festivities that I didn't get to capture the wedding itself. But of course we were able to grab some amazing shots when we spent the morning in Jackson, Wyoming. We left at 5:30am to grab the best breakfast burrito I have ever had. Eric had been talking it up for a few days, and we all had high expectations. But of course it lived up to its billing. So if you are in Jackson and looking for breakfast you have to check out DOG. But before we even made it to the burrito place, as we were driving down the pass we passed the biggest moose in the entire world. No joke... the biggest ever to roam the earth. As we turned around to try and grab a photo it majestically bounded up the mountain eluding all of our cameras. You will have to take our word for it, but it was the absolute biggest moose the planet has ever seen. While the shots below don't show this mammoth moose, they do show one amazing morning! 

I love this shot of Brent, Eric and Mason strolling along the river.

We had to be very careful of the dangerous wildlife. After the extremely close run-in with the wild and dangerous moose, Mason came vitally close to loosing his life by tempting fate. He tried to capture the 'shot of the day' by putting his own life on the line, and getting too close to this man eater.

This is the customary Eric shot.

Not only were we evading the life threatening wildife in WY, but we were tempting fate by trying to capture the perfect takeoff shot from the Jackson Airport. We were being followed by homeland security after we spent a good 20 minutes taking pictures of all the planes taking off.

This is Mason... enjoying some pear brew.

Thank you all for an amazing weekend!

Edamame

I always love me some Edamame. I had a tast of an edamame dip one day at work, and I had to recreate it. Luckily, this quick dish is absolutely the easiest thing to put together. If you have a food processor you have everything you need. You can see the ingredients below. Add your own, mix it up but throw it all in the food processor and you have an amazingly healthy and tasty dip!

Another Afternoon with Ella

I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with Ella and her Mom and Dad in the park. She seemed to truly enjoy herself, and I had a great time running around with my camera. I really appreciate the time I get to spend with her, and that makes me more and more excited about getting to see her little brother who is on the way!

Day Off = Garden Lunch

I was fortunate to get a day off work last week. It was the perfect opportunity to make lunch for Carolyn and I using the richness of our garden. We are getting overwhelmed by the banana peppers we have growing. They needed to be used, and I didn't even get to use up a third of them. I made stuffed banana peppers with Soy Chorizo. The peppers, tomatoes, chives and jalapeno all came from our garden. The light cream cheese and soy chorizo came from Trader Joes of course. Below is the process:

I started by sauteing the jalapeno, onion, tomatoe and soy chorizo in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil to cook everything through and blend the flavors.

Then I combined the sauteed mix with the light cream cheese and chives...

The peppers were then stuffed, lightly oiled and put in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes.

My beer of choice for summer is Modelo Especial. It seems to go with anything. I had the beer, Carolyn got a diet coke because she was still working. I absolutely love having an unexpected day off of work!

Garden View

We have made our first full on garden this year. Mostly peppers, herbs and tomatoes. Here is a small glimpse of the tomatoes we are taking each day. I am very proud of this garden, and I have had a blast this spring/summer tending to it. We are just beginning to reap the rewards, and we have been enjoying the cucumbers, green peppers, jalapenos and banana peppers. So I wanted to share with you a small shot of our garden.

Mumford and Sons

Please enjoy this wonderful band!

My Girl

My wife travels for work every once and a while, and I miss her everytime she goes. She left yesterday and I alreay miss her like carzy. So here is an older engagement shot of us for you all to enjoy because I love looking at pictures of us when I miss her. It was taken by Laura Taylor.

Sunset Beach

Here are a few more natural shots from our weekend at Sunset Beach. The first was taken on our balcony which had a view of the Intercoastal Waterway. I can't say enough about our stay at the Sunset Inn. What a wonderful place.

We say a couple learning how to glide on the beach. It was perfect for a quick shot. Sun setting, wind blowing and camera ready. I just wish I was able to give it a try!

It is unbelievable the kind of sea shells that make it to shore now. Some poor Memorial Day celebrator lost something pretty important to them. There were not many people around when we walked past this. I don't think this one will turn back on...

And of course this is my beautiful wife!

This last shot is also SOOC. But I used my aviators as a filter. I like the edge in this shot where you can see the normal background.  

Sunset at Sunset Beach, NC

Carolyn and I spent an absolutely amazing memorial day weekend in Sunset Beach, NC. We stayed at the Sunset Inn, and couldn't be more pleased with the whole experience. It was quite, beautiful, comfortable and everything we needed/wanted for a relaxing weekend together. We ate delicious seafood, got a little burnt on the beach, met some fun people, took long walks at sunset and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of our holiday weekend. I took a few shots this weekend, but mostly relaxed. The following shots were all taken from the balcony of the Sunset Inn. There will be another post of our weekend, but I had to start with the sunsets because this island lived up to it's name every evening.

All of these shots were SOOC (straight out of the camera). Even this final shot. The thing is I made the same mistake twice. I have run into the same problem on our honeymoon. After our wedding we stayed in Mexico. One morning I woke up early to take pictures of the sunrise, and when I brought my camera outsitde of our extremely air conditioned hotel my lens fogged up and everything looked blurry. The same thing happened this weekend. I was taking pictures during sunset, and ran back into our room to change lenses. I didn't realize how fogged my new lense was until I had taken a few shots and then glanced at the display. I actually like how it turned out. It looks like I added a filter in photoshop. But you would think I would have learned my lesson by now.

 Air conditioned hotel + extremely humid climate = filter like foggy photo.

Snake-A-Palooza

This shot always reminded me of an album cover. All I am doing is waitng for the next Snake-A-Palooza!!!

Missing NYC

There are a few things I really miss about New York City. I love Spring in the City. This is an old photo I took from the window of Carolyn's old apartment in Chelsea. Chelsea is such an amazing neighborhood. And you can't beat her old view. The best part about the view of the Empire State Building  out of her bedroom was watching to see what color it would be each night. The lights change for the season or holiday. I miss getting to see this building.  

Motion

Playing with motion... some self portrait fun.

By the Light of the Moon

Congratulations to Elizabeth and Adam! Their wedding was outstanding, and we all had a great time at the reception. When Carolyn and I returned home it had finished storming and the moon was on full display. What a lovely way to end a great weekend.

Creative Props

The creative insight of my wife, Carolyn can be downright amazing. She had a vision from the beginning for these shots, and I just hope that I did her vision justice. I love these shots, and hope you all do too!