What to do photographically in 2011?

The past few days here in Seattle have been beautiful. Cold, but beautiful. As I drive to work every morning, I've been going through the Arboretum. The sun coming through the trees, the waters of Lake Washington are still and partially frozen over -- it makes for some tranquil scenes to start the day.

It's been a nice break from the winter grayness, and the scenic morning displays have my creative juices moving again. I'm inspired to grab my camera, play hooky, and get outside to attempt to capture what I see and tranform it to a digital image. But alas, I'm bound by responsibility and instead elect to drive to the office and sit indoors for the duration of the day. By the time I get out, it's near dusk, and I'm occupied with other duties (walking the dog, making dinner, watching Top Chef).

But it has got me thinking -- what do I want to do this year to better my photography skills? What is a photography project I can start (and finish)? So as the days slowly get longer, I'm going to quickly run out of excuses not to go shoot. I guess I better come up with something soon. I've got a couple ideas kickin' around in the ol' noggin'. I think they need a bit more time to fully bake, but if and when I decide to move forward, I'll let you know. And of course, if you have any ideas for me, please send them my way. I'd love to see what you have to say!

A Resolution

Here it is, a new year.  The year 2011 has arrived, and just like that, twenty four days have gone by. In most ways, nothing much has changed. I'm still working, still living, and still trying to figure out what's to come... But I have made a decision to better myself this year.

Yep, I made a resolution. There, I said it. A resolution. I hate making resolutions. Probably because I always break them. But so far, I've been sticking to this one. Like millions of other people, I've made the decision to get into shape. I've committed to working out three days a week, and so far, so good. I actually made the decision to do so in early Dec, but I wanted to be realistic, and not try to set myself up for failure through the holidays. So right before we rang in the new year, I went and visited the local gym. And tell you what, I've been doing pretty well. I've realized that the hardest part of the workout is getting out of bed. But once I'm up, I'm on my way.

To help break the boredom barrier I often encounter with working out, I've downloaded a couple iPhone apps to help introduce some new exercises. It's been nice to break the cycle of the same 5 things all the time, and helped to keep me motivated. My hope is that I'll be able to start seeing some tangible results soon.

The thing is, I'm not just trying to get physically fit, but spiritually as well. Let me provide some background info.

In the past few days, I made the decisions to go and see my final continent. Yes, Africa is on my radar, and it looks like I'll be traveling there this June. It'll be a mixed purpose trip for me... the first few days I will be on safari in Tanzania, and then soaking in the sun on the beaches of Zanzibar. But the majority of my time in Africa will be spent working at a new Young Life camp in Zanzibar. Details are still scarce right now, so I don't know much right now.

Here's where my resolution comes in -- If you were to tell me I was leaving tomorrow, I wouldn't be ready. And I'm not talking about logistics. I don't think I'm spiritually prepared for the trip. In many ways, I'm out of "shape" for a trip like this. It's been years since I did a mission trip, and even longer working with Young Life. I'm not nervous per se -- rather, I just don't feel like I've prayed enough, studied enough, or known enough  for the missional aspect of the trip. So, I'm trying to start getting spiritually "in shape" for the work that we'll be doing in Zanzibar.

Don't get me wrong. I know regardless of whether I'm ready, the experience will be amazing. The people will be fantastic, the culture and the locale exciting, and that God's love will be in abundance. I have no doubt of any of that. I just want to make sure that I can be as prepared as I can be.

So here's to the hope that I will stay strong and continue my resolution through the year... Feel free to keep me accountable to it!

In Retrospect

In a couple days, the year of 2010 will pass away. Like the years before it, the year was full of highs and lows. But this year is as unique as the 365 days within it.

Perhaps it's a natural to look back upon the twelve months at the close of the calendar year. I tend to think people are of a balanced nature -- most of us like to have closure with each new beginning. To look back when moving forward, and finish a chapter before starting a new one.

So as many are probably this time of the year, here is a recap of the key moments of my life in the year Twenty-Ten.

January
OK, it technically was the end of December 2009, but I thought I'd start the list off with Tucker. Never before have I had the sole responsibility of taking care of something so dependent on me. Having Tuck has been a blessing this past year... to watch him grow physically and mentally, to see him adapt Beth and I as part of his "pack", to experience the joy of him excitedly greeting us at the door, jumping on our laps while watching TV, or snuggling up next to our legs when he's tired. Sure, there have been frustrating times -- digging at walls and his stubborn independence, but it's just part of loving him for who he is. Now I know many of you are probably thinking that I'm putting too much into this dog, this animal. But he's the closest thing I've ever had to having a child, and it's been an eye (and heart) opening experience.

February
Normally, this month is filled with celebration, but this year, intertwined with Beth and my birthdays and Valentine celebrations, was the grief of Beth's dad passing away. In some ways, it doesn't feel like Len's been gone that long. But over these last few weeks, in the midst of Thanksgiving and Christmas, he was missed immensely. There are times that I look over at Beth, and I can read in her eyes the sadness of wishing her dad was still here. And all I can do is give her hug. So Len, if you're reading this, know that you're missed.

The other event that happened in February was the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC. We had the opportunity to go experience the Olympics in person. And although we were only there for a day, it was a great day. In addition to walking through Olympic fever in downtown Vancouver, we were able to watch of of the most exciting sports -- short track speed skating. We saw the craziness of expanding and collapsing laps of the relays, the speed and courage of the athletes, and even the miracle 7th medal that Apollo Ohno won.

March
This month signified the end of my sabbatical.... I returned back to work. My new gig has me working at Microsoft, but as a vendor rather than an employee. It's been an interesting nine months so far. Not only did I have to shake off the rust of not working for 7 months, but there was much to learn. Only now am I feeling like I've come up to speed. There have been unexpected challenges, but the guys I work with are hard working and dedicated to what they do, and we've been able to accomplish some great things.

July
Beth and I took a couple extended weekend trips this month -- the first was to Steamboat Springs, CO. It was an action packed time filled with alpine slides, horseback riding, mountain biking, a rodeo, parade, great food, and even better friends. But even with all the activities, it helped recharge the batteries.

Shortly after CO, we then headed down to the Bay Area for Chan family reunion. Although another long weekend, Beth got to meet my dad's side of the family, we were able to explore a bit of San Fran and Pacifica,  we ate some great food, and of course the family was even better... All in all, very successful family reunion.

Sept-December
This past fall was mainly focused on work... for one of our clients, we have what we've come to call "the reboot". I'll spare the details, but our team was shuffled a bit, and we were able to refocus our efforts to deliver some big deliverables in small time frames.

October
I did take another long weekend to meet up with my cousin for a mini-photo road trip... I've detailed the misadventures previously, so all I'll add is to say that although things didn't go as planned, it makes for great stories after the fact.

December
And here we are. Back where we started. This month has been relatively quiet -- I took a trip up to Whistler to break in the new skis and enjoy time with friends. The weekend was filled with snow, Yahtzee!, friends getting engaged, and hot tubs. All this ruccous was followed by a peaceful Christmas spent with B & her mom.

So there you have it -- the highlight reel of my past year. The have certainly been other things that I've experienced over the course of 2010, but these were the biggest things. And now we're on the cusp of a new year again. What's to come? Who knows? But it's sure to go by swiftly, as the years seem to do nowadays. My hope is that this finds you with new blessings each day, and that by this time next year, you'll be able to look back upon your best year yet. To all of you, I wish the happiest of new years!

Days 3 & 4 in a Long Weekend

Day 3 & 4's Itinerary:

The Plan:
Day 3
1) Visit the truck wash and resolve the billing issue (Completed. See my previous post.)
2) Drive to Mesa Verde National Park
3) Shoot all day
4) Return to the hotel in Farmington
Day 4
1) Drive back to Albuquerque
2) Have lunch
3) Airport, fly home to Seattle

Although the latter half of our photography weekend lacked the adventure to of the first two days, I thoroughly enjoyed it more. Perhaps it was putting Chaco Canyon behind us, or maybe because the sun came out, but I think the main reason was that I really liked Mesa Verde National Park.

We crossed into Southern Colorado early Saturday morning... The weather didn't look promising -- thick rain clouds poured out on us, and hindered our ability to take in the scenic surroundings as we drove through Colorado. And although by the time we reached the entrance to Mesa Verde, the rain had stopped it was instead replaced by a thick shroud of fog. The windy mountain road often disappeared fifteen feet in front of us... Fortunately, we followed the steady pace of a semi-truck, its brake lights providing early warning to any tight turns or obstacles that may have been in the roadway.  (I wish I had a picture to show you, but since I was driving, my hands were locked in "2" and "10" position on the steering wheel.)

In spite of the weather, both Norman and I were in good spirits. We saw the fog as an opportunity to capture some unique photographs. Neither of us had every seen an image of the cliff dwellings cloaked in fog, and with Halloween the following weekend, the idea seemed fitting for the season. But just as we discussed it, we suddenly emerged out of the cloud into the clear valley below. The thought of foggy cliff ruins disappated as quickly as the fog itself.

Due to the timing of our trip, we were not able to see many of the sites around the park since many had closed for the season the weekend before. But we had enough to see to keep us occupied for the day anyway. The three main locations we visited were located on the "Chapin Mesa"- the "Spruce Tree House",(ruins), "Cliff Palace" (ruins), and the "Mesa Top Loop" (driving loop).

The cliff dwellings were built in Mesa Verde roughly the same time as Chaco Canyon (800AD - 1100 AD)...
There are also numerous thoughts of why the natives built their dwellings in the cliffs in the first place. A few possibilities reasons are protection from the weather (it's cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter), protection from foes (most likely a neighboring tribe rather than anybody else), and closer to water sources. It is also unknown why the inhabitants left the cliffs after 3 centuries, but there are multiple theories. Some same it was due to the lack of food, or perhaps epic draughts. Regardless, all that are left now are the stone and mortar they spent lifetimes to build.

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking for me, but one thing I did want to share is the "kiva". To the untrained eye, a kiva is simply a hole in the ground. But it meant so much more to the people who live in these dwellings. The kiva was communial place where people could come together. They would dig large pits into the ground, 8-10 feet deep. Then they would cover the roof with tree trunks and thick limbs. To complete the roof, they would cover it with earth, leaving only a small hole to use as the entrance and chimney.

In...



Out...



Look for ladders, and you'll find kivas.



An uncovered kiva



So there you go... a synaposis of our weekend in the desert plateaus of the Southwest. To spare you from the boredom, the return home was uneventful, with only a flight delay to report. In hindsight, it was a trip filled with lessons, stories, and history. I am sure as time passes, I'll look upon this trip with more fondness, and be reminded of the adventures that Norman and I endured.

Day 2 in a Long Weekend

This is what we woke up to. Well kinda. We actually had woken up an hour earlier, but it was grey out, so we skipped sunrise and slept in for another hour. By the time we rolled out of our sleeping bags, the sun was blasting through the clouds.

Day 2's Itinerary:
The Plan:
1) Take pictures of Chaco Canyon all day
2) Try to shoot Star Trails again
3) Camp overnight and capture sunrise

The Reality:
For the most part, we did stick with the plan of shooting all day. That morning, we started at the largest ruin in the area, Pueblo Bonito. Once we had scoured the site inside and out, we continued to the Penasco Blaco hike and scoped out the petroglyphs that were etched hundreeds of years ago, As historic as both were though, I couldn't seem to get in the rhythm of shooting. Reviewing my photos now, they reflect my mood then: bored and uninspired. I couldn't seem to get excited about where we were, or the subjects that were before me. Perhaps it's because I've visted ruins before, all of which seemed more interesting to me than Chaco. Or maybe it was the lighting -- bright and stark, with no sense of softness. Whatever it was though, it came across in my photography. In hindsight, it was a good lesson to take away for myself.

As the day progressed, the sunshine began to dwindle as the afternoon storm clouds began to form again. But after a quick downpour, the sun peeked through enough for Norman and I to take a final hike of the day. This hike started at the bottom of a rock fall, and required us to scramble up over fallen boulders, through a fissure between cliff walls, and finally popping out on top, overlooking the canyon below. The view was grand;  The canyon valley unveiled in its full glory, and bird's eye views of multiple sites.

At this point, the sun was starting to drop and the sky began to fill with color. The wind on the plateau picked up -- probably from the clouds moving in, but those same clouds made for beautiful skyscapes.

By this time, we had already decided to change our plans, and head north toward Mesa Verde that night instead of camping. So as the sun began to dip behind the canyon walls, we made our way back down into the valley and back to the car. Personally, I'm glad that we took that final hike. I left Chaco with a better impression of the place, and a better outlook on the weekend.

It was really too bad that outlook didn't stick around for long.

Although it hadn't rained nearly as much as Thursday, the roads out of Chaco were just as slick as going in... Although we managed to stay out of the ditch this time (and what had been a raging current was nothing more than a quick stream), Chaco still managed to get its last laugh. We had discovered that morning that the car was very shaky. Vibrations were rampant when we crossed the 40 mph threshold. We thought and hoped that it was unbalanced wheels due to the caked mud on the wheels, but feared the worst. Once we drove through 20 miles back to the highway, we stopped to and tried to chisel off what we could with our fingers and sticks, but to no avail. So we drove north to Farmington in pouring rain, the car vibrating like a Sharper Image back massager.


The mud on the tires from the trip in...

There's a town just east of Farmington called Bloomfield. We arrived in Bloomfield around 8:30pm.  The car was still shaking, so Norman had the great idea of finding a car wash to see if we could rinse the mud off. And wouldn't you know it? There was a truck wash with self-serve pressure washing. We were in luck! We pulled in and popped $1.50 in quarters and started going to town on the wheels. Unfortunately, time ran out before we could finish, and with no more quarters, we used my debit card to finish the job. You would not believe how much mud was on that car... Anyway, about $3.50 later, our job was finished. Triumphantly, we cheered our good fortune of a self-service truck wash, and went to the card reader to stop the transaction (it charged by the second). THUMP! (Know what that is? It's the other shoe dropping.) Guess what? The stop button didn't work. Press as we may, with fingers, coins, keys, it was to no avail. The timer and charges kept ticking away. Tick, tick, tick... there's 5 cents... tick, tick, tick, another 10... there was no stopping it. What was a $3.50 transaction grew to $5, $10, $15... And since it was after hours, there was nobody to terminate it. And since I used my local credit union's debit card, it was also after hours, so I couldn't terminate the fee from my side either. Defeated, we realized that there was nothing we could do that night, and headed to our hotel in Farmington. (By the way, the pressure washing did the trick. The SUV was much better after its expensive shower.)

The next morning, Norman and I decided to head back to the truck wash and try to solve the problem with the cashier. I braced myself for battle. I envisioned arguing with some stubborn teenager who wouldn't see that a $350 charge for a SUV was unreasonable. I actually got a little nervous for my debate. But I was ready to kick some butt, and reclaim the money owed to me.

We pulled up to the truck wash and walked into the office. Instead of some punk kid manning the register like I envisioned, we were greeted by a curley, white haired grandma. I was caught off guard, but I gathered my wits, and explained our situation, ready to do battle. But as you would expect a curley, white haired grandma to respond, she sweetly said that the machine automatically cuts off at $25 (we had left after we crossed the $20 mark). $25! That was nothing! So I politely declined,  thanked her, and we left, feeling a bit relieved and a little sheepish (well, me anyway).

Things I learned or were reminded of through this fiasco.
1) If your credit card continues to charge, there's usually a termination amount. Or you can slide your card again to end the transaction.
2) Unless you're crossing a real river, most likely you'll be fine.
3) Go with the flow (no pun intended). After all, you're on vacation.
4) Mud in Chaco Canyon is like concrete when it dries.No wonder the Chacoans used it as mortar.
5) Curley, white haired grandma types are awesome.

So there you have it, the second day of our long weekend.

Day 1 of a Long Weekend

My cousin is a Material Sciences graduate student. Usually, he's hard at work (or research) in one of the basement labs (seriously) at the University of Michigan. But every once in a while, they let him out to go to a conference. It is for this reason that he and I spent four days last week in New Mexico and Colorado.

Norman's five day conference is this week in Santa Fe, NM. Because he's smart, he got the great idea of extending his time in the Southwest a few days, and invited me to come along for a long photography weekend . Since I've had the travel itch for the past few months, I gave him the thumbs up and we quickly planned out our short and busy itinerary. Little did we know what was in store for us.

DAY ONE

The Plan:

1. Fly into Albuquerque (which I still have problems spelling) on Thursday, early afternoon.

2. Drive up to Chaco Canyon, NM in time for the golden hour before the sunset.

3. Camp and try out some night shoot (star trails, light painting, etc).

What actually happened:

Due to a delay in my flight and at the car rental place, plus a quick (and delicious) early dinner at a New Mexican restaurant, we didn't get on the road until 4pm or so. By then the storm clouds has darkened, and the rains came. By the time we turned off the highway onto the 16 miles of unpaved Country Road 7900, it was dark. And muddy. We actually had planned for this, and rented a SUV thinking it would help with the terrain. Yeah, not so much.

After driving 13 miles of our 16 mile road, we came across was the gushing flow of flood water over the road.... Preceding the torrent was not one, but two signs stating "Do Not Cross Road When Any Water Is Present". As you can probably guess, we weren't exactly prepared to ford a river in a rental Chevy. (Get it? Ford, Chevy... Sorry bad joke.) So there we are, stopped in the dark, blocked by a river of flood water. Since both of us are city slickers, we decided to wait for the water to recede a bit (it had stopped raining for some time by then). To pass the time, out came the cameras.

We messed around for a while, most of which was spent experimenting with nightime photography and throwing rocks into the middle of the overflow, trying to guage the water's depth. After multiple bad exposures, a few kerplunks!, and an hour going by, I decided it was time to brave the obstacle since the water looked to have receded quite bit. And what an anti-climatic crossing it was. We drove straight through, with no problems whatsoever.  (Now that I think of it, the SUV was a Chevy Traverse. Fitting.) Although that was the ideal outcome, I've experienced more drama from driving over SR520 in sunshine.

That wasn't it though. The peak of adventure came shortly thereafter. As I mentioned earlier, the road was muddy. Muddy and rutted in many places, and MUD-DEE in others. It is the latter where we began to experience the "SUV slip and slide". At this point, I'm driving about 5 miles an hour, sliding every direction. The car's tires had caked on 3 inches of mud, negating any tread that was on the tire. So here we are, controlled sliding down the road. It was progress though, until the fateful moment when the Chevy's backend slid a bit too close to the ditch... the next thing we knew was the car was resting at a 45 degree angle in the ditch. The right tires in the bottom, the left tires on the trough wall. At this point, I'm thanking God that there's no damage to the car and also wondering why we didn't get the optional insurance at the rental counter in case things got worse.

Since we weren't planning on staying in that position all night,  I decide to try to drive out. No good. Every time the front tires moved up the ditch wall, they'd come sliding back down. The only option that remained for us was to drive down the channel like the Duke boys of Hazzard county and hope we'd be able to get out. (I really wish we had gotten a few pictures of this, but at the time we both were preoccupied.) Finally, after what seemed like a mile, but was probably a couple hundred feet, I was able to gun the car enough to squirt out of the situation.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. As you can tell, nothing really went according to plan that day... we arrived at the campsite too late to capture sunset, which wouldn't have mattered since the storm clouds were out anyway. We weren't able to shoot star trails (once again due to the clouds), and the weather was fickle enough for us to decide to lay down the seats in the SUV, and forgo the tent. All in all, long and exciting first day to our long weekend.

The Lesser Known Pike Place Market

I'm certainly glad this blog isn't a child. Otherwise, I would be locked up for neglect. Almost three months have gone by without a single sentence, link, recipe or photo from me. It's not like I've been intentionally lazy. But for whatever reason, the site's been pushed aside. And you know what? It's still not going get much time from me right now. I'm simply posting a few pics I took with my camera phone this past weekend at Pike Place Market. But instead of pics of the farmer stands, flower blooms, or flying fish, here's a glimpse of what commonly may get overlooked.

America's Birthday. Yee Haw!

Here is a recipe for you. Take equal parts Rocky Mountains, horseback riding, mountain biking, golf, and blend with extra doses of friends, food, and sunshine. What you get is a fantastic way to spend the Fourth of July. B & I were fortunate to stay with friends in Steamboat Springs, CO for the past five days. We arrived in Steamboat on July 2nd... It's a hub of activities, whether in the winter or the summer, and the nine of us took advantage of all the opportunities to play as much as we soaked in the vitamin D into our pale West Coast skin. The beauty of our surroundings, the afternoon thunderclouds and windstorms, and the joking and laughter of good friends are terrific ways to rejuvenate. But this isn't unique to Steamboat, and not the topic I'll writing about today. What I will be sharing is how this small ski town provided the perfect example of the topic of what the quintessential Independence Day experience could be.

Steamboat isn't very large, but like many other Smalltown, USA's, they host a parade on the Fourth to celebrate. Everybody shows up to mainstreet to watch. We were no different-- there we were, sitting on the sidewalk, watching the cowboys show off their horses, waving at the folks sitting on top a truck bed, or lauging at the people crossing the street, oblivious to the horse manure they were stepping in. The firemen came by, asking us to fill their boots for charity. The local sheriff and his competitor were out, campaigning to stay/become the next chief law enforcer. Being a small parade, there were no big floats, and no big egos. It was perfect.

After getting our fill of the parade, a few of us decided to got the Alpine slide, and sled down the mountain in a cheap, plastic sled... I know this isn't your typical 4th of July activity, but I have a video I wanted to share regardless (I'll post it here soon). Plus, from our vantage point on the crest of the hill, we had a great angle to see the Air Force jets do their flyover. That's patriotic, right?

Fast forward a few hours... we've returned back to the house for lunch. By this time the storm clouds are starting to form, but we will not be deterred. We have a rodeo to go to. So we grab our rain jackets and cross our fingers, hoping that the weather is all bark and no bite. We head back to town, and settle into the uncoverd grandstands, and the next thing you know, we're cheering for the gentlemen crazy/ballsy/cowboy enough to ride a bucking stallion bareback for 8 seconds. Or wrestle a calf to the ground. Or for the poor calf who was stampeded by a gaggle of children (ages 6-12 only mind you), trying to grab the ribbon around its tail. And we would have stayed for the remaining events had Mama Nature not decided to throw a hissy fit. Sure, we are from Seattle and could sit in the rain. But then the wind came. And the rain became cold, soaked jeans. So, we made an executive decision to "cowboy down", and head home to the inviting warmth of a fireplace and traditional 7/4 fare over a barbeque grill- hot dots, burgers, and ice cream.

Lastly, what would Independence Day be without explosions? Let me tell you, Steamboat Springs throws a mean fireworks show (Thanks to you, Gordon family, whoever you are, for sponsoring.) From atop a neighboring hill, we parked our cars and tuned our radio to the local country station to listen to the music montage accompaning the visual display of colored phosphorous and gun powder.

Yes, indeed this was Fourth of July to remember. A parade, rodeo, grilled food, and fireworks. Every part of this day felt like a Norman Rockwell painting. And it was all authentic. No pretenses, no gimmicks, just a small town, local folk and tourists alike, celebrating the 234th year anniversary of a bunch of old, rich, white guys signing a handwritten document elegantly telling the Brits to "Suck it Trebek". It was a grand ol' day to wave our grand ol' flag, and I for one was proud (and appreciative) to be an American.

(A personal shout out to the Burns, the Boyles, Clarks, and Lt. Corey. Of all the great things this weekend, you guys were the best of all. Thanks! -- S&B)