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I’ve known Glenn and Heather for quite some time now, but for the past three years, they have allowed me to pull my trailer onto their land, and stay at their place. Even though I end up giving a monetary donation, they have never really asked for it. I try to contribute my time as what I would like to call “ranch hand” even though most of my time is spent either rock climbing, or taking photos. Glenn is a bit of a renaissance man. Makes anything from kneepads and dog collars, and builds anything from truck storage boxes to straw bale houses and yurts… It always reminds me of the old SNL skit with Paul Simon and Victoria Jackson where she smelted copper to make him a watch while they were stuck on a deserted island. “Oh that, I made it…” Heather is equally as great. Keeping Gleatherland (their ranch name) maintained, helping out with all of the work, and super strong on the rocks easily bagging really hard hueco lines every season. During a recent stay, they asked me to grab a couple of head shots of them for their use, which I was happy to do.

Click on the below image to view larger:

If you are planning to head out to Hueco anytime soon, and you are looking for something quieter, and away from the crowds, Gleatherland is offering a couple of options of places to stay. They have The Bomber Inn (an old RV painted like a bomber) and The Mongoli Inn (314 sq ft yurt), both pictured below. Contact Heather Johnson via Facebook for more info:

Just in-case anybody was curious, that is how many photographs I took in 2011. Or at least how many actually made it into Lightroom. That includes all jobs, all climbing trips, all events, all shooting just for fun, all test shots, all location scouting etc etc, as well as some of the throw-a-ways too. I wonder how many I actually deleted in camera? This number is 2037 less images than I took in 2010. I’d have to say that 2011 has been one of the best years for me and my business. It was super fun and I feel fortunate and blessed to be able to be doing what I am doing. Thanks to everyone for the word of mouth, thanks to all my clients, thanks to my photo mentors, and thanks to everyone who stepped in front of my lens to let me take their photo, even if you didn’t know it… I couldn’t be doing what I am doing with out you.

My very first image of 2011 was taken :18 min after midnight. I guess I was to busy celebrating and wishing everyone a Happy New Year to be taking photos of the actual drop, but you can tell the people are still partying!

My very last image of 2011, although will definitely not ever win me an award, will always be a great memory of the time I got spend with really great friends (new and old ones) wrapping up a wonderful year, and bringing in a new one. This one was taken at 3:59 pm after a day of some great bouldering and just before we headed back to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in the Ozarks of  Arkansas for the night festivities:

I should probably save my first image of 2012 for next years blog post, but I’m to excited about it and I feel that it’s a great image to start of 2012.

Thanks again to everyone, and I am looking forward to 2012 being a great year!

..and Happy Holidays to all!!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful and relaxing time off. Love this time of year! Click on the image below to view it larger:

Just got back from a week out in Hueco. I didn’t really photograph that much. I was more interested in climbing because it was such a quick trip. I did happen to capture this landscape image that I am pretty psyched on. I hope you enjoy it:

A couple of people have asked for higher quality for wallpaper use. Click on the image if you’d like to use this image as your wallpaper, or to view it in a higher resolution.

In case you didn’t know, my wife has started her Interior Design business here in Austin, TX. She is offering a wide range of service options from staging, paint selections, design/ inspiration boards, cabinet design, small boutique shops to full on start to finish interior design. She can do it all and is super cute to boot. Check out her website for more information:

Click the photo to visit the website

On August 16, 2011 I became an uncle!!! Here are some images of my beautiful niece that I got to take. Isn’t she amazing?!?

Yesterday, September 15, 2011, I was driving back to my house in Austin from visiting Houston. I had just finished a shoot in Houston, so I had my camera with me, and I knew I’d be traveling through Bastrop. I’ve never considered myself a photo journalist, but I always have the desire to document these sort of occasions with the hope that some how, some way, it may help them out, or at least shed a bit of light and give some visual representation to those who seek it. As I neared Bastrop, I felt that I was entering some sort of war zone. Although I have never experienced that sort of thing, I could feel that something is going to be different. The landscape slowly started to change and you began to start to see the magnitude of what had happened. My first stop was just some photos on the side of the road because I wasn’t sure what else I was going to be able to get. I only snapped off two shots, because I quickly realized how many people might be looking at the damage and not be paying attention to the road while driving 65mph. I hurried back to my truck:

Bastrop Auto Works was the second thing to catch my attention. A lot full of cars that are now completely unsalvageable:

From here I decided to check out some of the rural areas and get off the highway. Co Rd 180 is the intersection where Bastrop Auto Works is, so I went down this road. This is where I began to see how people were affected by this, not just nature. Houses, gone. Cars, trailers, buses, etc. charred.

I noticed a tent set up with a couple of people under it. I didn’t want to be rude, so I stopped and asked if it was alright to take some photos. They said it was no problem, and quickly asked me if I had a flash? “What do I need a flash for?” “So you can take photos of my safe.” Apparently Chuck has been saving coins since he was a kid. The fire had got so hot, that it melted all of the coins together inside the safe. “Well of course I want to take photos of that.”

Next on the list of items that the Einsinger’s wanted me to photograph was a squirrel that didn’t seem to make it out. “I don’t know why, but I’m obsessed with this squirrel.” I didn’t quite share his obsession, but I understood the interest.

“Hey Tucker, by the way, we found your bike…” Fred said to his son. They had a bobcat to do some clearing in the morning and came across the bike. Fred had told me that Tucker was really concerened about his bike that he had left at Grandpas house. At this moment I found it suiting to take a photo of Tucker with his bike, so I asked if that would be ok. “Sure no problem” said Fred. “Tucker, this man is going to tell you what to do, you just listen to him. He’s going to make you famous.” “Ohhh, I’m not sure about that…. but I’ll be happy to send you copies for yourself.” “That sounds good.”

After Tucker and I took our photos I asked if they wouldn’t mind getting together for a family portrait. Chuck, Fred and Tucker. Grandfather, Father and son.

After the family portrait we exchanged information so I could send them the images, and I wished them good luck. Chuck left me with a story that friends and family had been calling to see if everything was fine. He told them that it was, and that he is being taken care of, and that everything will be rebuilt. BUT if you happen to have an extra $500k sitting around that you wanted to donate, that’d be great!! He said he hasn’t heard back yet from anyone on that….

I got back on the highway, and drove by Bastrop State Park and headed into Circle D-KC Estates. One thing that I saw that amazed me was this one house out there that seemed to be untouched:

And right across the street from it, was this:

The remainder of my images are pretty much the same. Landscape shots documenting the destruction. There was this one sign though that someone made. In the midst of all that was going on, you could tell they were trying to be in good spirit. This photo was taken on Charolais Dr, which is now coined “Charred-olais Dr.”

March/ April/ May were pretty busy months for me, so instead of trying to blog about everything that happened between then and now, I figure I’ll just knock them all out at once. In chronological order of course….  And we’re off….

Jenny and Donna

Jenny asked me to get some shots of her and her mother for mothers day. We walked around S. Congress and grabbed some photos of the two laughing, having fun and being Mother Daughter. This shoot was a blast!:

Rachel and Phil Get Married

Title pretty much explains it all…. (FYI: I am not the photographer shooting the wedding, just a friend in the crowd with a camera):

Point Cove

I think this was one of the last days that we were able to climb at this place. The water started getting really low, and for some reason, one of the neighbors started being a cry baby about us being there. The police came out a few times, but told us we weren’t doing anything illegal and there was nothing they could do. Timing wise it kind of worked out anyway for us because of the water level being low here and other places were starting to open up. Good times:

Duende

Since the weather was still cool and the water level was low, we decided to give a run at the Duende cave and enjoy over the land climbing while we still could.

Reimers – Crankenstein

I’ve been wanting to shoot this classic route at Reimers Ranch for a long time. I’ve always had a shot of this route envisioned and we were able to get it knocked out. As a bonus, this was Mallory’s project and she sent it first go this day! Congrats!

Cowboy Gus

One of my father-in-laws bucket list things to do was to ride in a cattle drive. So he did. This an annual event in Dublin, TX. It’s kind of like a condensed version of City Slickers. They drove these cattle for two days. We were set up just outside of Dublin and I was able to capture a few images of them coming in through down town and to the pin. Seems like a good time:

PMFB – Cow Cove

This is the spot that I was telling you about that we moved onto since Point Cove was getting to high. I shot these at the end of April, and now here we are in July, and this spot is starting to get pretty high. But we still got some time.

Crawfish Boil

Love me some crawfish. I was born in New Orleans…. (check out the pic of the baby flicking me off… gah.)

Amy and Chris

Amy and Chris got married. Same deal as above, just a friend with a camera taking a few photos from the crowd.

Jenkins Custom Homes

Had to throw in some actual work in here too. This house was really well done, finished out nicely, and had a pretty decent view to boot.

Hope that wasn’t to much all at once. I got some more catching up to do too, so stay tuned!!!

For some reason I feel the need to have all of my blog post in time sequential order from when I took my images to when I post them. This probably isn’t the best way to do it, and maybe one day I will let go of my OCD and just start posting all over the place. But for now, we are still in order which is why it has taken me so long to get back on track. Which in end will be good for you, the reader, because I am pretty back logged and have a lot of blogging/ catching up to do. Back in March (after Hueco), I was fortunate enough again to be part of the SXSW staff photographer. The work load is split between myself and 3 other photographers and we all have a great time. Most of the work during the music part is day time projects, which allows us to be able to go check out shows and photograph them. This year was great. I saw and heard a lot of great music, and I also got to meet up with friends from last year, The Boxer Rebellion, and photograph some band images for them (more on that later). Here are some music images from SXSW 2011. Enjoy.

We’ll do this in alphabetical order.

ACEYALONE

Starting off with the great hip hop artist Aceyalone. It was great to be able to see him in a smaller venue. The vibe in the room was chill and everyone’s head was noddin…

THE BOXER REBELLION

Next up we have The Boxer Rebellion. Somehow the starts aligned, and I was able to see them at 3 different venues only missing 1 of their shows. Really great band with really great energy throughout the entire set, and really great people to boot. Definitely recommend this band.

DIPLO

Nikon threw a party this year, so of course I had to go check it out. It was at the old Austin Energy Plant called Seaholm. Really cool open space. I somehow worked my way to the backstage area, and got to photograph Diplo, an American DJ, whom I had never really heard of before but had the whole place partying. I know this is lame, and I’m not ever star struck, but the guy that is silhouetted in the third image is Aston Kutcher… nbd….

FISHBONE

A band that I heard a bit of growing up, but was never really into. They were opening up for Wu-Tang Clan, and honestly I have to say, they were probably THE most energetic band I saw at SXSW this year. Really fun to photograph, all over the place, and as you can see from second image in this set, I ALMOST got kicked in the camera. Now sure how this missed me, but happy that it did. The last shot in this set is also probably one of my favorites that I got this year.

FOO FIGHTERS

Foo Fighters has been a band that I have really liked for a long time. I guess it’s the drummer in me, but I love bands that have awesome drummers, and a lot of energy to their performances. I also like to play along to this genre of music while drumming because for me, it’s a lot more fun. Foo Fighters played a few days before the actual music part of SXSW started. This show was put on by SX and sponsored by one of SX’s clients, so this particular night we HAD to be at this show, and we HAD to have VIP access. Sometimes, life is rough… They started the night by playing their entire new album from start to finish, then the second half of their show was all the hits that you would recognize. In this set are two more of my favorite images from SXSW.

LITTLE TYBEE

A fellow photographer, Andrew Kornylak recommended checking these guys out. Last year he made a badass music video with them that is simply amazing. He’s really really good. These guys were awesome and put on a really great show. The venue was small,and I don’t think my shots are really that great, but I wanted to include them because I think their music is something that you should definitely check out.

SCREECHING WEASEL

I was torn on whether or not to include these guys in my blog post, but I figured with this one shot, I could pretty much sum up what a DB Ben Weasel really is. To prelude my story, this is a band that I grew up listening to. When I was 16 yrs old driving around in my white 1986 Chrysler new yorker that I had put my fathers old stereo speaker (only one because that’s all that would fit) in the trunk so I could play my music louder, this is one of the bands I was jamming. I never had the chance to see them live back in my youth. Fast forward to present day. I was excited, I finally get to see Screeching Weasel after all these years. And I get to photograph them too! The band comes out and starts playing their awesome punk melody. Instant nostalgia. But that’s where the bliss ends….. Apparently Ben is not a fan of media, because the next thing I know he starts giving me and another photog the finger. At the end of the song he starts the beginning of a whiney cry baby rant about this and that, media, blah blah blah etc etc that continues on for the rest of the night (But the guy will do an interview with Carson Daly!!!). After that rant, he began another… then another, then another. I couldn’t take it anymore and left. Unfortunately, I left to soon…. Apparently Ben ends up getting in a fight…..and then hits a girl!!!! Pathetic.

WU TANG CLAN

So let’s end this on a good note. Wu Tang Clan aint nothin to F%$* wit…. Super sik show…  Self explanatory… Even got a fist bump from U-God

Hope you enjoyed em, and I can’t wait for SXSW2012!!!

If you’re reading this, it probably means you check out my blog every now and then, and it probably means that you knew that I was in Hueco Tanks for the month of February. I am just now finally finding the time to post my images from the trip. To be honest, I think I was more into climbing on this trip than I really was into shooting. There were a couple of days that I went out with the intent of photographing, but most of my energy was put towards climbing. I love this place, and I love that I have the opportunity to be able to stay out there for at least a month every year. It’s because I have an awesome wife! Thanks to everyone who took the time to climb for me for photos, thanks to all the spotters that spotted me on my projects, thanks to Hueco Tanks TPWD Rangers, thanks to Hueco Rock Ranch, special thanks to Gleather for a place to crash, thanks to Trevor for the death metal and all of the lights, but most of all, thanks to you!!!

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