Storm Sunbreak

Walton Lake - Prineville, OR 8/23/2013

Summer sunset in central Oregon during a weekend camping trip with good friends. The weekend was sprinkled with thunderstorms, one of which sent half of our crew into a crippling panic and the others into a mad dash to save the beer...

South Sister

 

Our base camp at Moraine Lake - South Sister, OR 8/9/2013

Moraine Lake

Final rock/sand scramble to the summit

Middle and North Sister in the foreground with the rest of the Cascades in the background

 

After a few training hikes, we made it to the summit of South Sister. Marcus, Missy and I left Moraine Lake around 6 am, after one of the worst night's sleep I've ever had. Seriously. Who was the idiot that didn't bring a real sleeping bag or thermarest? This girl. Not my brightest moment, but rest assured I'll never make that mistake again. I think I thought to myself, "I always overheat and I love sleeping cold, how bad could it be?" Bad. I should have just tried to summit instead of going to sleep.... would have had an awesome sunrise!

Either way, it didn't ruin my trip. It felt awesome to reach the summit and I'm glad I did it. Next up? Mt. Adams.

Dog Mountain

 

Summit of Dog Mountain - Columbia River Gorge, Oregon 7/13/2013

Late season wild flowers on Dog Mountain

Final stretch to the summit

This was one of our final training hikes before our South Sister adventure. The entire loop isn't that long (6.9 mi round trip) but the elevation gain will get ya (2,800'). There was also poison oak everywhere... The views once we broke through the treeline were pretty fantastic. Again, my iPhone5 was much lighter than lugging my SLR around.

One of my friends (TRENT) complained the entire hike up, and once at the top his mood changed drastically. After taking in the view and swatting away the insane population of gnats/flies/bees at the summit, he frolicked and skipped the whole way down. And then promptly decided he was not going to hike South Sister. Man down!

Cinco

Cinco de Mayo BBQ - Portland, OR 5/5/2013

I took a million pictures at this Cinco de Mayo shin dig, but most were of debauchery and more debauchery.  Nothing beats a guacamole competition (I would be remiss if I failed to mention I was the winner) and polish horseshoes. My award for the winning guac was a terrible framed piece of art (a b&w unicorn) acquired from the local Goodwill... it is now "on display" in my hall closet.

I digress... My beautiful friend Allye unknowingly struck a model pose and I happened to snap it. Sometimes I think my photography is more likely a success because of the subject, not my skill. This is one of my favorite candid portrait shots.

InstaMaui

Old Lahaina Luau - Lahaina, Maui, HI 4/21/2013

Hana Hwy - Maui, HI 4/19/2013

I took an insane amount of photos on my first trip to Maui, and unfortunately most of those were taken on my cell phone. Instagram to the rescue! My sister and I had an absolutely stunning sunset for one of our last nights in Maui. We were dining at the Old Lahaina Luau and couldn't have asked for a better way to close out the trip.

The bridge is another story... we had planned to spend an entire day driving the Hana Highway with its seemingless unlimited amount of hairpin curves and one-lane bridges. Unfortunately a tree fell early in the AM and blocked the road completely, so we had to turn around after only an hour or 2 into our drive. Luckily, there were plenty of opportunities to stop and take pics!

Mobile Music

East Side Streetcar Mobile Music Fest - Portland, OR 10/6/2012

I work in the transportation field, and thus find myself with a greater appreciation for various forms of mass transit. This also means I find myself volunteering and/or attending more transportation-related events than the average citizen. The Streetcar Mobile Music Fest is a night when local musicians get a chance to perform on the streetcar as it makes its way through the city. Usually the people on board have no idea what on earth is going on, but that's part of the fun. This shot was taken in between songs. One of the guys had a giant boombox (very 1996) while the other performed (the guy in the reflection).

Mawiage

You may kiss the bride - Mary's Peak 8/3/2012

Leap of Faith

Disclaimer: I am not a professional photographer; I just love to take pictures.

My best friend's sister had a small, intimate ceremony at the summit of Mary's Peak and asked me to be there and take pictures. They didn't have the budget to spend on a professional, but just wanted to make sure they had pictures from the event.

Brian, the groom, was waiting at the summit with the rest of the guests as Elise and her parents hiked up to meet everyone. I was honored to be asked to do this, and am grateful to have such amazing and fun people in my life. These goofballs really wanted a photo that looked like they were running to jump off of a cliff...

As far as lighting goes, high noon isn't exactly the ideal time, but I did alright!