So I photographed it.

Filled with beer cans, beans, apples, corn, plastic bottles; this fire was still hot to the touch long after people had left.

Hillside covered in trash. I used the large black bag at the bottom to clean up camp.

Organic matter littered the site. Just the thing that attracts and eventually kills animals like bears and coyotes.

Cucumbers

Apples

Apple eaten by animal(s).

Fish carcass found 4 feet from our tent.

And then I cleaned it up and hauled a bag of trash larger than what my family puts on the curb each week home.

To the people who do this: The words I have for you are not fit for print but I would be happy to say them to your face. There is a comment box below and while I will remove expletives I will not remove your comment, please explain to me why you think this is ok.

Oh yea ….

Not everything burned.

K diving off the block.

I was also reminded of my own sorted sporting history. My earliest memory of any sports event that I was in was in grade school: field day, the 100 yard dash. I had been in the top of this race for the first three or four years at school, trading off first place with another kid, AJ. I was proud of this. Little kid, I can beat you proud. My dad would take off work to come see it, which made it that much more important to me. The last time I ran it I walked up to the starting line filled to the brim with the confidence and pride that previous years had awarded me. I was also filled with the fat that a summer of eating a consistant diet of junk food awarded me. I don’t remember the start. What I do remember is being about half way done and gasping for air, all four of the other racers sailing by me. I kept running all the way to the finish line, and then through the finish line, past the other racers, and then across the school yard, all the way to the edge of the school property where I slamed into the six foot chain link fence, giant tears streaming down my face.

Things didn’t get much better from there on with me and sports. In junior high, while playing in one of the two football games I was put in for, I actually scored a touchdown for the other team. Yep, I’m that kid. I’m 6’2″, and am terrible at basketball. I got hit in the face with a pop-fly ball while playing left field in high school baseball. My braces are the only reason I still have my real teeth.

But now it’s time for K and R to find their way in the wide world of sports which means it’s time for me to decide what sort of sports dad I’m going to be. It really comes down to limits, how loud and in your face is too much? My gold standard of too much is a dad that got my basketball team disqualified because he wouldn’t stop yelling at the refs and coaches. At an away game. I’m pretty sure he was banned from future games in that town. But on the other side I think you can be too quite. When the kids look up into the stands I want them to see that we are cheering them on and use that energy.

What I found out over the summer was that I have no need to fear being too quiet and I feel like I’m still pretty far away from being too loud. I also saw a fresh set of parents all trying to be my new gold standard of too much. Kneeling on the side of the pool with your clipboard of stats while you scream at your 8 year old swimmer and then demanding the timers give you the times before they have even turned them in, that, my friends, is the path to the dark side.

What kind of sports parent are you and what do the other parents do that drive you nuts?

After the chicken has cooled, chop it into bite-size cubes.

Cut some grapes in half, K helped us out for this one.

Mix the grapes with chopped green onion and chopped celery.

The dressing is something that Heather found on epicurious.com for their Curried Chicken Salad.

Curry, Ginger, Salt and Pepper

Finally, mix the chicken and dressing in with the grapes and chill. Heather and I enjoy it alone, in a tortilla, or on crackers for dinner on hot summer nights.

Heather’s Curried Chicken Salad
Salad
4-5 cups diced chicken
1/4 cup sliced green onion
2-3 cups red grapes sliced in half
1-3 stalks celery diced

Dressing from Epicurious.com
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup plain yogurt
5 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Last month I got my portrait taken by the amazing Penny Ozinga which was kind of a big deal since the last time I had that done was ten years ago for my engagement photo and the time before that was my senior photo. For some reason being in front of the lens makes me uncomfortable. Not that squeal and make a big deal out it uncomfortable, but i will quietly walk out of frame if I notice the lens pointed in my direction.

So why did I put myself in the path of the lens this time? I chose to do this because I wanted a nice photograph to go on the new J Squared Consulting site to represent me. The few I did have of myself didn’t represent the image was trying to convey so it came down to photographing myself or asking one of my photographer friends if they would shoot me.

Penny and I have known each other for a long time and I frequently help her shoot weddings. She was having computer issues and I need a portrait so we traded. We both felt like we got the better end of the deal which is the best kind of trade.

Penny is amazing at what she does, you should go check out her other work at ozingaarts.com and if you are looking for someone to do some portrait work, give her a call.

Anastasia (Stasia) Janelle 1997 - 2010

I remember it very clearly, possibly because it was exactly the wrong thing to do, but as I walked home on that fall day in 1997 one flier and one poorly thought out decision turned into almost 13 years of love. I had just worked my last shift at the local supermarket and had no job prospects in front of me. On my way home I passed a flier for free puppies. It’s not like the small mountain town I grew up in was lacking for these sorts of fliers but something about the little black fuzzball in the photo called out to me and I was sure we should be together. Some convincing Heather and a trip to the vet later and that afternoon was the first day I met Stasia.

Stasia was my first dog. Our family had always had dogs but Stasia was the first dog that I had ever had on my own. Stasia has seen me through many phases of my life. She has been my riding partner, my hiking partner and my camping buddy. She was by my side through many storms, needing comfort during the physical ones and providing comfort for the emotional ones. She moved with me to Denver to Rochester and back again. Stasia was there to greet us after Heather and I got married, she was there to greet us when we brought K home from the hospital and again when we brought R home from the hospital. As the kids have grown she has been as much at part of their lives as she has mine and all while being so patient and protective.

This week Heather, the kids, and I are in Florida on vacation. We got a call from Heather’s mom, who is watching her for us, to tell us that she passed away in her sleep last night. For the first time in a long time one of my oldest and dearest friends won’t be there to greet me when I get home.

I love and miss you Stasia.

First stop was to see some old friends in Boston and Rochester. It was great to spend some time visiting them and catching up on their lives. In both cities I was able to take advantage of the spring weather and do some shooting, click the photo to see the rest.

Blue Fade, one of the images from the northeast.

Just a few short days after getting back I packed up the photo gear, added in some camping gear, and jetted off to Death Valley and Antelope Valley with my new friend, Jen Yu. I cannot thank Jen enough for inviting me on this trip. I had never been to either place and that, combined with a fun companion, made for a great trip.

Desert Gold, one of the images from Death Valley

And finally, last week I was back on a plane to New York. This time it was working with a client and the week flew by but I was still able to get some photos taken.

8:30 at the Shake Shack, one of the photos from New York.

I’m now home again, at least for the next 12 days, and am looking forward to catching up with people here as well as doing some photography locally.

Limer Gymnast with Organs Copyright: Gunther von Hagens, Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg, Germany, www.bodyworlds.com

So after a walk through the museum we headed into the Body Works exhibit. Body Works is an exhibition of real human bodies and body parts that are posed and then preserved through the process of plastination. The results can be displayed in the open air and viewed without the distorting effects of other preservation methods. The bodies are posed doing all types of activities including hurdles, archery, figure skating, and gymnastics so that you can see how the body changes as we move. In addition to that various layers are removed or separated to allow you to see into the body. The experience is very cool and allows for laymen to see parts of the body that you would normally only see if you were learning to be a doctor.

Heart, opened longitudinally Copyright: Gunther von Hagens, Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg, Germany, www.bodyworlds.com

As much as I wanted to see this exhibit for myself, it was important to me to bring the kids and involve them in what we were seeing. Before we went I explained to them that these were real human bodies that were displayed as a result of their choice to donate their bodies to science after death. If they had been uncomfortable with this we wouldn’t have gone but neither one seemed to be bothered by it. Once we entered it became pretty apparent that R, our 5 year old, was not very interested in what was being shown. I’m not sure if he was having a hard time connecting what he was seeing to other human bodies or if he was just tired but every time I tried to explain what we were looking at his eyes kind of glazed over. However, the 8 year old, K, was connecting with everything that I was explaining and was very interested. Being able to point to the exhibits and then touch on K’s body the corresponding bone or muscle really seemed to set what she was seeing in reality and excited her. The displays of the blood vessels of various body parts and animals not only peaked her interest but, for me, really set in reality just how extensive our vascular system is. Overall Heather, K and I really enjoyed the Body Works exhibit. Unfortunately R just wasn’t into it although as I write this he remembers what is in these pictures and seems interested.

Blood Vessel Configuration of the Head and Brain Copyright: Gunther von Hagens, Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg, Germany, www.bodyworlds.com

Out of the 200+ people that were in the exhibit our children were the youngest. As such, I feel the need to give a few warnings to other parents who may be planning on going. My first warning is to gauge the interest of your children in this. It will take you 1.5 to 2 hours to go through the exhibit. If you are able to pay attention, it’s amazing. If your kid is bored or freaks out, you will get to pay for a quick walk through a dark hall glancing at the things you wish you could examine. My second warning is that every body part is on display. If you are not comfortable talking with your kids about every part of the body, including genitalia, you may not want to take your kids. We have always tried to be very open and honest with our kids in this area but I understand that some parents choose to wait to have these sorts of discussions. My last warning is that the display is the result of people and animals dying. Your kids may have questions that result in unpleasant conversations afterwards. K was curious and concerned about the baby skull that was on display showing the skull in it’s pre-fused state. We explained that not all babies survive and that some mommies and daddies choose to donate the body to science to help doctors better understand the body. This seemed to help her understand.

All warnings aside, this is a great exhibit and I am considering going back to take more time. For me it solidified in reality many of the things we are taught about human physiology through drawings and concepts. If you go I suggest calling the museum to find out when there is a less busy time to go. It was very crowded when we went on a Saturday at 5:45pm.

First of all, the coolest thing about the flight was that we flew around a very active thunderstorm and I was treated to a spectacular light show out of my window. The thunderhead was below and off to the side of us so you could see stars above it and this massive mushroom cloud below with a very active lightning storm.

While in flight I looked up and noticed the path at the bulkhead was blocked by a cart pulled across it and the flight attendant was dutifully watching all of us. Shortly after that the pilot came out of the bathroom and started chatting up the flight attendant. I thought that was wierd but whatever. A little bit later the other pilot came out and did the same thing only he chatted up the flight attendant for much longer than the first guy. I hadn’t seen those guys leave the cockpit in flight since 9/11.

Finally, about half way through the flight, a flight attendant got on the PA and gave us all a very long and stern lecture about smoking on the plane and how it endangered us all. All I could think was “Who in the hell tries to smoke on a plane? That crap has been outlawed since I was a kid.”

Weird