My wife and I chose to announce our vows in the seclusion of a wooded park amongst chirping birds, buzzing bees, and the serene murmur of babbling water. I think that a close second best wedding venue is on the ocean shore.  It can be done on an extremely low budget, like our wedding was, and can be a wildly fun place to ceremony and celebrate all in one.

bride and groom posing session on beach

I love tagging along as the wing man.  This comes natural to me, as I remember  having been the third wheel on many dates.  I thought that was pretty darn pathetic until I realized I’m the only one out of those dating  friends who has started a family.  Thanks for all the dating practice buddies.

A visitor to my block has one of my all time favorite bumper stickers on her car.  It says, “A good Earth is hard to find”.

I know it is a little late to say happy Earth day.  But this year (actually at least the next five years) my website will be representing clean energy every day of the year.

I am proud to say that this blog and the Jason Martin Photography website is powered by 100% wind power supplied by Green Geeks.  There are web servers humming with electricity 24/7 so that websites stay on.  The risk of by products from coal combustion and nuclear waste just don’t seem worth the convenience of viewing my breath taking photography at 2:30 in the morning.

Not only is my new web host in line with my environmental conservation values, but the company donates to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and so do I!

They both were stoked to give this a try.  It was my first attempt at baby surrealism- the way I like to see babies pictured.

Babies are superb explorers of new objects and the sensations of texture.  After settling into the sheepskin, he started to play with the fibers and then fell asleep.

I met the military family at thier home on base.  We had some good conversation and exchanged music.  Daddy didn’t intend on being photograhed but it wasn’t hard to convince him.

I edited the first shots to hide a tooth gap and braces.  Here is a before and after example.

BEFORE

AFTER

My favorite state park of recent visit is Ricketts Glenn.  The slippery trails along boulders misted by endless cascading waterfalls is especially enchanting when the leaves are scattered in your path.

We stayed at a charming bed and breakfast called Hart’s Content.  It was romantic and our host put us at ease.  The owner built the home for the purpose of a getaway for couples and travelers to the wilderness.  I appreciate the craftsmanship and upkeep and, of course the main event, her fantastic breakfast.  She coordinated breakfast time for just me and my wife  after the other guests were fed.

I’m learning there are lots of great hikes in the Central PA area.  I’ll be reporting on what I find close to home and try to remember to bring back some pictures.

A dead tree, roots, vines... I don't remember what this is

It is the meaning of our son’s adaptation of the Tutelo word for the color-rich season.  My wife and I had to leave behind growth as single individuals to come together to begin a strong family.  Fall is a time when we most enjoy taking hikes, making family portraits against the fall foliage, and watching nature’s course.

My son fills in the hues when I get trapped in a black and white picture.  He is blessed with pure kindness and generous forgiveness.   He is a spectrum of color- an autumn of inspiration.

The pioneer of the Instamatic has gone under and is forced to sell one of its most priced assets, the Polaroid photography collection. Artists such as Ansel Adams used the amatuer SX-70 to compose  masterpieces.   He was a master of film processing, which shows even in images taken with the consumer camera.

Sotheby’s has mini web site dedicate to this monumental auction here: http://www.sothebys.com/minisite/polaroid/index.html

This place brings back memmories of being young, rebellious, and feeling at home.  Anywhere abandoned, serene or overtaken by nature is where I liked to hang out most.  I remember thinking at age four that the concrete jungle surrounding me was awfully unnatural.  Luckily I grew up near part of Fairmount Park that were easily accessible by bicycle.

Sometimes I think that there could be a day that we are all gone and everything built by man will come undone.  I found a book that explains theories of how the Earth would continue if humans dissapeared.  It is titled ‘The World Without US’ by Alan Weisman.

Click here to see the entire panorama


I travel extremely light when urban spelunking.  I didn’t bring along all of these items.  I used just one speed light, light stand,  umbrella, Canon 1D MKII, batteries, and head lamp.

I don't mind damaging or losing this equipment.

Porsha took snapshots as I entered the shadowy abyss of the abandoned rail tunnel.

Checking the exposure often helped continuity for the panorama.

This is a good example of how pieces are painted over one another.