Something a Little Different

So this post is going to stray a little from the format I typically follow. I usually post updates on what I am doing at work and the stories behind the random assignments I shoot, but today I thought I would try something a little different.

As some of you may or may not know, I typically take my weekends on Tuesday and Wednesdays, which means that today is essentially my Saturday. You may also know that a few of my hobbies are skiing and mountain biking and since the snow has basically vanished, this morning I decided to hop on my bike and go for a ride.


I have done a fair amount of biking in the Boise foothills, yet there are still a ton of trails I haven't even located yet. So this morning I left home with the simple goal of going someplace I hadn't yet been. The trail I settled on was a lightly traveled stretch of singletrack which climbs almost 3,500' over the course of 10 miles (amazing!). The trail is called "Hard Guy" which I think appropriately captures the shear burliness of the ride.


The ride up was gorgeous and every bit as grueling as I had hoped. About an hour and a half after setting out I reached the ridge road, which as the name states, runs along the top of the ridge of the Boise Front. I had originally hoped to ride the road for a while till I could hook up with a trail that would take me back down to town but to my surprise the road was still covered in nearly a foot of snow. Highly unusual and a little disappointing but still very satisfying to have even reached the road.


When it was all said and done the ride took a little over three hours, covering 25 miles. So much fun that I can't wait to do it again tomorrow!

Farewell Concert

Monday night I went to a farewell concert for the music director of the Nampa School district who is retiring after 36 years in the district. I made a slideshow from the concert. Check it out...

Here

Tony Bennett

On Saturday, May 10th I covered a Tony Bennett concert which turned out to be the highlight of what was a long and busy day. I started working around 9 AM and was only able to nab one 30 minute break the entire day.

It's not every day you get the opportunity to see a legend perform and I have to say, I feel very privileged to have had the chance to see him. I've never been a huge fan of Jazz but I found the music pretty toe-tapping, and not in the Larry Craig sense of the phrase.

Gymnasts

If I could provide anyone out there with a minor pearl of wisdom, it would be to always remember to bring your memory cards to assignments.

Today I ventured over to east Nampa to take a portrait of four youth gymnasts who will soon be traveling to the U.S. National Championships.

I strolled into the gym around 3:15, met the girls and immediately came up with the idea of catching all four posing in mid-air. I then set up the lighting equipment and quickly realized something wasn't right. You know when you have that feeling that you are forgetting something. For me it is a very common occurrence and it seems like every time I get that feeling, I almost always am in fact forgetting something.

So I got ready to shoot and realized I had forgotten my wallet of memory cards in the office. Fortunately, I had a friend in the office who was able to run them out to me, for a nominal fee of course.

On Sunday, May 4th I officially kicked off the summer season with two assignments which were very much the first of many more to come.

For those of you who are unaware, rodeos are huge in Idaho. In fact, they are so huge that over the course of this summer I will more than likely cover somewhere between 10 and 20 rodeos. Some are big, some are small, but one thing they all have in common; dudes in funny hats with big belt buckles, boots and bad country music. I have some moral objections to rodeos but I can't help but get at least a little excited every time I get the opportunity to cover one.

I took this photo at my first rodeo of the season this past Sunday morning at the High School Rodeo in Homedale, Idaho.


Another very distinct assignment that rolls around every year is the annual turning of the tassels. Unlike rodeos, I tend to dread covering these events simply because of the sheer number of them I have to attend and the fact that they are all essentially the same. The kids walk in, sit down, listen to a forgettable speech, do the grip and gin and if you're lucky they'll throw their hats, hug and cry. If I sound jaded about graduations, that's because I am.

I took this photo Sunday night at the commencement for Northwest Nazarene University.


Congratulations, now get a job!

Slow News Sunday

Here is the link to a slideshow I did this past Sunday at a National Guinea Pig Convention in Caldwell, Idaho. Sort of a silly assignment so I felt that it would be okay to put together a sort of silly slideshow. Take a look...

Here.

Another Beautiful Day in my Neighborhood

Today was a great day.

I'm not trying to be overly sentimental, however, I have to say; I love it when the weather changes and the world seemingly comes back to life. Today the sun was out and the colors were wonderful. I'm not going to break into poetry here, but I can't help but share my satisfaction with the weather.

I spent the majority of my afternoon in the Boise area today, covering a district softball game and taking a feature shot of a pair of quarterbacks who head the local arena football team. This softball shot is pretty much the run-of-the-mill, however, I think the portrait turned out pretty stellar. Take a look and let me know what you think...



I also wanted to through in a random feature I took of a local ripper catching some air on his bike.


As always, thanks for taking the time to take a look!