Fall is here...

Spent my labor day holiday up at Eklutna lake with Sara and the girls, Barb, Dellany, and our pack of dogs... The weather was incredible this weekend, so we had a nice walk but boy are the leaves turning yellow! Summer is definitely winding down...

Photo Workshop

I had the pleasure of taking a 2 1/2 day workshop with Eddie Soloway this weekend, who is a New Mexico photographer that came to Ak to jury an anual show the Alaska Photographic Center (APC) puts on. The workshop was called A Natural Eye, and Eddie tries to teach photographers to change their perspective and think about things in a different way when making pictures. It was very inspirational and fun, and we had a chance to go out in the woods and put things in to practice. Here are a couple of the images I made:

The idea is to convey a sense of emotion in your image, rather than just take a picture. I am really excited to continue practicing his techniques and see where it leads... the great thing about practicing with nature and landscape is that you have plenty of time to get the shot right. Makes practice a lot more fun ;)

Winner!

I submitted some photos this year to the Bear Paw Festival Photo Contest. This is the first year they've had a contest like this for Bear Paw, and this is the very first time I've ever submitted a photo for any sort of contest... i figured Bear Paw is my home town, low key, low pressure, right? :)

Well, I didn't win any grand prizes, but I did take runner up in the People Category for this image:

This is Emily, taken last fall at Chris and Barb's house. I named the image Bubbles...

I unfortunately didn't even get to see the other entrants this year, as I was in Homer the whole time the Bear Paw was going on :( But I was still kind of excited. Supposedly the Eagle River Star is going to do an article and show the winning photos, so if I get a copy, I will post it!

July Homer Trip

I am actually still in Homer while writing this post... Dellany and I decided to stay a week here and relax... The boys came down with us for the weekend and we did a little salmon fishing. The red run here at this time, so we planned the trip around that (sort of...) the weather was a little bit crazy - super dense, thick fog! Like pea soup - literally...

We thought the weather might deter other fishermen (and fisherwomen...) from being out and about Sunday, so we headed to our spot. We were prepared for a cold time of it, and it was not looking good... kind of spooky actually, but really beautiful...

Even this little seal didn't have any friends to hang out with, cause it was cold!

But when we turned the corner to the creek mouth, it was beautiful!! Dave opted to wait by the mouth and try some real fishing, while we headed up the creek to dip... You can see behind him is all the fog we just came through

And up the creek - SUN!! That's Joe & Dellany walking...

The tide was out super low, and it was so pretty! I thought this green stuff (seaweed? grass?) was just beautiful...

Not all of us had waders, so Joe carried Dellany to keep her dry. So sweet! And we finally made it to the waterfall where we caught our fishies! Gorgeous!! And we had the whole place to ourselves!

Then the dirty work started and I had to put the camera away... ;)

Rafting Kings River

Headed up to Kings River for 4th of July weekend again this year, and my brother Michael was in town from Seattle. He and John and their friend Jared came prepared to raft the river. Chris was not quite so prepared. His $2 inner tube was just not up to the task... plus, the water was FREEZING!! But the weather was gorgeous, so it was great fun. Especially since I was on shore photographing (and staying dry...)

Chris is starting to realize that his tube isn't going to float...

Michael got a big splash of that freezing cold water... yeah, that is pretty much how cold it was

Sea-Weathered Series

Had an awesome time Halibut fishing in Homer this past weekend. Tom & Carol came up from Arizona to visit and we had a great time hanging out and visiting with the Christy's.
I didn't take a whole lot of pictures, but thought it would be fun to grab a few detail shots of some of the awesome sea weathered and related stuff around the cabin...

And a little wake shot...

Glen Alps

I had been wanting to check out the new fence up at Glen Alps recently and since Chris has become a shuttle run fiend, he offered to come with and do a quick dog walk before riding his bike back down... Since I was getting ready for a portrait shoot, i brought my camera and made Guinness pose for a few pics. It was quite a trick to get him to stay on the bench... you have no idea... but the fence was super cool and I plan to use it in some future portrait sessions!

Uh, oh yeah... and the fence...

Scottie + Watermelon = True Love

This past weekend we had a BBQ at the house. My sister Cristen was in town and we had a great time grilling and eating... and drinking... ;) I bought a giant watermelon from Costco and kept trying to get people to eat it. I guess Chris decided that since I was trying to push it, he would give Guinness an opportunity to eat some too.

Guinness loved it... needless to say, he didn't get a whole wedge, just a taste of the rind (gross!) but he was all over it. Yeah, we're bad pet owners...

Anniversary & Garden Projects

So for our anniversary this year, Chris got me an awesome gift - a patio set!! I have been wanting one forever, and we never agree on what to get, so he surprised me and got exactly what I wanted!
Note the plywood leaning against the fence below... Guinness has been escaping recently because of the ground heaving and the fence popping up a bit. He found that he could squeeze himself under the gap if he really put his mind to it... So until the fence drops back down, his escape route is covered!

And now on to garden projects! I saw this online or something, about creating a mini-greehouse for your starters to help them get going. It has been working great for these Dahilas!

Guinness said he wanted to help with the yard work, but really, he just wanted to lounge around...

Most of you probably know I'm an ideas person. I'm always finding great ideas that I want to try, like the cute idea I found in a Magazine -but I'm no so good with actually making these ideas happen...

So I was really proud of myself for actually completeing this one! It had to be blogged ;)

First ride of the season

Sunday was our first official ride of the season. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, sunny and with a light breeze (which helps keep you cool!) So we headed north to Sutton, one of my favorite "close by" places to ride...

In the truck on the drive. Guinness isn't a huge fan of getting his picture taken...

Self portraits with helmets... tricky...

Dori with the bikes

After the ride - totally dirty, sweaty and exhausted, but it was awesome!!

Raina

So Sara and Tim finally got their little baby Beagle - Raina. She is a doll - so quiet and sleepy! Guinness loves her, and they seem to get along pretty well. Occasionally Guinness forgets she's still small and runs over her, but overall, they enjoy romping and playing. She is going to the boss of him though - I can tell...



Apparently, Guinness was also working on getting his drivers license this week. He was ready to drive us home from church yesterday - except that his legs are too short to reach the pedals...

Finn & Elli

Yesterday I had a lot of fun doing some portraits of Finn and Elli. They were super cute in their Easter outfits - and Finn especially was a good sport! Elli is so good - she just sits and watches, and Finn sure loves his little sister! I love this first picture, Finn just wanted to be all over Elli, and all over was more like sitting on her, which Elli wasn't a huge fan of ;) But there are adorable, and I had a blast shooting them. So here are a few of my favorites!