16 Days, 220 Miles - Grand Canyon

The last 16 days have been filled with a break from the camera, amazing scenery, new friends, creepy critters, close calls, big rapids, holding my breath under water, learning how to take a playboat into lava falls, and sitting next to the serenity and magic of the colorado river while reading a book, thinking about life, and writing. This blog post will be an ongoing description that will change and morph into something more in depth as the weekend comes and goes, but for now here are some pictures of the chaos that is life on the river.



The first day on the river was filled with packing, packing, rigging, and more packing. We had to meet with the ranger in the morning to discuss all of the bad things that could happen and how and when to call for an evacuation. I dubbed him Ranger Grim. After that we popped a bottle of bubbly and were off on the crystal clear, freezing cold water of the Colorado.

Bell's Bend

There is a little oasis that is formed by the Cumberland River outside of Nashville and there is talk of a $4 billion investment coming into the area. The issue is extremely controversial with many pros and cons. I covered the meeting this evening and here are some of my favorites.

Pitchfork Weekend.

Last weekend I went to Chicago to see the Pitchfork Music Festival, the music was good, but the company was better. I have been taking my camera with me and shooting more of a personal look on my life and things that I see, which has made me smile. The weekend was hot, wet, and sticky, but provided a nice atmosphere to people watch and listen to music. The whole idea of an outdoor festival is interesting because I don't think people go there so much to see bands, but to just drink beers and lounge on the grass or play in the mud. Here are some pics from the weekend. I have been shooting some freelance work for ESPN.com and The FADER that I will post once the articles have run. More images to come from the weekend...

Lucero

So I went to the Lucero concert on Friday night with Terry and it was perhaps one of the best times I have had in I don't know how long. The show was absolutely amazing. The lead singer Ben Nichols rocked it for a crowd at the Cannery Ballroom for 3 hours and proceeded to drink shots that were passed through the crowd of Tennesseans as he strained his rough voice in true southern rock fashion. Anyhow, it was unforgettable.

The Holga

So I have been playing around with a holga for a month or two and have always been curious why every one of my pictures had been blurry until I noticed the switch on the bottom that has a B and an N setting. I guess I underestimated the complexity of these little plastic marvels. I might start shooting with the Normal, N, setting, but maybe I will stick with the blurry pics. Who knows. I mean, the point of the holga isn't really tack sharp images anyhow if you ask me, but it's nice to know that it is possible too.

Quick Multimedia Piece

I did a short story on a YMCA camp that helps juvenile offenders get on the right track. This may be something to dive into in the future, but for now it was a quick feature piece. Hope you enjoy.

Chicago for the 4th