I got to ask the easiest question I’ll ever get to ask. A lifetime with you doesn’t quite seem like it’ll be enough but we will certainly try. With all my heart, I love you.
Thank you Dottie and Geoff for creating the most wonderful person. Thank you friends and family for all the help planning, traveling, and whispering to help me pull off the biggest heist I may ever get to do. I love you all.
7.3.25 💍
Maeve is 5 today and I’m going to break my 3 year posting hiatus to bring you some very important information.
Maeve hasn’t met a single person she doesn’t like. You are her best friend and you don’t have a say in the matter.
She likes dogs that are smaller than her but lets them feel like the big dog.
2023’s Deadwood K9 Keg Pull runner up (the peoples champ)
Hates (terrified of) horses.
Hell no when it comes to kites. Planes and birds are somehow chill.
Sticks are awesome and delicious.
Bowled over an old lady (am getting sued, renters insurance saving me from bankruptcy)
Respects personal space but will sleep on your head.
Convinced she can’t see screens.
Tug of war champion.
Will rescue you if you decide to take a swim in the ocean. You don’t need rescuing.
Has flown first class.
Can surf.
Elsie the German Shepard is her best friend.
Will beg for the car window to be rolled down and when you do she goes to the other window and now that’s the one that needs to be rolled down. Repeat.
Current Nicknames:
Merv: bad dog.
Pumpkin: good dog.
Queen Maeve: couch hog.
Jerk
Dave: Because 3 year olds can’t say Maeve.
We’ve climbed mountains, hiked to a bridge to nowhere and survived a South Dakota winter in a cabin in the woods. I love her dearly.
An absolute rascal and wouldn’t change her for the world. One of the toughest girls I know and so proud to be her Dad (food bowl filler up guy)
Im by no means achieving anything that hasn’t been seen before here. Im damn sure *checks stats* hundreds of millions of people visited this valley and stood exactly where I stood, looking at exactly what I’m looking at and moreover, artists of all kind captured it more strikingly or elegantly. Not to even mention the native Americans that inhabited this place for millennia. I came to just have some fun with my cameras and keep it simple; light meter, black and white film, Hasselblad. I took an online course for metering light (thanks @nickcarver ) and put the process into action, and while taking all of the obvious crowd pleaser shots, I did purposely park myself into tricky lighting situations. However I’m pretty sure half dome had an actual gravitational pull on my eyeballs, but there are so many different places to view it. I was also gifted the moon a few times and I couldn’t have been more appreciative. There are A LOT of out takes from this trip, and I’ve touched each of these shots in Lightroom, which I became more comfortable with after researching Ansel Adams process. His end result was what he wants you to see and feel, and not necessarily what is on the negative. So for all you that didn’t ask, the second shot, which i’m calling “tree dungeon” looked like a place that the world would eat you, and I tried to show that. I had a great time sleeping in a tent in sub freezing temps and doing laps in the valley during the day. Catch you nerds on the flip.
Zero discounts for anything if your name is Joshua in Joshua tree. Not even a cup of coffee. Through a Carl Zeiss sonnar 150 into a Hasselblad 500cm onto Portra 400.
For my 33rd, I was kidnapped to New Orleans. Got to see some VooDoo machines, meet a gator wrestling world champion, sing the blues with an old friend and eat all the southern treats there was to offer. I took a lot of photos but my favorites being of the one who made it all happen.
Well, I’m no water photographer or anything, but my super down gal Megan got me a nifty water housing cause she knows I want to be. I really love the ocean and to realize that you can capture these textures and shapes that happen in a flash was pretty special. I learned a lot on my first time out. Some may not be perfect but excited enough to share my first shots. Thanks honey for a very special gift.
