I built a Photo-Shack using some PVC piping, clamps and light stands.

INSIDE:   I had my camera on a tripod connected to my laptop which streamed instructions on how to commence shooting.  “Push button and stand back”

OUTSIDE: I had a 42″ monitor playing the slideshow of all the images of the evening!! By far the greatest part of the setup. In all 440 images were snapped…everyone of them with a smile on peoples faces!

The energy and excitement of a simple idea really made this a success!

See the gallery here:

http://kayaksurfer.smugmug.com/People/Photo-Shack/Jamies-Stock-My-Bar-Party/21035465_Mf28Vz

I wish I had the eloquence to articulate my conflicting feelings when I look at this image. Which side of the line do you stand? Can we  ever erase the lines  which divide us and should we? Laws have been created to both protect people and often compensate political interests. What do you believe?

I’m curious to read your thoughts.

I photographed this image during the first public immigration sweep by Sheriff Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriffs department in 2008. The sweeps have been controversial with regard to the resources used to selectively enforce immigration laws. The sweeps have taken truly dangerous criminals off the street. I applaud!  They’ve also removed peaceful, hard working non-documented immigrants who have been positive contributors to American society. These non-documented immigrants are branded criminals by our laws. What do you believe?

After years of hearing so many great and incredible things about the Fryeburg fair in Fryeburg Maine, I finally had the opportunity to check it out first hand. While at the time it initially felt like any fair in small town America with its midway rides, local celebrities and sadly restrained livestock my feelings have since grown from the experience. The beauty of the region is wrapped in the culture of the people which every year add to the tradition and spirit of the fair. From Ben Mckennie’s Grandpa Joe’s Sugar house -with their incredible array of truly fresh maple syrup products (INCREDIBLE) to Nichole Peabody’s Hot apple fritter under cold vanilla ice cream served with some apple cider, these tastes and smells even now transport me to the fair grounds and bring a sweet smile to my face. Each of these families sharing their experiences from over a century of memories as well as traditions passed on from generation to generation. I can’t wait to go again next year.

Had Colby not been my witness, you’d never know that I was out on my kayak with a 25 lbs camera and lens, hand held in the churning water about 25 yards from this beast!  As the waves calmed and the Bobcat wandered off, I was surprised at how calm this feline remained as I paddled along side, taking as many photos as I could without dumping my self or my gear.   I feel very lucky today. I was in the right place at the right time with the right gear and prepared for the opportunity. I guess it’s truly the definition of Luck!

It is fun to travel the world and see new places, however its a magical experience to view your own home from a new perspective. This is my home, Phoenix, Arizona. While its not where I grew up as a kid, its one of dozens of places I’ve called home over the past 34 years.

Filed under: airlines, Altitude, Arizona, beautiful, Desert, flight, flying, mountain, Southwest Tagged: colorful, Daniel Cordero, desert, desert mountains, DJ, Flying, Lake Mead, photography, Southwest ]]> http://i4aperture.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/outside-of-lake-mead/feed/ 2 i4aperture Lake-Meade-Terrain http://i4aperture.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/on-top-of-the-world-firing-my-canon/ http://i4aperture.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/on-top-of-the-world-firing-my-canon/#comments Sat, 22 Oct 2011 15:37:10 +0000 i4aperture http://i4aperture.wordpress.com/?p=990 ]]>

I love looking out the window of a plane. I am absolutely mezmorized by the world as we climb tens of thousands of feet in to the air.  However as if I were trained like one of Pavlov’s dogs, as soon as the wheels lift off the ground and my body presses deeper into my seat, ” Its a small world after all” begins playing in my head. That song  is really the only part i don’t like about flying. Fortunately I’m quickly humbled by just how BIG our world is and the tune dissolves away. Although technology has made it faster to get from one place to another, when I contemplate using my own two feet to traverse the distances I travel by plane let alone the entire circumference of the Earth, that juvenile Disney song is quickly replaced with the complex roar of the engines and creaking sounds of the cabin as the aircraft fights to overcome gravity and headwinds.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting images I’ve photographed from the air. I’ve been on more planes this year than I have in any other form of man made locomotion with more than 70 flights this year alone. That’s more than the total count of each type of cars, bikes, trains, skateboards, scooters, motorcycles, surfboards, kayaks, boats, parachutes and shoes I’ve been in.

If you subscribe to my blog, Thank you! Please share it with your friends and family. I encourage you to please leave your comments and share your thoughts and experiences.

I recently returned from a trip to San Francisco, CA. Where I spent most of my time soaking in the incredible volume of monuments of human creation. From rows of whimsical homes and offices, to manicured parks, cemeteries, piers, bridges and islands, this city has a way of providing anyone who would be adventurous enough to look for it, a real live piece of your imagination come to life. On the other hand it also a beautiful nightmare.

The photograph on the left was taken while hiking the San Francisco peaks, in Flagstaff Arizona in October of 2010….a dizzying coincidence I just now realized as I wrote this text…while the image on the right was taken in the heart of San Francisco, California’s financial district March 4th, 2011.

“Progress and financial prosperity” has taken its toll on the balance of nature. What existed in a perfect balance of biological, chemical and physical forces, which we’re just beginning to understand, is now propped up by our imperfect attempts to replace that which we’ve disturbed, the natural balance.

We fool ourselves in our adornments with titles and comforts, but just as the world of unbalance we’ve created, so will go our fate.