The story of Juan.. told by New Belgium

I dont really no what to say..

Salt Flats

We went to Salt Lake City over Thanksgiving weekend to visit some friends. We were just there to hang out, play Guitar Hero III, nothing much. We had to make a trip to Ikea, Lisa had to go see it. I wasn't really into it, but they do have a lot of cool stuff. We were trying to find something else to do for the next day. They asked me, I said the Salt Flats would be cool to see. I remember seeing it when I was a kid, and remembered that it was a fun back then. Everyone was up for it. I asked how far it was. They said maybe a 1/2 an hour to an hour. I thought that was good. We were going with a 1 year old, 2.5 year old, and a 5.5 year old. I knew that we couldn't do a long trip out of it all. We all piled in the car and headed out. We kind of took our time, not thinking this would take our entire afternoon. Over 2 hours later, and 4 miles from the border of Nevada we made it. We almost turned around, but after 100 miles you just can't do it. I think everyone had a good time. It is one of those places that when you hear what it is you think, big deal a bunch of salt. To a certain extent when you start to really see it from the road, you think big deal. When you actually get out there and experience it first hand, it is awesome. Just as cool as I remembered it.

Weber Grills..

So I am going to try and post a few things I have been working on lately. I get busy with things and seem to slack on all of this. Hopefully the blog will prove to be an ok tool until the website is complete. Here are a few from our Weber shoot in Chicago. I will start with some behind the scene photos. I will make a separate post for the some actual photos from the shoot. 

Here is Paulie and Scott making sure I know how much work they really do.

From our Shoot in late August

another shot of the set


Scott Sleeping on the way back.  I think he has the worlds largest adam's apple.

Denver Rescue Mission

So last month I got the opportunity to help with a project for the Denver Rescue Mission. The ideas about the project had changed many times, but we finally were able to shoot. I don't have a comp of the final idea, but it basically consists of billboards and outdoor installations spelling the word homeless with the faces of the people that the rescue mission helps. It would taper off towards the end of the word, mainly showing the word home instead of homeless. We went to a place called the crossing. It is a place that offers family housing, longterm rehabilitation, and programs to get people and families off of the street and back into society. We only had a minute or two with each person we shot. We were trying to get as many as we could for the project, so we didn't have a lot of time to mess around. I think we ended up shooting over 100 people. I was a little concerned on just how it was going to look. I expected them to be very boring, uninviting photos, but was very surprised to see how they turned out. What I found was that, probably by chance we were able to really get a glimpse of who they were. Maybe we didn't tell a story, but we did get to see when they were proud, when they were humble, happy, etc. One thing is for sure, is that they are all human beings, and being able to meet with them for only that minute was very nice. Nice to see that these people wanted another chance, or maybe just a first chance. I am glad I was a part of it.

One of my Favorite people in the world...

Val turns 86 next month. A friend in the neighborhood threw a party for him. Seems like everyone got involved, donating food, beer, cake, money, etc. Val is a very special person to me. He is the gardener at the studio. He has said that he is officially retired, and when you look at the big picture, he probably has. He still does his share of work though. Most of the time I do find him asleep in his chair with a book in hand. I have known Val for 5 years now. He always has something new to tell me about, a new word to teach me, or just a friendly hello and conversation. I will talk more about val some other time. Here are some photos from his party.

2 Below

Here is the latest New Belgium ad I am working on. It is for the winter seasonal 2 Below. Keep an eye out for the new ads.

Mia's long hair

it is crazy how long her hair is. She loves it and hates it, but i think truly loves it.

What I carry in a day

I always knew I carried alot of stuff in my pockets, but i have never really looked at it all. It seems about average for me. I am surprised though to not see at least one pen and one sharpie. They are usually in there. Here's what I have.. left to right.

pack of lemon lime orbit gum
4 $1.00 bills
$5.29 in change
2 New Belgium bottle caps
2 pocket knives one old one new
2 reciepts one for General hardware $6.45 and one for the Walnut Room $14.25
New Belgium Sunshine wheat chapstick
a key chain Ryan made in school
Car Keys
receipt for Guirys $39.83 For 2 quarts of oil pant and brushes
chain wallet
Remote for the studio
phone
camera