Adventures from the Pacific Northwest

True First EVER video!

2011-02-13T08:19:00.000-08:00

This time, instead of calling a picture slide show a 'video', I actually put together some REAL video. This was shot over a few weeks this winter while teaching sit-skiing for Outdoors for All. I put together a whole bunch of footage of my OFA student, Mary Tripoli as she shreds on a Bi-Unique sit ski up at Stevens Pass. It was a honor to work with her this year.

equipment used:
Canon 7D with 24-105 f.4L lens
GoPro Hero HD (1080)
Mi Camcorder Mi-96HD

Many thanks to:
Amy Paxman for all of her help teaching
Outdoors for All (aka OFA) for the sit ski and organization to put all this together
Stevens Pass lift operators (you guys rock!)
Mark Yeoman for the use of the MI-96HD's and the kick-ass RAM mounts
Melissa Stowe for the use of her GoPro (haha, even though it is her friends)
Tracy Houghton for filming the bridge at 6am and sleepy... with me yelling at her while driving (oops)
Mary Tripoli for the use of her footage
Sara Krastek for the use of some of her footage... and stealing Mary's footage that you had on hand when 'I thought I lost it'
anyone else that I forgot along the way

HILARIOUS!

2010-12-12T20:43:00.001-08:00

Tieton River

2010-09-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

Bee Yourself

2010-08-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

(sorry tracy)

First Ever Video!

2010-08-05T01:13:00.000-07:00

this will probably get updated to fix a few timing issues and panning issues I ran into with the portrait style pictures.. regardless, there are some GREAT pictures in here! Many thanks go out to Nash, Tracy, Alicia, Aaron P, Steve, Levi and Evan for allowing me to use their pictures!

ENJOY!

Mazama!

2010-07-31T00:57:00.000-07:00

A few quick photos of Tom and Lindsay's new(er) puppy, Mazama!

I bet nash's fingers taste delicious

annnnnd... the bread winning shot!

more to come later, hopefully soon!

Beauty is the Eye of the Beholder

2010-07-31T00:53:00.000-07:00

Quick post to share a few pictures of the Trout Lake, WA area!

Lightning Crashes

2010-07-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

4am Work!

2010-07-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

I got called into work at 1:30, then 2:30, then 3:30am... I woke up at 3:30am (missed the two earlier calls, thankfully)... and was on the road by 4:15am after spending almost an hour on the phone (yaaayy!)... this was the only good thing to come out of that day!

What's All the Buzz About?

2010-07-12T22:13:00.000-07:00

Nothing too special about a Monday night, especially this one. I was just sitting at home, doing normal Seattle yuppie things such as: watching "Days of Thunder" (no joke), researching how to retrofit a 1960 Ford F250 292 Y8 engine from a two barrel carburetor to a very recently purchased four barrel carburetor (no joke x2) while watching said movie, installing dimmer switches in two of the rooms of my house (no joke x3) while not researching the truck and breaking into the basement of said house so I could kill the breakers in order to NOT get electrocuted twice in one night (no joke x4) which actually interrupted the movie. You know, typical Monday night activities. Everything seems quiet on the NorthWestern front until I happened to go outside to look at what the sunset might look like if the sun was actually visibile. Instead of seeing any nice colors in the sky, I noticed a bee literally posing perfectly on a leaf (thank you overcast Seattle).

So, rather than going to meet up with people to go Square Dancing in Ballard at the end of my new favorite movie (no joke x5), I decide to go and have, LITERALLY, a photo shoot with:

a bumble bee
a head lamp
a few flashlights
socks (white, or course)
sandals

Now that I have fulfilled my destiny of truly being a "typical" Seattle yuppie (in the fact that I missed a call from the girlfriend and ignored the remainder of my friends all for a stupid insect... WHILE rocking mandals, I just HAD to then go and blog about it so that the world can see for itself how pathetic I am. The following is the result or my "Bee Whispering" session. Enjoy.

after all was said and done, I only got two decent shots... not exactly what I wanted in terms of picture quality, framing, focus and exposure, but hey... not too shabby for hand held flashlight in the left hand and an SLR in the right while it was actually completely dark outside... a tripod has now been accelerated to the top of my wish list (only second to a new floor for the truck cab)

Wallace Falls

2010-07-05T17:11:00.000-07:00

the 4th: gasworks

2010-07-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

BCC Leavenworth

2010-04-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

Leavenworth Rock

2010-04-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

Moinca... what more can you say?

this isn't what it seems... actually, yes it is

daisys

bug

???

josh likes climbing into wet cracks

Josh clinging for 'safety'

Lodged Rock

GQ Rich

Nash looked like giants

Nitro!

Nitro's Nose

Farewell for Now, Emily

2010-04-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

Goodbyes are always difficult, but when you add 20 parts friends, 1 part awesome idea, 1 part erotic bakery and 1 part failed-surprise-going-away party turned into a last minute party, they get better... that's when goodbyes just become an amazing conversation starter as you transition into the next group of friends... as much as we are all sad to see Emily trek back to the east coast, we all know that she is on to bigger and better things... we are lucky enough to have spent time with her and we all look forward to the next time we get to hear her signature laugh!

GOOD LUCK AT JOHN HOPKINS EMILY!!!

we already miss you...

now onto the fun part, the pictures!

The going away present for Emily! A birthing vagina cake!

Note the pubic hair... gross.

But the baby's all good, thumbs up

No vagina cake would be complete unless it had a coat hanger abortion from Emily... note, this is NOT funny

but Steve cutting the half-born marizpan baby IS funny

except the baby/vagina appeared to be crying here because it knew it was about to be eaten out

Flower Power?

2010-04-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

the first real shots with the 7D came out pretty... well, pretty good

Night Vision

2010-04-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

It's here... my newest toy. Canon 7d camera with a Canon 24-105 lens.

Taking pictures in low light situations now feels like cheating, the thing can damn near see in the dark! These two pictures I took with light only from Steve's laptop screen, handheld at ISO 4000. The lack of noise when compared to my canon 40d at ISO 800 or 1600 is amazing... I'm happy! (for those that understood this, it's kinda a big deal)

Mt. Ellinor - sunday

2010-04-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

Mt. Ellinor - saturday

2010-04-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

Mellow Yellow

2010-04-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Nick Stole my Camera

2010-04-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

Final Four Party

2010-04-03T20:56:00.000-07:00

the final four party at Curtiss/Des/Kristin's... via Nick's perspective (he stole my camera)

Silver Peak

2010-03-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

Big Chief

2010-03-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

OFA Spree

2010-03-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

The Art of Ski Biking

2010-03-04T07:04:00.000-08:00

It all started roughly 10 years ago. K2 came out with prototypes for what they called the SnowCycle. Somehow, one of these bikes made its way to my hometown resort of Elk Mountain in Pennsylvania. I took a demo run on it and instantly was hooked. I ended up riding it around all the terrain there for about 2 months... until all the snow melted, the season ended and my tenure with the SnowCycle concluded. That was the last time I rode her. I was sad.

Until now! My friend Adam, who works for K2 in Seattle, has a ski bike that was not being used. He was allowed to bring it up to the mountain for demos and again, I was hooked. Separate to Adam's bike, I somehow was lucky enough to acquire one during January of this year (conveniently around my birthday...hmmm). I started riding it at Steven's Pass in Washington almost every available weekend. The thing is a blast! I am happy!

The next step is sharing this awesome device with everyone, either via pictures and video here... or better, via riding on the mountain. Right now, there are two ski bikes in the area that I have access to and I am always up for riding... and/or teaching somebody how to ride. The learning curve is pretty quick for anyone interested in just getting down the mountain on easy terrain. However, it is not-so-surprisingly difficult to master steep and/or narrow terrain. Moguls are near impossible to navigate without a painful crash (at least right now).

When it's done right, the bike is super fluid and very smooth. It just LOVES to go downhill. The bike is also incredibly fast. One of my new favorite things to do is pass the racer-type skier... it always gets a look of disgust from them (which is a major victory for me!). The bike is not always as fast as them... but about 75% of the time I can over take one of them, regardless of terrain! Besides running the groomers, I have also been trying to master my control of the bike while heading down really steep terrain (like double blacks). After that... bumps!

For now, I only have one video of my ski biking adventures. It was my first attempt at moguls. I failed. But will return to them on the bike soon. Thanks to Sara Krastek for filming and posting this!

Enjoy!

NOTE: there is no sounds at my request of sara, I was not too happy about running the bumps while this new to the bike, so I was not the most pleasant person to deal with that day... trust me when I tell you it is better the sound is omitted!

Hollywood Days

2010-03-03T11:43:00.000-08:00

Hollywood Nights

2010-03-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

Hollywood Nights - the people

2010-03-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

Del Campo

2010-02-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

A look at Monte Cristo and Del Campo during the first 'climb' of the season

The California Cody Roll

2010-02-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

Olympics - hockey

2010-02-24T21:15:00.000-08:00

Olympics - Curling

2010-02-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

Olympics - Granville Island Public Market

2010-02-23T20:45:00.000-08:00

Olympics - Granville Island

2010-02-23T20:41:00.000-08:00

Lots of birds

Olympics - basketball jones

2010-02-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

Olympics - Vancouver: take two

2010-02-23T20:34:00.000-08:00

Olympics - Whistler

2010-02-21T19:07:00.000-08:00

yes... i know i spelled copyright wrong... i added the watermarks on a flight and I couldn't see what I was typing... plus the plane bounces kept making me type copeeright and copwrte and so on (and now I am too lazy to fix the images)

Olympics - Vancouver: take one

2010-02-20T18:56:00.000-08:00

Stevens Pass

2010-02-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

747-8 First Flight

2010-02-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

777 Landing

2010-02-07T20:30:00.000-08:00

OFA cabin

2010-02-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

OFA week 3... the Todd-Ski

2010-01-31T14:37:00.000-08:00

Oyster Peak Hike

2010-01-30T17:44:00.000-08:00

Whistler - bootstrap party!!

2010-01-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when Mike Superfisky has a Sharpie and the beer is flowing. Things got hilarious quickly!

Whistler - night time shots

2010-01-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

while everyone slept in, I was up and taking pictures of whistler village

Bryce Canyon

2010-01-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

Day 2 of 2010 did not disappoint! Bryce Canyon was next on the list of Utah National Parks to be conquered by Reed and I...enjoy!

This was roadside on route 12, the road leading to the park... amazing

annnd... we got to drive through some red rock... literally!

The next few pictures have people in them... see if you can figure out where

where's Nate...o?

Reed's turn to go out on the cliff

It's probably a good idea that you can't really see the fear in his face as he poses for this one

Bryce Canyon, much like Arches, also has windows...

Bryce Canyon!

some more Hoodoos (the crazy cool rock formations)

chasing down a hoodoo there...

Tree

Bryce Canyon Ravens

2010-01-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

A few pictures of a few Ravens seen in Bryce while there was some down time

A Raven's caw?

Ravens wear shoulder pads

Pre Flight

Flight

ARCHES!!!

2010-01-02T06:15:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I have had some time to actually type up some commentary to my postings... since it appears that I have at least 15 minutes before I board my Seattle flight, I may as well attempt to label some of the pictures and provide some sort of description to my recent adventures...

2010 has already started out better than expected... around 1:00am MST on January 1st, I decided that I should probably hit the hay. We had big plans for the sunlight hours, thus I wanted to be well rested. At the time, we (Reed, Matthew and Drew) had yet to decide the day's activities. Around 7:00am, Reed and I debated what we should do... ski, tour Salt Lake, bop around Salt Lake, drive to Bryce Canyon, drive to Zion, drive to Craters of the moon, drive to Arches, etc. After easily a half hour deliberation, Arches National Park won the debate. Unfortunately, Matthew and Drew couldn't join us, as they both had other commitments, i.e. work.

Reed and I were now on our way to bringin in the new year southern Utah style:

Unknown mountain off of US route 6... I should note that I was not actually standing in the highway when I took this, but was rather sitting shotgun in Reed's car at about 80mph!

This rock formation is right at the entrance of the park, we probably spent 5 minutes just sitting in the middle of the road starring at it... I quickly learned that the red rock of southern Utah is beautiful

A view of the high plateau while driving through the first few miles of the park... Reed was having a difficult time not taking advantage of the entire road rally car style. He was excited... I was excited that he was excited. And making the whole situation even better, the clouds were just starting to break around us... 'consistent' blue sky was finally sighted!

Our first stop was at the lower lookout for the Delicate Arch... no sooner than we parked the car, the clouds rolled back in... regardless, this ridge line provided for some dramatic scenery.

A bit closer view of the Delicate Arch

The next stop was at the Fiery Furnace Viewpoint... this is a look across the valley

Some more Fiery Furnace

A look uphill instead of across the valley

Nate's look at the sun through the Tunnel Arch

Reed's look at the sun through the Tunnel Arch

A look up at the impressive Landscape Arch

Some rock formations and cloud wisps on the Landscape Arch trail... the breaking clouds and setting sun made for some excellent backdrops to compliment the amazing foreground

A look at the Skyline Arch from the trail leading to its base

more rock formations

the Broken Arch

Me in the middle of the Broken Arch

I decided to dance in the Broken Arch... it was not a normal dance

First day of the year is a success!

787 first flight

2009-12-15T05:49:00.000-08:00

Bridal Veil Falls

2009-12-12T06:21:00.000-08:00

the Hunt for the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

2009-12-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

Rainier Ski/Hike

2009-11-27T18:33:00.000-08:00

The day after Friendsgiving was determined to be ski/hike day. There was one obvious choice...Mt Rainier!

Reed, Matthew and I starting out from Paradise

Look at Mt. Rainier, from Mt. Rainier while hiking up to Panoramic Point

View from the top of the snow patterns and the valley(s) below

Mt Rainier from Pano Point

Oh my god MAGNUM, it's beautiful

A look back at the mountain while driving home

Friendsgiving

2009-11-26T18:17:00.000-08:00

Friendsgiving grew this year... we went from four people in 2008 to twenty-two (yes, 22!) in 2009... freakin NUTS! Thankfully, my place grew too, as there is no way that my old Everett apartment would contain twenty-something people. I tried to take a few pictures of the event in the interest of capturing everyone, but it was just tooo difficult. Below is what ended up making the website cut, enjoy!

Reed, ready for food!

After food, rock band insued... Steve was the drum master

First Tracks 2009-2010

2009-11-25T18:10:00.001-08:00

somehow steve did not eat shit on this

Edwards Air Show 2009

2009-11-23T19:27:00.000-08:00

Kerry Park

2009-10-06T20:39:00.001-07:00

I returned to Kerry park... this time armed with a tripod and an awesome sunset (which I ended up missing, thank you traffic)... regardless, I got off some pretty nice shots... enjoy

Leavenworth

2009-10-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

Oktoberfest at Leavenworth with Allison and Jaime

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CURTIS - Black Peak

2009-09-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Curtis mentioned something along the lines of 'making that peak my bitch'

oh my god, there it is...MAGNUM....its beautiful!

the wind was somehow playing 'gonna fly now'... Russ made Rocky proud

and now its time for the celebratory summit cigars and birthday beer

the summit from Huber's point of view

And now the Scenery shots:

some of the lakes had islands....

Black Peak back drop

the first of the really yellow larches

Wind Lake and Black Peak

Glacier Peak and Snowking

After Black Peak had been conquered

Gothic Basin and Foggy Lake

2009-09-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

Rogue River

2009-09-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

Rainie Falls

Rainie Falls scouting brigade

Blossom Bar:

Jen is really the workhorse of this trip

BEWET tranquility, compliments of the Rogue River in Southern Oregon

Rogue River - Evan and Jen

2009-09-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

Easily the most photogenic boat of the entire group

Evan and Jen coming through Blossom Bar

Rogue River - Rick and Bethany

2009-09-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

Rick running the dory chute

Rick's magic oar levitating abilities:

Rick's OKAY!

and....Bethany knew the camera was coming:

Rogue River - Mike and Kim

2009-09-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

Rogue River - Mike and Nan

2009-09-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

Rogue River - Tom and Lindsay

2009-09-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

Rogue River - Eric

2009-09-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

Rogue River - Nate

2009-09-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

this is a rare occasion... actually have pictures of myself on the site... thank you Kim Berlin for being kinda enough to take some shots of me being a total inflatable kayak hack!

Wildlife of Southern Oregon

2009-09-04T22:50:00.000-07:00

Deer on the Paradise Lodge on the Rogue River

Elk seen along Oregon state road 38 near Reedsport

various animals as seen from the shores of the Rogue River in southern Oregon

Oregon Scenery

2009-09-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

The Oregon coast near the California border

Sunset coming through Eugene, OR

Interesting clouds south of Eugene, OR

Happy Birthday Micah?

2009-08-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

It was Micah's "birthday"... aka, his last night in style, we had to see him out in style!

Steve holding Micah's good bye present

A close up on the Penis cake

It was no surprise to see how 'surprised' Micah is about his cake

some tongue action... disgusting

Husum Falls - Sunday

2009-08-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Part of the crew... from back to front... Dan, Shane, Carrie, Aaron, and me

below are the pictures from the August 9th BEWET run down the White Salmon river... Husum Falls lives on

Carrie's boat:

Chad's boat:

Aaron's boat:
(notice Dan's expressions'... hes the one going airborne)

Husum Falls - Saturday (1 of 2)

2009-08-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Rick's Boat

Nick's Boat

Gary's Boat

Natalie's Boat

Carrie's Boat

Gary and Hailey are a bit concerned with Carrie's swim

Mike Berlin goes down in style