Neighbors in Breck

Last week when we were up in Breckenridge for a park shoot, Dustin (MSP's cinematographer) spotted this little guy napping in the backyard of our rental house. Couldn't help myself and had to snag a few shots of him before he ran off down the road. Amazing how comfortable he was around humans.

Fly Fishing in Utah

I just got back from an extended weekend away in Utah. I got a phone call a couple weeks ago from my favorite fishing partner and best friend, my dad. He simply asked one question "wanna go fishing"? Is that even a question??? "Of course" I answered!

So last Wednesday, I sent off my last email, put my voicemail on extended absence notice and headed for the airport. Destination Salt Lake City, Utah. More specifically, the Green River in Flaming Gorge.

I had fished the Green years back when I was probably 11, but the word "fishing" was a relative term. At the time I had a mullet and I think I spent more time throwing rocks and eating candy than I did fishing. So this would be the first time I would really get a chance to fish the Green. I couldn't wait.

Unfortunately, the fishing on the Green was far from amazing. We still got a handful of nice Browns and Rainbows, but they weren't in the bountiful numbers that you'd expect. But regardless of the fish count, I still had an incredible time. For me, fishing isn't about the number of fish you catch or the amount of time you spend flogging the water in an attempt to coax a fish to the surface. More importantly it's the time you get to spend outside with those that are close to you. It's drinking a gin and tonic, sharing stories and making fun of your closest friends. This trip didn't disappoint.

Austria

Just a quick update from the field. I haven't had a lot of time recently to post to the blog. While I've been trying to make a post at least once a week, I feel like I've been failing at that goal recently. The reason... because work's been busy.

But before it gets any later and I don't make a post for this week, let's take care of that right now. Currently, I'm sitting in Austria in the Defereggental Valley at St Jakobs on a shoot for Salomon with athletes Cody Townsend and Elyse Saugstad.

We've been here two days so far. The area is absolutely beautiful. The first two days of the trip have been spent scouting terrain and exploring the area. We've got a lot to work with and now we're trying to figure out where to shoot each location and how to best pull everything

together.

I'll continue to post more as the trip progresses. But for now, enjoy a few of the shots from our scouting missions.

Meadow Lodge Shoot with Matchstick Productions

For those of you who have been following me on twitter and facebook, you may have noticed that I dropped off the radar for most of the month of January. No, I wasn't slacking off, ditching work or starting a new career as a professional bull rider. I was deep in the backcountry of British Columbia on a shoot for Powder Magazine. The location for this shoot was Meadow and Vista Lodges, a part of the incredible backcountry hut network operated by Golden Alpine Holidays. With athletes Mark Abma and Eric Hjorleifson, and the crew from Matchstick Productions, we spent a total of 16 days deep in the backcountry of Rogers Pass.

This trip was a HUGE departure from most ski shoots that I've taken part in. Usually we rely heavily on helicoptors, snowmobiles and other exhaust belching forms of transportation to access terrain in the backcountry. However, on this trip, we were self powered. Once dropped off at the lodge, we were on our own. No electricity, no phone, no internet, no running water... you get the point. All transportation was human powered. That's right, bootpacking and skinning were our only forms of transport. It gave the entire trip an entirely different vibe and made for a different experience from every other trip I've ever been on.

I'll let you decide for yourself. I'm mid-way editing the photos from the trip right now, and once they have been released from Powder Magazine, I'll be posting a gallery of the best images from the trip. In the meantime, enjoy the above image from my iPhone... the only time I was able to use it for 3 weeks. It's a shot from the porch of the lodge. Beautiful terrain. I can't wait to go back.

Stay tuned. I'll be uploading those images ASAP. Until then... enjoy!

Traveling with Photo Equipment on Airlines

I just got an email from fellow photographer Erik Seo regarding the joys of traveling with camera gear. Reading his words, it got me to begin thinking of all the fun travel experiences I've had over the years as a professional photographer. The wonderful line ups with the good folks at TSA. I wish I could say that these encounters have been fun, but I can't even jokingly say that. The fear of not being allowed to travel to a job with your camera gear is not a joking matter and it can quickly turn a bluebird day into a cloudy, crap storm.

But there are a few things that we as photographers can do to help protect ourselves in our travels.

One useful trick to consider is to check fewer bags and bring them on board with your carry on luggage. TSA allows working photographers to bring 3 carry on bags to accommodate the massive amounts of gear we usually travel with. TSA has a link HERE that lays out the rules governing this loop-pole. It's a good idea to have a copy of this in your travel documents to show to the TSA agent that insists you're only allowed 2 bags. However, a quick note, some airlines may not allow three bags although TSA will.

Additionally, you may also encounter problems getting your batteries through security. In short, as long as the batteries are in your carry on bags, you're okay. For a quick summarization of what TSA will allow you, check HERE. Additionally, you can print out the guidelines for batteries by the TSA HERE.

Regardless of where you're going, it's a good idea to know what you're allowed to bring with you on airlines... and even better idea to have proof that you're allowed to. Chances are, most TSA agents do not know the ins and outs of traveling with camera gear. If you have any problems, show them these documents and ask to speak to a manager. Eventually, they will let you through with your gear... you may have to jump through a few hurdles along the way though.

Happy traveling!