University Lifestyle

This week, I've been shooting on campus at Weber State University for an upcoming campaign. Located in Ogden, Utah, on the bench of the Wasatch mountains, WSU is one of the most beautiful university campuses in Utah. WSU students are also pretty good looking. I should know since my wife was a WSU golfer! 

I used a Rokinon f/1.4 35mm lens for most of these images. The Rokinon is a fantastic fully manual lens that I bought primarily for video, but I've found if I have the camera on a tripod and work slowly using live view to confirm focus, it delivers great results for stills as well. For optimum sharpness, I'm trying to use a tripod as much as possible for everything I shoot. It really does make a difference.

Shelf Mushrooms on a Hemlock

One of my favorite things about the Pacific Northwest is the incredible mosses, lichen and fungi that live in the temperate rain forests. Living in the Great Basin desert in Utah doesn't allow for a lot of opportunity to see such verdant greenness and amazing heterotrophs such as this shelf fungus. I'm all out of big words now.  

Almost Summer Vacation

Oregon was fantastic, although summer hasn't quite made it to the coastal regions up north. The rain jackets came in handy. On the upside, it was very quiet. This was a family trip, so I didn't use the big camera as much as I thought. Most of the slack was picked by my iPhone. This was a quick shot taken with a Canon 5D II and a Canon 17-40 f/4 L lens.

Artisan Ice Cream in Sun Valley

Summer beckons. Warm nights in Sun Valley enjoying small-batch ice cream made by Jeff Keys at Vintage Restaurant. I had the great opportunity to meet Jeff and photograph Ice Cream Mix-ins a few years ago. All the ice cream in the photos is the real thing. No potato flakes and shortening allowed on set. I love how ice cream transitions from frozen crystal texture to creaminess as I shoot.