My baby Girl

My wife has been begging me to take some official photos of our baby girl since her birth. So here they are a quick little shoot in our front yard.

Alberta, Canada

I just returned home from a very successful hunting trip to Alberta, Canada. Fall is fast on it's way there color is every where the sky the trees and the grass. 

Color the Skies

It's that time of year again, summer is winding down and the Balloons go up over Ripon. This year I thought I was going to have a tough time photographing this event. I have shot it for three years now every year the same shots or so I thought. This year it became more about the people and the charity than the event for me. It's funny how life does that to you just when you think you are about burnt out on something it re-sparks your interest. At the pilots briefing on Saturday I listened to a little man so full of life that had beaten back cancer with the help of Children's hospital his flair and excitement for life made me realize how important this event was. I also ran into someone who I had meet earlier this year and had a great conversation with him and his wife and listened to their story about how their nice had sought out treatment at Children's hospital of California and how much it had done for their family. Now I'm kind of a big softie and hearing their story made me really want to do more for the event. As a photographer all I can do is try my best to tell a story and inspire others. I think next year I will be trying to get my hands in a little more to raise more money for this great charity.

Project in Time (PIT)

People that know me, know that I am Native Californian, Northern Sierra Mewuk. Every year my family and some close family friends work together with the forest service to put on a PIT Project. Unlike many other PIT projects that focus on archeology or other areas. This PIT project puts people in a place to understand the original people of California and how they lived. Together we teach people how to make everyday tools, instruments, and not only what our people ate but how its made ie. cooking in baskets. This year we took on a few larger projects we built an Umacha (Traditional Mewuk home or dwelling built of cedar poles, grape vines and cedar bark) and a Chucka (Like a grain silo it was used to store about 400lbs of Acorns. Built with Pine Poles, Grape Vines, Cedar Bows, and Worm Wood.) If you have a chance and would like to view these they are at Boards Crossing below Dorington up hwy 4 in California. The campground was established about 10 years ago after a mudslide wiped out the old campground across the river. When they surveyed for the new campground they found a Mewuk village site that has now been dated to 2,000 years old. If you visit this place please respect it don't go looking for artifacts just enjoy where it as the people before you did. We are now planning on working on a Hunga an assembly house that equates to our church where we will bring the Dance and songs of our people back to the village.

 Umacha Buliding supervised by Fred Vasques, Carson Bates, and Austin Stevenot

Chucka (the green thing in the middle of everyone) Building Supervised by Carson Bates, 

Austin Stevenot, and Fred Vasques.

At the Ranch

I had the opportunity to Photograph Nicole & Garrin  last weekend the venue lent its self to some great photo ops.

Trucks and Dogs Senior Portrait.

I had a great time with Austin's Senior Portrait shoot. Great place and good people. 

Rice Harvest

I took a trip up to Colusa in Northern California to help work on some Duck blinds for this coming season. Not only did I do that but the rice harvest was in full swing. The clouds were steaming in as a Low pressure system was moving in to add depth to the sky. We were working on several different ranches so I never got a chance to set up a shot Just shoot out the window from the truck.