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Amidst tons of really bad graffiti, there is some pretty interesting street art in Bogota. Here are some quick shots from wandering around the last few days. Interesting walls, and an earthquake painting from the Botero Museum.

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Returned to Colombia for a week and a half for a small tour through Bogota and Neiva with Chris Farmer thanks to Proyecto Sur.  There are so many awesome random things you come across on a day to day basis, so it’s nice to always keep a camera handy.  Yesterday we were walking down Calle Septima and passed a dog with a full wallet in his mouth.  People always tell you to be careful of pickpockets down here, but this isn’t really what I had envisioned.

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Had an envelope sitting at my door today with a cool French postage stamp on it.  That could only mean one thing … the new Roll’s mag is out.  I was kind of shocked how fast it got here.  Just a few weeks ago I flew out to Washington to meet up with the Vibralux tour, and the first day we had to knock out an ad for Don.  My day started in New York at 4am, flew straight to Seattle, went from the airport to skate spots, got an image Don was happy with, and got it uploaded and into design and ready for press all in less than 24 hours.  I barely got back from the tour and the mag is already pressed and shipped over the Atlantic.  It’s amazing what digital is capable of.  If this had been the days of shooting provia (that’s slide film btw), I would have probably been sending out the slide sheets around this time.

The issue is pretty cool.  The cover is the first thing I’ve seen of Taig’s Eiffel Tower drop that actually makes it look cool or gnarly.  I shot a little blurb about the Blade or Die tattoo’s with Don, a Montre sequence from Philly, and a Chris Farmer shot from the 12th and D spot, and an article with Jon Julio that also had a tattoo photo (random tattoo photo demand haha).  The inside back cover ad is a Damien Wilson portrait / product shot that came together pretty good I think.  Pretty good issue overall.  Check them out at the Roll’s Website. Below are some quick scans I did with this new 734321 in one canon device I’ve never used till today.

This is the original image pre-crop/designed

Montre Sequence from Philly

Farmer full page, NYC summer memories

Damien's ad for his new skate

Roll's cover (i didn't shoot this, Abaca did)

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I got a text this afternoon from Jeromy Morris, with some photos of his new artwork.  If you’d like to see it I highly recommend you check out his blog here.  I figured for my daily update it would be fitting to use an image we have shot in the past.  This was taken over a year ago in Kansas City.

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Bright colors and textures abound all over south America.  After extending a Montanita trip, I took a day trip with my friend Matias to Puerto Lopez.  We took a boat out to an island, snorkeled, had fresh ceviche made on board.  Walking back to catch a bus, I spotted this wall and snapped this photo.

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Ah, the redwoods.  One of my favorite places on earth.  This was taken on my first trip to the redwoods, and we came across this tree that was hit by lightning.  The colors and texture blew my mind.  I keep getting short day visits to the redwoods during road trips.  I’m looking forward to an extended camping trip in the future.  2011?  

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Just came across this image from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  I was shooting a wedding for the Berg family and during a sunset cruise we had this view.  Then pirates emerged through the archway so we left. 

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I’ve realized that I don’t update my blog nearly enough … to the tune of about one trip per year. Since my last post I’ve been to some amazing places, met great people, moved a few times, and have thousands of photos on my hard drives collecting dust. This is my first attempt to start getting those photographs out into the world where they belong.  

This image is from a recent trip to Atlanta. I got to meet up with Doug Urquhart from the Upthink Lab to do some photography experiments. He’s been doing a lot of HDR timelapse video, and I decided to experiment with some HDR photography with some new tips and tricks he shared with me. This building is an old Atlanta prison which recently burned down.

It took a while to grasp the fact that we had made it to Anchorage, and difficult to put the length of the trip in perspective.  It felt strange to move out of the mobile apartment, and spend some days without barreling down some highway.  We embraced this relaxation time to the fullest, and to say we took it easy would be an understatement.  I got to meet Abby’s family, who were all very kind and very social.  Each day we would meet up with at least 1 other Filipino family from Anchorage, hang out, and feast.  When we weren’t busy stuffing our faces with delectables, we lounged and watched movie after movie after movie.  I’ve never been so content doing practically nothing.

Eventually we started pulling ourselves off the couches and checking out parts of Anchorage.  Met some of Abby’s homies, went to a chocolate factory, a big park on the coast, and went out to a party called sushi-beats.  Imagine a classy Japanese restaurant that transforms into a dance floor at the stroke of midnight.

We had been talking about the Northern Lights since before the start of the trip, and researching the best time to see them, locations, etc.  Despite the fact we just spent a tremendous amount of time on the road, we had to take one last mission farther north to hunt Aurora Borealis.  The weekend forecast was looking good, and we packed up and headed for Fairbanks.  As we drove, we watched the outside temperature drop steadily, getting down to negative 28 at one point.  That’s a new record for my warmth loving self.  We went just past Fairbanks, into North Pole Alaska, where they celebrate Christmas year round.

This is the place that receives all the Christmas Cards that kids send in.  Remember sending your wish list to the north pole?  This is the spot.  The streets are lined with candy cane street lights and Santa lives there.  Yes the real Santa, reindeer and all.  We hung out with Mr. St. Nick for a while at his crib, and then went looking for some winter lake scenes to shoot some photos.  I was able to get a little ice-skate shooting gig on the side, and what better place to shoot than the real winter wonderland.

The biggest battle was the lack of sunlight.  It’s early in winter, but the sunrise comes close to noon, and it’s more of a glimpse than a rise.  It peeks out just over the mountain tops, stops, and goes right back down a few hours later.  Each day it gets darker and darker till the night wins and the true Alaskan winter is in full effect.

The night we finally saw the Northern lights couldn’t have been any better.  We were astonished by the luck we had, not just that night, but the entire trip in general.  It was almost 1 month to the day since we camped at the grand canyon, and star gazed in awe during a new moon.  We were at a remote highway turn-off far from civilization, with no artificial lights for miles, and not a cloud in the sky.  I thought I’d never see more stars than I saw at the grand canyon, but I was proved wrong.  The south end of the sky was dotted with glowing stars all the way across the sky to the northern horizon, where we began to see a green glow.  It was really happening.

We had checked the forecast, and there was a scale showing the amount of likely solar activity.  The scale went from 1 – 10 and that night the meter read between 0 and 1.  We heard that they usually last 20 – 30 minutes.  Just the sight of the glow blew our minds, but we had no idea what we were in for.  The glow kept getting brighter and brighter, closer and closer, and moved through the skies above us for the next 3 hours.  Of course I shot some photos, but honestly it’s so difficult for them to do justice for what it’s really like to be there in person.

I’ve never shot in those kinds of conditions, and would only have a small window where I could be outside before my fingers and hands were too numb to work any of the camera controls.  The cold was incredibly brutal, the tripod was freezing, and all the batteries diminished faster than ever.  It’s a punishing place for humans, and gave me a crash course in what a real winter could be like.  Jack London stories took on a new light.

We returned to Anchorage incredibly satisfied with the experience, and had a few hours before my flight home.  We made our final postcard, reminisced, and had quite a few toasts, and finally succumbed to 21st century realities that say you can’t stay on vacation forever.  I boarded the plane so incredibly thankful and content, fully aware of how many amazing moments were had, and how many things worked in our favor to make this kind of trip possible.  I dozed off, and the trip that took a month and a half to drive took half a day to fly back.  Unreal.

one of Abby’s morning feasts

yes, this is a CHOCOLATE water fall and fountain

as a matter of fact…

inuit art … commercialized but still impressive

inuit rock sculptures

sushi-beats party and the old “balance a beer on abby’s head” trick

mustaches are in right now

fam

sake clothing.  i think we saw about 13 bottles of this that night.

frozen lakes in North Pole

Ab got some snowboarding time in

way-too-cold photoshoot

photo assistant training… completed

not comfortable

always christmas

north pole candy cane lights

this way

moose pose

eskimo spotting

the noon sunrise

rainbow from the peaks and some digital dust

Alaska’s interior landscape

this is what the windows look like when you wake up in the morning.  yes we were still car camping

found farmers old steez

Santa’s place

some of the letters were too good

draw your face please

the walls were covered in Christmas letters

quite a christmas wish

i have absolutely idea what this child wants

legos!

the man himself

so nice this guy

reindeer in the garage

white winter

the whisky of choice for borealis hunting

there they are!!!!

getting more intense

running around with leftover sparklers from new mexico

east to west

dancing

loving life right about now

if there was ever a grand finale to a road trip, this is it

Such an amazing night I’ll never forget.  Easily one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in my life.  Going to miss you Ab, much love!

Leaving Vancouver marked the 1 month point of the trip, and it dawned on us that we were only halfway to Anchorage, and facing the most intense part of the drive yet. There are only 2 routes to choose from. The first being the well maintained Alaska Highway with flatter terrain and better weather. The other being the Cassiar highway route that winds through the remotely inhabited western mountains of British Columbia and isn’t even fully paved yet. Which one do you think we picked?

We aimed straight for the Cassiar highway. I talked with my friend Ross who took the trip earlier in the year on his motorcycle. He raved about the scenery but gave plenty of stern warnings about bringing survival gear. We stopped in Prince George to stock up on food and supplies, and it was there that we learned we need of some minor repair. The thousands of miles we already logged had worn our tires down to the threads and cracked one of the wheel hubs. We were actually really lucky to spot this when we did, and got suited up with a new wheel, fresh snow tires, and sustenance of all sorts.

The sun set, and I had a lot of anticipation about the road ahead of us. The first night we had a full moon above us, and not a cloud in the sky. With fresh white snow reflecting light on the ground, and no town lights for miles, we realized how well we could see… even without headlights. It probably sounds like a dumb move, but for long legs of the drive we turned out all the headlights and drove down the snowy roads with only the moonlight. We watched the outside temperature gauge dropping. I think this night I really felt like we began to enter the wilderness.

The next photos are full of winter scenes, and I realize it may be a bit repetitive, but this was our landscape for thousands of miles. There are no cities, just a few small towns all the way until Whitehorse. And when I say small towns, I mean SMALL towns. A few houses, a small restaurant, and a gas pump. As winter is ushered in, you loose about a dozen minutes of light each day. Our days consisted of waking at first light, driving till a few hours after sunset, sleeping in the car, and repeating.  No hotels.  No changing clothes.  No showers.  As boring as this may sound, imagine scenery so breath taking that there isn’t a dull moment for days on end.

We made it to Whitehorse in time to see the final game of the World Series, and could only imagine the celebrations back home as the Yankees took the win on my room mates birthday.  The terrain after Whitehorse was much easier, and the roads were blanketed white all the way to Anchorage.

amazing views on the outskirts of Vancouver

Biker braving it on the highway

Full, bright moon lighting our way

this photo is a 30 second long exposure taken at about 2am.  The moonlight was bright enough to expose details that we couldn’t see with our eyes

we came across a glowing red sky, and speculated on what it was until we got there.  We explored as far as we could, but never could tell what they were burning here.

several minute exposure taken at night, illuminated fully by moonlight

more night time landscapes

moon glow

moonlight exposure of our sleeping spot

more moonlight photos

fire hydrant found just before the cassiar highway

the start of the cassiar highway in Kitwanga

gas stations are very scarce.  so are tow trucks.  and phone reception.  and heat.

hundreds of miles and this is a “town”

artwork in stewart

always time to stop and take pics

pit stop at a glacier.  the look on my face means IM COLD

abs

The northern Yukon Territory

white skies, white roads, white man

frozen trees

winter wonderland as far as the eye can see

landfill we found during a detour

trash burner

vast

Yankees taking the world series

since we acquired Erok Johanson’s marker in Kansas, Abby has been leaving her mark along the way.

Camera, tripod, Jack London book, and extra layers riding shotgun

abby getting macro

this was me every half hour or so.  The image I shot here is actually going to be the next Vibralux photo series tee.

Over a month on the road, and finally made it!!  Was disappointed in the unwelcoming welcome sign.

then we realized we passed the really nice sign and went back for better pics

Back in the old USA for an hour before a friendly police visit.  When Abby reached in the glove box to get the (expired) insurance card, we laughed as she struggled to find it among our collection of other tickets from the trip.  Again I’m unsuccessful at talking my way out of it.  Our collection gets 2 more friends.

had to stop and dedicate this one to Fish and Ben

Remembering how majestic Alaska is.

I thought this hill looked like a whale

turquoise river

the 4:30 pm sunset, only hours from Anchorage.  The journey was almost complete.

the heat blasting in the car would always melt our chocolate, so this was our solution.  The Alaskan refrigerator.  Frozen solid in 60 seconds or less.

We finally got Abby’s “documents” in the mail, and practiced her alias and alibi a few times.  After a few last minute stops in Seattle to drop off post cards and check out some thrift stores, we got over the Canadian border halfway legal with no problem what so ever.  We got in touch with Leon at Shop-Task and he was gracious enough to host us, but under one condition.  He was throwing a Halloween party so we couldn’t stay without  costumes.  Sounds like a fair deal to me.

Vancouver is a beautiful city, with lots of nice upgrades with the winter Olympics coming soon.  There are also over 40 skate parks in the city, and we made sure to take advantage of a handful of them.  Value Village helped us put together the finishing touches on the Halloween costumes, and we got ready for the party.    We were only in the city for about 48 hours, but it felt like a lot longer.

the view from Shop Task

beautiful city!

these guys do it right!!

keeping it simple… NO CRIME!!

this spot was apparently for the Vistor King

out skating before noon, Canadians are crazy!

Leon pointing out an old stunt he fakee rolled to backflip

testing some RB flatrockers in the bowl

as if 45+ skateparks weren’t enough, skateboarders built this too in their spare time

Leon got the glasses for his costume but could barely see out of them

love it

rejected costume #1

rejected costume #2

Ellie (or Ely?  or Elly?) with the cobweb decoration

spooking up the loft

party time!  costumes below

rooftop view with a fireworks show later in the night

somehow I got cut, and for some reason somebody decided I needed a butterfly stitch haha

caught in the web

we moved the party to something John and Yoko were more familiar with

the vision

me, john, and yoko

zoolander and lady gaga

care bears patrolling the street

peggy bundy brought a pistol too

the old “abby’s face in a bowl”

spent the hangover morning at the elbow room, one of those places where the staffs job is to make fun of you and be as obnoxious as possible.  always a good way to cheer up your day.

After hundred of miles of National Park, we braved civilization again.  The next stop was my old room mates new dwelling spot in Missoula Montana.  The house was going through renovation, and we woke up to a barricade of debris blocking our exit as the workers were tearing the roof apart.  I climbed my way through some rubble to a window and got out in time to let the workers know people were still inside.  It was really good seeing Brandon again, and Missoula felt identical to Lawrence in a lot of ways.

broccoli faced

i have no idea what look abby is doing here

alley lighting

Shay and the good luck horse head

party lights downtown missoula

After a few days we kept trucking west toward Seattle.  We ended up staying a lot longer than expected.  Abby lost her passport in New York and we had to figure out how to illegally smuggle her through Canada fix the problem.  Seattle lived up to all the stereotypes.  Lots of coffee shops and lots of rain.  On the 3rd day we actually saw the sun come out for a few minutes.  We found a prime parking spot and set up camp for a few days.  We hit the vagabond jackpot and found a free futon listing on Craigslist one night.  We scooped it up immediately, and almost squeezed in the free inflatable hot tub too, but were tight on space.  Next time.  The futon was definitely a nice upgrade.

Halfway through the week, Todd came back into town and we got to hang out with him for a few days.  Todd works at K2 and gave us a nice tour of their new offices, his studio, and a fun after hours skate session on their warehouse mini ramp.  Todd has been busy building motorcycles, directing a few films, working at K2, and scoring an amazing subsidized artists loft spot in the middle of downtown.  Definitely an inspiring stop on the trip.

great drive through washington

folliage

Bob Ross scenery

rain rain go away

night walking

our new address

the sky is gray but there is color in the streets

window glows

the infamous gum wall

stickiest wall in North America

saliva tagging

new city, same outfit

camo lobsters

fox dog!!!

we never figured out the half numbers

slipping all over the sidewalks

futon upgrade!!!

Todds loft of instant jealousy

abby was hyped!

poster spotting in the k2 office hallway

sweet notebook found in Todd’s apartment

abby not stealing paint

the crustiest m&m dispenser ever

Todd at his favorite but not favorite deli

]]> http://jero13.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/road-trip-09-missoula-and-seattle/feed/ 2 jero13 Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket http://jero13.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/slc-and-yellowstone/ http://jero13.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/slc-and-yellowstone/#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:11:20 +0000 jero13 http://jero13.wordpress.com/?p=179 ]]>

We left Vegas with some odd looks as we awoke from the var. A quick birdbath in the local WalMart, a short stop in a thrift store, and we hit the road for Salt Lake City. Car camping and canyon hiking can you smelling pretty intense, and we were lucky enough to spot a nice river off the road. Desert weather was still warm so we hopped in for a swim and river bath. After a nice journey through the west we arrived in Salt Lake City at our buddy Tory’s place.

mountain climbing dangling

river bath

we got to Tory and were comparing photos we each had of Sayer having his nose picked by signs in Japan

The postcards begin

hours in beans and brews writing postcards

using tory’s pets for the SLC postcard image

camp spot across from a missing persons sign

misty morning drive toward jackson hole

slaughter sculpture

silly elk

grand tetons

ab angles

photography break

mountain weather

macro

nice landscapes

cooling off from the nice desert weather

heaven?

roger the raven looking out at our lunch spot

our new map

hideout camp spot near the ranger station

early morning eruption

too early for this

the sign on the left says there may be bison in the area

super volcano

Mammoth Springs

geysers and bison

road guardians

The var was getting lonely with 3 homies gone, as we trekked it north toward the Grand Canyon.  We arrived at night during a new moon, and every star in the night sky seemed visible.  We stopped in Bedrock to hang out with the Flinstones, and then attempted to get lost on back roads and paths to acquire a good car camping spot.  We somehow ended up driving through some brush fires and camped on a big rock hill in the middle of nowhere.  The next day we went hiking into the canyon and looked at millions of rocks basically.  At sunset we realized we could make it to Vegas just before midnight, and decided it was the best place to spend our Saturday night.

styled bridge

Flinstones know whats up

upgrading to a bedrock trailer

hi 5 fred

40 minute exposure under the stars

officially lost

deep thoughts

grimy

getting technical

big canyon, little jero

wheres waldo

nature can’t stop the power of facebook

long long way down

mule train

rock stacks

legs felt this trail for the next few days

fall colors

when you gotta go…

loner tree

yep, still in the same clothes all week

love this place!

lunch spot

abby’s flying

sunset

vegas!!  my hoody matches the MGM grand

TIEN!!

VIVA!

We drove through the desert for hours, and happened upon a nice little fireworks shop. We stocked up with explosives, added another speeding ticket to our collection, and cruised into Phoenix. Our good friends James and Gretchen were more than hospitable as always, and we spent our days at some great skate parks, having roman candle wars at night, and of course frequenting the famous Revolution Skate Shop.

desert sky paintings

our rude annoying non bribe taking friendly highway patrol buddy

blue blue skies

yikes

train wreck

cacti

cotton fields and ghost driver

everybody make spontaneous hand gestures

hippy

best motel of the trip

weird walls

2nd amendment issues

butterfield motel lampshade texture

everything screams weird

harsh

here we go!

goldmine

JAMES!!!  Hanging at Revolution Skate Shop

Fish’s pro jean freshly in stock.

Gretchen putting in the hours

armed

trouble makers

notice the LMS koozie.  Thanks Joey!

blowing up cacti

Emma shining!

run for your life

war

plotting

can’t resist with sparklers

four letter words are easier… we tried!!

savage ferocious beast

Last minutes with Tien and Emma.  Was a great time, we miss and love you guys!!!

Scrapping the schedule and route we planned, we pointed south and started a caravan with the Vibralux guys. We made a stop in Wichita to skate a bridge park, and rolled into Dallas sometime after midnight. Sorry I can’t post up all the photos from the contest here, as I have to save them for print. But hey, its your own fault for not going in person!!

After the contest madness, we parted ways with our good friend Rob as he went onto Atlanta. Tien and Emma stayed along for the ride and we drove across the giant boring state of Texas and into New Mexico. Ghost stories and ufo myths passed the time as we drove through dark desert highways on the way to Carlsbad. What’s in Carlsbad New Mexico exactly? Well, a hold in the ground … literally. This national park is a giant cave almost a mile deep that makes you feel like you’re on another planet.

Arlo’s museum in the Park

Vibralux intern making everybody’s life that much easier

Relics

Edward’s shattered helmet

B Bell!!!

Olympics?  Yeah.  Hooray for 96

Giant Roosters!

do I always need captions for these pics?

Intern whipped up some high class vegan hotdogs

Tien discovering the road trip art known as “pee in bottle”

horrid gas station food options

i’ll pass

deer corn?

stowaway!

if this doesn’t sum up Texas I don’t know what does

oh ok, well maybe this too

not just big oil anymore

ghost town

bit of trouble with the waffle maker

Tien definitely won $50 first try and I dont think he ever cashed it in

The new Rangers at Carlsbad!!

simple

descending

down the rabbit hole

what planet is this?

sweet curve ledge in the cave

mid-hike lantern lunch

ladder of doom

dunna dunna dunna dunna dunna dunna dunna dunna BAT CAVE!!

GUANO!

ok lets me a little more dramatic shall we

don’t you forget it!

the crew

ancient cave bathroom

number 3

wasp lair

long desert roads

cartoon mountain sunsets

lights and the star of El Paso

in search of authentic Mexican cuisine near the southern border.  Not exactly the closest place to Alaska.

Driving through the night, we got into Lawrence Kansas at sunrise.  It’s always refreshing to come back to my old home and catch up with everybody.  Tien got to meet up with his new sponsors, and we put the finishing touches on Robs interview. We were supposed to continue west and go to Denver, but decided to take a sharp detour south.  The annual Hoedown contest was going on in Dallas, so we turned off our Alaska route and started a new journey.

having some coffee with the Morris family

Jeromy’s new Kendama promo photos

we call this “opal in crates”

Tien getting nostalgic at old skate spots

searching for airfare … where are we going next?

hitting the town

tien, nick and I at harbor lights

the guys

the gals

Rob taking the double Jimmy Johns challenge

skate session in KC

fall time at Liberty memorial

Alex and J-Mo

Alex putting the vespa to good use at this lauch spot

Team work blading:  Driver, skater, photographer, road-watcher, and behind the scenes camerawoman

Abb and Emma staying warm in the var

PBR happiness

ancient Broadway coffee collumn

Maybe we shouldn’t have left the overhead lights on and run the battery down?

Dredded blader-fan jumper cable savior friend to the rescue

Sampling new mystery yellow spiky fruits

no babies in the bucket

KC train texture

more kc train

Broadway coffee does not appreciate muffin touching

checking in on the dot dot dot gallery

Yuri getting back from France with awesome stories, artwork, and a new oddly shaped Japanese instrument

Nick and Opal lounging

garage de love

checking out the Spencer museums graphic posters exhibit

cat got your tongue?

well done

Opal showing face for her fans

Little rock star

Wonderfair gallery screen printing my hoodie

Warhol photo exhibit

uh oh

robs gift to the busboy

giant shoebox for the smallest pastry

Time to leave NYC and start heading west. The var (half car half van) is PACKED with bags and 5 brave souls: Abby from Alaska, Rob G from San Jose, Tien and Emma from Australia, and yours truly from New York. We chose the magical traffic hour of 5pm on a Friday to start our journey. First stop, Pittsburgh PA.

Out with the old and in with the new

Out shooting till sunrise for Rob Gs BeMag interview the night before the trip.  Found this sticker in Brooklyn

Cars packed up and ready to go

Sad goodbyes

The first of many tickets

Tien getting some last minute Kendama in

Leaving NYC in gridlock

Driving through K town

Smog chamber

Into dirty Jersey

Kirin Cam snaps

Somebody brought crabs

Seaweed / Crab collage / boredom

Met up with Colin Sander in Pittsburgh, and feasted beyond belief at Little Nippers

Woke up and shot some photos with Zack Yourd for the KendamaUSA site.  For some reason we decided that shooting it a hundred feet up in a tree would be a good idea.

Some Pittsburgh locals getting introduced to the Dama

Abby helping assist while we went shooting

Colin Sander doing what he does best

And Zack doing … whatever it is Zack does

The pre-skating stretch routine

Boys skating, girls gossiping

Rob meets mural

Everybody finding their ghost double

the building that guards “the beast”

leaf cut-out monsters

Pittsburgh door art

cemented

thanks buster

Last night in Pitts

We stumbled upon this skatepark at 3am just off the interstate heading west

Abby in Ohio

hi!

dangerously high ladder

Tien and friend

mega stores

all the water in this hotel smelled like poo.  shame on you Super 8

Postcard #1. Getting stupid at the St Louis arch at 4am

Pulling into Lawrence, Kansas early in the Morning

greetings from Seattle,

-jero

I can’t say enough about Alaska.  It’s one of the most inspiring and majestic places on this planet.  Last summer I got to make a trip thanks to Revolution Skate Shop, and I met one of James’ long time friends named Jaime.  I was invited up to shoot his wedding, and was more than happy to make the journey.  I had just returned from the Arizona trip, and had to pack up in about 24 hours.  The flight had about 4 connections with an overnight layover in Seattle, and I hadn’t slept in over a day.  I was completely delirious until the captain announced we were descending into Juneau, and I looked out the window to see the mountains engulfing us.

I spent the first week with Jaime and Mindy as they prepared for the wedding.  The whole family was very welcoming and there wasn’t a dull moment in the days.  We went hiking with his friends, out on a boat ride with Mindy’s brother, and out to dinners with the family.  There is a very kind, calm way about the people that live in Alaska that has always left me with a deep debt of gratitude.  The wedding itself was wonderful, and easily the most photogenic ceremony i’ve ever been a part of.

the newly weds

family dinner

mendenhall hillside

hike #1

first black bear sighting

screaming porcupine

some useful facts

this is mindi’s brother and his boat, he took us out for the day around auke bay

in Alaska i’ve learned it’s really easy to die

this was the wake up goodmorning view

first haircut in a long long time

bride and groom foosball battle

getting some lunch at the harbor

some serious fishing equipment

some serious bachelor party dodgeball action

captains chair

bachelor party crew

wedding day!

really, really nice chapel

reception sunset

After the wedding, Jaime and Mindy were on the first plane to Hawaii. They were kind enough to allow me to stay a while longer and roam around Juneau. Originally I planned to leave Juneau and take the ferry to some other cities, but the more I hung out with his family and friends, the more I wanted to stay in Juneau. His dad showed me all sorts of hiking trails, and his mom and grandmother showed me all sorts of different native Alaskan artwork. Even after my computer crashed with all the wedding photos (and I nearly had a heart attack), his cousin took it under his wing and was able to recover everything. James Johnson’s dad took me out fishing for a day, and I spent a lot of time roaming around the Mendenhall Glacier.

Towards the end of the trip I rented a Kayak and got dropped off at the end of the road. You can only access Juneau by boat or plane, so at the end of the road there is a launch ramp into the water followed by hundreds of miles of wilderness. It’s not the smartest idea taking a solo journey via kayak, the rental company made this very clear. I’m either too curious or too stupid to talk myself out of it, and I started paddling out into the ocean.

great mode of transportation

It’s really an amazing thing to be out there, tough to even describe in words. Paddling past a coastline untouched by civilization, watching sea lions and whales breach the surface, and pulling over to camp where ever you see fit. Alaska is the only place i’ve been woken up multiple times by whales swimming by. They’re loud!!

Here is a collection of photographs from my 2 Alaska trips, most of which i’ve included in a new book I recently finished.

marine texture

camping dinner

driftwood fire

my pathetic excuse for a tent

great trail in juneau

trail danger reminders

bringing the grill to the beach party

James’ Dad Frank brought me out fishing for the day

Alaskan Driveway

more hiking pics

iceberg patterns

glacier fossil

more comforting reminders

i stumbled upon  a party at the end of the road with all sort of interesting characters. This girl was casually walking through the fire.

This girl was casually sitting down

Alaskan graffiti

some additional photos from the 2007 trip

Tlingit indian tree carving

Hiking around Haines

My sis along for the trip

July 4

kayak trip

sea lion visitors

camping on Benjamin island

sea lion spot

on the tracy arm cruise

hiking up the mendenhall glacier

must be the coldest water on earth

mountain goat blocking the trail

hiking around the base of the glacier

rapid melting

bears hanging out in the trees

recession

whale spotting while kayaking

angry bird

relaxed bird

national bird

some found rockstacks

more bears

more hiking pics

ok that’s it for now!