Toothless in Ogden

It's that time again when one of my kids starts loosing teeth. Which of course means that we, as parents, need to remember to "call" the tooth fairy to make sure there is some cold hard cash waiting under the pillow. I remember once with our first child, we forgot to "call" the tooth fairy (who apparently posesses enough magic to slip some bread under the pillow, but doesn't always know WHEN to come) and you can imagine how that went down. In a moment of panic and tears, we searched and searched until we realized (wink, wink) that the tooth fairy had actually put the prize under the wrong pillow. Whew! My wife's fast thinking helped avoid years of disappointment and expensive therapy. Well don't worry, today we remembered and the fairy is on the way. -BN

BBQ at the Lake

My wife noticed a huge plume of smoke rising above O-Town today and I decided to chase it down. It was a controlled burn near the lake and it took forever to get there. When I arrived, there were a ton of cars and people lined up to see what it was all about. I don't have any idea who put this sign up but I thought it was hilarious. -BN

Wedding Shots - Take 2

Here is a photo of Erin and Quinn at the State Capitol. They chose the capitol because they are both going into law and he will be interning here soon. I loved this photo which shows a natural moment between them. -BN

Budding Gymnast, Budding Photojournalist

There is this gym in Ogden offering some great classes at great prices, and the kids love coming to learn. This was the end of season "meet." And of course, there are as many cameras as there are children. I was very proud as each kid had a chance to showcase their talents and received their medal. Nice work. -BN

Beating the Heat

I shot this while at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. Some of the water attractions weren't open but the kids were drawn to this fountain to cool off from the higher than normal temps. -BN

Iwasaki

I was waiting to shoot a formal portrait of Scott and I couldn't help but notice that he has Ozzy Osborn and Bashful on his cubicle. Scott covers the music scene for the DNews and at any given moment, you can find tons of obscure titles lying around on his desk. Don't let the rock and roll persona fool you, he's one of the nicest guys you will meet. -BN

Wedding Shots - Take 1.

My brother is getting married and this is one of the shots of him and his fiancé during the engagement session. I don't know if they will use this shot or not but I really liked it for a colorful blog addition. -BN

Monticello

As you may know, a list of all these 'photo a day' installments are listed on my web page in the "Editorial" section. As I was looking through the photos for May, I noticed that I had missed a day somehow. This photo is to get me back on track.

As I was driving through Southeast Utah last week, I made a quick detour to check out the Monticello Temple. Right when I got there, the clouds opened up a bit and this was the result. -BN

I Love Cement Work

My kids always talk about opposite day, which must be today. Opposite day gives you the chance to say something like, "I love cement work," and really sound positive and optimistic about it. My true feelings about cement work are these, "I love my wife and she needed a new fence in a couple places in our yard to keep the monkeys from wandering off so I happily did some cement work for her." -BN

Side note: I found it amazing that the kids LOVED helping me build what will, no doubt, feel like a cage to them in the coming months, at least to the little one.

Mom

Every month, my family gets together to celebrate all the birthday's that happen in that month, regardless of whether the birthday falls before or after the family party. I have 8 siblings, over half of which all have children of their own, making this the best plan, hands down. This year it fell on Mother's Day.

My mom is one of the kindest, non-confrontational and patient people you will ever meet. One of the greatest lessons she tried to instill in us growing up is to be kind to each other, a difficult task with a family as large as ours. Being a parent has helped me understand what an amazing mother she was to us. Thanks mom. -BN

Last Minute

Not only did I take this photo at the last minute of the day on Saturday, it is also a last minute shopper checking out some flowers on Mother's Day eve. I was doing the same thing but in my case, I set aside a few minutes on my calendar to pick up flowers. So technically it wasn't last minute since I planned it. -BN

Funeral

I attended a funeral in Boise today and it was a typical one, except at the grave site service, they released these white doves into the air. I would have chosen different text and music to introduce the doves but when they were released, it was a big hit with the family and friends. -BN

Caution-Girls Night Out

I saw these women discussing what to do in downtown Salt Lake Thursday night. -BN

San Juan

I took a tour of the San Juan River today and shot this boat under a rock. I loved the color and the lines. This tour was hosted by Wild River Expeditions in Bluff, Utah. This part of the state is amazing. I highly recommend it. Don't come in the summertime. -BN

Cloud 10

As I was driving around in the middle of no where today, I came across this cloud. No rain came from it but I couldn't pass up taking it's portrait. -BN

Senior Photo

Here is Layne. His mom thinks he is kind of shy so I thought I would post this photo from his graduation portrait shoot. -BN

Lloyd and Harry?

No, this isn't Lloyd and Harry on their way to Aspen. It's Sam and Berk, two guys who should be classified Smart and Smarter. (an engineer and talented chef) The scooter is an Italian '65 Lambretta Li 125. Very Retro. -BN

Capitol Drive-by Shooting, May 3rd

As I was driving by the Utah State Capitol tonight, I thought I would try and shoot some interesting effects with the trees whizzing by. After nearly causing a head on collision while shooting out my window, I got this shot. -BN

Law Enforcement Torch Run (May 2nd)

Friday was the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics and this is the photo that ran in the paper. However, the audio slide show can be found at DeseretNews.com.

Dino Runner (May 1st Post)

I saw this guy out running at midnight past a running dinosaur. I think I may have freaked him out a little taking photos that late but I also thought it was odd to be running that late, on Highway 89. -BN

Classic Fun Center

I went to a Classic Fun Center today with a youth group and tried to shoot some laser tag. That didn't go so well with the lack of light so I got some stuff of roller skating. -BN

More on Trains

We decided to take the monkeys for a ride on the Frontrunner commuter train and stop in Layton for a bite at Doug and Emmy's, which actually used to be a train station. The train ride turned out to be a huge hit with the kids. "This is the happiest day of my life," exclaimed my daughter as we started toward Roy from Ogden. That dramatic, and often short-lived, enthusiasm is not uncommon in our house. By the time we reached Layton, she was tired and bored. Doug and Emmy's - usually a hoppin' cafe reeking of character and delicious food - was understaffed and unprepared for the masses of freeloaders trying out the train. We quickly turned around and caught the next train home. It was a great experience and one we will do again with the kids, just not next week. -BN

P.S. This kid on the left was happy to ride the train but was looking forward to going back to "Utah." I asked where he thought we were and he said, "I think we're in Provo or something. I admit that Provo is a place of it's own but it IS still in Utah. This conversation was taking place as we were stopped at the Clearfield station with the sign, (pictured) directly outside the window. He had on a Boy Scout uniform but I noticed that there was no "Local Geography" merit badge attached.

Trains Return to Junction City

I am sure you have all heard the buzz surrounding the "FrontRunner" commuter train opening up this weekend. These kids loved seeing it also. And I'm sure that Doug and Emmy's Restaurant in Layton and the Union Grill in Ogden are pretty happy about it also. -BN

New Toys!

Grandma just got back from Disneyland and with her return, came a truckload of toys for the grandkids. I think she enjoys Disneyland more as a grandma than most kids ever do as kids. -BN

Striders (Saturday post)

This is Jon and Kristen. They own Striders running store and Kristen is the race director for the Ogden Marathon. They are great resources in the Ogden area for runners and walkers alike. I shot this Saturday after the start of the 30k portion of the Winter Training Series. -BN

Utah v UNLV Baseball

I was lucky enough to grab another baseball assignment to cover Utah vs. UNLV at Linquist Field in Ogden. I mentioned in an earlier post how much I love shooting baseball, but to put the icing on the cake, I got to shoot at Lindquist Field. If you haven't been to an Ogden Raptors game, you need to put that on your list of things to do before you die. The field and the game are so much more intimate than the major league parks, or even Franklin Covey Field. The season starts on June 19. See you there. -BN

Wall of Many Colors

I went to dinner with my brother today and after the dinner, we were walking out looking for photos with a bag of leftover Chinese food. As we were walking around the back of the restaurant where we had parked, a nice young woman approached and asked what kind of food they were serving in the building next to us. "This building is an office but next door has some great Chinese food," we responded, and she shrugged and and continued walking. It didn't seem like she needed food but I offered her our leftovers. "Serious?" she said, as my brother "E" handed her the bag. She seemed grateful and we felt like we had done a small amount of good. This is a photo of her.

It's ironic that just this morning, I was feeling heavily burdened by all my problems and troubles, and wishing I could do more for others. This was nothing to us, and it seemed it wasn't a huge deal to her. But she took the food and for that I am happy. -BN

Wednesday Post April 23

I found this in Salt Lake in front of an antiques shop owned by a lady named Carmen. I like the color and graffiti.

On a side note: If you have been following this blog closely, you may notice that yesterday, I failed to post a photo. Well, this is a make up day where you will see two photos. Turns out that posting a photo per day is quite difficult.

Misty Beach

At Scarborough Beach in Rhode Island today, the mist was blowing off the ocean creating this haze that looked like a sandstorm. We had dinner at a nice little seaside restaurant and then took to the beach. It was actually really nice to sit down and listen to the ocean for an hour or so. Who has time for that anymore? Our peaceful ocean trip was interrupted by a phone call from a client wanting us to FedEx photos before our flight left, causing us to barely make it on the plane. All in all, it was a great trip, and that hour was priceless. -BN

Boston Marathon

Today was the Boston Marathon which happens on Patriot's Day in Massachusetts every year. They also refer to it as Marathon Monday. This is a photo taken in the first few miles and I didn't notice it thinning out much until the last five or so miles. It was amazing, 25,000 people is an incredible number. It was like a river of people flowing over the hills toward a sea of spectators in downtown Boston. Wow. -BN
P.S. Check out the slide show at DeseretNews.com

Flat Stanley

Man that Flat Stanley sure gets around. -BN

Two if by sea.

Just yesterday marks the anniversary of a fateful day back on April 18, 1775, when the church sexton, Robert Newman, climbed the steeple of this church, Old North Church, and held high two lanterns as a signal from Paul Revere that the British were marching to Lexington and Concord by sea and not by land. This event ignited the American Revolution.

Day in a Plane

Seemed like we spent the entire day in an airplane. Here is a silhouette of one of the airports we hit today. -BN

Thursday Post

This is actually Thursday's post. It's a story on climbing in Ogden and I really loved the work of our designer, Heidi. She did a great job with these pages. -BN

Analog?

For those of you who have never used a film camera before, much less printed your own photos, this is a darkroom. Yep, and those trays, are kinda like your Epson printer, only ten times slower.

All humor aside, next week is my last week teaching a Basic Photo class at the University of Utah. It's my first time teaching at this level and I must say, I have loved every minute of it. I'll admit, the first few weeks were a bit rough. I'm sure the students were wondering what they'd gotten into but with their help, I've made some adjustments and look forward to the next time I'll have this opportunity. If you're a student in my class, it's been great getting to know you and seeing your rapid progress. Thanks for your patience as I bumbled through this semester. I had a blast.

As far as this photo, I had two good images and this was the better, and sharper of the two. (sorry Brittany) It was captured with a Leica D-Lux 3 for 8 seconds at 200 ISO. Not bad for a point and shoot. -BN

A Limo, DUCK!

I saw this unexpected photo today as I headed to grab some dinner. -BN

More Climbing

Here's another climbing shot. After talking with the guys I shot Saturday, they said they'd be back up today. That's El Monte golf course in the background. By the way, this guy is climbing without ropes. Solo. And he's about twenty feet above a rocky slope. Amazing. -BN

I got it!!

I covered the match up between the Salt Lake Bees and the Portland Beavers today at Franklin Covey Field and if there is one assignment I really love shooting, it's baseball. Not because it's easy to shoot, not because of the pictures I get. I think it's just something about America's pastime that really attracts me. I didn't play organized baseball as a kid but me and my friends were almost always hitting something with a stick or playing hot box, or an impromptu game of stick ball in the vacant lots near our house. Maybe it's the nostalgia and the memories of a much simpler time in life. For whatever reason, I love shooting baseball. -BN

Bouldering in Ogden

Saturday's installment to the photo of the day is this picture of Dave. The story is about "bouldering," a form of rock climbing that requires less preparation and less time than wall climbing. Dave scoped out his route on this boulder in the middle of the night by lantern light. Today, he zipped up it without a problem. -BN

Give it up for Craig Bielik!!

Here are some of the many faces of Craig Bielik. He's a comic, a cowboy, a flack, a funny guy and he can play a mean set of skins. Among other stuff, we talked about Neal Peart, former fellow co-workers and the Jazz in the playoffs. He just flew in from Chicago and boy, are his arms tired. Heeeerre's...... Craig Bielik!!

Ad-vantageous

This may look like an ordinary billboard, and an even more ordinary, bordering on pathetic, choice for photo of the day. However, if you know our family at all, you would easily recognize one of the women in the photo as my lovely wife. If you need help, she's the one with the reddish orange shirt and her hair is standing up. I shot this photo today, but I shot the Lagoon ride last year. Woo Hoo! I'm married to a billboard model. -BN

Worst of the Best

As the saying goes, "the worst day golfing is still better than the best day at work." I wonder if this guy feels that way, at below thirty degrees and in a snow storm. I'm glad it's finally spring -BN

Messy Desk

During an interview earlier today, the topic of messy desks came up which gave me an idea for today's photo. My desk had a small amount of clutter, among which I found this photo. The first one who successfully guesses the meaning of the logo in the center gets a nifty prize. (Provided I know you, or how to reach you or you live somewhere in the vicinity of me, or I can, in some way, reach you to deliver the prize)
Try and be specific with your guesses and Best of Luck.

Offer not valid in Massachusetts, Maine or Memphis. Exclusions apply. See Blog for Details (Memphis because of that pathetic free throw shooting last night)

Hang Loose?? Nope, Guess again

These high schoolers are in a sign language class and are performing the song, "Safety Dance," by Men Without Hats. This symbol they are signing is a "y." It was a charity event in which the teens were raising money for a Deaf and Blind school in Kenya. -BN

Kids and Bubbles

I am always amazed at how easily amused kids are at a young age, and with some of the cheapest toys you can buy. It will be a sad day when my kids start wanting iPods and the like. This is one of the neighbor kids.

Chocolate Strawberry - $.50. Bottle of Bubbles - Three for $1. Hours of messy soapy fun - Priceless. -BN

Wedding at Tuscany

Here are a few shots from Kim and Bryan's wedding I shot today at Tuscany. After several tough years as a single mother, Kim looked as happy as I have ever seen her. May all be well for years to come. -BN

Emergency Anyone?

My friend Lance works for Weber County and is responsible for tons of improvements in emergency management, including the addition of this state-of-the-art mobile command center. That screen behind him is like a computer where if you touch it, it reacts like using your mouse on a desktop. Impressive. If ever get lost in the mountains, I'd like it to be somewhere in Weber County. -BN

Ladies and Gentleman.....Steeeeve Speckman!

Here is Deseret Morning News hot shot reporter Steve Speckman. He wanted on the blog and I obliged. Love the beard. He's got story telling skills, numb chuck skills, karate skills, and he's not a bad photographer either. -BN

And yes, that's news press ink on the wall.

Self Potrtait

I do very few self portraits and for good reason. The last one I did was maybe a year and a half ago and before that, I can't even remember. There is always the "hold-up-the-camera-and-shoot-yourself-with-your-friends," photo but that doesn't count as a self portrait. Maybe this doesn't either. -BN

Special Guest

I am often drawn to what some churches have on their marquee's out front. Sometimes they inspire me, sometimes they confuse me. I once saw one that simply said, "If." Huh?

Anyway, a friend of mine mentioned he saw one that caught his attention. Here it is. -BN