Superior AZ

Today A friend (Brad Armstrong) and I decided to take a little ride out of town to get away from our desks for a bit and shoot for the fun of it. We ended up in Superior, AZ which is about an hour or so drive east of downtown Phoenix.

Superior use to be a small thriving copper mining town like many throughout Arizona. I say use to be because since the eighty's the mine has closed. This is not uncommon due to pressures from environmental organizations and such. Mining has been a hazardous waste nightmare over the years with most mines now using better and safer techniques to keep these hazardous wasts to a minimal.

But the financial impact on this poor town without the mine running has been devastating to say they least. Building after building with some more than a hundred years old sitting boarded up with no hope of ever opening again.

It reminds me of another story that is out right now of farmers who can no longer farm their land because the government has shut off their water supply in order to save some tiny little fish that no one has ever even heard of before, all because environmental groups say it is more important to save this little fish than to keep Americans working and putting food on our tables.

Things I fear have gotten a little out of hand.

Oldie But Goodie

Here is a shot of Khon that I took last Saturday on the lawn of the Phoenix First Assembly Church. I do not do a lot of retro or B&W work but thought this worked very well.

This was the biggest smile I got from her all day and the bigger the smile the more her eyes shut. Its an Asian thing.

You can also see another photo of Her and her husband Kelly in a shot I took of them for their engagement photo series below.

The Rings Part II

This past Saturday I photographed Kelly & Khon's wedding. One of the things I have been trying to focus on is the bride and grooms wedding ring shot.

The exchange of rings is considered to be one of the most important parts of the wedding ceremony. They are the symbol of the commitment that the couple makes to one another and let's others know that one is in a committed relationship.

A photo of the rings then shall now be one of the many shots I take at every wedding.

Little Red

Another wonderful 109 degree day here in always hot and sunny Phoenix. Today I decided to get up early and head on over to The Desert Botanical Gardens to put the new lens to the test a little more.

I am a big fan of The Gardens and shoot a lot there in spring when the cactus are in bloom and also twice a year when they have the butterfly exhibits. I also try and use it for some of the photography workshops I teach.

Well today the blooms for the most part had long gone and the next butterfly exhibit is still a ways away. So when all else fails shoot little old lady's on scooters with bright red umbrellas.

In any case I like the shot.

The Rings

The rings are a very important part of the wedding ceremony. When I was a pastor for three years I use to say when marrying couples "The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond. It unites two hearts in love. The ring by its shape is a symbol of the undying love that exists between this man and woman."

Today I received my new Tamron 70-200 2.8 lens and thought I would snap a couple of photos with it and this was one of them. So far I like the lens. I like that it shoots at a minimum closeness of about 3ft and I like the cool way it switches from auto to manual focus by just pulling back on the focus ring.

I can't wait to put it through more testing in order to get more familiar with it and see how it fairs in the long run.

Kelly & Khon

Here is Kelly and Khon at Tempe Beach Park this past Friday as I photographed them for there engagement photo to display at their wedding on September 5th.

We were lucky that day because the temperature dropped a few degrees and it was only about 104 but there was also a nice little breeze and it didn't seem all that hot.

You know you live in a very hot climate when 104 doesn't seem so hot anymore.

I will be shooting their wedding at a new location called The Hidden Palace in north Phoenix. Now I just need to find a nice setting around there for pictures such as a park or resort.