Rhett Olson

Blog Moved

2009-08-25T10:28:00.001-06:00

Just a reminder to redirect your RSS Feed readers to my new blog at

blog.rhettolsonphotography.com

Blog Moved - Update your RSS Feeds

2009-02-22T13:05:00.002-07:00

I've finally finished getting a Wordpress server up and have moved my blog to a new location. You can find it here:

http://blog.rhettolsonphotography.com

Please take a minute to update your bookmarks and RSS feeds.

President's Day Snowshoe Trip

2009-02-16T20:14:00.001-07:00

This morning a neighbor and I took a quick trip up Payson Canyon to Maple Lake. It was a fun little climb, but it was still big enough to remind me that I'm in horrible shape. Here's a quick pick of Zoe and me.

Amtrak Photographer

2009-02-05T15:22:00.001-07:00

Seems my posts lately have been more about politics than photography. Here's one that blends them both.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Nailed 'Em - Amtrak Photographer

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Paul McCartney Appearance

Funny Political Videos
More Funny Videos

More Time With the Kids

2009-02-05T10:21:00.002-07:00

Update from the commercials I used to see when I was a kid. Rings a different bell now that I'm a dad.

My Solution

2009-02-02T14:30:00.003-07:00

In a comment to my last post, a friend of mine asked what I would do. I think there are really 2 things that could be done immediately. They are as follows:

1. Decrease the amount of federal spending
2. Decrease taxes, all taxes

Unfortunately, our representatives in congress feel the only way to stay elected is to ensure money is spent on projects in their home states. I'm reminded of this quote from a book I just read.

Of course the Founders would understand exactly what this generation is doing to itself. It is the very essence of human nature to pursue this disastrous course once the appetite has been created to demand it. As a result, American taxpayers now discover themselves playing a role almost identical to that of an addict on hard drugs. The addict denounces his "habit" and despises the "pusher" who got him into it, but when he is confronted with the crisis of needing a "fix" he will plead tears of anguish for the narcotic remedy.

The "fix," of course, is not a remedy at all. The real remedy is "withdrawal." The addict must escape from the tortuous cycle of vicious repetition witch is not solving his problem but compounding it. If withdrawal is painful, at least it is not prolonged. The problem is primarily a matter of will power---the determination to change.(Cleon Skousen, The 5000 Year Leap)

We are trying to get out of a problem caused by spending money we don't have, by spending money WE DON'T HAVE. If we can go through that withdrawal period, and stop spending money we're either printing, or borrowing from the Chinese, (BTW, China just announced they aren't going to buy any more 30-year US bonds. So who's going to buy our debt? The Fed? Yup! Holy crap!) we can take care of this problem now rather than passing it on to our children and their children.

This bill is not a stimulus bill, it is a spending bill. In fact, it's my understanding a large part of the money won't be spent in the first 4 years, how can that be considered stimulus? It is taking money from the citizens of the country and redistributing it. This "spending" bill is a step toward socialism.

World's View of the Untited States

2009-01-28T13:20:00.002-07:00

If you've been following my blog, you know that I've been in Australia for the past couple of weeks. While there, it was interesting to watch the news and talk to people about the election of Barrack Obama. I found it interesting that the people in Australia (and I assume the rest of the Western world) see him as the savior of the world. He's going to right every wrong. If that's the case, he has a long, uphill battle. Especially considering the leadership of congress that he has to work with.

I personally think the government is making a mistake with this $800 Billion bailout and I call on my representatives not to endorse it. Why is Obama trying so hard to get Republican buy in? He doesn't need it to get the bill passed. I concede that there may be some part of him that is trying to prolong the honeymoon and build a bipartisan consensus. However, I also believe a dominating reason is to make sure he can distribute blame to Republicans, as well as the Democrats, when the plan doesn't work. I'm hoping Republican reps. will un-CY his A by not voting for it. I don't thing the first big bailout has done much, and another is not going to be any different. We can't fix the mess by doing what got us here in the first place, overspending.

I've been thinking about this after hearing the following quote by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md, made to President Obama during a meeting yesterday:

"Mr. President, I probably come at this from a slightly different perspective. I remember when FDR beat Hoover in 1932. So I remember the Great Depression very well. I don't remember any of the many government programs affecting the course of the Depression. Government programs didn't work then, I don't know why we think they would work now. Mr. President, I think our obsessive borrowing has fully mortgaged my kids and my grandkids. Now we're working on mortgaging my two great-grandkids. Mr. President, I think it's more than a little bit selfish to try to solve our economic problems which we created by burdening future generations yet to be born."

This prompted applause.

I agree with Rep. Bartlett.

Afternoon At Manly Beach

2009-01-25T18:21:00.002-07:00

Here are a few pics from yesterday's afternoon outing to Manly beach. I caught a ferry ride over to the beach, then spent the afternoon walking around, eating dinner (a kabob), and soaking my feet in the ocean. Here are a few pics from the outing.

Here are a few pics from yesterday's afternoon outing to Manly beach. I caught a ferry ride over to the beach, then spent the afternoon walking around, eating dinner (a kabob), and soaking my feet in the ocean. Here are a few pics from the outing.

Blue Mountain

2009-01-24T15:14:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I took a tour of the Blue Mountains with OzTrek. I don't have time to tell any of the stories, but here are a few of the pics from the day. (I even got one in there of me, for Julie.)

The Three Sisters

Overlooking the Jamison Valley from the Eastern Blue Mountains

World's Steepest Train at Scenic World

Video from the train ride to come later. It's taking far to long to upload and I have to go.

Train To Wollongong Then On To Jamberoo

2009-01-22T20:44:00.002-07:00

Last night I took the train out of Sydney and headed South about 100 Kilometers. In Wollongong my friend and I met up with a contact he had who drove us out to Jamberoo. Jamberoo is a cool little "village" in the Minnemurra valley. We went to document grave sites for some genealogical work my friend is doing. It was great to get out of Sydney and see something a little more rural.

In the video below, I've put together some rough clips taken from my window in the train on the way out. The scenery was a beautiful overlook of the ocean.

Tomorrow it's off to the blue mountains. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures of that when I get back.

Video Clip from Bondi Beach

2009-01-22T20:40:00.002-07:00

In my last post I gave a quick description of my rib fest at Bondi Beach. Here is a coarse clip from the beach. (You may want to turn your sound down, the wind made a fair bit of noise.)

Bondi Beach

2009-01-20T03:47:00.003-07:00

Tonight we went over to Bondi Beach for some dinner. A coworker has had an image of the ribs from Hurricanes on his computer since we booked the trip. I'm not a connoisseur of ribs, but the were very tastey. After dinner we came back and walked down to Circular Quay to get a picture of the Opera House at night. My pic turned out pretty good considering I didn't have a tripod.

LDS Owned KSL Serves Up Ad for Gay Dating Service

2009-01-19T22:22:00.004-07:00

Can you see anything wrong with this picture? Today while checking the news back home, I saw this story on a restaurant in Park City that is only serving locals during the Sundance Film Festival. I thought it was funny because my wife and I tried to eat there, on the recommendation of a local, and found the store closed because the owner was ill. Anyway, along with the article was the ad to the right. I thought it was ironic since KSL is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the church to which I belong), which has been so outspoken on Prop 8 and other gay marriage initiatives. It seems they would be a bit more careful about the ads they serve up.

Ferry To Darling Harbor

2009-01-17T22:56:00.003-07:00

This afternoon I took one of the ferries over to Darling Harbor and back. It took about an hour for the loop. It was nice to get out and enjoy the sun and the fresh air. I even got to enjoy a little ocean water. (See the first picture)

1st Day In Sydney

2009-01-17T19:37:00.002-07:00

I made it to Sydney today after a 24-hour trip. Being on a plan across the Pacific was a drag. But I'm told the best way to get the body clock on schedule is to stay up the first day. So, I went to lunch and walked around the Rocks and figured out the train system for tomorrow's commute. I snapped this picture from the Circular Quay station. I'll be heading back over to the opera house for better pictures later today.

The Land Down Under

2009-01-12T11:17:00.001-07:00

Had to post this in light of my upcoming trip to Sydney.

Engagements: Skyler & Hailey

2009-01-11T11:44:00.002-07:00

Here are a few images from this weekend's engagement shoot with Skyler and Hailey.

Kylee & Dustin Wedding

2009-01-03T15:38:00.003-07:00

Kylee called me 2 days before her wedding day. She had just found out her photographer was not going to be able to make it to the Temple. I was able to step in and we had a great time shooting. Here are a few of my favorites.

Holiday Wedding in St. George

2009-01-01T19:10:00.002-07:00

It was a pleasure for me to drive down to St. George with Rachelle and Aaron and their families. The day blessed all with perfect weather. I was married in the same location 12 years ago in February. Being there took me back a little. Here are some images from the day.

Snowy Family Portrait

2008-12-26T16:09:00.003-07:00

This afternoon I was able to shoot a portrait for a great family. They were such good sports to deal with all the snow. (Really, you guys were awesome.) Sometimes the bad weather makes for more memorable pictures. We were all cold but we made some great images. I'm currently downloading them to my computer, but here are few of my favorites so far.

Holga Shot Published in SL City Weekly Magazine

2008-12-18T14:34:00.002-07:00

I've blogged several times about the Holga show I currently hanging in but I thought I might mention that today I was notified one of my images was included in a SL City Weekly Story. You can see the story here. Mine is the photo of the rainbow wall. (Top Left) I'm a little disappointed that there is no photo credit.

Christmas Love

2008-12-09T09:18:00.003-07:00

I want to tell everyone about a new book out this Christmas season called Christmas Love. It's a great little story about how the innocent mistake of a child in a school program ends up showing the audience the true meaning of Christmas. The book was written by Candy Chan and the beautiful watercolor illustrations were done by my lovely wife, Julie. If you end up with a copy (You can get them at Deseret Book or Amazon.com) and want it signed by the illustrator, I can probably pull a few strings to get that done.

Toy Cars & Tilt-Shift Lenses

2008-12-08T14:19:00.003-07:00

Tilt-Shift lenses aren't new, but the idea of creating videos with them seems to be all the rage lately. I saw some great video of Sydney harbor done with one. Today, I found this one of a monster truck rally. The lens really warps the images depth of field, which screws with your mind, making you think you're seeing toys. Thought it was cool because who hasn't played with toy cars. check it out.

Metal Heart from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

B+

2008-12-07T14:47:00.002-07:00

I ran across this video today and wanted to share it. I'm not the best at looking at the good parts of situations, but it is something I would like to do better.

Canon 5d Mark II - Sample Video 2

2008-11-29T17:56:00.003-07:00

What Remains from Rhett Olson on Vimeo.

View the higher resolution post here.

Over the weekend my brother and I worked on this little video. He does a lot of editing in Final Cut and I'm try to learn some from him. We shot this in about an hour with a Canon 5d Mark II. (The editing took a little longer) Enjoy!

Canon 5d Mark II - Sample Portrait

2008-11-27T10:53:00.002-07:00

Here is a portrait I shot yesterday with my new Canon 5d Mark II. (1/320sec at f/4, ISO 100 with 20mm f/2.8)

Canon 5d Mark II - Sample Video

2008-11-26T09:43:00.002-07:00

Seeing as last night I saw a 30x growth in traffic because I've my 5d Mark II post, I figured I'd post a few samples. Here is a video I shot of Zoe. It was overcast this morning and the wind was blowing pretty good so I took out the sound. The video was shot on the smaller of the two video settings. I'm still trying to figure out the video settings. For instance, I'm not sure how the focus really works.

The compression on Youtube doesn't really do it justice. I'm going to have to play a bit more and post it on Vimeo or something.

Unboxing of Canon EOS 5d Mark II

2008-11-25T15:31:00.004-07:00

My new Canon 5d Mark II finally arrived. I'm so excited. This new camera gives me 21 megapixel images, full frame censor, ISO expansion, and HD video. Can't wait to start playing. However, seeing as the camera just hit the market, I figured I'd share the unboxing with all who haven't been able to get their hands on one.

I'll be posting images and video from the new camera later tonight.

Holga Gallery Show

2008-11-22T15:13:00.003-07:00

Last night Julie and I attended the Holga Show at with a bunch of friends. I had 3 pieces hanging in the gallery (a first for me) and it was fun to go see my art on the wall with a bunch of people around looking at it. Here are a couple of quick pics from the event.

Friends at the show. Brian Nicholson, Jason Olson, Peter Chudleigh, Myself, and Keith Johnson.

Naval Museum, Norfolk, Virginia

2008-11-22T14:57:00.003-07:00

I spent the last week traveling for work, meeting with a few of the remote development groups I work with. One of the stops took me to Norfolk, VA. Norfolk has a huge presence and, according to our cab driver, is home to the largest US Naval base. During lunch the first day, a coworker and I took a walk a few blocks from the office to make a quick visit to the Naval Museum. I had heard you can walk out on the Battleship Wisconsin. Unfortunately, they had just closed the ship off to visitors due to high winds, so I wasn't able to board. Here are a few pics I took from the ground outside.

Australian Knob-tailed Gecko

2008-11-13T23:35:00.003-07:00

Tonight I spent a few hours photographing a slew of geckos for some friends of mine who are starting an online store. You can check it out here. There were fat-tailed geckos, albino geckos, super albino geckos; we shot a ton. This was one of the cooler guys. He's an Austrailian Knob-tailed gecko.

Fitness Shoot

2008-11-09T16:02:00.004-07:00

A friend of mine, Ryan, invited me to join him at his studio yesterday for a photo shoot. He is working on a series of fitness images. I really enjoyed being in the studio and wish I had more space to play with studio lighting. Besides helping to get the shoot set up, Ryan let me jump in for a few shots. (Thanks again Ryan) Here are a couple of the images I was able to produce.

A Tribute To Our New President

2008-11-04T21:18:00.001-07:00

Just swallow it down with a spoon full of humor.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T14:11:00.002-06:00

It's become tradition at the Olson house to set up a Halloween backdrop each year and take portraits for all the neighborhood witches and goblins. Here is the first page of the contact sheet from the shoot.

Salt Flat Arial

2008-10-30T19:05:00.002-06:00

Okay, so this isn't an arial photograph, but an arial subject. I've been going through some past shoots trying to get a group of newer photos out onto my web site. While looking through a shoot at the salt flats, I found this gem. This boy and his father were playing this game while I was working with a different family. But, I just had to get a photo of it. I love how he looked right over at me when I got this photo.

Weekend Trip to Triassic; Berries, Boulders, and Petroglyphs

2008-10-26T17:23:00.003-06:00

Over the weekend a friend and I drove south to the Triassic bouldering area. This piles of rocks (big rocks) is just outside the city of Elmo, UT and is a developing bouldering area. I'm too fat to climb, so we just explored the area so my friend would know what to expect when he takes his scouts down in a few weeks. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

The following is a shot of the Land Of A Thousand Boulders area. There are over 80 different routes among these boulders.

A close up of Juniper berries on the tree outside my tent.

One of a few petroglyph panels we saw. This is one of the bigger panels. I can't speak to their authenticity, but they seemed more real than the "danny + sally" in a heart farther down the wall.

Family Portrait

2008-10-23T20:53:00.002-06:00

The fall is always a busy time for me. I get the chance to do lots of family portraits. Here's one we did last night over in Mapleton. I loved the warm light and the grass.

Juried Holga Show

2008-10-20T07:13:00.002-06:00

Last week I entered 5 prints into a juried Holga show at the SAANS gallery downtown SLC. This is the first time I've ever submitted to a show, so I'm hoping a couple of my prints are picked to hang. The show will run from Nov. 19 through Dec. 17. You can get more information on the SAANS website. I'm not going to post the images I submitted (Then you wouldn't have to go see the show.) but I figured I should throw something up there. Here is a self portrait.

Portraits and dogs

2008-10-15T10:03:00.003-06:00

I've done several portraits with dogs. I've done small dogs, medium dogs, and I've even done one one with a dog named Thor; you can imagine the size of Thor, the name fits. Someday I may do a post of all the dog pics I have. Until I have a time to pull them all together, here is one I did last week while working with a local preschool. We did this photo as a gift for the girl's mother.

Portraits

2008-10-12T20:49:00.002-06:00

It's been a busy week for me photographically. I've done a family portrait, a preschool (about 60 individual portraits and 4 group photos) got prints going for a judged show I'm submitting to, and worked on a photo assignment I'm working on with some friends. Here is a head shot I did while working on the assignement.

$700 Billion Bailout A Shot In The Dark?

2008-09-30T15:58:00.003-06:00

I'm not going to pretend I really understand what is going on with our economic health here in the US. I know it has something to do with lenders making financially suicidal loans to people who were either greedy, or weren't willing to understand what they were getting in to. I know the nation is in a dark hour and based on what the government does it could get a lot worse. I know I don't trust the government, especially congress, to do the right thing primarily because the "right" thing is a hard thing.

I'm not convinced the bailout is the answer. Do the american people really benefit from it? It seems to me it just takes the american people down the same road we'd be bailing the financial institution out of---spending money we don't have. And it's not just the financial institutions we'd be bailing out. We'd be taking on the debt of cities and towns that have over spent. We'd be bailing out labor unions and others.

And where did congress get the $700 billion figure? Did they do their due diligence to figure out what they're buying? ABSOLUTELY NOT! They haven't had the time. (BTW, why are they in such a hurry?) Apparently they pulled the number out of their... um... hat. Here is a quote concerning the figure from Forbes:

In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy.

"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."

Well, $700 billion is a BIG number alright. But is it big enough? And if it doesn't work, how much more will they need in a few months?

I'm afraid we need to bite the bullet and take the correction now (Boy, I hope I'm prepared) because the alternative is Socialism. And, if that time comes it will be time for us to stand and rend our coats.

Brock & Melanie Preview

2008-09-25T23:01:00.003-06:00

Today I had the pleasure of shooting the wedding of Brock and Melanie. The following image is one of my favorites from the day. I'll post a few more in a day or two.

Lance Armstrong Is Back

2008-09-10T13:31:00.002-06:00

Lance Armstrong is back and is getting ready for next year's tour. The rumor has been out there for a bit, but here is a video that I would consider official. (Sorry, couldn't embed it.) For me, this will make the next year a long one; July won't come fast enough. I enjoyed the Tour this year, but seeing Lance return will get me to watch, just to see if he can do it. Question is, can he do it without George Hincapie?

Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac Bailout

2008-09-10T11:04:00.004-06:00

Congrats, we are all the new proud owners of the mortgage industry and the debt that comes along with it. From what I've read, this was a short term solution to help the economy. In the long run, I see it as just another step toward socialism. So now I'm wondering, who do you think the government will take over next?

Which Industry Will the U.S. Government Take Over Next? ( polls)

Sierra Designs Needs a Safety Lesson

2008-09-08T00:38:00.000-06:00

When I was researching my book (i.e. hiking all over Utah. Hey it was a rough job but someone had to do it.) my co-author and I had to make sure we had helmets on every time we were on a rope. Mountaineers Press would not allow us to include any pictures in the book showing the unsafe practice of rappelling without a helmet. A few of the descents were small and we probably wouldn't have used helmets otherwise. Hopefully we did our part to propagate a culture of safefy.

Today a Steve pointed out this picture he found on the Sierra Designs web site that made me laugh. It's a cool picture, but I'm wondering if they are doing there part to promote safety. I don't know, maybe the tent self inflates into a raft when it senses water. Even still, I'd hate to be camped in the bottom of that canyon when the flood hits.

Alta Rec Triathlon

2008-09-07T11:36:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I ran the Alta Rec Center Triathlon with my speedy wife. She only beat me by 12 minutes this time; it was 20 minutes at the Highlands Ranch Tri in June. Because both Julie and I were running the race and we didn't have a camera crew we don't have any action pictures. Here are a couple we took after the race.

100 Hikes in Utah Video Blog

2008-08-28T05:45:00.000-06:00

For the past year or so I have wanted to produce a video blog. I wanted do something with an outdoor theme, but in a news-desk-type format. I bought an external mic, I built a homemade tele-prompter, I even shot an episode last winter. But, I could never quite get things together.

I fount this video of Ira Glass that inspired me. He was speaking to me. I have great taste, I have ambitions of creating great videos, but I know I'm in the "gap" he refers to.

So in the spirit of closing the gap, I've produced---and published---my first video podcast. My co-author Steve and I just launched 100hikesinutah.com, a video podcast where we talk about the trails we put in our book, share some of the experiences we had, and show a handful of extra pictures that weren't in the book. Our first episode is about Horseshoe Canyon in Canyonlands National Park.

It hurts just a little to see myself on film, but I'm hoping it helps move me along so I can produce something equal to my taste. You can view the site here:

www.100hikesinutah.com

Willie Nelson on Youtube

2008-08-04T21:59:00.002-06:00

For some reason I ended up watching old Willie Nelson videos on Youtube tonight. I'm not much of a country music fan, but a lot of Willie's music really does it for me. Here is a great version of Blue Eyes Crying in the rain for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

Grand Kids

2008-07-26T16:29:00.002-06:00

Last night I did a family portrait for my parents, siblings, and all the grandkids. It's been several years (five I think) since we've done an extended family picture. Most of the grand kids were great, with the exception of my oldest son. He's 10, you'd think he could handle 20 minutes in front of the camera.

So, this morning I did a portrait (above) for some long-time family friends. When we couldn't get the grandkids to smile, I completely understood. (I'd just gone through it. Fortunately, this was the last picture we took, the kids did great in the other pics.) I think the smiles come from the knowledge they were handing the kids back after the picture. :)

Spanish Fork Peak

2008-07-12T18:11:00.003-06:00

As a kid, my friends and I made it a point to hike Spanish Fork Peak each year. My first trip up we spent the night in hammocks attached to the survey pyramid. The next few trips we took a few other friends and made the day of it. We even made one ascent while in college, but I haven't been back since. (That would have been about 12 years ago.)

So, yesterday a few members of our Varsity scout team made the trip. We hiked to lake on the North side of the peak Friday night, then made the rest of the hike this morning. It was truly beautiful. Being on top of the mountain, looking down on my home town brought back so many great memories.

For my buddy

2008-07-06T20:43:00.003-06:00

Alpine Loop Ride

2008-07-06T09:25:00.003-06:00

Last night my brother Ben and I took a ride over the Alpine Loop for Ben's birthday. It was a perfect ride with the exception of the small bit of rain around the Summit Trail stop. Here are a couple of pics we took overlooking AF canyon.

Boulder Mountain

2008-06-28T20:02:00.002-06:00

The last time I was on Boulder Mountain, I was pre-hiking a 50-miler for a friend's scout group. The plan was to hike with ultra-light packs and do it in 2 days. We did about 30 miles the first day, so were well on our way. However, the water we planned to pump was dry, and so were our several back ups. We ended up bailing out, hitting highway 12, and hitch-hiking partway back to our car.

Today, I was back to pre hike the 50-miler for my scout group, but this time I did it on a 4 wheeler. The above picture was taken while we were out. I don't think we'll have to worry about water this year.

Rockies Game

2008-06-15T09:59:00.003-06:00

I'm catching up my posts with a few events from the past week. On the night of the Highlands Ranch Triathlon my family and I went to a Rockies game. The Rockies beat the Brewers that night; it's always fun when the home team wins. (As I'm not a fan of either team it didn't matter to me.)

The ball game started out with a great squirrel chase. It was quite comical. They were finally able to coral it out a door in the wall at center field. Here are a couple of pics from the game.

Highlands Ranch Triathlon

2008-06-09T12:00:00.002-06:00

Last weekend I participated in the Highlands Ranch Triathlon while we were out visiting my sister. I was hardly prepared for the event, but I made it through the course. Here are a couple of pictures from the morning.

Golf in Highlands Ranch

2008-06-09T07:41:00.000-06:00

This past weekend my family and I drove out to Denver to see my sister and her family. I'll be posting more from the trip, but here is a quick video from our golf game. My dad, brothers, and I spent Friday afternoon on the The Links. The first 5 holes where a display of some of my worse golf. (Granted, this was the second time out this year, but the 1st was much better.) I turned it around on the last few holes. This is a video Lane took while shooting a par 3. I ended up just on the front end of the green. Ended up with par on this hole.

Portraits at the Salt Flats

2008-06-01T18:18:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we packed up the family, the bikes, and the camera equipment for a day out to the Bonneville Salt Flats. Not only is the terrain there perfect for breaking land speed records, but it make a great environment for portraits. We had 2 other families with us so we spent several hours playing around and taking pictures. (Family pictures will be out in the next couple of days.)

After we were done with the family pics I spent some time photographing my wife. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Dexter Lake, OR

2008-05-23T10:35:00.002-06:00

After finishing our training yesterday, Doug and I took a couple of hours to drive out to Dexter lake. It was a beautiful drive. Here are a couple of picture I took while we were out there.

Free at Last

2008-05-20T20:50:00.002-06:00

99% sure it's sugar. Was there really any doubt?

Still Stuck - Doug reaching out for help

2008-05-20T19:04:00.004-06:00

My friend and co-worker Doug reaching out for a little help while we are stuck here at the Springfield campus.

Stuck At Symantec - Hazmat checking for Anthrax

2008-05-20T18:54:00.004-06:00

Today I'm at the Symantec building in Springfield, OR, where we have been locked down for the past several hours. HAZMAT teams are here checking a suspicious substance that was found in a letter saying the substance is Anthrax. Here are a couple of the stories from the local media.

Video

Another Article

Yamaha V Star 1100

2008-05-09T18:41:00.001-06:00

Since the day my younger brother brought home a road bike and let me ride it I've been scheming to get my hands on one. It's hard to describe the feeling for freedom and excitement I get from riding. Yesterday I found a great deal on a Yamaha V star. My wife's not sure what to think, but she's been very supportive in my decision. (Thanks Honey!)

Here are a couple of pics from this afternoon.

Moab

2008-04-30T20:22:00.004-06:00

I spent the day today doing team training activities in Moab with a trainer from Germany. I learned a ton about group dynamics and working with people. I also learned a lot about myself. After the training was done, my buddy took me out on the slick rock jeeping. None of the jeep pictures turned out because you really can't see how steep the hills were. I've never done anything like it. Here are a couple of quick images that I took while we were out taking pictures of wild flowers.

Cowgirl Bridal

2008-04-20T09:56:00.002-06:00

I've been going back through a lot of pictures trying to pull new ones to update my web site. I found this one from a shoot I did with Mallory. It had just snowed that day so the shoot was chilly and wet. She showed up so happy and excited for the shoot we couldn't help but make some very beautiful images. Mallory was a prime example of how what you bring to the shoot is reflected in the images. You can see more images of Mallory in my bridal gallery.

Tana & Jeff

2008-04-13T15:20:00.003-06:00

Tana and Jeff were married yesterday at the sunny Oasis Golf Club in Mesquite, NV. The afternoon ceremony was warm and sunny and the dancing inside was plain hot. Here is a pic of the couple just after the ceremony, one during the first dance and another at the end of the night where Jeff is going for the garter.

Congrats Jeff and Tana!

Today's wedding

2008-04-13T00:06:00.005-06:00

Here are a few shots from today's wedding. It's getting late so I haven't gone through them all. Tana and Jeff threw a great party. Maybe tomorrow I'll actually post some of them together. :)

Back in Nevada

2008-04-11T23:27:00.002-06:00

It seems I've been in Nevada a lot this year. I think this is the 3rd time this year. (That's a lot for me.) Tonight I spent the evening at a rehearsal dinner for a wedding I'm shooting tomorrow afternoon at the Oasis Golf Club. Look for posts from the wedding in the next couple of days.

My Top 25 Albums In iTunes

2008-04-10T20:10:00.000-06:00

And here are my top 25 Albums.

Top 100 Albums
-----------------------------
1. The Mouse & The Mask (Dangerdoom) - 227
2. Stand Still, Look Pretty (The Wreckers) - 177
3. Begin to Hope (Regina Spektor) - 115
4. In Rainbows (Radiohead) - 111
5. El Corazon (Steve Earle) - 66
6. Hang On Little Tomato (Pink Martini) - 60
7. Madvillainy (Madvillain) - 58
8. Palace Cafe (Cris Talley) - 58
9. Time - The Revelator (Gillian Welch) - 47
10. Boxed Set (Disc I) (Led Zeppelin) - 44
11. The Reminder (Feist) - 41
12. POP (U2) - 39
13. Gling-Glo (Bjork Gu›mundsdottir & Trio) - 39
14. Chutes Too Narrow (The Shins) - 38
15. Greatest Hits Live (Fleetwood Mac) - 37
16. Amnesiac (Radiohead) - 36
17. Pablo Honey (Radiohead) - 35
18. Master the Treadmill with Ok Go (Ok Go) - 34
19. Core (Stone Temple Pilots) - 32
20. Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd) - 31
21. The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (Bonus Track Version) (Josh Ritter) - 31
22. Brass in Berlin (Giovanni Gabrieli) - 30
23. OK Computer (Radiohead) - 29
24. The Bends (Radiohead) - 29
25. Prolonging The Magic (Cake) - 28

Wow, I listen to a lot of Radiohead.

My Top 25 Artists in iTunes

2008-04-10T07:05:00.000-06:00

While I'm on the kick of analyzing the music I'm listening to, I figured I'd share the top 25 played artists in my iTunes. This isn't how I'd rank them as far as favorites, but here's the ranking by how much I listen to them.

Top 25 Artists
-----------------------------
1. Radiohead - 262
2. Dangerdoom - 227
3. The Wreckers - 177
4. Regina Spektor - 115
5. Pink Floyd - 106
6. The Police - 101
7. Willie Nelson - 85
8. Led Zeppelin - 79
9. Bob Dylan - 77
10. Counting Crows - 77
11. Steve Earle - 72
12. Beastie Boys - 70
13. U2 - 68
14. The Smiths - 63
15. The Shins - 61
16. Pink Martini - 60
17. Cris Talley - 58
18. Madvillain - 58
19. Dixie Chicks - 52
20. Cake - 50
21. Stone Temple Pilots - 47
22. Gillian Welch - 47
23. Feist - 44
24. The Grateful Dead - 40
25. The Sugarcubes - 40

Not Another Love Song

2008-04-09T07:52:00.000-06:00

So after my last post I started thinking about love and the music I listen to. I found all the songs in my iTunes collection that had the word "love" in them. After eliminating the duplicates and the songs the computer picked up mistakenly (like glove) I had a list of 116 songs which represents about 2.6% of my music collection. Kind of interesting. If you want to see the full list you can check it out here.

Love Is All You Need

2008-04-08T07:24:00.000-06:00

I've been reading the book Lovemarks:The Future of Brands and thought I'd comment on one of the subjects Kevin Roberts touches on when discussing complex secondary emotions and how it affects business.

LOVE

It's interesting how love is this universal truth each and every one of us understands to one degree or another. It affects everything we do. Roberts outlines the following 6 truths about love:

Human beings need love. Without it they die.
Love means more than liking a lot
Love is about responding, about delicate, intuitive sensing.
Who and what we love create different experiences.
Love takes time.
Love cannot be commanded or demanded.

As we show love for those whom we are trying to build relationships with, that love will return. In Love Is The Killer App, Tim Sanders suggests that sharing our intangibles with others is to show them our love. He says that ultimately, it's not what people think about you, it's how they feel about you.

In business, sharing our love with others will allow you to create relationships with people. These relationships are really the measure of success in my opinion. So I guess, all I need is love.

Holi & What I'm Listening To

2008-04-07T17:25:00.000-06:00

Here in Spanish Fork we have a Krishna temple on the outside of town. In the spring the hold the Festival of Colors where there is a large gathering of people (seems like mostly BYU students) where they sing, chant, burn a human effigy, and throw powdered dye at each other.

The festival happened a week and half ago and I planned on attending. I even went and picked up more 120 Velvia for my Holga. I wasn't able to make it, however.

So, in this post I'm mixing topics because of a similarity in theme. You have to watch the music video till the end to see it.

Holi: Festival of Colors

Regina Spektor

My Ride on a Kawasaki Vulcan

2008-04-06T21:08:00.003-06:00

Today my younger brother, Ben, was over for dinner. After eating he let me take his Kawasaki Vulcan out for a spin around the neighborhood. What a feeling it is riding a motorcycle around. I've not spent any real time on a road bike so getting used to working the clutch and gears and all that took a little getting used to. Oh, and turning is a little weird. You push the side you want to turn to, basically the opposite of the way you ride a bike. Anyway, it was a riot. Here are a couple of pics of me sitting on the bike before the ride.

New Promo Card

2008-04-04T07:28:00.002-06:00

My wife is an illustrator. Part of the process of getting work, for her, is sending out promotional work via post cards to all the editors at publishing houses around the country. At her suggestion, I've created this promo card to give to friends, family, and vendors as a pass-along to potential clients. If your interested in keeping a few on hand to pass along to friends, let me know and I'll send you a few.

Thanks to Melinda and Alex for helping me create such an awesome image.

Holga in Paris (Part 2)

2008-04-03T07:45:00.001-06:00

Holga in Paris (Part 1)

2008-04-02T07:34:00.000-06:00

In January my wife and I spent a week wandering around Paris. You can catch up on our trip by going back to my January archives. Here are a few of the shots I took with my Holga. (Because it takes so freaking long to scan my negs, this post will be broken into a multi-part series.)

New Music - Josh Ritter

2008-04-01T20:07:00.003-06:00

A couple of days ago Stacy, from Three Winks Studio, decided she was going to start posting new music she is listening to each week. I thought that was a fun idea. So, I won't be posting one each week like Stacy, but I do want to post a song I just can't stop listening to. I'm a sucker for a simple melody with deep, complex lyrics. Maybe it was all the Bob Dylan we had to analyze in Mr. Olsen's high school english class. Anyway Temptation of Adam, by Josh Ritter, has at the top of the playlist lately. I'm still trying to figure out what it all means.

Enjoy.

BYU Young Ambassadors

2008-03-30T20:55:00.004-06:00

This afternoon I got a call asking if I would take a group photo for the Young Ambassadors. They were doing a fireside tonight and needed a portrait in their fireside attire and something happened with the photographer they had previously arranged. I was happy to oblige. Working with a group this big can sometimes be challenge, but this session turned out to be breeze. It was hard not to lose the dark jackets in the background without blowing out their faces, but I am pleased with the outcome.

Shooting with [b]ecker

2008-03-26T07:08:00.000-06:00

While in Vegas last week for WPPI I went outside the hotel to see Becker shoot some headshots. I've been watching Beckers podcasts for a while and was excited to meet him and see him shoot. Anyway, he describes himself as having a slutty trigger finger. He was right. He may as well shoot video as he pretty much just shoots continuously. While there I had him take a headshot of me. I'll post it once I have it.

New Macro Lens

2008-03-25T21:16:00.003-06:00

While at WPPI last week I stopped by B&H Photo and picked up a new macro lens, the Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro. I'm very happy with the purchase and know that it will add a new dimension to my detail work. Here a few picture I took while playing around tonight.

The flower on my kitchen table.

My Wedding Band

Zoey

Rubik's Cube and Legos

2008-03-24T10:23:00.002-06:00

This post is primarily for my son. Yesterday he received a Rubik's Cube and I think it has been driving him a little crazy. He's been reading the instructions and figuring out the different algorithms, but he just can't seem to put it all together. Still, not bad for a 9 year-old kid. He also loves his Legos, so I figured I'd post a video to inspire him. Here you go J:

Viva Las Vegas

2008-03-18T04:36:00.003-06:00

After a long day at WPPI, a couple of friend (Mike and Ryan) went to the BluDomain party. It was in a cool mansion on the outskirts of the city. After a long cab ride, and after greasing the palms of the muscle, we got into the party. We went to a bunch of effort to get to a LAME party. We weren't there before too long the Clark County Sheriff was there to shut things down. About the only good thing was meeting a local photographer, Meredith Carlson and her husband Jake. Here are a few promo pictures of the party location that were posted on BluDomain's blog.

Nintendo Wii

2008-03-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

Last night I played on a Nintendo Wii for the first time. (Well, other than the 2 minutes of bowling at a trade show) It was fun to have an interactive video game to play with a group of people, but the games left a lot to be desired. For instance, boxing was LAME. No skill, just a bunch of jabbing as fast as you can to try to get the opponent out. After a night of playing, I was glad I stuck with the xBox 360, because you can't play Halo on a Wii.

Day at the Sand Dunes

2008-03-02T17:25:00.002-07:00

On Friday night I took my Varsity Team out to the Little Sahara Sand Dunes. We hiked in and had a great night looking at that starts and cooking backpacking food. (We're getting ready for our 50-miler this summer) Here is a clip of my running down a dune on Saturday morning.

Chris Sharma on Dreamcatcher

2008-02-26T07:31:00.000-07:00

Hope you enjoy this video of Chris Sharma climbing Dreamcatcher (5.14d) as much as I did. I suck at climbing, but I sure like watching good climbers. When you watch this you'll be amazed at how he holds on.

Cycling Roots

2008-02-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid I loved to ride my bike. Not long before my 16th birthday I took all the money I had and bought a Specialized Rock Hopper mountain bike. I think I spent around 700 bucks. A friend of my gave me the hardest time for that because he had just bought a Honda Civic for $1300. He thought I was crazy to choose a bike over a car. But hey, what did I need a car for when all my friends had one? Anyway, I spent a lot of time working off my frustrations on the seat of that Rock Hopper.

Recently, I've reconnected with a good friend with whom I grew up via Facebook. He posted several pictures that included me. I figured I would share a few that were taken during a trip we took as Varsity Scouts. We spent 1 week riding just over 170 miles in southern Utah.

This is a photo of the group the day we left for the trip. That's me laying on the ground in the pink tank top. Man, we loved the florescent colors.

If I recall, this was taken on the hardest day of the trip. We rode from the East entrance of Zions NP to Navajo Lake. I'm in the middle with the black helmet.

Our last day. We rode from Navajo Lake to Brianhead. This was taken at the Cedar Breaks overlook. Again, I'm in the middle with the black helmet and red shirt.

Frozen

2008-02-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well, yes, it's still freezing in Utah, but I can see the days getting longer and I know Spring is just around the corner. But this post has nothing to do with the weather. Today on a blog I frequent, Wend, I saw these YouTube videos. They were just bizarre enough to be cool, in an artistic kind of way. I think it is fun to see public reaction to things that are out of the ordinary.

While in high school some friends and I would line up along both sides of a hall during our lunch break. We would space ourselves evenly and across the hall from each other. We would get 20 or so people to line up. We would then just stand silent and still. It was great to see people turn the corner to walk down the hall. They would look at us and wonder what was going on. Most would just turn around and walk the other direction, but some tough-guys would just call us names and walk through, with no reaction from us. It was sophomoric, but interesting to see how people reacted.

Watching the reactions of the people not knowing what was going on is what makes these videos fun. Figured I would share.

Road Trip day 2

2008-02-18T08:52:00.005-07:00

After spending the morning in the valley of fire (posted yesterday) we took off to the Hoover Dam. The traffic to get down to the dam was horrible. We were in a 4-mile line. It took us just under an hour to get there from the line; 2 hours from Overton.

After the dam, we caught a sunset in Vegas (picture below) and then went downtown. We walked around for a while, hit a few of the shops, caught the fountain at the Bellagio, and came back to base camp in Overton. It was a long day.

Road Trip

2008-02-17T11:33:00.003-07:00

Got up early this morning to catch the sunrise at the Valley of Fire.

Afterward, we went to Mouses Tanks and played around with the camera. I'm helping my bro. get a deeper understanding of his camera. Here are a couple of shots he took in a lesson on how to stop action.

My Next Pet

2008-02-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid I had a couple of fresh-water fish tanks. I loved the sitting by myself at night with the only the tank light on being calmed by watching the fish. I saw this tank on ohgizmo.com and now I think I need one. Well, after I get my sailboat.

Camping at Maple Bench

2008-01-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend I took the Varsity Team up to Maple Bench for a night of winter camping. They all did well and stayed warm. I was surprised to find that very few of them had flashlights or pocket knives. They are so used to camping from a car they don't understand the basics. We're working on that though. Here is a picture of me and Zoe. Zoe did well with the hiking part, but I think sleeping in the tent freaked her out a little. Got to work on that.

Last day in Paris

2008-01-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a video from the last day in Paris.

Paris - Day Five

2008-01-17T14:30:00.001-07:00

See the video HERE.

Paris - Day Four

2008-01-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

See the video HERE.

Paris - Day Three

2008-01-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

It was cold, windy and rainy all day. We got a late start, but a good night's rest. (Finally) We started the day at the Musee d'Orsay where we saw many works by Monet, Manet, Van Gough, Rodin, and other notable artists. Lots of impressionist paintings. We spent the bulk of our day there. Not only was the art great, but the building itself was magnificent.

Afterward, we walked down Rue du Bac to find a recommended ice cream shop. 12 bucks for 3 scoops of ice cream, but it was delicious. We made it to the Musee Rodin for it's final hour of the day and enjoyed his sculptures, including the Thinking Man.

If you read yesterday's post, you'll be glad to hear I am not sick from dinner. The food was much better today; how could it not be since we had a bowl of ice cream.

Hopefully tomorrow's weather will be better. I think we will head out to Versailles and finish at a museum of photography tomorrow night. We'll see what happens.

Enjoy the slide show of some of today's sights.

View the video here

Paris - Day Two

2008-01-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

We started the day at Sacre Coeur. It was a long hike up the hill and to the top of the dome. We also saw the St. Pierre du Montmartre church. We then wandered the streets in the Montmartre district, known as the artsy, seedy part of town. Monday seems to be the day for museums in Paris to shut down. We tried to go to Musee D'orsay and the Rodin Museum; both were closed. We ended up at the Louvre where we saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo (SP?) and a bunch of other cool things. Our feet were dead so we booked it home.

For dinner we stayed in Vincennes. A friend of mine said the French have the best food. I've not had much luck (with the exception of crepes and baguettes) with my ordering. The first night I had Foie Gras. I knew it was duck liver, but I figured I'd try it. It was awful. Tonight I figured I'd play it safe. I ordered steak and fries. I didn't know what the "tartare" meant. It was basically a raw hamburger with no bun. Look it up. I'm hoping I don't get sick. Apparently it's still considered gourmet here in France.

Tomorrow we will try to catch a local market and then head over to the Eiffel Tower. We'll see what the weather is like.

Again, couldn't get the movie to upload. Check it out here.

Day in Paris

2008-01-13T13:26:00.001-07:00

We made it to Paris jet-lagged but happy. After attending church with the Paris Ward, we enjoyed the day exploring the area around there. We visited the Hotel de Ville, crossed the River Siene, and visited Notre Dame. We also visited Sainte Chapelle and the Palais de Justice, home of the French Revolution. We then wandered around the nearby streets in search of a good restaurant. Finally overcoming our fears of reading the French menus, we picked a spot. Ends up the waiter was Canadian, eh, and spoke English. We finished the day by making this video and eating a delicious chocolate eclair. Enjoy.

I couldn't get the video to upload to blogger. You can check it out here.

Karl Malone on New Years Revolutions

2008-01-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

You know, Karl Malone gots to do what Karl Malone gots to do.

My brother pointed me to a very funny clip that I figured I'd share. The only thing I've missed sinnce Malone left the Jazz is all the stories on the local news about his hunting exploits, and his unique language style. You can find many Karl Malone spoofs on YouTube. Anyway, check it out here.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

Ushered in the new year by playing games and eating great food with my family. Here is a shot my wife took while I was making sushi.

Rhett Olson

Blog Moved

Blog Moved - Update your RSS Feeds

President's Day Snowshoe Trip

Amtrak Photographer

More Time With the Kids

My Solution

World's View of the Untited States

Afternoon At Manly Beach

Blue Mountain

Train To Wollongong Then On To Jamberoo

Video Clip from Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach

LDS Owned KSL Serves Up Ad for Gay Dating Service

Ferry To Darling Harbor

1st Day In Sydney

The Land Down Under

Engagements: Skyler & Hailey

Kylee & Dustin Wedding

Holiday Wedding in St. George

Snowy Family Portrait

Holga Shot Published in SL City Weekly Magazine

Christmas Love

Toy Cars & Tilt-Shift Lenses

B+

Canon 5d Mark II - Sample Video 2

More Canon 5d Mark II Sample Video

Canon 5d Mark II - Sample Portrait

Canon 5d Mark II - Sample Video

Unboxing of Canon EOS 5d Mark II

Holga Gallery Show

Naval Museum, Norfolk, Virginia

Australian Knob-tailed Gecko

Fitness Shoot

A Tribute To Our New President

Happy Halloween

Salt Flat Arial

Weekend Trip to Triassic; Berries, Boulders, and Petroglyphs

Family Portrait

Juried Holga Show

Portraits and dogs

Portraits

$700 Billion Bailout A Shot In The Dark?

Brock & Melanie Preview

Lance Armstrong Is Back

Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac Bailout

Sierra Designs Needs a Safety Lesson

Alta Rec Triathlon

100 Hikes in Utah Video Blog

Willie Nelson on Youtube

Grand Kids

Spanish Fork Peak

For my buddy

Alpine Loop Ride

Boulder Mountain

Rockies Game

Highlands Ranch Triathlon

Golf in Highlands Ranch

Portraits at the Salt Flats

Dexter Lake, OR

Free at Last

Still Stuck - Doug reaching out for help

Stuck At Symantec - Hazmat checking for Anthrax

Yamaha V Star 1100

Moab

Cowgirl Bridal

Tana & Jeff

Today's wedding

Back in Nevada

My Top 25 Albums In iTunes

My Top 25 Artists in iTunes

Not Another Love Song

Love Is All You Need

Holi & What I'm Listening To

My Ride on a Kawasaki Vulcan

New Promo Card

Holga in Paris (Part 2)

Holga in Paris (Part 1)

New Music - Josh Ritter

BYU Young Ambassadors