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Reno to NJ

Family Time
With Alaska and Yosemite behind us, and then Burning Man and Photoshop World looming, it was time for a mellow week. I knew that Ben would be off teaching a few Kelby Training seminars, so I figured it was the perfect time to hop on a flight myself and head back to the East coast to visit my fam. We parked in Carson City and flew out of Reno.

As always, it was great to spend a week in NJ. I might have a traveling spirit, but family is still the most important thing to me, so those visits are a priority. I spent most of the time visiting friends, working and just hanging out at 109 (the house).

We set up a dusk shoot for Laura and Rich in his family's vineyard.

Always time for shooting
We all know I don’t go anywhere without a camera, and the Jersey trip was no exception. Since I started living on the bus, I’ve mainly been shooting a lot of travel photography… unique landscapes, funky towns & buildings, odd America and vintage America. It’s been a while since I’ve shot portraits, couples & kids (I did a lot more of that when I was living in one place) but that’s what I shot while I was in town.

I spent a night with Laura and Rich shooting some “couples” shots in his family’s vineyard. I was racing the sunset a bit, but the shots turned out really nice. It kind of helped to be shooting in a vineyard… talk about a good location for couples shots! Oh, and wine helps too. Wine good. Make photographer happy. 

The last time I saw little Ava, she wasn't even walking!

I also got to meet up with my great friend Nicole and photograph her little ones. Even though Nic and I have been friends since high school, I hadn’t seen her in ages, so it was great to spend time catching up. And let me tell ya, it’s crazy how much time flies, especially when you’re hitting 30 states a year. Her twin girls have grown so much since I last saw them as roly poly babies. While I was photographing them, I found it amusing that after every shot, they would say, “Let me see!” and come running over to the camera. I know I’ve been shooting digital for a while, but it still strikes me as crazy that these gals will probably never see a roll of film in their lives.

I just love this shot I got of Leah and Hope (the doggy).

I've been watching Gianna grow up over the last five years. She's one of the coolest little kids I know.

Earthquakes and Hurricanes
Ummm, yeah. An earthquake in New Jersey. I don’t really know what to say about that except, “what the heck??” I was at lunch with my mom, sister, brother and grandmom when the entire room started to shake, rattle and roll. Did I mention that this was in NEW JERSEY? So as if that wasn’t strange enough, a few days later, a hurricane started making its way up the East coast. It wreaked a bit of havoc from the Carolinas all the way up through Connecticut. Luckily, my flight back to Reno left mere hours before the storm hit the Philadelphia area. Just in time!

Overall, it was a great visit. After arriving back in Carson City, we started to prep the bus for Burning Man. Next stop was Black Rock City….