Sunday, August 09, 2009

Live a 'One-Knife Life' via Bushcraft

Spent the day with Mike Lummio of Bushcraft Northwest. With the Columbia River Gorge as a setting, he showed me it's possible to live off the land, and all the easier if you've brought along a real stout knife.

This pic shows Lummio using a drill to make hot embers that can lead to a fire. I wrote a story about the experience, and it appeared as one of my Cascade Playground columns in the Vancouver Voice newspaper, the alternative paper in Vancouver, Wash. Click through!

Monday, July 20, 2009

The Best Part of Outdoor Retailer: Chillin' in Boise

I'm a little scared to count the number of times I've been to the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show in Salt Lake City. Let's just say 10 times would be an accurate guess. While the thrill of the show floor never completely leaves me, other experiences have crept up as even more delightful.

Here's a picture of Marcia Cook and Ryan Whitesides, two friends who happen to live partway between Portland, Ore., and Salt Lake. When I asked if I could lay over a night on my way to the show, they opened their home to me with kindness and generosity I've not experienced in ages.

I had such a great time with Marcia and Ryan, I wrapped my Outdoor Retailer business up a day early so I could scoot back to Boise and hang out. What sweet memories of summer I'll always have of Boise! As long as they'll have me, I'll be back!

Sunday, July 05, 2009

The R. Craig Brown Family

For the first time in many years, all nine children of my wife's paternal dad, R. Craig Brown, got together. Many make it to this spot each 4th of July, Grandpa Robert Brown's cabin in Island Park, Idaho, but rarely all.

I had my camera and got this shot of the kids with Craig. The gang are spread across five states these days, and one even lives overseas. Jana Bitton, my wife, is on the far left in a dark shirt.

Four of the kids are from Craig's first wife (Jana's mom) Venessa Pitman. Five of them are from Craig's second wife, Christie.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Beauty Queen Photo Shoot in Port Townsend, Wash.

Deidra Morris, daughter of a dear friend from my junior high and high school days in Idaho Falls, competes in pageants. She needed some fresh photos, so I agreed to motor on up to Port Townsend, Wash., to help out.

Her mom, Lori Marler Morris, hasn't changed a bit since high school, and her daughter, who I took to calling "Miss D," looks just like her mom.

After the shoot, we all went to dinner with Lori's family at the best Mexican restaurant in the area. It was great food, as well as great company.

Best of luck with the 2009 pageant season, Miss D! I'm cheering for you!

Sunday, May 31, 2009

TRIOBA Wild Sky Adventure Race

Index, Wash., played host to the TRIOBA Wild Sky Adventure Race. Here's a shot I got right after the race start, as teams were headed out of town toward the mountains that shoot straight up behind Index.

At this moment, I was in the back of a pickup with other photographers. My intention at Wild Sky was to be the official TRIOBA photographer, but because real media showed up from newspapers in the surrounding area, I decided instead to play PR guy. I spent the day making sure they got the information and photographs they needed for their stories. Felt just like the good old days at Primal Quest Utah, where I was a member of Gordon Wright's media team. Ahh, the memories.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Daddy Daughter Date: The Killers Rock Seattle

My daughter Ashton is still amped up about rock and roll, and when I heard the Killers were going to play the Pacific Northwest, I saw a perfect chance for a daddy-daughter date. Surprisingly, the Killers had no Portland dates (they added one later!), so we headed to the Seattle show.

Digital SLRs aren't weren't allowed in the venue, so I made due with my iPhone camera. After dozens of shots, I had a few I was proud of , including this one of bass player Mark Stoermer as fireworks rained down onstage.

It was a late night, plus a three-hour drive home to get Ashton to school this morning. But it was so worth it! We were singing their songs all the way back to Vancouver, Wash. Well, I was. Ashton was asleep. Smart kid.

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Blood on the Wide-angle Lens

Like most of the folks in the Spirit Mountain Casino last night, I've been a fan of mixed martial arts (MMA) since I saw it a few years back on Spike TV. So imagine my excitement when I learned about SportFight XXV, an MMA event held within driving distance of Portland, Ore. In this image I captured ringside, amateur fighter Colt Toombs of Team Quest in Portland puts a finishing right on his opponent, Tom Shrout. The result -- blood on my wide-angle lens, as well as on my shirt. I grinned so hard my face ached. What an unbelievable rush! Toombs comes from a fighting family. He's the son of one-time professional wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper.

Monday, March 16, 2009

The Smiths, More Than an 80s Band

Meet the Smith family of Logan, Utah. That's Jesse on the left, Sean on the right, snuggling in the grass at Cannon Beach, Ore. Sean's about to graduate from Utah State with a bachelor's in business, minor in marketing, and he's lookin' for a job. They came to town over their spring break so I could introduce Sean to Andrew Buswell at FitRight Northwest, as well as to Bryan Knudsen at Next Adventure, to see how the job market is in P-Town. Kinda bleak...so we went to the beach! Great to see you guys, and best of luck on the job search!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

CrossFit Photo Shoot Turns Steamy

Last night I got to experience the workout phenomenon that is CrossFit. Bob Cook, owner of The Workout CrossFit in Vancouver, Wash., asked me to shoot a workout so he'd have images to add to his CrossFit blog. This picture, which features steam pouring off the head of workout attendee Marc Pitcher, was among my favorites. Expect to see more CrossFit postings in the coming months!

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Portraits with Shoshone Artist Rochelle Nielsen

Yesterday I got to spend about an hour with Rochelle Nielsen, an artist who lives near me in Vancouver, Washington. She's a Shoshone Indian, and most of her art that I've seen is about that. In her art, Nielsen shows how she struggles to weave her heritage into her modern life. She's got a show coming up at Marylhurst University in the spring. After we shot portraits, Nielsen asked me to get some photos of her doing the Shawl Dance, or Fancy Dance. This image was among my favorites.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Marrying off the First Niece

Yesterday, one Garan Keeler of New Mexico got the best New Year's Day gift imaginable. He married my niece, Ashley Bitton. Her dad, my brother John Bitton, asked Garan if that means he'll be "taking over the payments" to support Ashley's upscale lifestyle. Garan just smiled. The first few months of married life can be pretty intense. Keep smiling, you two! (David Bitton photo)