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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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)

Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge

Heading out on assignment for a client is always a thrill, but this particular trip took me 12 time zones away from home. Checkpoint Zero Adventure Racing, the leading source for adventure racing news in North America, sent me to the Middle East to cover the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge in the United Arab Emirates. The emphasis of my coverage is North American teams, so I've been spending time with teams Nike, Salomon/Crested Butte, SOLE and DART-nuun. You can read the reports I've been posting over on Checkpoint Zero by clicking here. This shot from the sand dunes near Liwa, Abu Dhabi, is typical of the terrain teams trekked through during the event. Sand, sand and more sand! Us media types were escorted through the dunes by a local 4x4 club. All the jostling led to me losing my lunch at one point! As I often say, it's not really an adventure unless you throw up at least once. So true!