My First Destination Wedding - December!

 

Well, kinda. 

a few years ago, I was lucky enough to shoot the wedding of my good friend Greg and his awesome wife Kristin. That was in Pullman, WA, definitely a drive and a half. I was already wanting to find a reason to go and visit a bunch of my friends that were going to college over there, so it seemed like too grand a coincidence to pass up. 

 

That was one of my first weddings I ever shot; I was so exhausted at the end... didn't have a second shooter. 😅😣 This time it's going to be SO MUCH EASIER! My friend Tyler is going to help me out!! It's gonna be dope. He is a cool dude. 

On coincidences - now I am shooting Kristin's brother's wedding! He reached out to me with a wonderful email asking if I'd like to shoot his, too. It feels nice knowing that someone likes your work so much that they want you to do your thing for them as well. Here's the link to my wedding work, in case you are interested. 

We had our consultation call a couple of days ago and it was a ton of fun. More goofy stuff than I anticipated; but hey, that means that we got along pretty well :) Afterwards, Tyler and I hung out and talked shop about workflow, we went over CRM (customer relationship management) software and I showed him around how my brain works with that kind of stuff. I use one called HubSpot, and if you are in need of one you should totally use it. It's legit free. Anyone that knows me at all knows I will avoid paying money for something if I can find a way to do so, haha. Pretty official, and I felt so excited to be doing something I am so passionate about! We are really excited to see where this goes. 

I am still looking for a second shooter to come with me for the reception (it's on a different day), so if you know of anyone that would like to tag along to get some photos for their portfolio and have a bit of a road trip with me, send them my way :) 

I want to start getting more and more dedicated to working on my photography things every day, and one day hope that it could be my full time gig. I know that there are risks of getting burned out, but I want to see how it might feel to do this stuff for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Right now, I am doing things on my days off from my day job,

 If you have done photography part or full time, what are some of the things you did to elevate yourself to the next level in terms of commitment? I would love to read about it in the comments :) Or, if you have words of advice even if you didn't do photography things for work, what did you do to take your hobby and turn into something more? I feel like I am heading down the right path but would love to see a mile marker along the way. Speaking of which, I miss hiking; I want spring to get here already, hehe. :)

Thanks for reading, and if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to get updates about my newest posts as soon as they come out!

Love you all! <3 Here is my cat. Have a wonderful week!

I was asked to join a Fall photo contest; WUT. Here's my entry!

Man, things are getting kinda crazy. Here's the latest update from dis guy. 🤘💪

If you asked me 5 years ago if I thought I'd have people reaching out to me to contribute a picture I took to a contest for business exposure, I'd have giggled a little and said, "that'd be pretty rad but no, not a chance". 

IT HAPPENED. And I could not have done it without the support and love of my friends, family, and fans. I have fans! 🙏 ✌️🎉

Anyways, here's the picture I submitted.

I didn't know there was going to be a watermark needed, so I added the one we use for our Broken Pixel Photography stuff. Nothing wrong with a little bit of cross brand fusion.&nbsp;

I didn't know there was going to be a watermark needed, so I added the one we use for our Broken Pixel Photography stuff. Nothing wrong with a little bit of cross brand fusion. 

My friend and her pup were so great on this shoot! When I messaged her asking if I could use this photo, she was super excited about it. Just look at that freaking puppy. I think that I took at least 10,000,233 photos. 

I had some trouble with editing out some of the highlights, but overall I am super happy with how it turned out. I didn't want to over saturate at risk of making it look manufactured. Aside from brightening up a bit of things and your standard resize/cropping/straightening, this image is largely unedited. *coolface*

I did have some runner ups in terms of other shots to submit; Here are a couple that I really liked, but were barely edged out by the one above:

 

anyone ever submit a photo for a contest before? This was my first one (hopefully more to come!) and I'd love to hear about your experience! 

See you guys next week!

It is time for this blog to come alive.

First off, hi! 

Dudes/Dude-ettes; it has been crazy-busy up in here. So many adventures, so many fun experiences and meeting lots of great people! I'm going to start writing a lot here, so you should all read it. Sounds easy enough, right? 

There is a subscribe button on this page (right above where it says "featured posts"), and if you get signed up you'll receive an email when (and ONLY then) I post a new entry.  No spam, no one has time for spam. Unless I have to open a can to get at it. 

Then I have time for Spam.

When you press the button, a fun message pops up; I'll be curious to see what your answer is. (post in the comments!)

Still unsure on frequency for posting... how much is too much for you guys? 

Answer in the comments below. :)

Wanna tag along? 

Poo Poo Point: Haha, So Funny Name. Such Value Hike. Wow.

Yeah, I chuckled too when I read the name of this hike.

Soooo, now that we have that out of the wa - Actually, no. Poo Poo Point? Really? Somewhere, some guy that named this hike dropped a deuce somewhere on this trail (NO, do NOT look for it) and now we have to deal with that for the rest of eternity. Great. 

...Or do we? This trail starts at the same trailhead as The Chico Trail, so if you feel better calling it that, go for it. I, for one, am getting attached to Poo Poo. Wait. That doesn't wor - nevermind! GOSH. 

Here you go, trail report.

...Geez.

The Basics

  • Roundtrip with breaks: 2 hours, 44 minutes
  • Car to summit: 58 minutes
  • Summit to car: 52 minutes
  • elevation gain: ~1700 feet
  • lots of trail, not a lot of lookouts
  • very steep at points
 

Maps originally wanted to take me to the high school that was close by, but I said "Hey, maps. I did my time." Beautiful hike, not very many lookout points though. If you want something with crazy views and not too much of a crazy hike (it is 8 miles round trip though), I would recommend checking out Mount Pilchuck.

Definitely some great trail maintenance on Poo Poo Point! While I was on the trail I walked across some WTA folks working on a blown-down tree. I've always wanted to volunteer with them, seems like it would be pretty cool. The trailhead is obvious once you've parked.

The beginning has a good amount of rocks and boulders in the steps. 

After a while it smooths out in terrain but does not let up in terms of incline. You (more specifically your calves) will know this is definitely a quick ascent in a small amount of time. Definitely has its reprieves, though.

About 2/3 of the way to the main lookout point, there's another at an opening in the trail.

Head to the entrance on the left to continue your way on the trail. Right here, though, is a nice spot to take a quick little breather. At least when I was here, there was a bench before continuing onward. Once you're all rested, keep going. 

With this last incline (which is a doozie), you'll be ready to be done. No joke.

It's a very cool spot, nice view of the valley and town below. If you go on a day with better weather than when I went, maybe you'll see a paraglider taking off from here!

Ate my PBJ sandwich right here, saw several people make their ways to where I was. Shame there were so many clouds, though. 

Very well maintained and definitely an awesome view from the top! Value hike if I say so myself. Be sure to check out the Washington Trail Association page for this hike, although I do believe on that page the mileage roundtrip is off. Unless I hoofed 7.2 miles in under an hour. I mean, I like to think I am Superman but come on.

Check out more of my adventures on my website or follow me on twitter to keep up to date when I go on more!

 

 

 

 

Rattlesnake Ledge: The Bargain Hike You've Been Looking For

Have you been asking yourself, "Hey, self, it's self here. Where can I go for a hike that has magnificent views for the least amount of work?" Well, I am here to tell you about one such hike. Here it is, in all its monolithic glory. Rattlesnake Ledge.

The Basics

  • Round trip with breaks: 2 hours, 45 minutes
  • Car to summit: 1 hour
  • Summit to car: 52 minutes
  • Elevation gain: ~1100 feet over 2 miles
  • Amazing, outrageous views for a minimal amount of work put in
  • Foggy, sunny, doesn't matter: beautiful all the same
  • lots of signs, easy to navigate
 

North bend is easy enough to find, and this trailhead is pretty easy as well. I lost service about 2 minutes before getting to the trail parking lot, but there were tons of signs that made it clear and easy to find where to go after arriving. Very unlike my trip to Green Mountain. That ish was cray.

For Rattlesnake Ledge, a.k.a The Bargain Hike, there were signs along the way to make sure you stayed on track. I will be going back for the Rattlesnake Mountain East Peak hike soon, though. Sounds fun!

On the way up, there are several spots where you can peek out and see Mt. Si looming in the distance, hiding in the clouds and reminding you of just how easy you have it on Rattlesnake Ledge.

Most of the trail is pretty easily traversed, very dirt-heavy and megaroot footholds.

As you get closer to the summit, you'll see this sign.

The trail was having a lot of work done when I went last. This little guy has, in the bottom right, a hint to point you in the direction of the monolithic beast you've set out to see. Once you see this sign, you are literally 3 minutes from your destination. Off to the right yu have your final hidden viewpoint showing Mt. Si.

After this, your final 30 yard climb awaits. Easy rock to get up. There will probably be people there to great you. Very popular trail!

Once you are up that, you have more for your eyes to take in than can be done without moving your head, hence this panorama photo!

There is so much to see! The Cascade range in full view from your center to the right, the lake immediately below you, and Mt. Si towering in the clouds to your left. 

A bit cloudy for my liking, but that just means I will have to go again. Shoot. ;)

Here's my view from my spot I was sitting, looking at the way back up to the top. Also, I made a friend!

He stayed within 10 feet of me the whole time. Didn't come after me for food, and I didn't offer any. He even sat down towards the edge of the cliff I was at and just looked out at the view, just like me, for a minute or two. I enjoyed my sandwich and a bit of water before getting back up to the main area and beginning my descent.

On the way down, I noticed an area that was a few steps off the beaten path, It had a bunch of names and initials carved in a tree. Pretty sweet. I added my initials and continued back down to the trailhead. 

All in all, this hike was impressively worth the slightly steeper-than-casual incline. Once you get to the top you don't care about the way up. All you want to do is stay up there all day, and imagine what it is like when it is sunny! If it didn't look like it was about to rain, I would have stayed longer. Super rad hike!

For more information about Rattlesnake Ledge, check out the Washington Trails Association website, and be sure to follow me on twitter to hear about my newest hikes!

What other value hikes do you guys and gals know about? I am all about 'em. My mom told me to be smart with my money, but I can also choose to be smart about how my legs spend their gas too, haha.

Thanks for taking the time to read this report! Happy hiking!