I just loved that I was all alone. Perhaps the only one crazy dedicated enough to venture outside to ply his craft.

Here, the four person honor guard created by sculptor Zenos Feudakis stands nobly in the driving snow.

On the north end of the memorial is a “Glass Contemplation Wall” that honors fallen airmen. There are several planes etched on the glass. This shows just one of the planes, looking through the glass toward the three spires which represent the three core values of the Air Force – “integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all that is done”.

Every time I photograph this monument I find it a challenge and suspect I’ll be back again.

It was so much fun to photograph this beautiful little girl. Her parents have this awesome master bedroom with large windows that let in tons of natural light.

Here I think she looks so peaceful.

Doesn’t she look so sweet hang on her mom’s shoulder?

During some down time while I was waiting for the baby to fall back asleep, I headed down to their basement. And what did I find? Three other siblings playing on some beanbags.

When its 20 degrees outside, there’s no chance of going outside. Fortunately, we had some lovely spaces inside to choose from.

Speaking of lovely…

If you’re in need of a new family photo, you can reach me via the contacts page.

Such a beautiful family and doesn’t Milan (in red) have some real sass?

Their daughter Sofia is always full of laughs and giggles.

Although nearly every tree in the park had dropped its leaves weeks ago, we found one magnificent tree that had just deposited a carpeting of bright yellow leaves. How could we pass that up?

I think its so cool how the tree creates a perfect outline.

This blanket that’s wrapped around May belongs to her dad, who I was told, “comes from a family of knitters.” They certainly make fine quality products.

I just love this photo, probably my favorite from the shoot. May’s mom and dad are both from England. They have fabulous accents and use words like “cot” and “pram” (say it with a British accent) to describe a crib and stroller.

Mom trying to bounce May to sleep. The light falling on May from the nearby window is so soft and gentle.

I found soft white fleece at G Street Fabrics which I think adds a nice texture to the background.

Their bathroom has this absolutely beautiful blue wall and I just knew we had to get some shots in there. I was standing in the tub, leaning up against the wall to get these. Doesn’t May curl up so nicely in mom’s arm?

May was full of giggles and smiles while laying in her cot.

Many thanks to May’s mom and dad for inviting me to their lovely home. I had a truly wonderful time.

I love how little babies curl their legs underneath, bum high in the air.

Leo has such a beautiful face and plenty of hair for a newborn.

Dad was happy to get involved. Doesn’t Leo just fit so perfectly in his arm?

Since mom is a fine southern girl, they decided a bayou theme would be perfect for Leo. The wall above Leo’s crib is decorated with cute little frogs, lillypads and even a few mosquitoes. Hanging outside his crib is this snake, which we decided would make a perfect temporary resting spot. He curls up very nicely in there.

This was such a fun shoot and I’m so glad that little Leo and I got to spend some quality time together. Thanks to Leo’s mom and dad for having me over.

Megan simply has awesome eyes and is so cute.  She certainly hammed it up for the camera, playing a perfect model, or as she would describe it, princess.

Another few doors down and we came across a nice set of stairs, and look, a charming family just happened to be sitting there.

Megan and Henry are so great together.  She treats him like a king prince.

Of course, we had to get a shot of Mike and Kim together.

Megan loves her daddy.

You can see where Henry and Megan get their beautiful blue eyes.

Henry is working on his walking legs.

This family is so great together.  You can tell they have lots of love for one another.

Besides the bags of M&M’s that the kids got from me for being on their best behavior, Kim brought some bubbles. They fascinated Henry and Megan danced through them.

Mike and Kim, thanks for inviting me to share an evening with your great family.

However, once a year, professional cycling comes to town and it is a showstopper. Organizers shut down the streets in Clarendon, turning the place into a technical 1 kilometer long race course. There are masters, women’s and kids’ races, but the highlight is the 100 lap men’s race (62.14 miles).

We took our son to ride in the 1 kilometer kid’s race, which he absolutely loved. Following that, the men began their race. This year, Alejando Borrajo, with Team Colavita Olive Oil / Sutter Home, won in a crazy time of 2:18:39. That’s an average speed of nearly 27 mph. Imagine riding at that pace for 2+ hours. These guys are machines.

VeloNews was on-site covering the action. For a detailed race report, see their article.

Here’s a collection of images I took from the men’s race:

Chuck Hutcheson (156), with Team Battley Harley Davidson, and Karl Menzies (22), with Team OUCH pb Maxxis, round the fast technical corner from Washington Boulevard to Highland Street.

The race is really accessible for spectators; this corner has racers coming within mere feet, although it felt more like inches.

On the same technical corner, Arran Brown (114, blue and white jersey), with Team Medscheme, slides out in the corner taking out Russ Langley (157), with Team Battley Harley Davidson. Eric Barlevav (165), with Team Mountain Khakis, manages to steer clear of the mess.

Chad Gerlach (123), with Team Amore & Vita, lead for much of the race. He almost lapped the field, coming within 8 seconds at one point.

Francois Parisine (31), with Team Planet Energy, navigates the high speed turn from Washington Boulevard on to Highland Street. The riders average a speed of nearly 27 mph.

Before the race started, my wife mentioned that an old high school friend, who she hadn’t seen in years, was a professional bike racer. By chance she ran into him before the race started and hung out with his wife, also a high school classmate. Here, my wife’s friend, Reid Mumford (13), with team Kelly Benefit Strategies, corners onto Highland Street.

Team Kelly Benefit Strategies lead the peloton in an effort to reel in race leader Chad Gerlach.

Chad Gerlach was heavily cheered on by the crowd as he effortlessly raced around the course. He lead for 60 laps and ended up finishing 6th.

Hanco Kachelhoffer (115), with Team Medscheme.

David Veilleux (16), with team Kelly Benefit Strategies.

But digital photography and Photoshop are also a lot of fun. Photoshop in particular has many different options for processing digital files and extensive filters for creativity. In one of the archive folders I found an 8×10 that reminded me of an “old skool” filter method. The trick for creating this image was not Photoshop, but rather placing a Vaseline smeared piece of glass over the B&W paper when developing the image. The light shines through the glass and Vaseline creating the unique pattern. My sister-in-law Caroline, a fantastic wedding photographer in Northern Utah, taught me this method. Her website is Still Light Photography.