Alan and Jennifer's Island Wedding Part 2

Again, never shot a wedding before.  It was HARD WORK!  OMG.  Difficult to keep up with the action, and what a challenge working with people.  I'm an Object kinda girl, so this was totally out of my comfort zone.

Some pre wedding images.

Some dress shots.

And the after wedding photo shots.  It was a learning experience, and I'm glad I got to experience it all.

Alan and Jennifer's Island Wedding Part 1

My friend Alan hired me and my friend Jerimiah to fly down to Florida and shoot their wedding.  I've never shot a wedding before, but, it was going to be good to see Alan and have the honor to do the job.

Jerimiah had one set back.  A week before the Florida flight, he was in a helecoptor crash while shooting a Long Board competition near Golden, Colorado.  He was a bit leery to say the least.

Let's just say Jerimiah was well sedated for the flight.

The trip ended up being a sort of "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" kinda trip.  Add to that Water Taxi, Golf Cart, Kayak, Limo, and Shuttle Bus... and that about sums it up.

The Beach House was great, and typical of that area.  Every house had a Crow's Nest or Widow's Tower/Watch.  Everything done in vibrant colors, and all the houses on stilts.

We had about a day and a half before the wedding to explore the island, and check out something really Floridian.  For me, it's been since 1988, I think, since I was in Florida.  It was Jerimiah's first time. 

















It was great to be around beach things again.
 
 
 












  Shells

And dogs.

Plants

  

Next up: The Wedding day

AUSTIN: Part 2

Woke up in the tent to discover my newly covered in Chigger Bites feet.  Ugh.  This was going to hurt for quite awhile.

We broke camp, and headed to town.  Our first stop: Aranda's #2 for breakfast tacos.  I got my usual Bacon/Egg/Cheese/fresh Pico, and a big ass glass of Horchata.
Horchata is a Rice drink with cinnamon and ice that is cool and refreshing.  Jerimiah had never experienced it before, and tried it before asking what it was.  He was blown away by it, and confessed he'd never thought he'd like a Rice Milk drink.

After a kick ass breakfast, we headed to our 7th floor high rise accomodations downtown, thanx to my former employer, The Good Dr.
We unloaded our two scooters from the Honda Element, and hit the road.
I took Jerimiah for a cruise, and he mentioned we should stop by the Magnolia Cafe' on S. Congress to see if his friend Jenn was working.  She was, and it was a great surprise, because once we were seated, we found out Jenn was going to be our server. 
The look on her face when she saw Jerimiah was priceless.  We hung there for a bit, and soon after hooked up with Jerimiah's other friend Brit, who then lead us to their apartment for some A/C and downtime.  It was decided that we should hit up the "Pitch and Putt" course downtown, and have some outdoor fun with clubs and balls.

I haven't swung a club in years, and it showed.  Your only clubs consist of a Pitching Wedge, and a Putter.  9 holes. 

It was hot.  It was sunny.  I was unprepared.  Generally, I would have not done this activity in the middle of the afternoon to start with, but, we were on the fly... I also did not have water, sunscreen or a hat.  These things are critical to Texas living.  I'm lucky not to have died at hole 7.








Later on, it was time to hit up the event I came here for.  The Residents.  That obscure cultish band that has been cranking out music since 1972.
It was a great show, I got to see some old friends, and Jerimiah saw a show unlike he'd ever seen.
My musical heroes did a great job, and I'm glad to have seen them again. 

 

After the show, we cruised around town some more, and then headed back to our digs.  The skyline was great, and it was a big comfort just to be in Austin again.

AUSTIN: Part 1

The prospect of going to Austin for a week was both joyous and worrisome.  Being that it's one of my most favorite places to be, it would be very difficult to get my fill in 7 days.
Also, I was bring my friend Jerimiah who had never been to, nor even liked Texas.  He was born and raised in Estes Park, and had a certain view of Texans as a tourist colony.

Since Jerimiah and I have the common bond of our love for film, one of the main focuses on this trip was a "Alamo Drafthouse Field Trip", as well as introducing him to a few of my film maker friends who seem to be moving right along in their goals.

The other focus of this trip was to see The Residents play live at the Mohawk.
I can't even get into details of The Alamo, or The Residents without needing a few pages for information, so I'll just leave it at that.

We packed up the Honda Element with very little camping gear, a 50cc Yamaha Vino Scooter, and a 125cc Yamaha Vino, camera gear, and a bag of clothing each.  Packing light, and having the scooters was mandatory.

We left Estes Park exactly at 5am on Tuesday.  It was to be a 16 hour drive straight to Pace Bend Campgrounds.

The farther we went, the warmer it got.
I'm always happy to see the changing terrain on that trip.  I don't mind the flat texas landscapes of the N.W. areas.  I don't mind cruising thru Texline, Dalhart, Dumas, Amarillo, Lubbock, Lamesa, San Angelo, Brady, and Llano.  It's better than Nebraska and Kansas, that's for sure.

Along the way, we stopped in Lamesa when we saw an old Drive In Theater coming up.  Had to.  It's our job. 
That Theater was our only major stop along the route other than gas and toilet stops.  Once we got to the Hill Country, I stepped on the gas and made my way to Pace Bend at 90mph in the dark sure that I would take out many deer that night.  We got to the lake, set up camp, but were too amped up from the ride to just hit the hay.  Took a stroll around the lake, and managed to pick up some chiggers.  Oh yes.. the thing I hate as much as Guns and Roses...  Chiggers.  The little biting bastards got me good.  I wouldn't know how good until I got up the next morning.
The next morning...  I woke up to a NASTY itchy madness, but it was overshadowed by the complete JOY of being at my favorite spot, in my favorite town.  Things were going to be good.
The next move: Head into town, and set up base camp at the good Dr's place on the 7th floor downtown.. right were we needed to be.. right next to everything.

Riding the Rails

Jerimiah and I left promptly at noon, stocked with food, beverages, camera gear, iPods, and a fool tank of gas. Our game plan changed from heading West on 70, because the snow was too much for the big pass and my front wheel drive.
Decided to head due South on I-25, and then head west on 160 directly to Durango.
Things were slow going coming down the mountain to the Front Range, but, once we reached I-25, the roads were dry and I was ready to exceed all posted speed limits.
Just shy of 4 hours, we exited to 160W, and that was a road I had never been on before.
To the right and left of us, the skies looked angry, but straight ahead seemed to be OK. Just about the time that we were boasting how we had diverted all nasty weather, a sign came up over the horizon that stated Wolf Pass was hazardous, and chains were required for all commercial vehicles.
What did this mean for us? Onward we went.
Jerimiah thought it best for me to drive the pass, being that it was my car and all. I was getting nervous. Was there a shit ton of snow up there? How was my Element going to handle in a shit ton of snow? It's dark.
We changed seats at the last stop before the pass, and ahead of us was a semi that just put his chains on. 10 miles to the summit of the pass. Onward we went.
The snow falling became thicker and heavier. It was difficult to see more than 30ft or so ahead of the vehicle. Not knowing the road gave concern to just driving into a snow wall going around a turn.
Carefully I followed the tracks of a vehicle somewhere ahead of us. Top speed: 30mph.
The falling snow and darkness was the crux of the ride. The road itself was well plowed, and not slick. Slow and easy was the name of the game.
Without incident, we made the pass, and made it to dryer roads.

Later on, we came across this flashing sign:



How the hell... really? It's flashing now, but there's no wildlife. ?? Onward we went.
Finally made it to Durango, and to the home of my friend Shaheen and her husband Kyle. They were kind enough to let us crash at their place. Shaheen made an awesome Enchilada meal, and fun was had by all. We ended up asking them about this sign, and apparently it's a big joke in the region. It's suppose to flash when animals are present, but it just doesn't work right.

The next morning, Jerimiah and I rounded up our things, and indulged in some tasty breakfast at Oscar's Cafe', and then went to the train station to get out tickets to ride.

We were instructed to board at Rockwood, so that's where we went. On the way there, we drove passed a flipped car. Ice? Didn't seem to be any.
After finding our turn off, we made it to the parking area. We were in the middle of nowhere. Snow all around, and one lone man standing by the tracks with several grocery bags and a couple cases of water.
Ended up making small talk with the guy, and while Jerimiah was getting information from him, I started taking some photos.
As we waited for the train to arrive, Miah set up his camera rig so we could get some of his blog info down. Some other folks arrived for the train, and not much longer later, the train finally came into view. We boarded and our scouting trip finally began.

We boarded, and wandered around the train a bit before we found a car that was empty, and started shooting for reference to see if this location would work out for Miah's film short.
The scenery was pretty, but, we weren't there for the views.
When we got to the turn around point, the train came to a stop, and we had a 45 min lay over at a pavilion with a fire, and some snackipoos that were put on for a group of Big Brothers and Big Sisters. They were kind enough to share hotdogs, cookies, and water with us.

This gave me a chance to get up close with the train.

Back on the train for the return trip, got in a few more shots

Miah get's some digital film testing in.

After Jerimiah gets to looking at his footage and some or test photos, he'll decide on how to proceed with the project.

We did some more shooting at the train station back in Durango. Started the trip back to Estes about 3pm. Made the Wolf Pass again, and this time it was much easier, in the daylight and all. Stopped for a decent meal in Walsenburg. Got back to Estes about 12:30am.
Mingus was very happy to see me.

8:32am and The Weather Underground says "Snow in the morning". Looking out the window, I'd say they are correct. Our departure time is High Noon, and the route has already changed. Intentions were to go West on 70, but there is a big ol' radar blob that tells us we should head straight South and hang a right.
The iPod, the Phone, the computer, and the camera batteries are charged. Everything is packed, and ready.
Thanks to my good friend, Shaheen and her husband, we've got a free place to crash. (I love my spread out friends who make it easy for a gal to travel and crash!)

The goal: Get to Durango before 9pm. Tomorrow morning, we'll scout various vantage points along the route of the Durango/Silverton train line for photos ops for after our train ride, which will be the focal point of the trip. Scouting this location for Jerimiah's film short, "The Woman in the Steam". The train ride is 3 hours long, and will take us thru some awesome canyon land.

We are hoping to garner enough information to determine if we can 1.) Actually film in a rail car while the train is in operation. 2.) Can we do it at night. 3.) Find out how much this operations will cost in the end. This all comes down to if the project can move forward or not at this time.

I'm a producer. Doesn't pay.. but, it's something to work on, and so far, Jerimiah has been pleased with my contributions.
Aside from that, I'm just stoked to get some time under my wheels and have the chance to be a passenger on a trip for a change.

Time to make some sammiches.

More road trips scheduled!

Tomorrow, I've got an 8 hour drive to Durango.  I've been asked to a producer for a film short with Under Oath Productions!  http://www.uopfilm.com/ The movie involves filming on a moving train, so the Director/Screen writer, Jerimiah Whitlock and I are going to Durango to scout out the Durango/Silverton Railway.  http://www.durangotrain.com/  Should be a very cool excursion.  1800s train, canyon ride, winter time... 


The next trip is scheduled for April 5th.  Heading down to Austin, Texas to hang with friends, and warm up my body core.  I haven't seen 80+ temps since July, and I'm about due.  The lizard in me needs a heat rock. 

And finally, May 19th, I'm being flown to Florida to be the wedding photographer for my good friend's wedding on N. Captiva Island on the Gulf side.  It also involves a trip to the Salvador Dali museum in St. Pete. 

So, of course this means there will be some photos coming up very soon, and hopefully some good tales from the road.
The big difference on these trips are, my dog Mingus will not be coming along, and instead, my co-pilot on all 3 trips will be a human.. Jerimiah Whitlock.  A real navigator!  Someone to drive some! 
Someone to help document the road.. as it's very hard to snap shots and log while driving. 

More to come!!