"Iced"land

Here are some iced scenes that I captured during one of our excursions in Jackson.

The sun had not yet melted the ice crystals everywhere, they made for beautiful compositions but very very cold hands.

(but that is what husbands are for....to warm up your freezing extremities...right?)

{Frost Yourselves}

My recipe for a perfect lens flare (*starburst*):

With camera pointed directly at light source....

f/22+ -2 or -3 exposure= * bing

Kare-bear: She is...

Happy Birthday to my sweet sister Karin!

There are so many reasons why I love and look up to this amazing woman.

-First....isn't she just stunning? she is always so naturally beautiful.

(even in this photograph that I took of her....she was holding a squirming and grumpy child

and yet.... she is sill so happy and beautiful)

-She is always so cheerful and positive, I cant remember a time when I heard 

her complain

-She will never speak ill of someone else (I totally envy

her skill of self control, she is one that never has to suffer the 

consequences or remorse of saying something that she didn't mean,

thank you for setting such a noble example)

-She is completely full of grace,how she sits, walks,

moves, and talks, subtly elegant and never clumsy

-She makes everyone feel important

-She is a great missionary, she has steadfast faith and is a total force for good

-She is so incredibly humble 

-She is so healthy and fit ( I want to do a race or triathlon with

her...but secretly I know she will totally beat me and probably win)

-She is an amazing mother, she is so fun in all 

her activities to learn and explore, very busy, her boys know almost every artist that has

ever existed

as well as have tasted food from every country, they are going to be 

extremely cultured and amazingly intelligent

-She is a true example of forgiveness, throughout all her life

she has reaped the benefits from not holding

grudges or burning bridges

-She is so caring (it is so perfect that her nick name or her name shortened is Kare),

she has a talent for listening and is not just sympathetic but empathetic

There is still volumes I could write about my sis. Im so proud of her.

I strive in so many ways to live up to her example.

Thank you Karin. I love you.

teton sunrise

Good Morning. From us to YOU.
(a little something else that we created and brought back from our sort excursion) enjoy.

GRAND (Teton) LOVE

My handsome man and I took a short yet wonderful trip up to Jackson WY to celebrate our love in honor of Saint Valentine. For all those V-day haters, NO we don't have to have a specific day to force us to do nice things and say the L word multiple times...that we do daily all 365 days of the year and quite willingly too....but we do appreciate a long wintery weekend (also thanks to George Washington's big day) that we can plan, save up for, and anticipate anxiously for (or just pick up and be spontaneous with). This was my first time seeing the Grand Tetons and I was so excited. On Sat we got to indulge in loads of peaceful sleep and wake up close to noon. We exchanged some wrapped tokens of affection, I was given the most gorgeous and delicate pearl necklace and bracelet, I gave a new pair of boat shoes and a new bottle of my favorite flavor of cologne (yeah a little selfish I know as Im the one that enjoys it the most.... but my man received it with a generous amount of kisses anyway) We then enjoyed gourmet sandwiches for brunch yummm. We continued to stroll through galleries, one photography gallery in particular where I lingered for hours day dreaming that I was buying the print of my favorite Ansel Adams photograph (aspen) as well as many more picture frames full of eye candy. We did however purchase some luscious boots for me that Im sure some pictures will follow as I havent been able to take them off since.... way too good looking. We ate a fine dinner of baked brea and fruit, duck in a raspberry demi glaze, and bread pudding.....dubble yummmmm. A late viewing of Slumdog Millionaire added an incredible ending to the day. The rest of the trip was dedicated to hiking, scouting out sites, photographing, freezing, warming up, partaking in scrumptious treats, photographing some more, freezing again, and warming up yet again.

Snuggle, spoon licking, smiling, kiss giving time...

Thanks to my man for being willing to wake up way before dawn in order to get in place to take pictures of the Tetons at sunrise. (and even let me pick what we were having for breakfast, Im sure he would rather have had a burrito than the supper sweet cinnamon rolls that I chose, but those rolls sure did put a smile on my face as I nibbled on them for the remainder of the day)

Bravo again to my man who has recently developed a skill for spotting wildlife after observing, for a few years, my personal obsession with finding the fauna in the vistas we venture through. He found this little guy hunting in the distance on a frozen lake....thank you 70-200 lens with the added help of an extender to 300mm.

Yes this is for real. We had a couple very entertaining & spontaneous side trips on our way home. Idaho sure has some entertaining sites. Thank you Potato Museum and Lava Hot Springs.

Thank you, love of my life, for being so fun to be with and for all the love that you show me. I love you so incredibly much.

Sundance Film Festival

This year I pushed to experience something that I had not yet experienced even with all the years that I have lived in Utah, the Sundance Film Festival. I thought that we would try something a little lighter for our ("the tripod's") first time so I got tickets to animation spotlight showing up at one of the Park City Venues. We did a little shopping in all the boutiques (definitely got a sweet embroidered jacket) and then went for some fancy sushi for lunch and also to get out of the rain. (yeah, I know....people come to the state that is known for its snow and it rains...the resort was handing out lift tickets...pathetic yes) As for our film experience it was fun, creative, diverse, and fully entertaining. We decided to at least make the animation spotlight a yearly tradition if nothing else. 

After the films Kitch had to split but us sweethearts thoroughly enjoyed strolling around main street enjoying all the atmosphere and lights.

We walked around till we couldnt feel our toes and then drove down the canyon where we stopped off for a yummy late dinner at the Market Street Broiler. Yummy Halibut Oscar and raspberry and mascarpone torte.

Some of our favorite films...

-Western Spaghetti (so creative)

-This Way Up (good laughs)

-Skhizein (very cute commentary about feeling "beside yourself")