Kid Tested

As many of you know, when I'm not shooting and writing I wrangle a toddler. Wrangling toddlers and making professional progress don't necessarily go hand in hand. I love my job. I love my boy much, much more, but let's just admit it, they don't always sync.

Today was NOT one of those days! I had a big helper today as I got ready for an upcoming assignment. In a little over a week I'll be going on a trip for Canoe & Kayak magazine, 10 days paddling in the Temagami region of Ontario shooting a story for writer Conor Mihell. Before such trips I like to shake down my camping gear a bit, relearn things I've forgotten and try out any new gear before the trip.

Introducing our new tent, an ALPS Mountaineering Vertex 4. It's easy to set up, and even fits in our living room! Josiah liked it immediately. "Tunt! Tunt! Tunt!"

Kid tested, photographer approved.

Recent Work-SPACE Trailers

Part of what I love about my work is meeting interesting people and sharing interesting ideas. I recently sold a sea kayaking image to a fella from Minnesota by the name of Todd Olson. He needed it for the backdrop to a trade show booth promoting his new company.

Todd and his brother Brennan are starting a company building lightweight trailers for your car. He figures the outdoors crowd is also the environmentally-friendly crowd, and you don't have to be a genius to realize that $4 per gallon gas (or higher) is going to cut down on your outdoors pursuits when you're rolling to the trailhead in a big old SUV, truck, etc. The idea is to trade the guzzler for a sipper and pick up a cute little trailer for your gear.

I think it's a good idea and worth a shot. What I didn't know, was that the Olson boys have had other good ideas. Yea, that's right, they invented the Rollerblade inline skate. Not bad for a couple of fellas from Minnesota, eh?

They're calling it SPACE Trailers, check it out.

Marquette Backcountry Ski

I know it's a little late in the season to finally get around to posting about a new ski, but here it goes.

Dave Ollila, serial entrepreneur, adrenaline junkie, inventor of the original helmet cam and Marquette, Mich. native has blessed the quiver of snow addicts everywhere with the Marquette Backcountry Ski.

It's short. Fat. Stiff. Sorta ugly, and so much fun I don't know how I lived without it.

Bottom line is, it's a short, wide, affordable ski with big scales on the bottom for climbing. Paired with a three-pin binding and a pair of modern telemark boots it's a useful tool for scrambling around the rolling wooded hills in places like the Upper Peninsula, Northern Minnesota, Ontario, and tons of other places where there's snow and a will to descend it.

Ollila markets it as 70 percent ski, 30 percent snowshoe and 100 percent fun. There's all kinds of argument in the--let's just admit it--snobby ski world, but Dave O is dead-on about the fun part. They are fun, and that's what it's all about, right?

Here's what some other folks have to say about it:

One

Two

Three

I'll be profiling Ollila in an upcoming issue of Traverse magazine. Stay tuned.

Winter in Montana

We recently returned from our first trip to the Western U.S. in winter. Wow. The Montana landscape is sooo overwhelming visually. But on the other hand, as a photographer it's easy to make great shots because mountains are just so damn sexy.

There are times I wish the Upper Peninsula had real mountains, but then there would be way more people here and we probably wouldn't be able to afford to live the way we do.

So, I guess Montana can keep the mountains and I'll be satisfied with having a brother-in-law who lives and works in them and keeps a couch, a fly rod and a pair of skis with my name on them for when I get a little itch to go West.

Our cabin at Izaak Walton Hotel in Essex, MT.

Izaak Walton Hotel, Essex, MT. Great Nordic trails south of Glacier NP.
Kinda had a Shining feel to it though.

Snow Ghost snow formations on fir trees at the summit of
Big Mountain ski resort, Whitefish, Mt.

On a clear day the peaks of Glacier NP are visible from
Big Mountain in Whitefish, Mt.

Canada Connection

We love Canada, and that's a good thing since Ontario is physically closer to us than any U.S. state or even our own state capitol.

Back in early January we got invited to a media weekend at Stokely Creek Lodge, a lux Nordic ski resort just north of Sault Ste. Marie. It's owned by a Michigan family and boasts around 120 k of gorgeous trails and even snowshoe trails up a mountain overlooking Lake Superior. It is the best skiing and snowshoeing we've ever experienced, and that says a lot because our own backyard in the Upper Peninsula is so top notch. It's a little hard to admit that our neighbors to the north have it even better when it comes to snowy scenery.

Plus, we got to meet a whole crew of interesting Canadian writers and photographers like our longtime heroes Gary and Joanie McGuffin, Conor Mihell and James Smedley.

Here's a link to Smedley's recent piece in the Sault Star newspaper on our weekend of adventure.

Big Guy in a Small Town-Obama visits Marquette

So, just your average week here in the U.P. photographing the President of these United States.

Such a handsome devil, that Obama guy.

The president visited Northern Michigan University to talk about wireless Internet technology. I am proud to have shot the event for the fine folks in the Communications and Marketing Department at NMU.

The rest of the pix are here.

Another blog about the day is here.

Ice Fest Cometh!

This weekend is Michigan Ice Fest in Munising, Michigan. One of the largest, oldest and bestest ice climbing festivals anywhere.

Check out my feature story and photos in the February issue of Traverse magazine covering the festival.