Abstract Landscape Photography

 

Happy Halloween!

My kids love Halloween. They start discussing what to dress up as pretty much the day after Halloween and spend the whole year going through all their options. This year, something spooky was on the agenda. Emma considered her choices for months. A vampire? Nah! A werewolf? Too hard to paint and lame to wear a mask.

After all that thought, she finally settled on the same as last year: a zombie. :)

Same clothes, crazy hair and the ability to do her own make up. Totally up Emma's alley...she was in!

Grace still has one foot left in the years of when Halloween was a chance to dress up as less scary options such as cowgirls, princesses and such. She wanted scary AND fun and after much consideration found a good compromise in being a zombie cheerleader. 

One borrowed cheer outfit later we were ready to go. 

This is where I come in. Being a Swede with little experience of proper Halloween decorations, my kids always look a little disappointed when I put up a spider web and a spider on the porch and call it good. They'd much prefer me to go all out with skeletons and black lights, fog and dry ice. 

BUT...I do enjoy a proper face paint and Grace still lets me help with make up and hair and we had a blast getting her ready. 

Neighbor Olivia showed up before dusk dressed in a homemade mummy outfit that was simply fantastic. I was able to get the three of them to stand still for 30 seconds before erupting in complete pre trick-or-treat mayhem. Without any direction from me, they got into character and played undead for the few frames I was able to capture. 

Hope everyone else had a spooky Halloween as well!

In a New York state of mind...

Visited New York City last week and shot some black and white hipstamatic prints with my Iphone 5 as I made my way around the city.
Oh the joy of a new toy coupled with the endless possibilities of a place like manhattan.

Wild horses...

well...not exactly wild but I wanted to photograph them as if they were.  Aimed for a surreal, almost

dream-like mood of motion, texture and light. The sun had just set over the ranch up at Bear Lake and the only light source was the sliver of light to the west. 

Quote of the day

"I see no more than you, but I have trained myself to notice what I see". -Sherlock Holmes

Ethiopia 2011

In May 2011 I travelled to Ethiopia with Children of Ethiopia Education Fund (COEEF). 

This is an organization that sponsors girls' education in Ethiopia and I was fortunate to spend 11 days with them visiting schools, homes of students in Addis Ababa, Yirga Alem, Hawassa, etc.

Here are a few of my favorite images. If you click on the first image, you can scroll through them like a slideshow without the distracting background of the blog:). 

Kidane Mehret Orphanage, Addis Ababa

The nuns change diapers at Kidane Mehret Orphanage, Addis Ababa

Men on the street, Addis Ababa

Men reading newspapers, Addis Ababa

Man on the street, Addis Ababa

Laundry outside a home we passed on the street walking back to our hotel.

Walking in Addis Ababa, I spotted a woman doing her dishes in her small yard.

Woman selling vegatables on a street in Addis Ababa

Girl selling vegetables in Addis

Girl playing on her own in Addis

A COEEF sponsored student shows us her home and her cousin she helps take care of. Her family of six lives in this small room. Addis Ababa.

The hustle and bustle of a street in Addis Ababa.

Two curious kids take a peek at us as we walk through a neighborhood in Addis Ababa.

Grandmother of a student we visited in Addis Ababa.

Neighbor of student peeks out the window

Grandmother of COEEF sponsored student prepares coffee for us in her small home.

Grandmother of COEEF student we visited keeps an eye on the coffee making from the door since we couldn't all fit in her small home.

Man walking as the storm moves in outside Addis Ababa

Sun breaks through the clouds, seen from the car window driving south

Student peeks out of the window at a school, Addis Ababa

Two COEEF students write letters to students in Utah

An orphan boy at Kidane Mehret color the playground outside the orphange.

A nun at Kidane Mehret hugs one of the children at the orphanage, Addis Ababa.

COEEF sponsored students are all smiles as they receive new school supplies we brought,

Boys fish at Lake Awassa.

Bracelets worn by our tour guide at Lake Awassa.

Homes in the southern region, close to Lake Awassa.

A sudden camel crossing driving north from Lake Awassa back to Addis Ababa.

View from my hotel in Addis Ababa.

Road leading from Lake Awassa north back to Addis Ababa

Two boys navigate a horse-drawn carriage