The Dam that Hoover built...

On the way to our last stop on our little trip we passed by the Hoover Dam, i had never seen it before but it was way cool. It is amazing to see the ingenuity of man and all the things that people have accomplished.......and then to realize that it all pales in comparison with the many beautiful things that God has created and that He can take ill all way in the blink of an eye. We arrived in the afternoon and stayed a little past sunset, it was so much fun to hang around and shoot. After we were done there we embarked on the last part of our trip and headed to Vegas for a couple of days. Vegas was a blast but by then i was so tired and burnt out that i didnt shoot a thing while i was there. We are now back home and relaxing i will post some final thoughts on our 1st road trip soon. Heres some photos.













P.S.

In case you are wondering, yes this is where part of the movie Transformers was filmed and yes the 1st thing i did when i got there was figure out where Starscream stood and where he fired his missles. I must say that the dam is now back to normal and you cant even tell that it was attacked by the Decepticons.......wait.....it was just a movie..........

RED EVERYWHERE!!!!

After leaving auntie Beth's house we made the drive to Sedona Arizona where we stayed for 1 night, Sedona was incredibly beautiful. All the dirt and rocks is this really intense red color that only became more vibrant as the sun set, i found it unfortunate that there was road construction EVERYWHERE limiting what photos we could take. There was also buildings all over the place which to me is a real shame as the scenery is so incredible but there are buildings everywhere you look making it difficult to compose good photos. There are a lot of hikes that you can take though to see some of these incredible rock formations, but we were only there for one night and did not have the time to take some for the longer ones. We decided to do a really short trail and we had a blast walking around taking photos. We were out all afternoon until after the sun went down looking for photos to take it was an awesome day and our 4 year anniversary. What incredible blessing to spend the day with the one i love doing what i love to do the most and even more incredible that she also enjoys the same thing.......i cant ask for anything more. Heres some photos.

Not every day can be a good day......

After 3 days of incredible days and awesome shooting we had our 1st downer. It was our second day n Arizona and we decided to visit a place called Tonto Natural Bridge State Park. We had found some sweet photos on their website so we figured why not, unfortunately there were 2 things that worked against us. 1) The park was over 2 hours away 2) Arizona had a rain storm 2 days earlier. We made the drive which was beautiful but of course we were driving at the worst time of day so lighting was really flat and there was no place to turn of and stop. After over 2 hours of driving we finally arrived only to find out that all of the trails were closed off due to high water levels in the river that goes through the park. So we stayed until closing and tried to shoot as many photos as we could given the limited nature of our stay, sadly it wasnt as great as the previous days of shooting but all you can do is try. So here they are.......enjoy as much as they can be enjoyed .

Greetings from AZ...

Yes it is true, we are now on the second leg of our trip and are now in beautiful Arizona. We had a great time in Palm Desert and left there on Sunday at 10 a.m., we drove 200+ miles and have now put 3000 miles on the new car. Kinda sad when we have only had it for a month and a half, but hey we bought it so we might as well use it. So far we have had a blast, anutie Beth drove us around and showed us some cool stuff in Arizona. Our first thought when we arrived? "we have to move here" It seriously is gorgeous here and there just seems to be a friendly community here. Jen and i had our 1st full day of shooting and it was awesome, albeit wet. It poured for the 1st half of the day and we thought we wouldnt be able to shoot at all today, but we ventured out anyways......were glad we did. In the afternoon the skies cleared up a little and the skies were incredible, when we arrived here Beth said she would be surprised if we got any good pictures. I guess she thought there really wasnt anything to shoot here......i was up to the challenge. We spent the day at Saguaro Lake and drove around through the park stopping at random places and taking photos. When i showed Beth some of the photos of the day she was pleasantly surprised, so i guess mission accomplished. Not sure where we are going tomorrow but im sure it will be fun. Heres some photos.

Short outing....

Today we relaxed and just chilled with the family, but when we went to Costco for some lunch i saw an area that i wanted to shoot. Not having my gear with me i had to wait until we got back to the hotel and get my gear, it worked out well though cus the light was terrible at lunch time. So once we got back i went out for a little while and did some shooting, i wasn't out for to long as i had to be done in time to meet everyone for dinner. I didn't do a ton of unique shots so these will be variations of the same shots, but i think each one conveys some a little different. Enjoy!!

Another world.....

Thats what it felt like when we stepped out of out car today and onto the shores of the Salton Sea. Again it was supposed to rain but we were grateful that it did not, there were tons of cool clouds though and this really weird haze that was hanging over the lake all afternoon. It really made for an etherial looking landscape and it pushed me to try and capture some different stuff like playing with my white balance to get some different results. I cannot relay in words how incredible these last few days have been just shooting stuff that i love to shoot and pushing the limits of what i know and can do. The Salton Sea was really incredible its one of those places that you get there and there is literally nothing there and so you have to push yourself past the obvious lack of scenery and find the underlying layers of true beauty. Once you do that there is absolutely tons of stuff to shoot and appreciate.....well except for the terrible smell that hangs in the air. The Sea supports thousands of birds and one species of fish that has managed to survive the high saline content in the water and all of the agricultural pollution. But as anything i nature the place has its cycles, so there are times of the year that tons of algae blooms in the water but when it dies off and decays the bacteria that decomposes it releases tons of gas and robs the water of oxygen. So theres times when theres literally thousands of dead fish on the shores. There is definitely a sulfur odor in the air, some areas are worse than others but i highly recommend a visit to it.....if you can put up with the smell that is. Follow the link and read up on this place its really fascinating. Heres some photos. Enjoy!

Out of the office....

Yes it is true....the Menendi are on vacation!!! We decided to do a little road trip so that we can spend some time together and to go do some shooting while we are at it. Right now we are in Palm Springs with Jen's parents and are having a great time, we hit up Joshua Tree as our 1st location and it was an AMAZING time. The weather was just perfect and we had some sweet clouds all afternoon. Jens mom went with us and had fun shooting some photos and watching us run around as we chased the light, Jen got some sweet stuff so keep an eye on her blog as im sure that she will post some photos soon. Tomorrow we will be heading to the Salton Sea and i am really looking forward to that cus ive always wanted to go there. Hopefully we will be able to go as the forecast calls for rain.....but you know me a little rain has never kept me down. Were looking forward to the rest of our trip, after Palm Springs we will be heading to Arizona for a few days and then we will go to Vegas for some fun. I will try to update as much as i can so stay tuned, oh and for those of you who care the 9th will be Jens and I 4 year anniversary...........hooray for us. What better way to spend it than doing what you love to do and sharing that with the woman i love. Heres some pics. Enjoy!!!