EMC goes to fire school

Ryker turned 9 years old

Here are some of his portraits from the weekend before his birthday.

Seattle Day Tour and Alaskan Cruise

This is a lot of photos from our day trip to Seattle before our Alaskan cruise.

Pepper Sparkles

We got a new cat last week and my kids named him Pepper Sparkles. It’s breed is Nebelung and he is a very unique cat. He loves to play fetch all night.

Disney World

We just got back from Disney World! We had a great time visiting during their “slow” times in February. It was still very busy but the weather was great compared to Iowa where we live. So many great memories made during their 50th Anniversary celebration.

Making our family's Caga Tió

This year we started a new family tradition called Caga Tió. I took a DNA test and found that I have ancestry in the Catalon region of Spain. My wife was looking for new traditions based on our DNA results and this looked like one the kids would love. I grabbed a log off the side of the road, cut it in half and screwed legs on. The kids painted a face and decorated it. It turned out so cute and the kids have been feeding it orange peels in hopes that it will poop treats out for them soon.

“Caga Tió, also known as Tió de Nadal, is a Catalan Christmas tradition where a log is beaten to make it poop presents for children.”

I had to come back and add this video of the kids on Christmas Eve.

A Year of Weddings

I photographed 2 of my friend’s weddings earlier this year. First up was Gavin and Michele’s reception at a park in NE Iowa. It was a great party that Gavin DJ’d himself and they served some of their homemade beers. There were also eagles and deer everywhere. My kids had fun dancing.

Next up was Andy and Sarah’s wedding ceremony at a park in central Iowa. Ryker got to be the ringbearer. It was a beautiful day and there was a disc golf course nearby so they wanted to putt/toss the bouquet into the basket. They scored!

Skating with Ryker

I took my son to a skateboarding clinic at Lauridsen Skatepark this summer. It was a great session where he learned the basics from pro skater, Mike Vallely.

Sunflower portraits

We went to Howells Greenhouse in Cumming, Iowa and got some great shots at their sunflower garden. We also got to play with baby goats!

San Diego Trip

We went to San Diego for our summer vacation. We went to the San Diego Zoo, Legoland and more.

Photoshoot for EMC Insurance's Circuit magazine

This month’s edition of EMC Insurance’s Circuit magazine features some of my photography. The cover designed by Holly Illg features my photo of the Shattered Silence sculpture. The table of contents page features my photo of one of Keith Haring’s sculptures in the Pappajohn Sculpture Park in Des Moines, Iowa.

The feature story uses a photo of Lonnie Dafney taken by my coworker Steve McTee.

Here is an earlier test shot before it hit golden hour along with some of the sculpture shots I edited.

Arkansas Road Trip

Last week we took the kids on a road trip to Arkansas. We stayed in a cabin near the Arkansas Grand Canyon and the Ozark National Forest. We hiked, played in streams and waterfalls and did some cave tours.

Backyard Photo Walk