If it weren't for all of the "Beware Of Rattle Snake" signs, I'd be trying to figure out how to live at Empire Ranch! I saw the historical landmark sign by the road a few weeks back and knew that when my parents were here visiting we would have to go back and explore Empire Ranch. It's located about ten miles outside of Sonoita, AZ, to the north, on route 83 which leads to Tucson through some of the most beautiful rolling hills one could hope to drive through. The ranch has an incredible history that is detailed on the walls of the still standing ranch house. There are nature paths and restrooms, essential for traveling with little ones, and is well worth the drive if you bring a picnic lunch and stay a bit. I already have Red River, starring John Wayne, in my NetFlix cue, as it was filmed at Empire Ranch and I'm dying to know what this beautiful property looked like in it's hay day. Check it out if you're local, just watch out for those rattlers!

It was darn cold, and down right windy, but my photography students from Fort Huachuca braved the elements for a chance to "Photo Walk" in Tombstone. This was our first walk in Tombstone, and in fact we did not walk that far as there are so many characters and distinguished actors milling about the main street it is hard to stray far from the beaten path. Parents be advised that the legends speak in rough cowboy tongues and don't seem to curb their slang for even the littlest of curious ears! And EVERYONE is willing to pose for a snapshot with you, even if only for the chance to whisper something completely inappropriate in your ear... It was a great day, I think my favorite image is the door handle to the Tombstone courthouse, of all things, a door handle, but it sure it "perty"! Our next Photo Walk will be in Bisbee on March 12th, at 9am. Please contact me for information on how to register and join us!

(If the images in this post appear blurry, please click on the image itself, it will open in a new window and look a lot better!)

Every time my parents visit from New York we try to explore some place new. Last week we took them to Saguaro East National Park on the eastern side of Tucson. We arrived at around 3pm and stayed until sunset. You wouldn't think that in the middle of winter there would be much to photograph. In a few weeks everything will be in bloom, and in the middle of summer the monsoon storms will roll in from the mountains and create fantastic light and clouds. But right now everything is that dull brown characteristic of winter desert. Just makes you work that much harder to study the lay of the land. I think I have about fifty awesome macro shots from the day, it will be a miracle if I ever get to play with them and post them. The kids are just so busy and into everything these days. But here are a few that jumped out at me. The full moon rose that night as well. Of course, those busy kids had had enough of traveling, they were hungry and tired and sick of being in the car. I got to snap three or four shots off the side of the road as it crested the Rincon Mountains, and that was all.... This place is well worth the visit, bikers beware, there are some serious hill climbs should you choose to cycle the 8 mile loop!

Two weeks ago I had a very interesting collection of house guests. John Chua, Canon Photographer and owner of Ad Photo in the Philippines, and his lovely wife were in my living room reuniting with my father-in-law after 35 years of working together in Manila. Joe Cantrell, another talented photographer doing groundbreaking fractal artwork out of Portland Oregon, was driving through town on his way from Oklahoma to Portland. Joe was also part of the good ol' days in Manila. He was giving an impromptu macro workshop on my dining table floral centerpiece. The weekend was full of incredible, New York Times Best Seller quality stories of wartime, love, loss, and the future of digital photography and advocacy work. I bustled like a worker bee between the kitchen, the kids, and the camera trying to keep up with everyone.

Keeping up with everyone, and feeling the need to impress and spoil my guests, I arranged for a local pilot to fly John, his wife, and myself over Cochise County at sunset to capture some desert panoramas. It was an awesome idea in theory. I did not account for extreme air sickness. I did not account for succumbing to altitude sickness either. After 2 hours at 10,000ft elevation in a Cessna 182 with the window wide open I was freezing, vomiting severely, blindly sticking my camera out the window, and feeling a distinct urge to sleep. That would be from lack of oxygen. It's taken me over a week to recover, including a side trip to the hospital for fluids and treatment for the AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). It was an experience I will never forget, and an experience I shall never repeat.

I do hope to find time to write more about this amazing weekend with these incredibly down to earth individuals who so lovingly encouraged me to continue my work and take on some new challenges. Until then I leave you with these captures (the changing quality of light amazes me- for being up there only two hours before sunset, the light changed the lay of the land so dramatically)...

My beautiful baby. He's 7 months old now, and though he sleeps quite well at home, the excitement of our camping adventure turned his little inner clock Topsy-turvey. Or maybe he just knows snuggling between mommy and daddy and warm flannel sheets, through the cool mountain air filled nights, is the best way to go. Either way, he had me up EARLY. And you can't have one baby awake in a two room cabin without quickly having a whole family awake. So off we went, camera in hand, on a partly cloudy morning at dawn. And His precious gift to me that day - was a sunrise like no other. Theses are SOOC images:

Over one hundred years ago, this family had the grand idea to plant Angle Orchard in the shadow of Mount Graham in South Eastern Arizona. After spending four days at Lake Roper State Park, watching the clouds hang over the mountain range, the rain coming and going over the foothills but hardly touching our cabin hideaway, it seems to be the best place in all of Arizona to plant fruit trees. It was completely by accident that we stumbled onto the orchard. The day was going to be hot and windless and we headed up the mountain for some cooler temps, a change in scenery, and a picnic. Not 30 minutes away from our campground we saw the tiny sign for Angle Orchard, leading us down a single track dirt road, deep into what I'd call.... a valley? a ravine? I'm not sure what to call it, let's call it "heaven for apples". The trees grew abundant everywhere. My only regrets of the day was that we arrived when the sun was high, not great for picture taking. And it doesn't take but ten minutes to fill a bucket of apples when you have two enthusiastic helpers and a baby strapped in the bjorn. I would have liked to linger among the trees, I could have stayed for an hour with the kittens in the barn. The host was quite gracious, letting the boys explore to discover the apple polishing machinery, the kittens hidden away in the loft, the tractors, and samples of all the apples they could pick. The golden delicious are my favorite from the day, so crisp and sweet, easily the best and freshest apple I've ever tasted. A lovely unexpected adventure, the best kind.

(Im toting my new Canon 5D Mark II, with the 24-70mm 2.8, and aside from sharpening for the web, these are straight out of the camera. Even the apple picture two down, I'm still trying to figure out what happened there...)

Eight years ago I stumbled onto Holy Trinity Monastery. I was determined to find my way back again and brought it up in conversation with a local who immediately identified where I was describing and how to get there. One day last week when my children were driving me crazy at home, I loaded the car with peanut butter sandwiches and away we went on a good old fashioned country drive. The promise of peacocks kept my little ones intrigued as we drove over the rolling hills, saturated from morning thunder storms, to the quaint little town of St David, Arizona. The morning was peaceful, the grounds completely vacant with the exception of about a dozen peacocks... Well, the grounds were peaceful. As soon as my children saw the birds, and as soon as the birds saw my children, there was some serious peacock talking, and equally as shrill a giggle coming from my kiddos, who were beside themselves with laughter over the silly call of these gorgeous birds. It was a great outing, I'd highly recommend this little bump in the road for a stretch and a picnic. Oh, and could someone PLEASE get married here and hire me?! Talk about an amazing Catholic chapel in which to wed, photographically speaking!

It's monsoon season, a season of lightning and thunderheads rolling into view every afternoon, making the scheduling of portrait sessions darn near impossible... and though one probably should not race to the nearest highest mountain to capture the beauty of the storm, I am an addict after all, you can't stop someone with a camera no matter how hard you try.

During the summer months here at Fort Huachuca, various groups of researchers gather to catch humming birds, record various data about each bird, band them with a tiny anklet, and release them for further tracking. It is a really neat process to witness. We've gone a couple of times to the different sites that are open to the public to watch. Sometimes they even let the kids hold the bird in their flat hand before release. On this particular morning two weeks ago, we were the only family there to watch and got a front row seat. One bird seemed a little tramatized by the capture and hung out on the volunteer's hand for what seemed like forever, allowing me to get such amazing pictures I was giddy for the rest of the day! He just sat there, starring straight at my lens, and then in a blink he was off again, and all you could hear was the humming of his tiny wings...

What better way to come off maternity leave than with the I Heart Faces Bisbee Photo Walk?! 27 Arizonans gathered this morning for a 92 degree, 2 hour stroll through the charming streets of Bisbee, AZ. Strolling with us were a handful of extremely patient models who did everything we suggested, and then some! One of our models came in a stunning 1800's period dress; ever worn a corset in the desert?! And another model graciously slide atop an old Chevy that was so hot you probably could have fried an egg on the hood! Her mother is going to kill me! (But her father stood right next to me snapping away with his DSLR...)
I'd like to send out a huge THANK YOU to my co-leader Pauline Fredericks. Pauline came to my rescue when the walk became larger than I had anticipated, and with her knowledge and years of experience we all learned a great deal this morning about diffusing and bouncing light. Thank you so much for all of your encouragement! Thank you also to our models and extra hands; the morning was a huge success and more fun than I imagined possible because of your willingness to play along!
The next photo walk, I think we all agreed over lunch, should take place in the fall or winter, when the temps are more user friendly. And, the walk needs to last twice as long, there just wasn't enough time to do everything we were dreaming up! Here are my favorites from the morning, a mere fraction of all the great work that exploded from all the energy surrounding me: