Brighter Skies?

Somewhere ... under the rainbow ... is the little town of Jackson ... and Rachel, hoping for good news ... I still need a job ...


... and a new car ...


... but not a new dog ... I love him.

For Jessica

Hi Jessica! How's the humidity in D.C.? This post, I made especially for my girlfriend Jessica, who is on vacation from Jackson, and she missed the first snow. While she is probably somewhat jealous, I feel more like Taj looks in this photo ... damnit.

Seasons change quickly around here ... I'm just glad we had Fall for as long as we did!

It was a great day ...

Tastin the Tetons ...

Went to a nice little event on the Square where chefs were featuring fancy food from Valley restaurants ... and I brought my paparazzi lens... because I actually got a freelance job with the old NAG this weekend.

i shoot babies...

because I only photograph Tom these days ...

All My Mothers

My Grandmother, Betty, is turning 90 years old this week. I cannot be in North Carolina for the her party, but I am helping make a slide show with tons of old, never before seen by me, photos. The image above is one I found of my mother that I just LOVE. There is also a sepia toned photograph of me taken around the same age in front of a tree in Asheville ... really cool, I'll have to dig it up. The one below is of my Grams when she was a baby and her mother ... Happy Birthday Grandma!


Okay, I had to add this one too of my Granny feeding a bear cub!!!

Boyfriends

No, I didn't get another dog. I have exactly one month left here at the Hoback Castle and I am in complete hell looking for another place to live! Meanwhile, Tom and I are enjoying this peaceful house with my roommate Jessica, as we are the only three left of the Hoback Clan! Our roommate Lizzie moved to Boulder last week, and she took her dog Levi along, so Tom Tom was somewhat lonesome and bored in the backyard. I solved this issue by fostering a pooch, BUSTER, a puppy bulldog (maybe?) mix from the Animal Adoption Center (where I got Tom) for a long weekend, and I have to say, I was tempted. But its hard enough finding a place with one dog!

Best Event Ever

WATCH THE PIG PILE


This is why I love Jackson Hole! For all the action, click the link above!
P.S. Look for me because I am actually in one frame!

why Jackson is better than college

Pig wrestling. 4 people try to get a pig into a barrel. more pix to come
(i hate blog color)

Kung Foo Dog & Little T

These days my lens doesn't get anything but my dog and kids...

Hooligans!

I get paid to hang out with these great kids!

German Wedding in Jackson

playing catch up....

During the last week of June, I went home to NC for Becky's wedding and took very few photos due to my excessive drinking (I was in the wedding party). Here is one of pin the bow tie on the man (using your mouth only), at the bachelorette party.... probably the girliest weekend I have had in like 10 years, but it was fun.


After that I had a fun filled Fourth of July weekend, terrifying my dog with both tubing down the snake in thunder and lighting (not planned obviously), and fireworks... here is a photo of our circus of idiots climbing out of the canyon to hitch hike because of the thunder....


Now I'm back to the babies and summer in the Rockies.

I love this boy!

Baby Hicks

"But, please don't bring your gun."

I spent yesterday on assignment in Boulder, Wyoming, hanging out with the Rainbow Family--about 75 hippies, young and old. They gathered in a remote spot to have their Spring Circle to choose the site of the annual Rainbow Gathering of Living Light, which could draw thousands in July. They were sticklers about photography, but I managed to get them to believe that I wasn't the evil media and got to make a few photos. Be sure to read the story at the bottom!

Greain Fay Stone, 5, rubs sage on the cheek of "Sometimes Stone," her father, during the Rainbow Family's Spring Circle in Boulder on Tuesday afternoon.

"Brothers" and "sisters" of the Rainbow family wait for scouts to return with information about the possible sites for the Rainbow Family Gathering in July. "We are waiting for a site and very excited," said Brother Bob, a Rainbow cook. "Tension is high."

A cigarette maker rolls smokes for everyone to enjoy. Each member of the Rainbow family takes on a job like making coffee, sorting trash and digging latrines.

Members of the Rainbow family stand in a circle to pray and pass around a feather to discuss camp matters and to begin choosing a site for their gathering place.

Reverend Jamie Ray Night, also known as "Hollywood," keeps watch for scouts at the Rainbow temporary camp in Boulder. "I'm a clown, I make people laugh, paint faces and even dig the shitters. People need to be responsible and I feel like I can be one of them," he said.

READ THE STORY

Long Time No Post

So I'm posting for the hell of it. It is June 9th and the snow is still with me. (Note my outrage in the May 9th post). I'm still putting on long pants, long sleeves and hats. I'm still wondering if winter will ever stop, and the summer solstice is within sight. Today was my last day at the News & Guide and also my first day of kayaking class. Looking forward to a summer of hiking, climbing, kayaking, swimming and freelancing.

Pictures will be back soon. When I'm good and ready. Right now though, I'm really just floating, taking a breather, easily overlooking the hasty tourists zooming around town and pumping thousands of dollars of gasoline into their RVs. My life is in slow motion now and its soothing to feel peaceful and content without my camera.


Come visit!

Huntress

Its been raining and snowy for a few days, but on my way home from an assignment, I saw her on the hunt... she came running up, so close so fast that I back-focused a few that could have been really good. Dang.

Baby Mama

So awesome. I shot this with my 70-200. There were five pups and I'm hoping to get my hands on a longer piece of glass and do it again tomorrow night!

Rolling with it...

If a 9 year old can do it, so can I!

May 9th

Everyone woke up, looked out the window and said, "F!"-- except of course for the dogs. And now that I have mustered up the courage to tell my parents, I can offically claim the black and white pooch as my own. (laptop edit on the pix = bad color, sorry)

Back At It

I convinced the sports editor to let me go rock climbing with my roommate if I gave him some content ... a great day outside, finally!

Amen

"It's not love to be static like the desert, nor is it love to roam the world like the wind. And it's not love to see everything from a distance. Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World. When I first reached through to it, I thought the Soul of the World was perfect. But later, I could see that it was like other aspects of creation, and had its own passions and wars. It is we who nourish the Soul of the World, and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that's where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are," the boy said.

-- Paulo Coelho

Until The Cows Come Home

My project is finally posted on the web. Check out the following link:
Until The Cows Come Home

Quarter-Life, Mid-Day Photo Shoot

On my 24th I got an assignment to go cycle in Grand Teton National Park with good friends. The sun was high, but I did what I could. I also wore my birthday dress.

Cow-A-Palooza

Today I visited Walton Ranch, the only truly operating cattle ranch left in Jackson, Wyoming. Over the next couple of weeks, 400 calves will be born, and I will be there to see it all. Here is a newborn, literally seconds old, checking out his world while mom cleans him. Little April Fool.

when my job RULES

All was quiet at the office until the phone rang. Next thing I knew I was strapping snowshoes to my feet and hauling a NIKON body and a 300 + a doubler and a monopod up a hill through the woods. I got to see this beauty and her cubs creeping around through the snow. We were pretty far away, so it isn't the best quality, but its still freakin cool!