Ashley Wilkerson

Photos of Condo

2011-03-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Parents! Here's some pics we took yesterday of a condo that we might put an offer on. It's a 2br, 2ba condo in fairly good condition that was also remodeled a few years ago. It's listed at $240,000, but is a short sale and we might be able to get a rather good bargain. Enjoy!

What it looks like in the summer time.

=

Forever and Day

2009-05-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's been a been forever and a day since I've posted on here. I've actually been up to alot, but am so far behind in posting on my blog that I've felt like I needed to catch up with everything rather that just picking up with the present. Today, I'm going to break that trend and put up something I've made today.

My littler sister is getting married next week and I created a slideshow tonight showing a little of who they are.

enjoy!

Road Tripping: Skip to Yosemite Day 4

2009-03-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, so most of Day 3 was on the road driving down to pick up Noah's niece Lacey and run errands that everyone needed: Best Buy, banks, and for me, David's Bridal--where I was FINALLY able to try on the bridesmaid dress for my little sister's upcoming wedding in May. It's kinda ironic that I had to travel 16 hours from Jackson Hole to try on the dress. Technically, the closest David's Bridal to JH is in Salt Lake City... 5 hours one way. You can imagine why I didn't want to make a trip solely to try on the dress, so I'm really happy we wedged it into our Road Tripping.

On Day 4, we hiked up to Bridalveil Falls. The shots are pretty similar to the other falls, but here's Lacey climbing down to the river to throw ice back up at us. She's actually a pretty sweet girl.

Noah and Cassie waiting for me to catch up after stopping for pics.

Waking up Noah.

Setting up lights and sound.

Cassie running the light show.

It all comes together.

OK--so this screen grab's going to be blown out in some places and funky.... but no editing abilities at all, remember. I wanted to show how cool the lights and fog looked.

Road Tripping: Yosemite Day 2

2009-03-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

Day two in Yosemite... walked to the base of the lower falls. The visuals are amazing here. I could have spent hours detouring every few steps on the walking path. I wish I had brought my tripod with me... but I've been improvising with rocks. I've just been walking with my camera and this 28-135mm lens. But now that I'm getting my bearings a little, I'm going to do a walk on my own when other people aren't waiting on me and shoot the crap out of this place. Some of the screen grabs might be a little distorted... sorry about that yall.

Road Tripping: Yosemite Day 1 Part 2

2009-03-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

Part Two of our walk on Day 1. Encountered a field where you could breathe in all the moutains around us. My pictures don't do it justice but I will try to do it right in the next few days.

Road Tripping: Yosemite Day 1

2009-03-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

We got to Yosemite at 8am after 15 hrs of driving. After a long nap late into the afternoon, we ventured out for a walk with the dog. I didn't bring my laptop and don't have any photo programs, but luckily 'Preview' on my friend's laptop works with my new 5d raw files. Here are some screen grabs. I'll try to post something daily along the journey.

February 14, 2009: Valentine's Day

2009-02-27T00:44:00.000-08:00

This lady did singing telegrams to people on Valentine's Day. She was really cool.

February 11, 2009: Sweethogs and Swinehearts Ball

2009-02-27T00:33:00.000-08:00

Shot the 25th annual Sweethogs and Swinehearts Ball to benefit the Jackson Hole Ski Patrol. Did a couple assignments freelancing for the newsapaper. Yay!

February 10, 2009: Mule Deer

2009-02-27T00:30:00.000-08:00

This cool little guy was hanging out by my living room. :) I went out the sliding glass door to see him and we checked each other out for a few minutes.

February 9, 2009: Willie Waldman at the Mangy Moose

2009-02-27T00:24:00.000-08:00

February 7, 2009: Elk Refuge

2009-02-26T23:48:00.000-08:00

Hanging out in the Elk Refuge... oh! If only I had a 600mm lens! Just randomly driving through the area to see what was to see.

A coyote trying to pounce some smaller prey hiding in the snow after deciding that the elk were too much work.

February 4, 2009: The World Outside My Door

2009-02-04T23:33:00.000-08:00

This is what I see pulling out of my neighborhood each day. :)

I like this.

2009-02-02T05:50:00.000-08:00

This is cool. It's called "We're all gonna die" by Simon Hoegsberg and it's a neat concept of something to create.

February 1, 2009: A Trucker Broke My Car

2009-02-01T22:32:00.000-08:00

So a trucker broke my car and I'm a bit miffed. Some sheets of ice flew off his trailer and crashed down onto my car... which ended up breaking the yellow side lights and one headlight loose and cracking the right fender on my plastic car. I got his license plate # and hopefully my insurance will track him down. My poor car.

1. So even with what happened... this sticker that some random person stuck on my car still clings on after several thousand miles.

2. My headlights taped into place before hitting the rd again.

3. I thought, since I'm already attacking my car with tape... Why not tape every inch of the passenger's window up to eliminate the wind noise that got oh-so-annoying after 28 hours of driving.

4. Gas station boredom

5. Stephen Crane, a friend from grad school that actually moved to WYOMING around the time that I did, is a child at heart and decided to built an igloo with the gigantic mound of snow in his car. :) He lives in Pindale, which is 70 miles south of Jackson, to work at a newspaper and it is awesome to have someone familiar out here.

6.7.8. :) Loving the light and landscapes from my car... wasn't able to stop but got pretty good at drive by shootings.

January 31, 2008: Sunset

2009-01-31T22:21:00.000-08:00

Day two of my 36-hr trek back to Wyoming. With 13 hours on the road today, I was fried and frustrated at wanting to take photos that I didn't have time to stop for. But I had to snap this before getting back onto I-80 after stopping for gas in Iowa. One picture that makes the day and driving feel worth it. :)

January 26, 2008: Rasika

2009-01-31T22:14:00.000-08:00

Liked these at an Indian restaurant I went to with my cousin Craig.

January 23, 2009: Riley

2009-01-28T23:25:00.000-08:00

Got to spend the afternoon with my best friend Jaime and her little girl Riley. She's 3 1/2 and an awesome little spitfire.

Riley really dug the fruit in her Chick-Fil-A happy meal.

Talking with mommy.

Oh yeah! We're at the playground! :)

This photo really made me laugh. While on the boat, Riley caught a fish and was very excited about giving it to mom, leapt from the boat and at the same time needed to take care of some business...
all of which resulted in a photo where her inner rocker is shining through--giving the bird and grabbing the crotch. I see a future little Michael Jackson here. :)

Fish is safely handed over to mom.

January 20: 2009: Take Two

2009-01-28T23:19:00.000-08:00

Side notes of our time in DC. Crazy pigeon looking at a crazy photographer.

Craig and company are totally exhausted after the long day.

Ronni in all her glory.

Ronni in Elvis' glory.

January 20, 2009: Inauguration

2009-01-28T23:02:00.000-08:00

Ronni and I chased the inaugural frenzy... when you're down in the midst of all the chaos, we realized how difficult it is to get shots that encompass the whole. But we still had fun even though it was ABSOLUTELY freezing!!!!!

January 18, 2009: Whit

2009-01-28T22:58:00.000-08:00

My beautiful sister Whitney approaches life with curiosity and humor... I'm sure you can tell.

January 17, 2009: You've Got Mail!

2009-01-28T22:50:00.000-08:00

Only in my family does an aunt send you a scarf in a Crown Royal box. I love my family. :)

January 15, 2009: New York Minute

2009-01-27T21:16:00.000-08:00

January 13, 2009: Newporting Cavorting

2009-01-27T21:10:00.000-08:00

January 2, 2009: Home

2009-01-27T21:06:00.000-08:00

Sunsets in Maryland are beautiful. Pollution has never looked so good. ;)

January 1, 2009: New Year's Shots

2009-01-27T17:49:00.000-08:00

I was at my uncle's for New Year's down in Virginia. Among all the celebration hoopla, after the stroke of midnight, the men folk rushed outside and began firing rifles into the air. I guess it's some annual tradition that my grandfather started and my uncles have carried on.

December 30, 2008: Baltimore

2009-01-24T22:06:00.000-08:00

A day in Baltimore at the Aquarium with Rick and seeing one of the most gorgeous sunsets. So much photo fun.

December 28, 2008: Blue Skies

2009-01-24T21:45:00.000-08:00

I love being home.

December 20, 2008: Home and the Hunt

2009-01-24T21:17:00.000-08:00

I got home to Maryland late Friday evening and Saturday morning came across the Wilkerson men on their rabbit hunt. My Dad's on the left, Grandpa, and Uncle Randy.

December 14, 2008: Office Christmas Party

2009-01-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

Went to my office Christmas party and Stephen Crane, a good pal from grad school who also lives in Wyoming now, went with me as my date. I normally don't take ppl to stuff like that, so it was fun to have a date for it and see the old biddies looking my way wondering who the young buck on my arm was. Though he looks mean in this picture at the Tavern, he's really quite nice and I was honored to have him there.

December 13, 2008: Elk Refuge

2009-01-24T09:26:00.000-08:00

The boy elks hang out by themselves in the refuge because the girls don't want anything to do with them. Smart girls. Ladies, take notes.

December 12, 2008: Grinch on Ice

2009-01-24T09:19:00.000-08:00

I think the dressing room is the best part of some of my assignments... lol. Or at least the light there is.

December 11, 2008: Multiple Sclerosis

2009-01-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

Dina has not slowed down her fast-paced lifestyle since being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2006. This summer she hopes bike 10,400 miles around the country, including races like LOTOJA and the Mt. Everest Challenge, in honor of the 10,400 Americans diagnosed with MS each year.

December 11, 2008: Angel Tree

2009-01-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

A little girl decides to ask her friends to give to the town's angel tree rather than get her birthday presents.

December 10-13, 2008: Bhutanese Educators

2009-01-24T08:43:00.000-08:00

Educators from Bhutan visit Jackson Hole to study the Teton Science Schools' teaching styles. They tour TSS, go bowling for the first time and visit the Elk Refuge... and alot more, but I didn't get to tag along for everything.

December 10, 2008: Bluegrass

2009-01-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

Former members of bluegrass band Loose Ties practice for their reunion Christmas concert. Here's two snapshots. Cool light and very difficult to color balance with all the red and yellow in the walls.

December 3, 2008: Bomb Threat

2009-01-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

A high school kid wanted to get out of a math test so he wrote a bomb threat on the bathroom wall. Covering spot news in Jackson Hole is like covering it in the twilight zone. So backwards. I got there a few hours late b/c I was at a dr appt and my work decided that sending a shooter could wait until I was available.

So, this is what was going on when I arrived: The firemen were sitting around the school eating pizza. The head honchos were gathered in the elementary school parking lot making head honcho decisions. Parents were pissed off that there was yet another bomb threat to get out of class. And eventually the kids went back to school.

The high school has begun to deal with these situations really well though--there's been enough fake bomb threats to get out of tests and such that now the school has a routine--they migrate to the middle school and continue classes in the gym. There is no escape. lol

November 29, 2008: Shooting Moose

2009-01-23T21:14:00.000-08:00

Brent and I shot some moose in Grand Teton National Park. Just another day in the neighborhood. :)

November 29, 2008: Noah's Ark 2

2009-01-23T21:08:00.000-08:00

More of Noah's kids and hanging out at his house.

November 28, 2008: Christmas Caroling

2009-01-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

The Community Orchestra and Choir carol at the Town Square lighting.

November 28, 2008: Sunset

2009-01-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

Sunsets in Jackson are so wonderful!

November 27, 2008: Thanksgiving

2009-01-23T20:34:00.000-08:00

Skid Thanksgiving: In Jackson orphan Thanksgivings are called Skid (Ski Bums) Thanksgivings. Knowing I had to work Thanksgiving, I pitched the story idea of covering an Orphan Thanksgiving (aka, doing a story on my friend's Thanksgiving) and they went for it. :)

November 22, 2008: Jaycees Garland

2009-01-23T20:24:00.000-08:00

The Jaycees hangs garland around town before Christmas.

November 22, 2008: Opening Day at Grand Targhee

2009-01-23T20:13:00.000-08:00

November 21, 2008: Post Office

2009-01-23T20:10:00.000-08:00

Going postal.

November 15, 2008: Moose Hockey

2009-01-23T19:57:00.000-08:00

Side Moments at a Moose Hockey game. The coach is super cool and lets me in their box. Second picture is the final score in the ice.

Long Awaited Catch Up

2009-01-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

Day 1 of Catch Up--more to come tomorrow night.

I hope you enjoy some of these. Color balance is a bit off on some of these... my images seem to pull up the yellow when I upload to blogger. So just ignore that part. :)

Ciao!

November 15, 2008: Aviation Kid Portrait

2009-01-22T23:44:00.000-08:00

Window Light. Need I say more?

November 15, 2008: Apple Kids

2009-01-22T23:38:00.000-08:00

The elementary school sells apples for an annual fundraiser.

November 14, 2008: Noah's Ark

2009-01-22T23:25:00.000-08:00

My friends Noah and Michelle have some of the coolest kids in the world.

Aspen, 6, reads me her homework... and the cat takes some interest. Kyra, 3, loves her toes. Lil Man, aka Elijah, 1, takes in all the action around him and tries to keep up with his big sisters.

November 13, 2008: StringFest

2009-01-22T23:15:00.000-08:00

This was a really fun assignment. Hung out with these middle schoolers during their practice and their performance that night as they played in one of the best concert halls in the West: Walk Festival Hall.

November 8, 2008: Rotating Superstructures

2009-01-22T23:12:00.000-08:00

Local high school band: Rotating Superstructures

November 7, 2007: Juvenile Diabetes

2009-01-22T23:07:00.000-08:00

A pretty cool girl at the local high school that was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 6.

November 6, 2008: Movie Man

2009-01-22T23:03:00.000-08:00

Came across this on the way home after the work shots were done. And this ran as a standalone too.

This guy said that he changes the marquee every Thursday and the best movie of the week was Madagascar 2. :)

November 4, 2008: Election Day

2009-01-22T22:54:00.000-08:00

So the catch up begins...

with Election Day.

Lightroom Ecstasy

2008-12-01T11:43:00.000-08:00

Brent and I had an impromptu photo session after a long Thanksgiving Day. Just playing around with bouncing flash at different angles... didn't result in any spectacular until we started going Lightroom crazy with all the special effects. Makes me look oh-so-much-cooler than I actually am... and you know I'm pretty freaking cool. :)

November 18, 2008: World Show

2008-12-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

Went down to Oklahoma to see my parents for two days while they were there for a horse show. Here's a couple pics of behind the scenes horse show stuff... aka, walking around and taking pics while doing it. :)

Sometime in November

2008-12-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

Sunset down the road from my house. Always stop to shoot these when I see them.

Fun with Noah's kids... Aspen and Kyra.

Technical Difficulties

2008-11-08T02:42:00.001-08:00

So you might have noticed that some of the images appear to be a little stretched. ran into some problems resizing. just ignore that and i'll try to fix it asap.

Gerronnimo!

2008-11-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, Ronnella Moore. There are TWO PAGES of new pictures for you to chew up and spit out. :) Have at it, girl. And anyone else, please comment and critique, I love hearing feedback and want to improve. I know this stuff is far from perfect.

October 31, 2008: Halloween Portraits

2008-11-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

I did a portrait series at the big party in Jackson Hole on Halloween. It was a great idea and I had some much fun doing it. We ran a double-truck spread of the images, showing just a few of the many faces and costumes in Jackson Hole.

October 2008: Holistic Moms

2008-11-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

Right after getting back from Eddie Adams, I had to pump out a story that had been on hold for a while. Shot these in two days and on a blog it doesn't look that cohesive, but in the paper it was awesome. We have a really great graphic designer that makes me proud when I see my work on the page.

There were two women in a holistic mom's group that I met up with. Each was wonderfully flexible and kind when I called and asked if I could just show up and hang out for a bit that very day.

The first set of images are of Amy Taylor and 2-year-old daughter Avery. This mother uses cloth diapers and got some help in folding them too. The second mother-daughter duo is Kristin Painter and 3-year-old Acacia LaPrade. Kristin lives in a yurt (a movable home like a tee pee or a tent that sometimes has electricity, but doesn't have running water). There's a small population of ppl here that live in yurts. It's incredible and their approach to life is quite admirable. I realized all the extravagance in my life that I had come to see as necessity. Anyways, Kristin and family live in a one-room yurt, have an organic garden, haul water to their house in a cooler each day, and go to sleep at night in the same bed. I totally enjoyed spending time with them and was grateful for the access she gave me.

September/October 2008: Swim Girl

2008-11-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

Kira Brazinski is a junior on the swim team at Jackson Hole High School. Born with Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency (PFFD), Kira Brazinski has used a prosthetic leg since childhood and elected to have her left foot amputated at age 8 to strengthen her ability to walk. Two years ago, she decided to join the high school swim team and has been making waves ever since.

She's a really cool girl. :)

Here's a photo that wasn't quite successful, but I wish I had been able to shoot it again with a cleaner background and better lighting. I also would have shifted my framing down and utilized the reflection. Overall the story and the pictures came out well in the paper and AP picked it up. Some Montana and Wyoming papers have run it.

September/October 2008: Pregnant Hunter

2008-11-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

Here's a cool story I was working on that didn't really work out with timing and access. Rachel, a pregnant woman in Jackson, was going hunting at 8-months pregnant in hopes of shooting a deer to pack her freezer with organic meat for the winter. It had a hard story to shoot because I was only able to meet up with her once to go hunting before I left for the Eddie Adams Workshop in October, then she ended up having baby Joel 4 weeks early while I was gone. Welcome to the world, little Joel. :)

September 2008: Horsing Around

2008-11-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

Some outtakes from a Horse Whisperer-like assignment.

September 2008: Wounded Warrior

2008-11-07T11:31:00.000-08:00

The Wounded Warrior Project comes to Jackson for a week of fly fishing.

September 16, 2008: Mexican Independence Day

2008-11-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

September 20, 2008

2008-11-07T00:38:00.000-08:00

The first two are from the Fall Art Auction and the rest are from the Quick Draw--a competition where local artists create artwork in 1 hour to be auctioned off that day.

September 19, 2008: Electrofishing

2008-11-07T00:34:00.000-08:00

Fish Shocking: temporarily stunning the fish through electric shock in order to track populations. We should try this for a more accurate human census. ;)

So kicking me in the butt has begun the process...

2008-11-06T23:41:00.000-08:00

OK... so even though my last posts claim I'm current into October, I haven't really posted any of my work since end of August. I'm catching up with some assignments from here and there.

Apparently blogger has changed around some stuff so I can't upsize the pictures right now, so bear with me while I work out those kinks.

September 4, 2008:
This family just moved into their house, built through Habitat for Humanity.
September 11, 2008:
Paul Ellwood, one of the most important influences on health care systems globally and a pretty friendly guy.
September 13, 2008:
Wyoming Amateurs Golf Tourney.
September 14, 2008:
Rotary Hillclimb at Grand Targhee.

So Cool

2008-10-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

Just so you all know how cool I am and absolutely up-to-date on news--I just realized that Rich posted that blog post about 3 weeks ago and all this schtuff is old news...

it was good food for thought though. and still worthy of my almighty evaluation. :)

Jill Greenberg... the ugly side of photojournalism

2008-10-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

So I was just reading this post on my friend Rich's blog about a photographer that was commissioned to shoot John McCain for The Atlantic Monthly.

Jill Greenberg is a rather successful photographer with a body of highly stylized and uber-photoshop-manipulated work. She is not a meek photographer and her body of work is rich with strong opinions... which is probably a big reason of why she is so successful. People pay her for her ability to communicate a message or bias through her photos, not jut to snap a portrait. Her work is good, but does not even begin to claim it's unbiased.

She shot some portraits of presidential candidate John McCain for The Atlantic Monthly and now the whole journalism community is in a bit of an uproar about her photos. On the cover of this month's mag is a photo of McCain, which isn't the worst photo of him ever, but definitely isn't the best. The lighting set up is this--a soft light directly in front of his face and two harsher lights on the side. This set up doesn't really compliment his features because it shows his wrinkles more than kinder lighting would have. His eyes are also pretty bloodshot in the photo--which is the reality of the situation, but she probably would have cleaned that up for any other person she shot.

The other portrait, which I don't believe ran in the Atlantic, casts McCain as a far more sinister person--this photo is the really awful one. Not only does it make him look bad, but she intentionally deceived him in order to get this shot. She basically faked the lighting to make it seem a certain way (to make him think it would be a photo that looked good), but manipulated the light in a way that made him look terrible--and she did this on purpose. It makes him look old, ghoulish, and evil.
The photo portraits can be seen on here on PDN along with an article that interviews Jill Greenberg on why she has done what she's done.

She's a staunch Democrat and used this photo shoot (which she only had b/c the Atlantic commissioned her to photograph him) to create photos that demonize the candidate and push her own agenda.

I had some problems with what she has done, but I also don't blame her completely. 1. She is at fault for letting a personal bias affect a work situation for a journalistic publication. 2. She is definitely at fault for completely, utterly, intentionally deceiving a model (McCain) who trusted her to be fair and give him the same treatment that she would have offered to Obama. She both sought to take bad photos of him and also did not offer him the same photoshop cleaning up that is evident in her photos of every other person she's shot.

The things don't blame her for: 1. The Atlantic Monthly being stupid. They HIRED a photographer that is clearly subjective in all of her photography--they knew they were hiring someone that wouldn't turn in an ordinary photo. They should have known that hiring her could backfire. 2. She is NOT a PHOTOJOURNALIST, she is a PHOTOGRAPHER. Big difference b/c photographers have the free reign to do whatever they want with their photos--stylize, advocate, manipulate, etc. Photojournalists are bound by ethics--including to be unbiased, fair, to not manipulate or photoshop work beyond minor editing, etc. Jill Greenberg is not bound by any of these rules b/c she's a photographer, her body of work clearly shows that she is not a photojournalist, yet somehow people expect her to abide by the rules of photojournalists. 3. She uses the same lighting technique in the photo on the cover of the Atlantic on alot of people.

On her website, there are photos of the following men that she shot using the same lighting:

Arnold Schwarzenegger
John C. Reiley
Lionel Ritchie
Mike Rowe
Paul Rudd
Stephen Colbert
Terry Bradshaw

I looked through almost all the portraits of men on her site--her photos of women tend to be very complimenting with soft lighting, her photos of men tend to be a little more harsh and macho looking. Atlantic Monthly knew what she was about as a photographer, they knew the kind of photo they would get from her.

The portrait on the cover of the mag, I don't have much of a problem with. The other portrait that did not run, where she intentionally mislead him and portrayed him in a terrible way--that I have a big problem with.

But what I'm really wondering is why the world and journalism are so surprised to see biased photos from a photographer whose website is name "The Manipulator."

Do you really expect her to be a good person?

Lessons on Life

2008-10-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

In a world where so many things don't make sense...
at the top of this list there lies:

1. Photographing a high school football team's night game... when they wear black uniforms.

Getting over the hump of Wednesday

2008-10-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Feeling thirsty?

The Girl Project

2008-10-01T18:06:00.000-07:00

The Girl Project

This is interesting. Came across it randomly in a google search. A photographer in New York is mailing disposable cameras to girls across the nation and asking them to mail them back to create a collection of images that represent teenage girlhood and life in America through the eyes of girls--the photographer plans to create a book and gallery out of it. Interesting concept, I think.

Other Crop Option

2008-10-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

What do you all think? Loose or pano? And don't bust me on how dirty my sensor is... my camera is on the verge of death and we need to pay our respects. :)

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

2008-09-30T23:33:00.000-07:00

Won't you be? Won't you be? Please won't you be my neighbor? lol... shot sunrise and sunset at the barn and some others in between.

New Elementary School

2008-09-30T23:32:00.000-07:00

Call of the Wild

2008-09-30T23:28:00.000-07:00

Out and about shooting with fellow photog Brent:

2008-09-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

Saturns SUCK!

2008-09-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

OK.

So--my once beloved Saturn Vue has given me NOTHING but trouble lately. I have shelled out about $2,000 in the past year fixing this thing, kept up on all the reg maintenance, and STILL my car hates me.

She's an ungrateful biyatch, I tell ya.

In the past week, started to think something new was wrong (a warning bell would go off sometimes when I started it, but NO warning lights) and took it in to the shop today after a warning light came on yesterday. The local shop thinks it might be a transmission problem with a torque converter...

Apparently MOST cars are covered for transmission problems up to 100,000miles... my car? 36,000mile. 36fricking000miles. *untypable-shriek*!

I'm getting a second opinion next week and if it is the transmission, then I might have to drive 5hrs to the closest Saturn Dealership in Salt Lake City to seek their "expert" opinion, argue with them like crazy about the state of my car and how crazy it is to be having this problem at 75,000miles... and pray that they give me some sort of break with the cost--I'm told it's a several thousand dollar repair.

I HATE SATURNS! AND THEY'RE GIANT PIECES O' PLASTIC TRASH.

I rue the day I bought this and you will too if you ever get one.

Staff Meeting... Much Accomplished

2008-09-11T22:53:00.000-07:00

So this week for our newsroom staff meeting... we went white water rafting. lol. Only in Wyoming! Our editors decided, after our extra hard work on local election coverage and the county fair, that we deserved some fun. We had 2 rafts of 6ppl going down an 8-mile track of the Snake River and braving rapids with names such as 'Big Kahuna' and 'Lunch Counter.'

Early in the trip, we faced attack from the enemy raft... splash fight. Fatalities 2. Broken nails 3.

This photo is blurry. Pretty darn blurry, BUT, I needed proof. It's COLD here... it's 30-some degrees in the morning and there's snow on the mountaintops again... urgh. However, on a quiet part of the river, our guide told us that we could jump in if we wanted to. Noah (govt. reporter) and I were the only brave souls that did this... This is Noah jumping in.

And this is me jumping in.

The water was pretty well freezing... but I found that if you stay in long enough, it doesn't feel cold... just numb. I was pulled back into the boat after a bit and gracefully landed here.

Dude... you just wish you could look this good after a dip in the Snake.

The Snake River Canyon is a beauty.

Then we hit the rapids... as Noah looks rabid.

This photo is my favorite near miss... So sad that Cory's (environmental reporter) hand is blocking his face. This photo would be great otherwise... Price (photographer) is behind him.

Day Off: Photos for Me

2008-09-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

These are from Tues... I worked on my day off doing some non-photo work, but made $215 for 8hrs and it got me a bit closer to my next camera, so it was worth the time. I saw this first one on my way home.

And this in the parking lot of my grocery store... a little odd.

September 2, 2008

2008-09-09T23:32:00.000-07:00

Last week on my day off I hiked up Death Canyon toward/into the Alaskan Basin. Here are some photos I shot for myself.

I love seeing the light and shadows on leaves.

This is how my heart feels.

Made it to the 1/2way point of my 8-mile hike--the Patrol Cabin.

Bigger is Better, eh?

2008-09-08T23:32:00.000-07:00

Playing around with the template to try to make the photos bigger... Made some changes, but not happy with the result, so more work is to come.

Adios!

August 30, 2008 - Marmot!

2008-09-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

Marmot's Ultimate Women's Day
This was a really cool event I attended at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Marmot sponsored an all-day free event focused on bringing women into the outdoors. I wrote an article too--which I'll paste below.

Here's a couple of the photos from the day, learned how to mountain climb with one of the best female climbers in the world, Amy Bullard. She's not in this photos though. lol

There was also a yoga class on the hillside.

This woman remarked when looking at dry and wet flies (the lures used for fly fishing), "They look like earrings!" :)

Celebrating at the end of the day.

Here's the article:

Fingers gripping the rock, Janessa Francisco climbed with the agility of a cat, but also the hesitation of a beginner. Focusing on the task at hand and refusing to look down, she took small steps from one hold to the next as if playing a vertical game of hop scotch. It was her first day climbing, and the experience was rewarding.

She chose Marmot's Ultimate Ladies Day on Saturday at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for new experiences and a day out with the girls. The morning workshops launched a day of activities, with clinics on rock climbing, hiking, yoga and fly fishing led by premier female athletes.

"I think with any new adventure, I'm always a little nervous," said Francisco, who recently moved to Jackson from San Diego. "But I'm even more excited."

While adrenaline quickly pushes a climber to the top, once there, it becomes clear that the ultimate test is not the climb up, but the descent. With only a rope and a climbing partner preventing a free fall into oblivion, to be lean back contradicts every urge of the body to scramble into the safety of a grip.

Alpinist Amy Bullard called up to her, "Janessa! You have to trust me!" After faltering a few times, Francisco leaned back with her weight on the rope and took fearful steps as Bullard lowered her.

Jill Nickels, the business development manager for Marmot, founded the event with a desire to see more women engage with the wilderness.

"This event is all about bringing women to the outdoors," Nickels said. "It's important to show women that they can do these things on their own by teaching them how to be prepared and learn to find the joy in being outdoors."

From hiking Rendezvous Mountain with wilderness expert and Marmot-sponsored athlete Sue Purvis to learning casting technique at Crystal Springs Pond with Lisa Watson, a 12-year veteran of fly fishing in Jackson Hole, Marmot's free day of coaching attracted 42 adventure-seeking women from ages 25 to 62.

"It's a lot to learn but you just take it one step at a time and the next thing you know you're on the summit of Mount Everest," said Bullard, a Marmot athlete who travels the globe to ascend its highest peaks and has guided the Grand Teton more than 160 times. "It's about the whole experience, not just the summit. And the good thing about these events is that you can see other women do it and realize, 'I can do it, too!'"

And here's the photos I promised to the girls I climbed with--thanks for letting me shoot you all, it was so much fun!

August 28, 2008 Granite Hot Springs 2

2008-09-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Went back to Granite Hot Springs to go camping with some girls for a night and it was AWESOME!

We got down there in the early evening, set up camp and grilled elk steaks. Late in the night, around 10pm, we snuck out to the natural hot springs (not the pool in the earlier photos, but a hot springs next to a river and a waterfall). To get there, we had to cross a creek in the dark with headlamps on by linking arms and side stepping over slippery stones and through fast-moving water up to our knees until we reached the other side. Once there, we skinny dipped under a blanket of stars so numerous and bright that you couldn't even see the constellations. It was like being in a hot tub--but a million times better with a waterfall humming in the background, chilly air, warm water, and a beer in hand. After this little adventure, we made smores back at camp and went to sleep under the stars--no tent (b/c we don't own one, lol)....

And then it ended up totally freezing so I retreated to the car around 4am and slept in the back seat, where it was slightly warmer.

August 27, 2008

2008-09-08T15:29:00.001-07:00

BINGO!

Here's two... I need to go back and get better shots at this just for the sake of having shots of it. But when it gets colder is the real time to go. Ppl just weren't excited about winning the day I was there... it sucked.

August 23, 2008

2008-09-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

Mountain Bike Race... I need to get alot better at this. I get an OK shot, but I feel like I'm scrambling at it still, so I'm not having fun and thinking outside the box b/c I'm worried about covering my tail.

August 22, 2008

2008-09-08T15:16:00.000-07:00

The Bar-T-Five Chuckwagon was a ton of fun! I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. You ride on a covered wagon out to their spot up a trail into Cache Creek, then eat dinner, enjoy a show--which is pretty funny and interactive--then ride back.

These pictures all look a little wack, esp the girl eating the corn on the cob.... they look ok when I export from Lightroom.... but bringing them onto blogger, they look color and contrast and the levels are funky.

August 16, 2008 - JH Music Festival

2008-09-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, so a cool music festival came to town, featured Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Wilco, Black Crowes, etc. This photo directly below ran, but the other never saw the light of day, so I thought I'd put them on here.

This kid reminds me of one from the Little Rascals... I'm not claiming the photo is great, I just love the kid's hair, freckles, and squinty eye. lol.

Every music festival I go to, there's always ppl sleeping. I think they're funny.

This was too precious to pass up.

I had to laugh when I saw this.

And the finale.... my feet at the end of the day. I've got a series of shots of my feet in different conditions and places--in the slush in my pink boots back in RI, barefoot in the water in a lake here, this shot... I wish I had remembered to shoot a picture of them after covering pig wrestling--I was totally covered in mud.

A long long time ago.... August 15, 2008

2008-09-08T14:44:00.001-07:00

MAJOR catchup. So I realized over the weekend how crazy far behind I am at putting my photos up here. I'm doing catchup today.

There was a Scottish Festival that came to town in August and I didn't get the assignment to shoot it, but I went over when they were setting up, just to take a peek. Was't very exciting b/c no one was there hardly, but I did find these folks.

Our editor wanted something "clearly Scottish" to put on the front of our daily so that ppl would have a heads up about it the next day. This was what I found that was clearly Scottish.

I like taking photos of ppls hands if you haven't noticed.

This guy was so cool! I loved his face, so I asked him if he would let me take a photo, he did and afterwards, he laughed... which made the best picture.

On my way to my car, I came across this guy who was the parking lot attendant. Yep, old man with a CAMO KILT and an ATV.... funny thing to see, and I needed proof for you all.

Do these look overexposed to you guys? I'm editing with a new program and I'm not sure how I like it, the exported images look a little hot on my screen.

Crazy Sexy Cancer

2008-09-05T16:49:00.000-07:00

I really want to see this documentary... check out the trailer.

Now your life is complete...

2008-09-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

If you check out this website that I came across today... :)

Mustaches Rock Your Socks Off

Moving Out

2008-09-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

One of my roommates is moving out. So in addition to taking the rest of her stuff, she just packed up the plastic paper towel holder that was screwed into the wall and poured the soap out of the dish scrubber and back into her dawn bottle so that she can take that with her too.

Some days I just have to laugh.

Catchup: Granite Hot Springs 1

2008-09-03T00:10:00.000-07:00

Well my life generally sucks right about now. I feel defeated in so many ways, in my career, relationally, aspirations. My photos have been getting a little better, I think. And I have had some interesting or fun assignments lately, and that always helps.

There is so much going on in my life that you don't know about, things I wanted to tell you. And now, except for through photos, it lies unsaid.

Rocking with the Rents

2008-08-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

My parents came out to visit for my birthday and my mom's birthday, two days later. We had a great time, hiking up to Phelps Lake, touring Yellowstone, doing a float trip, and eating out way more than I wanted to. lol.

Thought this was interesting...

2008-08-21T22:16:00.001-07:00

The Girl Effect

birthday bash.

2008-08-17T02:25:00.000-07:00

i have an evil boyfriend who thinks it's funny to call me at 3am to wish me a happy birthday...

like a 7hr time different with living in london is an excuse. grrrrr.

Hate is my four-letter word today.

2008-08-17T00:16:00.000-07:00

I hate my Netgear WGT624 v4 router with more vehemence than I could muster for Satan himself. Netgear should feel awful for making such a piece of crap and failing to make it, not even user-friendly, but user-cordial to mac users.

I hate you Netgear.... I wish the illest of ills upon you.

Knocking on Heaven's Door

2008-08-15T09:30:00.001-07:00

The Jehovah's Witnesses came to my door this morning when I was in my pajamas and had crazy morning afro...

There is so much wrong in this world. lol.