Good times in the Valais Alps, Switzerland

I had a great time climbing with some friends in the Valais Alps (above Zermatt) last week. We hit some great weather, summitting two peaks called Pollux and Castor, and then finishing with a traverse of the Breithorn massif, toping another five 4000+ meter peaks along the way. It was spectacular! Like being on a summit all day long, only better!

I'm having more and more fun putting the video capabilities of my Panasonic LX3 to work. I'll definately be doing more video in the future, as it's just to much fun to pass up.

Ok, I'll admit it...
I love pretending I'm Bear Grylls out there.

Remembering

My dear old Granddad passed away this month and I found myself searching my archive for pictures to include with his obituary. Fortunately, my good friend Jeff got this great shot of my Granddad (above right) at our wedding two years ago. It was taken in what looks like a fleeting moment, just before Granddad had a chance to really become aware of the camera. But as I looked through an old photo album found in his apartment, I discovered another photograph in which his face is wearing a very similar expression.

Sixty six years ago, he was photographed in his formal military uniform, probably before leaving to join the war in Europe. His look I think reflects calm confidence in spite of the task at hand. In the more recent photo, I feel like I can see his feeling of satisfaction as he prepares to watch another grandchild get married.

He was an inspirational man. We're going to miss him.

Fitness Entrepreneurs

I had a great shoot last week with two very fun women from St. Gallen who are working as fitness and health consultants. We did some business portraits and also some sport shots which are relevant to their enterprise. A really good time was had by all, and I'll be glad to see them get some good use out of their pictures as they grow their new business.

Evelyne & Lukas

Last week I joined Evelyne and Lukas for their big day in Zofingen. The forecast leading up to Friday was questionable, so everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the clouds parted over this classy little swiss village just in time for their wedding.

The bride and groom planned a very creative outing for their guests before they hit the Apéro and hordeorves. The group was joined by a local historian and tour guide who showed the whole group around Zofingen's super authentic "Alt Stadt" (old city) and gave a running commentary on the town's interesting historical points. It was great! Then their adorable daughter Layla stole the show and assumed her role as the "life of the party."

Sumo Wrestling in Switzerland!

Ok, so the title is a bit misleading. Sumo and Schwingen have a lot in common, but if you want to split hairs, there are a handful of differences. To start, Swiss "Schwingers" wrestle on sawdust rings instead of the Japanese clay and sand rings. Schwingers, thankfully, wear substantially more clothing (score one point for Schwingen). A Schwinger's victory meal might be something like a bratwurst (or three), rather than of a metric ton of sushi. You don't do any head bowing beforhand, but you do brush the sawdust off of the loosers back if you win the match.

Life imitates art...

This afternoon I had the pleasure of working with a very talented musician, Gusti Mahler, who is celebrating his tenth year as the band conductor of two terrific big bands in Fischental, ZH. One of his bands is a youth band the other is of adult musicians. Back in November I photographed Gusti and his two bands performing at their ten year anniversary as several hundred community members looked on. It was a fantastic evening, and I could tell how proud the people of Fischental are of his hard work and leadership. It was great to see him again and we had a great time shooting at one of Winterthur's best known "picture-playgrounds," the Katharina Sulzer Platz. The former industrial site turned parking garage is stuffed full of textured walls, riveted steel beams, concrete, cobwebs, and cool light. We jumped between three different backgrounds for about 45 minutes, and then packed up. The last two pictures in this posting is from the event back in November where Gusti lead an encore performance.

Viva Cambodia!

Greetings from sweltering Cambodia! For the last couple weeks we've been heading SW, away from Vietnam and towards Bangkok (by way of Cambodia). We had originally planned to cycle our way all the way South to Saigon and then northwestward to the temples of Angkor Wat and onward by bus to Bangkok. We opted to jump the border early and spend a bit more of our time in Cambodia. We're so glad we did! There were two very marked differences observed as we crossed the border from Vietnam into Cambodia. #1 The people seem much more relaxed to us. Though we met loads of friendly folks in Vietnam, we were surprised at how "keyed up" everyone seemed to be. Cambodia seems much more relaxed and extremely friendly from our perspective. #2 The roads are God-awful. All of the myths and legend regarding Cambodia's dilapidated network of dirt and unsealed roads is frightfully true. We have developed a scale for ranking their bumpiness which may help visualize the pain they can inflict on a cyclist.

We're calling it the "B-Scale" (short for bumpy)
B-zero: Smooth like "butta." Beautiful asphalt or concrete in good condition. Good enough to ride with racing tires. Everything on a B-zero is gravy.
B1: Minor bumps and cracks. Occasional loose gravel or sandy shoulder. Nothing to complain about here.
B2: Regular but tolerable bumpiness. Road work may be underway in places, requiring sections of dirt riding. Large stones, cracks, and obstacles must be avoided.
B3: Bumpy and annoying, especially without mountain bike tires. Major cracks in the road surface and frequent obstacles must be avoided to prevent damage to bike or injury.
B4: Extremely bumpy. Mountain bike tires advised. Numb wrists and sore backside are inevitable. Road is in a terrible state of repair, and flat tires are likely. Some skill is needed to maneuver a loaded touring bike on B4 roads. Not advisable for the faint-of-heart.
B5: Get off the bike and start looking for a willing pickup driver.

So far, most of the roads we've cycled since crossing the border into Cambodia have ranked between a B3 and B5. And yes, a pickup truck was hailed!

This scale does not begin to address the extreme dustiness on the roads of Cambodia. There's little point in creating a scale. They would all be "D6" anyways...