I Love Daddy, 2011

The birth of my first niece inspired a barrage of candid photographs, and the purchase of my first external flash. My poor niece (and her poor mother) had to endure my unbridled enthusiasm for months, especially when, as pictured here, emotions ran wild. I always thought it was a funny addition to an already interesting juxtaposition that my niece's onesie read, "I Love Daddy."

Holi Color, 2011

Funny enough, I got this incredibly colorful candid portrait of a young woman at the 2011 Holi Festival of Colors while she was posing for another photographer.

The Cheetahman, 2011

Longtime buddy Randy "The Cheetahman" Pinson and I drove out to the graffiti covered ruins north of The Great Saltair to take a few creative portraits in 2011. As cool as the graffiti was, my favorite images came from inside the old abandoned power station, taking turns posing under a bright shaft of light.

DJ of the White Masquerade, 2012

In early 2012 a friend of mine convinced me to tag along and shoot a few pictures at a masquerade ball held at the Organ Loft in Salt Lake City. Though it was annoying that the event's organizer decided not to pay us for our time, I was still happy with some of the creative images I took from the somewhat debauched event, including this colorful portrait of the DJ. I'm guessing he got paid.

Smith Kids, 2012

Had a fun time getting family pictures for my longtime friend Brian and his family out at Wheeler Farm in the summer of 2012. This may be one of my all-time favorite "groups of smiling kids" shots.

Jones Kids, 2012

I think part of the reason I haven't pushed harder into the family portrait business is that I'm much more interested in the "in-between" images than the perfectly posed routine shots pretty much anyone can get with a little practice. This shot of my longtime friend and neighbor Steve and his six kids, captured in-between "normal" takes down at the LDS Conference Center in the summer of 2012, is more authentic and enjoyable to me than the vast majority of the final shots I've given clients over the years.

Enter the Thunderlips, 2013

When my band scored a featured spot in the Orchard Lanes Rock 'n Bowl series back in 2013, they asked us for a photo to use in their advertising. So, after a practice, we crammed into Randy's little studio (which usually only handled a single model) and took a few pictures. Our show was successful enough that we got invited back a couple of months later, but sadly, Orchard Lanes didn't renew the series the next year. In 2017, the longtime North Salt Lake bowling alley closed up shop for good.

Shanna Banana, 2013

I met Shanna Taggart through a mutual friend when she was looking for a few publicity photos for a vocal competition. Maybe it's just the inner jealousy of a bald guy, but this black and white take on Shanna's short crop haircut was one of my favorites from the shoot. Shanna went on to join my band for several guest vocal performances over the next few years, including the final (to date) Thunderlips performance at the Viewmont High Class of 1995 20 year reunion in 2015.

Love on a Motorcycle, 2013

After a family photo shoot and a few engagement photos for my friend Jeff and his then-fiancee Allison, we decided to get creative. In this case, "creative" meant me hanging out the back of a Ford SUV at 65mph with my telephoto. Of course, compared to the adventures these two world-hopping travelers have had since, my high-speed shoot barely measures up.

The Mentor, 2014

I was out in my sister's backyard one afternoon in the summer of 2014, taking pictures of my nieces, when I suddenly turned my camera on my dad and told him to smile. I loved the result because it captured his personality perfectly, and I hated it because it looked like the kind of picture you'd use in a memorial. Sure enough, a few months later we used it for his funeral services after he passed away in September of 2014.