Kolob Reservoir and the Narrows

"They came from Salt Lake"

"Thank you, for serving! Peace and Love!" -Tristan

Put another great weekend in the books. Did I say that on the last post? Maybe I did, but the truth is the truth. I took off with Felix and Summer again. This time we headed north up into Utah to Kolob Reservoir. Felix and everyone that went got there on Friday evening, but I didn't arrive til that next Saturday morning. I still had errands to complete before I took off for the weekend. I got to meet some very interesting people... Obrah and Candace, Ed and Ashley, Sally, and a few others. It got kind of chilly, surprisingly, but I guess when you're next to a lake, you should expect that. The place was nice. I tried to swim out to an island about 250 meters out, but I got half way and just barely caught my shorts with my big toe before they were certain to be lost to the murky depths. Granted, I'm used to being naked in front of strangers, but hey...this was in the middle of the day and there were plenty of kids around. I don't expect them to receive a mossy grass-covered naked black man too favorably. Several of us played catch football in the water. Footing was very slippery, so leg stability was lost in trying to get an accurate throw. It was still fun to attempt it.

The following day we packed up and headed into Zion to hike the Narrows. It was my second time hiking upstream again, but I wasn't as motivated to take pictures. All I could think about was getting a model in there. I've got someone in mind whom I have talked extensively with about this project. That would be Liliana, from the Bay area. In fact, I've promised to not shoot any other model for this project unless she turned down the project first. The problem is getting her here. She's offered to forego her usual fees in order to work with me provided I can fly her here and take care of her expenses. I've only recently started working and I am almost afraid I'll miss my window of reasonable weather before I can afford to bring here here and ticket prices are rising by the day. Anybody wishing to make a contribution to my efforts are more than welcome to donate using the Amazon Honor System thingie on the right or Paypal. We'd both appreciate the gesture.

Liliana is a lovely girl and I've thought long and hard on the body type and mentality of the model for this project. I should say durability instead of mentality. What I need is a girl that's a bit more hardy than the standard girl from the city. Liliana has the mentality of doing what it takes to make great art and has endured temperature extremes before. I have no intention of taking her for granted or abusing her, don't get me wrong. I won't let her endanger her health or welfare. I've got some other possibilities for more projects requiring hardy models and would like to involve Isobeau from Salt Lake City.

Speaking of Salt Lake... I ran into a hiking group while doing the narrows. Tristan, Carter, Monica, and Madison were coming in from camping in the backcountry at the Narrows. These guys were hiking the entire length of the Narrows. Most visitors start out at the low end and hike up as far as they want, then turn around. To start at the top, you need an overnight permit because there is no way you're going to hike the whole 16 miles in one span of daylight hours. Then again, it might be worth it to try. I met them way back into the river where very few other park patrons dared tread. I hiked with them a little while before I had to pick up the pace to catch Felix and Summer who were already heading back. Tristan caught me off guard when he thanked me for serving in the military. I was wearing my dog tags, which I frequently do, and I have a tattoo of the 101st Screaming Eagles on my left shoulder. People thank me like this often enough, but its still surprises me, I guess. No one ever told me this while I was serving, I don't think. I've talked to a few other soldiers who share the same sentiments. For me, I guess its still a hard thing to say "You are welcome". In some ways, I know there are more who sacrificed and lost so much, to include their lives. Those are they guys who truly deserve our appreciation and it should be extended to their families. I lam truly looking forward to getting to see Tristan and those guys again. I have every intention of heading up to Salt Lake to shoot and would love to hang out with them there.

After it was all said and done, we got back quite late. Getting up to go to work the next morning was a bear. In addition, I was up all night with Felix again the next night. Being a good friend, Felix offered to fix my breaks. Coming down from the mountain did a number on my brake pads and rotors. I knew I was getting close and needed to have them changed, but coming down the mountain just wore them out. I was pretty much metal on metal by the time I got to the bottom. There was a guy in front of us who chose to do 20mph going down. My breaks couldn't take it. I'm good to go now, thanks to Mr. Felix G!

I thought I'd throw in a face I hadn't seen in quite some time. This is Jacinda, whom I've truly missed photographing. We got to do one shoot, with plans for several more, but... well, she got married and doing nudes wasn't conducive to the feelings of the new hubby. Several people have likened her unto Gretta Garbo. She's got that classic old Hollywood stlye of imagry that seems to come out when I shoot her. Yeah, now that I think about it, I need to make a more concerted effort to return to do a new shoot with Jacinda. Good Gracious, she was good.