So, wait. You mean they don’t have travel-sized bottles of laundry detergent? Of course not, why would they? Yes, hunting for the smallest bottle of Tide in the grocery aisle marked my beginning of photographing the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics – with not a single camera in sight.

Like transmissions across an 1800’s telegraph from the wild wild west (or east, in this case), the cryptic Facebook messages from my colleague and Olympics roommate J.D. Mercer, who had just arrived on the ground in Sochi, began to stream across my Facebook chat window. “Apartment is nice, full kitchen

A weathered barn stands on a roadside in rural Wears Valley, Tenn., Saturday, July 20, 2013.

Last week, I was able to spend some much needed vacation time road tripping through the Great Smoky Mountains region of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virgina. It’s an area of the United States I’ve never visited, and not hearing a whole lot about it, I didn’t expect much. I was pleasantly surprised with landscapes that took my breath away, rivaling ones I’ve enjoyed while visiting the desert southwest. I can’t recall ever seeing three rainbows in just as many days, but “The Smokies” offer these kinds of visuals as common fare, so long as you’re willing to venture away from the tourist-clogged city areas and explore.

Read More…

Revelers gather in the Times Square area of New York City near the intersection of Broadway and 48th St. during New Year’s Eve celebrations, Wednesday, December 31, 2012.

Some four hours after the ball dropped on Times Square (officially bringing in 2013), the feeling has finally returned in totality to my lower extremities. Even though the jumbo-tron thermometer called out what should have been a balmy 38 degrees for this Chicago boy, a stiff breeze brought with it some discomfort to my first Times Square New Year’s Eve experience. I can’t tell if more pain came from the cold, standing for over ten hours with a near-capacity bladder, or being in more than a few packs of people pushing so hard and fast that my feet were nearly swept from under me.

Read More…

Microwave truck towers on display between the central and south halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center during the NAB show held in Las Vegas, Nevada, Wednesday, April 18, 2012.

There’s a certain, unmistakable camaraderie that exists among people involved in all of the fields that I work in. Even if I’ve just met a fellow photographer or lighting designer, working with them on a complex show or shoot within minutes of a first hand shake, there’s always a mutual respect and understanding right off the bat