A friend called me out and reminded me I promised more pics to follow. So here is the link.
http://www.randybraley.com/TOM2009/index.html
I should have a bunch more stuff to share in the coming weeks. Did a portrait session with a friend and their 6-month old daughter as well as shot a MTB race for fun. Also doing a family portrait for some freinds this coming weekend at the Nelson-Atkins, should be a lot of fun.
Stay tuned…
Spent the day running around photographing the the final stage of the Tour of Missouri in Kansas City today. I think I must have walked seven miles and am pretty wiped out. But I thought I would at least post up a pic of the start.
I should have the rest ready to post in a few days.
Stay tuned…
Caroline and I recently had the opportunity to get away for a 6-day vacation to Lake Tahoe. This all came about when my mom declared “I will be watching my grandsons for a week – whether you and Caroline go somewhere or not” combine this with two free round-trip tickets burning a hole in my pocket and PRESTO you have the beginnings of a great vacation.
Tahoe was an easy choice since neither of had been there before and would offer a variety of textures and flavors to make it memorable. The plan was to camp 4-nights and spend the last night in a B&B.
Without going into the boring details as to why, we had to spend a night in a private campground on our first night. While the campgrounds were clean with nice scenery – it was located across the street from a marina and appeared to be the campground of choice for those who spend their days on the water drinking beer…lots of beer. So needless to say the campground was a little raucous come sundown. But thankfully the campground supervisor cruised the grounds at 11:00 barking from his bull horn “IT”S QUIET TIME”. The next morning we made our way over to Sugar Pine Point State Park and set up our tent for the second time in two days. However, this time we were surrounded by towering pines with some distance between us and our neighbors.
While we had grand plans to mountain bike, climb and basically attempt to see ALL and do ALL that Lake Tahoe has to offer we ended up just relaxing, hiking, spending time catching up with each other and enjoying the fact that we could actually carry on a conversation for more than 10-minutes without interruption. We also discovered we have now become those people that take great JOY in the silence we experienced as we drove down the road – no kids arguing in the back seat, no Fisher- Price music pouring into our ears and no radio - just the enjoyment of holding hands and taking in the beautiful scenery.
I imagine this is the point were a few of my friends (you know who you are) are disappointed that I haven’t described some epic hike to the tallest point in Lake Tahoe or some other over the top adventure. Sorry for that, but this was a VACATION not a “guys trip” 
We did however enjoy waking up each morning, brewing coffee in our JetBoil french-press and sitting in the shade enjoying our oatmeal, reading books and asking ourselves what do feel like doing today. Our typical itinerary included a hike, reading in a shady spot by the lake, dinner and photography on the lake at sun down.
We took full advantage of being near so many great restaurants – the dinner of choice for this trip was Sushi and white wine. This was definitely a first to be eating sushi and camping at the same time. I highly recommend it! For those that know Caroline, you know she loves her sweets and she was tormented for several evenings as we drove by this ice cream shop that always had a line of people waiting to get in. The cones we saw walking out the door were enormous! My resistance was for not and we ended up stopping one night to check it out. OMFG! We ordered a single scoop and this thing was as big as Caroline’s head. I think it took us almost an hour to eat it all. After that we headed back to camp for our final campfire before packing up the next morning and heading to our B&B.
Our final night in Tahoe was perfect. We went to the local market, picked up some cheese, crackers and salami along with a bottle of wine - headed back to the B&B and played Yahtzee on the Patio of the main lodge.
The next morning we packed up and made our way to Reno for our flight home. We did miss our connection in Lost Wages but luckily we were able to catch a later flight into KC.
I was great seeing the boys again and hearing all about the time they spent with Grandma & Grandpa.
It is important to note that within two days of us being home, both boys had new bikes. Do you think guilt played a roll in that decision
Here are some pics from the trip.
Probably not what you were expecting…
I was experimenting with a modified technique and am very pleased with the outcome. I have several from this particular part of shore line.
I’ll post a report and more pictures (including “pretty” ones) in a couple of days.
Exactly one year ago today I woke up in a Russian hotel, put on my suit and tie and nervously made my way into a Russian courtroom to convince a judge that Caroline & I would be good parents for Christopher. For a blow by blow description check out the post from last year – It’s Official.
Little did I know that this little boy, who didn’t want to have anything to do with me the first time he saw me, who rarely said a word when we visited him, would turn into the most outgoing and chatty member of our family - with a larger than life personality.
So here are ten things you should know about Chris.
1. He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES cars and trucks.
2. He is a grazer when he eats, he will walk away from his plate several times during a meal but always returns and will eventually clean his plate
3. He is usually the first one up in the morning.
4. He HATES fire on his food…aka Birthday Candles and S’mores
5. He is super tough and has the bumps & bruises to prove it -most inflicted by older brother and resident Husky
6. He LOVES his mommy
7. He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES cars and trucks (worth stating twice)
8. His favorite stuffed animal is a Polar Bear
9. When he sings rain rain go away – the rain actually goes away! Creepy
10. He is now the most interesting member of our family – important fact to know if you are ever at a party with us and want to know who to hang out with.
So today we will not only celebrate our countries independence – we will also be celebrating the addition of Christoper Sergei Braley to our family.
Happy 4th of July!
It amazes me the memory people have of their “Firsts”. Ask anyone to describe their first kiss or first time drunk and they can recite back to you in vivid detail an event that most likely took place a long, long time ago. These are events we covet, in many cases they serve as a Rite of Passage during key times in our life.
One of these notable first for many is riding a bike without training wheels. Well I’m pleased to announce as a father, my son Alex rode his bike for the first time without training wheels this past weekend.
I had taken the training wheels off several weeks back, but the weather really hadn’t been cooperating. So on Mother’s Day weekend we were just sitting around the house and I whispered into Alex’s ear “hey dude, wanna go try and ride your bike without training wheels?” His eyes just about popped out of his skull and landed in his bowl of chips. So off we went…not far behind were grandpa, grandma and mom – cameras in hand – ready to document the occasion.
I grabbed all the appropriate safety gear – helmet, knee pads & elbow pads – and prepared him to do battle with the laws of physics. Mentally I was preparing for the worse! To my surprise after a little push he was heading down the sidewalk on his own. The pride I felt was amazing! I knew this would be an experience he would remember for a long long time! The first 15-minutes were marked with the usual starts, stops and the occasional falling to the side. Then it happened – an age old occurrence – over confidence followed by a slight loss of focus and WHAM! Or first major crash, an abrupt turn of the handle bars, body thrust forward by momentum, chest slamming into end of handle bars. I thought to myself, “he won’t want to get back on his bike for years.” Thankfully a quick hug from mom and dad followed by enthusiastic words of encouragement was followed by “Hey can I try that again?”
That’s my boy! Now he can tell the story of when he first rode his bike without training wheels, stared danger in the eye and said “Hey can I try that again!”
Normally I pay no attention when the weather report calls for “WINDY” conditions. Things like lightning, hail and occassionaly rain will cause me to reconsider a camping trip - but WIND, never.
That was until I experienced Oklahoma wind….which I imagine is much like Texas wind or maybe even Nebraska wind, but I’m sure nothing like Patagonia wind or Mt. Washington wind. But more on that later.
Last Thursday we headed south to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge with our good friends the Bennett’s and Michael. The Bennett’s got about a 5-hour head start on us in an attempt to grab a good campsite along with our friends the Smith’s who would be driving up from Dallas. We rolled in about 11PM and I must say our advance team did an excellent job picking campsites and even had a nice fire going when we arrived.
Saturday morning greeted us with warm-sunny skies. We indulged ourselves with blueberry pancakes and sausage for breakfast. The kids spent the morning getting acquainted with each other and staking out which toys belong to them. After breakfast we set out on a hike up nearby Mt. Baldy. This is a fairly low impact hike with rewarding views at the top. After taking in the views we headed back to camp for lunch and spent a good part of the afternoon laying around camp just chillin’ while the kids took their naps (sorta). A small party decided to venture out for a hike along the lake while michael grabbed a book and wandered off for a little peace and quite. I on the other hand stayed back in camp and layed in the sun.
For dinner we headed to Meers to it eat the “World Famous” Meers Store & Restaurant We thought that if we arrived at 5:00 we would beat the crowd…WRONG. We still had about an hour wait, or at least it seemed that way having to manage 5 energetic kids. After dinner we headed back to camp to settle in for the night.
Dessert consisted of beer, scotch, cigars and S’,mores (thanks Lori for the Dark Chocolate) It was about this time that the wind really started to pic up. Initially it was short burst – AND THEN – it came. The fire went flat and the winds became sustained. Each of us headed to our tents, hoping the wind would not ruin our night of sleep. The next morning as I reluctantly got out of the tent to take care of some business I looked around the campsite to see that the Smith’s tent & car had blown away and that the Bennett’s tent had partially collapsed and their car too had blown away. Everything inside our tent was coated with a fine layer of dirt…it looked like the inside of a old barn. What really happened was that the Smiths had decided to pack-up at midnight and make a run for the border – intending to stay in a hotel but in the end driving all the way back to Dallas with their dog Sadie and 1st time camper Madison. The Bennett’s, due to broken tent poles and a sagging tent, headed into town around 11:30PM to check into a hotel with their two boys.
The wind was still blowing pretty good on Sunday and the weather report called for colder temps Sunday night, so we decided we would spend the day exploring the refuge, take some pics of the local wildlife then pack up and head home.
It was a great good trip and it was great getting away from the City and getting some much needed tent time.
A big thanks to Andy Chasteen (by way of Lucas Marshall) for sharing this photosharing tool called AutoViewer, which I’m using below to share some pics of our adventure. Just mouse over the image and hit the autoplay button or click on the forward/back button.
One of the blogs I have been frequenting of late to get my outdoor fix is Vertical Carnival Dispatches. The blog contributors include Cedar Wright, Sean Leary, Renan Ozturk, Sender Films and photographer Tim Kemple. It chronicles their expedition to Brazil and Argentina to establish some first ascents. The great thing about this blog are the videos they upload from time to time.
It is definitely worth checking out. And for those who know Jer, you just might catch a glimpse of him in some of the videos.
I’m still not sure why I feel compelled to share this with those that read my blog but the this short film by Zach Arias really grabbed my attention. I follow Zach’s Blog on a fairly regular basis for tips and tricks in photography. He was recently asked to be a guest blogger on Scott Kelby’s blog which typically address’s all the things related to Photoshop and photography. Rather than approach it in the same manner as all previous bloggers, Zach produced a short film titled “Transform”. While his message is slanted toward photographers, it struck me that his message could easily be applied to anyone that questions their path and their impact on the world and ultimately what is most important.
The intro while not representative of the rest of the film, was a very appropriate lead-in for the readers of “Guest Blog Wednesday”
To check it out the video just click on the image above.
Our oldest son has recently discovered the world of video games…his enthusiasm as he describes how he conquered the various levels of Mario Brothers while at his after school daycare is contagious.
So one day Caroline & I proudly stated to Alex…”you know, we have a video game system called XBOX” his eyes lit up as he leaned forward to hear more of what we had to say. Well it didn’t take long for him to get bored with the two games we own. So last night I decided since he had gotten such a great report from his teacher that I would take him to Blockbuster to pick out a couple of new games. I walked him to the back of Blockbuster towards the game isle, as I begin scanning for the XBox Section Alex ask me “Daddy are these ALL games?” I realize at this point I need to explain to him that there are different types of gaming systems – PS2, Wii, XBox 360 and off course XBox. But as I looked around, I started to get that sinking feeling in my stomach…I couldn’t locate the XBox section. Could it be! Is XBox so old school that they don’t even carry the games anymore.
So I make my way to the front of the store to ask the clerk…
1. Can you play XBox 360 games on an XBox…I can’t even describe the look he gave me.
2. Do you have any XBox games…his reply was “I think we have a few…Hey Megan, can you show this “gentleman” where the XBox Games are”. I look back at Alex and already the excitement is dropping off. He must be sensing my concern.
So as we turn down and isle the lady points to a section about the size of a shoebox labeled “XBox” Of course it lies in the middle of the row surrounded by thousands of other games for other systems. At this point I’m forced to face Alex and say to him “Alex we need to pick a game from this section”. Remember those lit up eyes I mentioned before…well I just extinguished them. I did my best to grab a game and say “hey what about this one?” He was a champ and agreed to the three games I picked out…of which none of them were the mainstream games he was familiar with like Mario Bros – but none the less he agreed and we headed home.
I felt like such a putz! I know preparing kids for disappoint is all a part of growing up, but for some reason this one was hard for me.
In the end the first game we played when we got home was pretty cool and he really enjoy it. We both had a great time figuring out the new game and all was forgotten.
Oh and one final side note. The Tony Hawk game I picked up for Alex (and ME) turned out to be a PS2 Game ARRRGGGHH!
