The Longboard: California 2

We Longboarded a lot. Almost too much. But since you can't ever longboard too much, we were fine. The lovely people over at Allegiant Air allowed us to carry our longboards onto the plane, thus keeping us from A. Having to ship them UPS down to Cali and back, B. rent some when we got down there or C. Pay 40 bucks per board to have them be packed away as cargo on the flight. So thank you Allegiant for saving us money and making our trip that much better. So since we all had longboards and lived right on a smooth and endless boardwalk, we long-boarded every day in all directions at all hours of the day. They were especially helpful in allowing us to travel along the beaches and get to a delicious breakfast/lunch joint called the Good Stuff. Then, we were able to work off our caloric intake on the ride back. Great times. Bellingham needs a boardwalk like California. Some of you may be saying, "But Kile, Bellingham does have one" and to that I would respond "yeah, but it's not even a half mile long before it turns to dirt and wood planks." The Pic to the left is Brian shredding it up in a parking lot down at Santa Monica.

California: A Sneak Peak

I went to California with some friends. I love California. Especially the beach. We went to the beach everyday. For 5 days. Not just any beach, Manhattan Beach. The house we stayed in was on the boardwalk. The Boardwalk was the only thing between our house and the beach. I could wake up, walk out on the porch and literally trip onto the beach. Suffice it to say, it was a great trip. And I haven't even mentioned Disneyland yet. I will for sure post more pics from the trip, but for now I'll leave you with this one as a little teaser. The pier is the Manhattan beach pier. It was 5 houses down from ours.

Bee-YON-Say

In an alternate reality known as Camp Firwood, I have another name. Fittingly enough, my alternate reality camp name is also the real name of a famous R&B/pop recording artist who used to be a member of Destiny's Child and is married to Rap Legend Jay-Z. In case those hints don't give it away, my namesake is that of the great Beyonce. For three full summers, two guest counseling weeks and kind of last summer when I drove a boat on a lake under the sun, kids would yell out "Beyonce!" and they would be referring to me. It's not just at camp that this type of name recognition happens. For example, once when I lived in Seattle I was walking on top of Queen Anne hill. I saw a squadron of little people hanging out next to a coffee shop. Since middle schoolers often hung out at this location, I didn't think anything of it and continued on my way on the other side of the street. Seconds later I heard about three pre pubescent voices pipe out in unison "Hey Beyonce!". Now while 99.9% of the people also roaming Queen Anne hill either thought to themselves "Damn kids need to shut up" or "Beyonce on Queen Anne Hill? It'll be a cold day in Hell...", I on the other hand immediately knew those screams for attention were directed at me. I turned and waved at the little ones, former campers no doubt, and then proceeded to explain to my ex-girlfriend (whom I was walking with) why I acknowledged a gaggle of middle schoolers who yelled out "Beyonce!" in an upper middle class neighborhood in Seattle. This type of altercation has also occurred at other locations, such as malls, schools and parks. Though most people are generally confused by such situations, I'm used to it by now. I bring all this camp name talk up because my name now has a permanent marker that will display and hold firm the legacy I have built while attending and working at Camp Firwood. In order to raise funds for the new Center House (dining hall) here at camp, the powers that be decided to sell little tiles with former staff members camp names etched into them. The tiles have been printed and placed onto a wall in the new dining facility. Now hundreds of former camp names will live forever adorned to the walls of the Center House so future campers and staff can look on in admiration at those who came before and paved the way. My little tile is pictured here to the left. Looks real nice. I just hope that the real Beyonce continues to pump out successful records and star in Oscar worthy movies so that the name actually has meaning and substance. I can already see myself standing in the Center House 20 years from now hearing little spazzy kids ask their parents what a Beyonce is.

Baseball Season is Finally Here

I've been to two games so far this year. Opening day and the game on Monday. Both were complete opposites. Opening Day: Awesome atmosphere, dud of a game. The M's mustered 2 hits and got shut out. In soccer terms, it's like watching almost every soccer game. However, like I said, the atmosphere was great. Near sellout crowd, fireworks, baseball is back buzz, Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Dan Wilson, free soda, great upper deck front row seats, awesome. All in all, worthwhile even though the game failed to instill hope in any Mariners fans. Now lets fast forward to Mondays game vs the Orioles. The atmosphere was close to lame but the game itself was a thing of beauty. First off, it was officially the lowest attended baseball game in Safeco Field history. 14,000 or something. So if anything, a record setting night. I was a part of it. Other than that attendance fail, great night. The weather was July like balmy. No need for a jacket. We had terrace club level seats, row 2. The Mariners offense resembled an actual baseball team and hammered out 8 runs. Doug Fister pitched a no-hitter into the 7th inning, and the defense was nothing short of gold glove caliber. As the Mariners marketing machine wants me to believe, after Mondays nights game, I Believed Big. Mariners World Series Champs in 2010, you heard if here first.

Clear-cutting is the Coolest

Thanks to the invention of power and the need for lumber, Ty, Keaton and I got to enjoy this view. As you can see, what we have here is Lake Whatcom, Sudden Valley, Bellingham and the Bay. Obviously it's not as clear as one would like, but it's better than the last time I hiked this. That day is was all fog and clouds. Also, in the lower left-ish corner is my current home, Camp Firwood. You can even fuzzily see my house. Cool, right? So this "hike" is actually an access road that we followed all the way up the hill. The road serves both the power lines that shoot across this little hill and the lumber industry that uses these hills for wood collecting purposes. The power lines are the main reason for this view. They had to clear-cut a huge path through the woods in order to build three long power lines. So if you follow the access road to the peak of the hill, there just so happens to be a little lookout where, on a clear day, you can look out all the way to the San Juan Islands, up into North Whatcom County and Canada and down to the south end of the Lake as well. Awesome view. Tiring hike, but worth the effort in the end.

The Last Supper

1970's-ish, techno/laser light show inspired, modern stained glass looking, Jesus. I guess that's how I would describe this if I were in given the task of having to describe it. This mural has been downtown a while. I've always wanted a picture of it, but there are always vehicles parked in front of it. As chance would have it, I was downtown doing some wedding photog with Josh Durias and happened upon said mural. As it turned out, no cars. Perfectly wide open shot. Made my day. It's an interesting mural, painted on the wall near a baptist church. The colors are awesome, it's very unique and it really pops, especially on a dark, dreary day like it was when I took these. Also, it's Bellingham. Most of the art around this town are weird sculptures that were inspired by the random scribbles of 1st graders...that or the peace pipe. So I guess it's nice to see a piece of art that makes some form of sense. Whoever created this piece of art was just one of a bunch of people who have recreated the scene of the last supper. ABC and the television show "Lost" created a promo where the characters from "Lost" were seated at a long table just like in the famous biblical last supper scene. Check it out here, if you want. (http://www.thinkhero.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/lost-last-supper-image.jpg). Likewise, someone used the same image yet replaced the biblical characters with the players from the 2004 Boston Red Sox World Championship team. http://jimintonic.com/archives/Damon's%20Last%20Supper.jpg) At the time the Red Sox re-creation made perfect sense. It was humorous and Johnny Damon and those resilient Sox really were the saviors of the perennially unlucky Red Sox organization. However, a few years later Damon bolted the team he saved for the hated rivals from the Bronx. I guess the similarities end there. Jesus never left Heaven for more money in Hell. At least the Lost promo still kind of works.

Gettin his Dues

Josh Durias is a photographer. A great photographer. He has a feature on his blog (http://www.duriasblog.com/) where he highlights accomplishments and happenings of local people each month. He should highlight himself, but I know he won't. That might not look too good. So I will. Within the last two years he has gone from a guy who just wanted to take pictures of his little kid to successfully taking amazing photos of people he had no role in bringing to this earth. He takes pictures of people when they get engaged, when they get married, when they desire to graduate high school and want to show their family and friends how good they look, when they want to pose in odd ways by modeling, and for a myriad of other reasons. In short, he takes photos of people for whatever reason someone may want him to. And he takes them really well. I've shot with him a couple times. Once at a wedding. What I learned is that he loves it. He loves taking pictures, he loves creating beautiful images, he loves engaging with his subjects in both a fun and meaningful way. Most of all, he loves telling a story through his photography. And it shows. Check out his stuff, it's good.

Here he is in action. He just looks the part of a quality photographer, doesn't he.

Natures Peaceful Protector

If you know Camp Firwood director Rob Lee, you know this...He loves animals and he loves nature. God's little creatures and their happy little habitats have a special place in Rob's oversized and always accepting heart. Because of this, it should come as no surprise that Rob fought long and hard to make sure Firwood was a safe sanctuary for all the little critters and vegetation that call the Firwood property home. Even before conceiving of the vision and plans for the long awaited Centerhouse, Rob had an even bigger dream of one day seeing Firwood become the leading Native Growth Protection Habitat for all American Camp Association certified camps in the greater Pacific Northwest area. Well, consider this one dream that came true. This past week Rob Lee and the Firs, in association with Whatcom County Planning and Development Services, officially commissioned the first Native Growth Protection Habitat on Firwood grounds. Located right behind Cabins 1 and 2 on the boys side, across the road from the boys bathroom, sits what has now been unofficially termed the "Rob Lee Memorial Love of the Environment and all the Critters of the World Sanctuary for Happiness and Natures Peace". A sprawling and beautiful natural hill that soaks up the sunshine and splashes down into a babbling fresh water creek, this newly minted Natural Habitat is home to many living wonders including ferns, weeds, worms and probably some other stuff that we can't see. The hope, as Rob puts it, is "to make sure that not only campers and staff find Firwood to be a hospitable and safe place, but that the earths first inhabitants, the plants and animals, can say they feel loved and cared for here as well." Two years ago it was believed that Firwood would never be given the opportunity to create a Natural Habitat. The world was telling Rob that it couldn't be done, the city of Bellingham wouldn't allow it. "Bellingham doesn't care about the environment!" they would tell Rob. "Large buildings are fine, but we're in a watershed, nature takes a back seat and you know it!" others told him. The doubters pleaded with him to seek after a goal that was achievable, like a new dining hall or a new inflatable play toy. Yet through perseverance, hard work, and an unmatched zeal for accomplishment, Rob Lee was able to overcome his doubters and convince the powers that be that the world around us, Mother Nature and all her beauty, isn't something we can squander and kill. And because of that hard work and that little dream planted in Robs head years ago, Firwood now has a dedicated place that Mother Nature can call home.

Killing the Beauty

Since I live here, I would say over 50% of the pictures I have taken these past 6 months have been at Firwood. Not a bad place to have to take a lot of pictures. However, unfortunately the view doesn't change too often. Somedays its cloudy, somedays it's clear, some days it's really foggy and we can't see much of anything. But no matter what, when I look outside I always see the lake and those hills across the way. It always looks generally the same. I know, I'm feeling bad for myself because I live on the lake and it's really beautiful everyday. Poor Kile. But since it's always the same view everyday, I end up having a lot of the same pictures stored on my computer. I have way too many shots of sailboats, docks, the lake and the hills. Some days there are clouds off beyond the hills, some days it's brighter than others, in the fall there were more colors than right now, but generally, its always what you see in the picture above. I try different angles, different times of day, different seasons, different spots on the waterfront, yet in the end, they all look fairly similar. In the photographer in me sense, I am getting a little sick of it. It's a lot like when I first started shooting 5 years ago, I only really took pictures of sunsets. Why? because they are really easy to take pictures of and get quality images. Whether someone is a pro, an amateur or the iphone guy, taking a quality sunset shot is pretty simple. Just point at the pretty colors. Since the only good photos I had were of sunsets, I found myself always going to Boulevard and Zuanich parks every night on the waterfront trying to recapture the beauty. After a year or so of this, I realized all my pictures were basically the same. Images of some park set with a background of an amazing Bellingham sunset. I ended up diluting the beauty by overshooting it. Wouldn't you know it, same thing here at camp. Everyday I walk to my car, see the view and think today's picture might just look a little different. So I take out the camera, point it in the same direction I always do and hope that for some inexplainable reason, the picture will show itself to be completely different than the one from yesterday. Nope. Living in a beautiful place has resulted in me having a lot of identical pictures of the same beautiful thing. I guess that's all I am trying to say. You should start to feel bad for me now.

Got a Light?

Not as big as I thought it would be. I guess they are right when they say the camera adds 10 pounds or so. NBC's high definition seemed to add a couple hundred pounds. On a sad note, it was dusk by the time we got to see it and it was a cloudy/drizzly day. Because of these true facts, the lighting wasn't as great as one might hope it would be. Whatever. I saw it...and felt it. When it had its little gas burps you got a wave of warmth that reminded me of what winter in the northwest is like, warm and sunny. This year at least. All in all, the flame was cool. A lot of fences though so we couldn't get too close. Oh well, like I said before, Vancouver decided that they would let the terrorists (and protesters) win. If I were designing a cauldron for an Olympic city I would make a large Bic Lighter. That might be fun. And just think of the advertising dollars Bic would send to the host city.

RIP Ring Tree

Game Over. We all knew it was coming, we just didn't know when. The old leaner down at South Cove, made famous by everyones favorite Japanese remake "The Ring", has packed up and made its way home to tree heaven. Rivaling in popularity with the Big Tree, and joining the ranks of infamous fallen trees with the Rope Swing tree, the Ring Tree had been hanging on for dear life over the road for years. In honor of the Ring, in 7 days there will be a moment of silence for our fallen hero. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the "Fix the South Cove Cabin so Shawkabukoo Can Live There Forever" fund.

Here are a few shots of the tree from the movie and some from today,the day the Ring Tree laid itself to rest.

And the night scene.

And finally those pesky teens, goofing around the old tree.

For Old Times Sake

I've been purging my old computer of all its last files. I had my little Dell since my senior year of high school. For those keeping track at home, I used the Dell for almost 6 years. That's a long time in computer years. Especially for a Dell that wasn't that great to begin with. Still, there were a lot of old files tucked away in that machine. Even a few papers from my college writing class. By college writing class I mean the class I took to prepare me for college writing when I was still in high school. I wrote those papers before I even knew what college was like. Now I am almost two years removed from my last college class. I guess all that means is that its time to go back to school and further my education... Anyway, these are a few pictures I came across while rummaging through previously mentioned old files. They aren't really that old. I think from last spring and summer. In descending order, Pike Place, the San Juan Islands, Squalicum Harbor.

2009: A Year in Review

These are my favorites taken in the past year. I know it's a little late to be doing a year in review post. But I just thought of it. Plus, I haven't been shooting much lately so this buys me some time until I take more pictures worthy of being plastered on the world wide web. These are my favorites, they may not be yours. If this is the case, sorry for making you look at them again.

If there are ones you like better that should be here, let me know.

Baseball Season Can't Come Any Sooner

I've waited patiently for the past three months. I've endured football season. I like football, I do. But it's in the fall and winter seasons. I don't care much for those seasons. And I didn't grow up playing football, so the love of the game is pretty shallow. The UW Football Huskies showed vast improvement and played in some unbelievable and heart wrenching games, but they were still a 5-7 ball club, so how much fun can you really have. In terms of the NFL, I am a big bandwagon Seahawks fan. Since they were a terrible excuse for a professional football team, I didn't come anywhere close to jumping on any bandwagons. I've enjoyed basketball season but only to a certain extent. My huskies, preseason Pac-10 Champs, are the Jekyll and Hyde of the NCAA. At home, they're competing for a national championship. Period. On the road, they are a division 2 project trying to keep pace with the likes of the Western Washington Vikings and Seattle Pacific Falcons. And the NBA...Ugh. Sonics, still gone. Thunder, possible playoff team. Plus, it's still only February. The NBA doesn't matter until April at the earliest. People talk about certain teams being in trouble because they can't win games in December and January. Here's the secret, it doesn't really matter. The Spurs used to never start trying until late February at the earliest and ended up winning a couple Championships the past few years. Also, it's the NBA, so who really cares that much. And by the time I should start caring, baseball will have started, so the NBA will be on the back burner, set to simmer. I'm thankful for football and basketball, because they pass the time between the end of the World Series and the start of Spring Training. We're now closer to the start of spring training than we are from the end of the World Series. We're on the downward slope. In two weeks, spring training starts. Then two months from now, baseball will officially begin. Not only that, the M's have real potential. And the Kid, Junior Griffey, will hit beautiful majestic bombs out to the deep right field porch for one more season.

Whatcom Museum: The Lightcatcher

Check out the new Museum in town. The minute you think Bellingham is just a small little burg with hippies, food co-ops, petitions to ban boats on Lake Whatcom, odd art and retired people, we get a beauty like this that breaks the mold. Bellingham will hopefully always have that feeling of a small town that happens to be growing a bit. But it's nice sometimes when we get things like this that make it feel like we are a big city with cool, modern things to see, experience and enjoy. To me, this wall/adjoining courtyard was shockingly awesome because it felt very unlike Bellingham. If I saw this in Seattle or New York, I wouldn't be as surprised. Stuff like this is more prevalent. But here in "small" city Bellingham, it stands out for being modern and imaginative in a town of bland, weird and cliche "local" art that isn't that good. I didn't go in the museum, I'll save that for another day, but at least from the outside, it gets my approval.

The Dead of Winter has its Days

This may look like a spring day, but it isn't. Too bad. However, it's official! El Nino is upon us. Lots of dry, slightly warmer than normal days ahead. To some, this may not be exciting. Like the 2010 Vancouver Olympics organizers/participants/parents of participants and fans. They want the snow, and buckets of it. However, I'm fine without it. In fact, I'd be fine if El Nino kicked the end of winter/early spring weather pattern aside all together and allowed late spring to usher itself in. It's starting to feel like spring, it might as well be spring.

The Center house is getting close. Come down and see it for yourself.

A Hidden Gem

This little beauty was taken up in Plain, Washington. Never heard of it, don't worry, no one else has either. No offense to Plain though, very nice little area. It's right up by Leavenworth tucked up in the mountains. Nice little area for skiing and snowshoeing in the winter, hiking and river rafting in the summer, and living out in the middle of nowhere all year round. In case you're ever in the area, best breakfast spot is easily the 59er Diner. Look it up and go there, it's right off of the old highway 2, can't miss it. You won't be disappointed. Especially if you love the 50's, Elvis, Jukebox's, bacon and a cool Budweiser at 8:00am in the morning. This woodsy picture was taken at a mountain resort where a wedding I was helping with was taking place. I'd go back. Not often, not every year, but i'd go back.

Fall: My 3rd Most Favorite Season.

This happens to be the view from the porch...or the bed if I happen to be waking up.

The Dream

This is what I think about on cold, damp, dark northwest Fall/winter/spring days. Not too much to ask for, right? I need sun. These were both shot on the same trip a couple summers ago. My dad, brother and I were hanging out in LA and happened upon the beach. For some reason, though I have been to the LA area numerous times, this trip was the best. It was a combination of the beautiful weather, the amount of time spent at the beach, watching baseball every other day, and eating Inn and Out burger. Granted, i've done this on almost all of me LA trips, but for some reason, maybe because it's the most recent, this sticks out in my mind as being the best. So when the weather turns to muck up here in the great northwest rain forest, I always find myself dreaming of the glory days of oceans, beaches and warm sunny sun.

Fall is overrated. There. I said it.

Fall is like a beauty pageant contestant. The only thing going for her are her looks.