Hey guys, thanks to all your support, we outgrew this blog in July 2010 and moved everything over to the new blog site!

You can find us at: www.LicenseToStill.com

Thanks,

Nate

Reminds me of skool, so you’d think I’d be opposed to it.

I flew down to the Yucatán for Stephanie and Michael’s wedding and had a day off last Saturday between the wedding and TTD.

I took the opportunity to scout locations for the TTD at sunrise and indulge my passion for pre-Columbian archaeology.

(For those of you that recall, back in December I forfeited sleep and instead went to the Mitla ruins on 48hrs sans-rest.)

The above photo from the TTD was shot on a mayan sacbé, one-thousand year old stone and plaster roads that criss-cross the Yucatán and connect ancient Mayan cities, some are hundreds of miles long.

This particular sacbé was located near the Muyil archaeological zone inside the Sian Ka’an.

That was part two.  Part one of the TTD was below, at a beach near Tulum, and part three was back at the same beach.

Keep a heads up for a really sick collection of photos from my day off; ruins at Tulum, Cobá, and Muyil, some beach sunrise action, and others, all bleary-eyed and fully-caffeinated.

Enjoy!

If you were a bride, groom, or guest at the last two weddings I shot, you may have noticed an extra camera in my hands.  These days I’m rocking both my original Canon 5D and now, the Canon 5D MarkII.

The MarkII is the industry standard for wedding photographers (among those who shoot Canon…as opposed to Nikon).

What does this mean for you the client? Better low-light shooting, think anything shot at night or indoors, first dances, cake cuttings and party pics.  The Mark II has a higher resolution, which means you’ll be able to print bigger photos.  Carrying two cameras also allows me to put one lens on one and another on the other; therefore, I’ll waist less time changing lenses and this ultimately means more photos for you and less moments lost.

Got rid of my old Apple HD monitor for an Eizo CG223W.  Wow!  I can’t get over the amount of color variations you can see and the range of details now viewable in the highlights and shadows.  Unbelievable!  I heard these monitors were good but damn…

What does this mean for the you, the client?!? Well, it means better color for your photos, not that it was bad before, but this is just some top-of-the-line ish yadadamean!?!

Color brings me to my next upgrade.  I invested in some i1XTreme technology from X-Rite, to keep my color consistent between my scanner, camera, monitor, and printer.

What does this mean for you? Better color.  Better prints.  The best results!

For those of you selecting my Holga packages and for my own personal work, I picked up an Epson v750 scanner a few months back as well as a custom tray and glass from Better Scanning.

This is will give you high-quality digital scans of your Holga negs, consistent color streamlined for printing.

Workflow bay-bay!

But it was my great pleasure to see that little tyke, all 5’1″ of her (faulty genes???) , walk across the stage.

My parents will soon be empty nesters, and I will no doubt be receiving more frequent visits up here in NE Portland and possibly some more free meals, so I’m all for this.

My middle sister Michaela also graduated from college on Sunday.  Woo hoo!  What a change she’s had from beginning to end.  What champs they both are, they are my two favorite people in the world.

I did miss Michaela’s graduation though. Where was I?  Playa del Carmen.  One of the best wedding trips I’ve taken in a while.

I’ll have a sneak peak, as well as travel photos, and a new blog and equipment update.

Check back soon!

This post isn’t about losing.  This post is about the once-in-a-life-time experience I had coaching at Lake Oswego High School this season, and playing with my with my 503 Lax brothers.

What’s that you say?  ”Nate, you can just do it all over again next season.”

It’s true, but every season is a once-in-a-life-time experience.  Seniors graduate, and we post-collegiate players move on and start families, and never again will we have the exact same group of guys playing together.

A collection of individual characters, strengths and flaws, creating what we constantly seek; family, fellowship, and brotherhood.

It’s really quite sad, and I’m sad right now because the tidal wave of emotion that rises during the season has crashed, and I’m on the losing end, twice.

But this isn’t about losing, this is about celebrating what we all had together.  No doubt most of us, despite our current depression, will pick up our sticks again and form new bonds, new friendships and new goals.  We will again create, another once-in-a-lifetime experience, and many others where we ride high on the wave where everything is perfect and quiet.

I’m left pondering this quote from the artist, Dave Cooper, as told to Juxtapoz. The quote about artists I think applies to any one chasing dreams and participating in something they truly love no matter how heartbreaking it can get at times.

I’ve often felt like I wasn’t going to make it.  You get this wave of nausea where suddenly you start to allow the idea that you may actually suck sneak into your head.  Generally speaking, however, I think artists are totally delusional for the entire developmental period of their careers.  So those who never improve just stay deluded forever.  Those who do improve shake off the delusion and start understanding they may be talented now but weren’t previously.  It’s an amazing coping mechanism our brains have built right in.  I guess it’s there to get artists over that hump where most rational people would realize the undertaking ahead of them isn’t worth the heartache.

My 503 Lax teammates and I are not rational people.  We continuously chase the dream, while enduring all it’s heartache.  Season after season, high school, college, and now here in Portland.  There is a lot of collective heartache in this group, and a lot of shared experience.  But we keep fighting and we keep playing.  We are all a bit delusional.

My high school kids on the other hand are still figuring it out.  Is it worth the fight?  The heartache and the swollen eyes after losing in the state semi-finals.  A group of senior athletes, the personification of masculine youth and promise, broken and sobbing.  The season-long goal of a championship unachieved.

I really have no better advice than to ride that tidal wave.  This is what the author Charles Bukowski called, “the perfect fight”.

To my departing seniors: You will have many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, so make the most most of them.  Do what you love to do one-hundred percent, whatever that may be, and don’t ever be afraid of failure.  Losing still sucks, but there is nothing sweeter than the fight.

Michelle is a sort-of world renowned guru of all things Holga and published the book, Plastic Cameras, and is currently working on the 2nd addition set for publication this fall.

I was feeling pretty inspired after yesterday’s field work so I’ll post the results shortly.  Today is darkroom day (yikes!), honestly I haven’t been in a darkroom in five years, since I was teaching high school kids and taking naps next to the enlargers.  I mean, it’s so dark! and I get tired!  Gimme a break!

Ok back to work.

Got a serious case of the work-itis coming up.  Five new weddings and a TTD to blog!  Sheesh!

In addition to that I turned on Sports Center yesterday morning only to find out that Bron Bron was out and the Suns swept the Spurs!  I mean, what the hell!?!  A guy leaves the Los Estados Unidos for thirteen days and the world turns upside down!

I’m back in PDX until the 27th, when I head back down to Vallarta for Jessica and Michael’s wedding.

Thanks so much for such an amazing time guys!

Nicole

Jessica

Kathy

Veronica + Pete

Kathy + Kelly

Craig + Nicole

Lilia + Mario

Jessica + Matt – TTD

The reason I’m excited about this TTD (Taryn I’ll give you all the credit for this idea), was that we shot inside La Bodeguita del Medio (above).  For those that aren’t familiar with this Vallarta mainstay, the La B del M, is an eclectic cuban restaurant and salsa club, covered from floor to ceiling in Sharpie.  Pretty awesome backdrop for our first location.

They also make some damn fine mojitos!  Check out the rest of the photos from the shoot below.

CLICK BELOW!!!  (9 Photos Total)

We saved most of the photos of the two of them for the trash-the-dress the next day.  And I’ll post those really quickly in the next post…promise!

For now, enjoy these shots from Taryn and Steve’s ceremony and reception at the Riu Palace.

CLICK BELOW!!!  (15 Photos Total)

You can tell from Steve’s reaction that he was taking the lampooning in stride from his best man, Brett.  Taryn, the girls, and everyone else seemed to enjoy it though : )

Definitely knew Beth and Pablo were cool when Pablo and I discussed the cultural accuracy of David Simon’s new show Treme.

Yes, I get really excited about this kind of stuff, as witnessed here on my blog. (In case your wondering Pablo gave Treme his seal of approval).

Beth rocked the photos, and a little rain on the wedding day didn’t stop her from heading down to the beach, umbrella in hand like a champ, smile glowing.

I’m back in Mexico again for a bit, shooting a few more weddings and looking forward to catching up with my old friend and mentor, Elizabeth Lloyd. Keep your eyes peeled for an awesome wedding and trash-the-dress later this week.

Two wedding posts in a week?  It must be that time of the year!

CLICK BELOW!!!  (16 Photos Total)

From behind the curtain.

And a few from after the ceremony.