All aboard!

I had a great time with Amanda & Jeremy in Chicago on Monday. We took a walk with their dog on the beach then took the train downtown for a drink. Yeah this is my job.

Jon & Alice

Last weekend my bother Jon got married. Thankfully he gave me the day off hiring some real professionals Sara & Steve Spottswood (link to wedding slideshow). I did bring my camera and shot a time lapse of the set up and take down. It was nice to be on the other side of the lens for a change. I got to spend the day with Alice and Jon and the rest of our newly joined families with a cocktail in my hand and not a camera. A cocktail I raised many times in toast of the new couple. "May they grow many leaves...and...Branches." Inside joke sorry.

Alice & Jon from Carl Stevens on Vimeo.

Cousin Carl

For the last week I have been posting landscape photos from Alaska. Though I love the chance to spend some one on one time with my camera, it doesn't compare to the joy of connecting with my clients. It was a real treat to get to know Sharon & Dan and their blended family. The whole group was so kind to me and treated me like a member of the family. Because the cruise did not allow professional photographers to shoot weddings on board I took the name "Cousin Carl". It is a name that I took with pride. This weekend I will be shooting their Wisconsin reception so I thought it was time to post a slideshow images.

Sharon & Dan from Carl Stevens on Vimeo.

Last Day.

This is the last of my Alaska landscape posts, they are also some of my favorite images. For me these images are Alaska. All the lakes are replenished by melting glaciers witch makes for murky water but at low tide forms silt beaches. Water trickling down mountain sides creates amazing fractal patterns as they cut through the soft silt. Click the images to see them larger.

Day 5

Just one photo today, but it's a good one. On the fifth day of the cruise we docked in Juno where my wedding was going to take place. In a few more days I will post the wedding photos, for me the best part of the trip was the night of the wedding. The ship had departed Juno and we were on the way to Hubbard Glacier. After loading all the wedding photos on my laptop I opened the bottle of wine in my room and went out on deck with my camera. I took a few photos and watched the lights of the fishing boats move along the water in the distance. Then it happened........ At first I did not know what the single strange light in the sky was. Then another green ripple emerged and another. I rushed to my camera and managed to get off three 30 second exposures before it faded away. I remember laughing while I was taking the photos. The northern light are usually a winter phenomenon so seeing them was so surprising. It's a glass of wine I will never forget.

Sweet Bike Man.....

Before my trip to Alaska I had the privilege of spending some time with friend and co-worker Liz Meyer and her soon to be husband Andrew. It was my first trip to the Meyer home, I thought my parents house was busy. Kids out back playing in the yard, a massive dinner being cooked, and some engagement photos being taken. I had something to do with the last one. The big day less than 2 months away........WHOOOOO! Lizzy is getting married!

Day 4

Day four of my trip was the only wet dock of the voyage, you can see the ship drift in the time lapse. I went to shore with the couple and their family to check out the local park and town. We found all sorts of cool stuff on shore that I will post after in finish the landscape portion of my journey. Tomorrow will be a good one so keep watching.

Icy Strait Point from Carl Stevens on Vimeo.

Day 3

Ketchikan Timelapse from Carl Stevens on Vimeo.

After a day spent high in the tree tops on a zip-line. I had a glass of wine on deck and shot a time lapse of clouds moving over the Tongass National Forest, the largest national park in the US.

Day 2

Day two was one of the windiest of the week at sea. That didn't stop me from getting out on deck and grabbing a few shots.

Bon Voyage

This is the first I have had internet access for the last week. For the last 6 days I have been on a cruise ship in the Alaskan Fjords. It was a great trip and this is just the first of a string of posts with images from the trip. We began our trip in Vancouver where I went to sleep on a full stomach of a Tim Hortons sandwich and donut. The next morning the wedding party and I set sail or picked up anchor.....or what ever a floating city dose.