The Upside

There is a restaurant opening up soon in Provo called The Upside. It will be full of organic, healthy, yet tasty foods. I got to recently photograph some of their foods for their website and menu. Here are just a few of the images. Also, they are looking for local artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers, you name it to feature on their website. So if you happen to be any of the above, check it out and submit some of your work. Also, just go to their website in general to see the menu, what they're all about and updates on the grand opening.

Themed old mattress and exterior of a home

If you start in Old Town and walk up the crooked stone street near Baščaršija, veer towards the right past the metal workers and the large graveyard. Continue to climb up the steep streets, past the women hanging their clothing, stop for a drink at the fountain at the top of one stretch, and continue climbing. Eventually you will find a Muslim graveyard with two gravediggers who appear at every Muslim graveyard it seems, they will offer water. Take it, they are good people. Turn to the right and walk past a few homes and you will see a spectacular view, with Sarajevo on one side, and the city-less valley on the other. Continue to walk towards the military base and you will find this home, in between many trees and under the sky, with a beautiful garden, chickens, and a mattress sitting outside the front door which perfectly matches the rest of the home.

Double Vision.

Gyspy Boy with Popsicle

I have made it back and found a few moments to start scanning in negatives from my project (horray!). I haven't developed all my rolls yet, but I figured I'd at least get a good head start on things by scanning some in.

This is a gypsy boy who I ran into on a side street. He was rummaging behind a garbage can in this back room to find his coat. Although it was cold, he still was eating a popsicle, which he insisted on being photographed with.

Playgrounds and remnants of war

A slide, graffiti, and bullet holes.

Racer's, Provo, UT

Some images I shot for an assignment of Racer's Cycle Service in Provo, UT, founded by Racer who has worked on many bicycle repair teams for world class events, as well as is a Short Track National Champion. For their website with a location and more information, go here.

I am now back in Utah, so if you need photographs of your family or your business, let me know.

Farm-town, Oregon

Policajac

Policajac (the policeman)

The Tunnel

There is an underground path that goes from one part of Sarajevo to the airport, under once Serbian lines as a method of escape and to get resources. This week on for a a few hundred meters, as people hunched over walked in hopes of escaping war. The tunnel is still around today, although you can only walk 25 meters through it with a museum on top filled with photographs of war and a film of home footage of the siege. This home claims to be the exit of the tunnel, however, it is still heavily disputed with the neighbor across the street (first picture) who claims to the point of painting it on his house, that his home is the real portal to the tunnel.

The cost of entrance to this site: 5km plus a taxi to the obscure home, sitting in a typical neighborhood.

The Piano

A piano. Shot during the Portland wedding.

Bus Windows, No. 2

Somewhere between Međugorje and Split.

Bus Windows, No. 1

I feel like I have spent a lot of time recently in buses.

Somewhere between Mostar and Međugorje.

Croatia. Contest. Comment.

Split, Croatia.

I am coming back from the Balkans (and various other adventures) soon. I tried to extend the date for another month, but as money is our masters, it was going to be too pricey to extend the trip another month. Not exactly worth it. However, that means I will be back in the States and ready for some picture taking for all your wedding, family, business, needs. Next time though, I am buying a one way ticket. Since I am coming back, we're going to play my favorite game: a giveaway. The deadline is the day I get back to Utah: June 22. Same rules as last time, just different pictures to choose from, actually any picture you desire is yours. You have the whole blog to choose from as well as previous sittings, and my website. Matted and 11x14.

There are multiple ways that you can enter, and so, you can have multiple entries. So do them all (multiple times), and you have a better chance of winning. If you haven't won yet, don't be ashamed to enter again, or if you have one, still enter.

#1: The Comment. Comment on this post. Any topic, but if you need one, the topic: Summer. It can be your favorite summer activity, food, holiday, feeling, no matter. Jut summer. I like summer, and so should you.

#2: The New Media. Post about this contest on your blog. Or twitter about it. If you twitter about it, just use @brighteyedphoto so I can track it. If you post it on your blog, however, be sure to e-mail me or comment about it so I know because that is harder to follow. If you want to spice up the blog post to draw attention, use one of my photos, and I am ok with that for contest purposes.

#3: Something in Return. Book a sitting with me for when I return for you, your family, your business, whatever. Or you don't feel like it, order a print from my site, if there's a new print you like and not on there, e-mail me, and I'll make sure you can get it.

Do all 3! Enter a million times, win a print.

Sarajevo Marlboro.

Graveyard of the Dead 1992-1995

There is a graveyard on the north side of Sarajevo specifically for those who died in the recent civil war. I don't know the story correctly, so I won't tell it, but it is a graveyard specifically for either the Christian Orthodox of Serbia or the Catholics of Croatia. I'm not sure, but what I do know is the graveyard is quite large with over probably a thousand tombstones. And that was just for those who could make it to a graveyard to bury those they love, there are plenty of tombstones in every patch of grass you see in the city and out. And that is what I do know.

Boots and Tub.

The other day I was thinking about double exposures and how much I love them. There is just a mystery and charm to them that is hard to capture with photography. I needed a break from my documentary work and figured heading outside for some double exposures would do the trick and be refreshing, a little surprise when I got my roll developed.

Protest.

A recent protest of the Turkish community regarding the seize of the ship in Gaza.

Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon

Shipwreck on the coast at Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon.

The garden, Ilidža

I live out in a nature area of sorts called Ilidža, where since it's a nature area, there should be no homes, but I live in one anyways. It's beautiful, with long paths that lead to the springs which it is famous for. My house has a beautiful garden with two dogs and two children. The gate is broken, so you have to go across boards and under trees to get to the house, making it feel like you are going through the woods to find your home. These are a few shots from the garden. The first one, I'm not sure what happened. It's fine on the negative, but when I edited it, it went crazy, but I liked it, so I kept it.

Balcony supported from below

I originally photographed this building because I liked the why everything was stacked on top of one another, the way that it seemed to be a strictly vertical heap of windows and electrical boxes with clothing and satellite dishes in between. And then I noticed the balcony, supported by the neighbors below, who put up poles to keep the laundry from crashing in on below.

Rain rain rain.

The first week I was here was nothing but sun, everybody had claimed that I brought in the good weather, making my welcome extra warm with the thought that the sun followed. However, the rain has settled in for the last week, making me think that it was just a temporary thing and now Bosnia is used to me and back to its rainy days.

The Butcher, London Style

Butcher in Brixton, London. An Afro-Carribean district of London near my aunt's flat. I decided if I were to move to London, I'd move here. Even spoke some Spanish while here, which I love.

Skylines of Sarajevo

I found a man near my house who works at the Kodak store and will develop and scan my negatives for like 3USD. Amazing. So, I will actually be posting things from Sarajevo now!

These are different skylines of the city. The fields out by my house, the different church buildings downtown, and some more modern apartments out to the north of town.

Get ready for more pictures, and maybe, just maybe, I can get back to daily blogging again.

Kiddies at the Kiddie Park

Last summer I got to photograph a friend from high school and her family. She asked me to take pictures a year later. I've been wanting to do family pictures at the Kiddie Park off Broadway in San Antonio for a while and I finally got to! It was fun, and the location is perfect. However, we didn't know about a large private event during our shoot, but somehow we were able to stay and play and photograph without being kicked out (although a million kids running around is quite distracting for a nearly 2 year old).

To see more, go to my proofing site!