I recently had the opportunity to photograph (and eat) some of the delicious food at Sai Wok, a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant in Rogers. In case you're wondering, the food is just as delicious as it looks in the photos. Bon appétit.

Congratulations to Shelby King, who is getting ready to graduate college and spend a few months in the beautiful country of Ireland. And yes, she's taking that pretty orange bike along for the adventure. So of course it was only fitting that the bike be in her graduation portraits as well. Here's a few of my favorites. Happy Friday!

When one of your favorite clients hires you to go hike some pretty trails and take pictures along the way, you turn the assignment into a truck camping trip and take a few days to do it all. Such was the case earlier this year when I hit the road and journeyed from White Rock Mountain, to the Buffalo River Valley and then, onto Black Fork Mountain. Along the way, I slept in the back of my truck, cooked food on my my little Propane stove (minus the morning I splurged on a small town diner breakfast), and took some time to enjoy the scenery. 

There's not much I could say about the Mooney family that hasn't already been said. From their organization 99 Balloons, to their Atypical Podcast, they are well known and well-respected.  As an outsider looking in, it's easy to see the love that this family has for each other and for the world around them. They are an inspiring bunch and the life they live should challenge us all to see the people around us differently and beautifully.

This week, the workload is light and the need for adventure is high. So I am taking some time to drive, camp, paddle, pedal, explore and most importantly, breathe. The cool thing about this blog is that I can schedule posts ahead of time, to appear in my absence and I have taken full advantage of that technology. Happy Spring Break everyone.

A heartfelt thank you to all of my friends and clients who made 2017 such a memorable year. This blog post contains some of my favorite commercial and lifestyle images from 2017. I couldn't pick just a few favorites, so there's a lot. Send me your medical bills for injuries related to excessive scrolling and Have a Happy New Year. 

I'm convinced that you cannot live in Northwest Arkansas and not hear about The Preacher's Son, a fairly new restaurant and bar concept from the brilliant minds of The Ropeswing Group. The atmosphere is beautifully dramatic, yet homey and subtle. And the food...well the food is downright delicious. (You may recall a recent blog post for Food and Farm Magazine recipe for a salad that I couldn't stop eating.) Executive Chef Matt Cooper and his well-trained and good natured kitchen staff use locally sourced ingredients and insane amounts of creativity to create dishes as delicious to eat as they are beautiful to look at. I recently had the opportunity to hang out in the kitchen and create some images for the restaurant and today, I'm sharing a few of my favorites. Enjoy.

For full menu and hours, visit The Preacher's Son website.  

I recently had the opportunity to work on a publication project for Susan Schadt Press out of Memphis Tennessee. The project, a book chronicling the history and newly revitalized Shelby Farms Park, was recently completed and published. A couple weeks ago, I attended (and participated in) a book signing/launch event, a first for me as a photographer and as a living/breathing human. The finished product looks amazing and I am truly honored to be included in such a talented group of collaborators. Book design by DOXA.

Say hello to the the fine craftsman at the company, Assemblage. Nestled in the beautiful hills of Madison County, this small company hand-crafts (in their own words), "bespoke wall coverings" for a wide range of high-end clients. I had the opportunity to hang out at their workspace, an older but renovated rural factory building and photograph them for Arkansas Made Magazine. Here's a few of my favorite images. Enjoy. 

I recently had the opportunity to work on a project for Cycling Illustrated Magazine, OZ Trails NWA and Laneshift Mobility.  The project features legendary mountain bike racer Brian Lopes and his first trip to the area. I had the honor and privilege of spending a couple days with Him, along with Andre Pepin of Ellsworth Bikes and locals Clayton Woodruff of Progressive Trail Designs and Dustin Slaughter of Slaughter Trail Guides. It was a unique opportunity for me to not only witness first-hand some of the best mountain biking I've ever seen, but also to create images of it. Many many thanks to everyone for letting me be a part of the adventure. Enjoy the images and the link to the video. Cheers!

Amidst my time off, I have had the opportunity to work on a few commercial and lifestyle projects. This was easily one of my favorites. Micah Goodwin is a resident of Little Rock, Arkansas. When he's not working his day job as a lawyer, you can find him, suited up and "running" some of the country's craziest whitewater environments. Thanks to Arkansas Wild Magazine for the opportunity to not only photograph, but even witness this guy in action. Enjoy. 

For years, I've had the idea in my head to make a video for Novo Studio. The idea for the video was inspired by a voicemail message I created years ago that, in my mind, accurately describes why I would not be answering my phone. And to have a video that started from the voicemail message and then, journeyed into my life as a photographer and as a person seemed to make sense. Plus, I could put some music to it and avoid the awkward challenge of talking about myself and my business. 

But of course, life happened and with an incredibly busy season and twins, my idea remained an idea until I decided to take a creative sabbatical. When writing out my sabbatical bucket list, the creation of this video went right to the top and with the help of my dear friends and creative colleagues and my wife, I am happy to (FINALLY) share this video with you. Many thanks to Bryan Fittin, Jason Miller, Murray Williams and Kristen Thomas for making this whole thing possible. Enjoy. 

Another post from the unpublished drafts section of the blog: These are from a commercial project creating imagery for the University of Arkansas Art Department. Enjoy!

About the only time I don't mind getting up at 4am is if I'm heading into the great outdoors. Such was the case recently when myself and a few local rock climbers headed out to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch for some rock climbing and some photography for Arkansas Wild Magazine. Here's a few images from the day. Enjoy. 

Say hello (and goodbye) to this awesome pair of Merrell boots. This Throwback Thursday post is a tribute to the years and the miles that they faithfully served me.

Say hello to the Honeycomb Kitchen Shop. A newer establishment in the Downtown Rogers, area, Honeycomb is everything you will love about a boutique kitchen shop with a few added bonuses...

I must confess, with a fair amount of embarrassment, that visiting, photographing and writing about this wonderful next door neighbor of mine has been on my to-do list for quite sometime. Sure, we see each other in the comings and goings of everyday downtown life. When my kids were born, Myra (one of the owners) showed up at my studio with some gifts. And there happens to be a sign on my door that instructs personnel to deliver my packages next door when I am not present to accept and sign for them. To that end, you could say that I visit the bookshop next door quite a bit. But I’ve made a bad habit of never stopping long enough slow down, take it all in and enjoy the cozy atmosphere and the wide selection of books at my almost-immediate disposal. And that is a shame, because I love books.

It's that time of year again; The time of year where I try to recap an entire year's worth of photography work in a couple of blog posts and by doing so, post WAY too many photos. First up, a look back at my year in Lifestyle and Commercial Photographs. Enjoy. 

I recently had the opportunity to work with the fine folks at Evolt Creative and Habit Outdoors to create some imagery for a new website launch. However, I do use the term "work" very loosely, as this project should've been classified as more of an adventure than an actual job. For 2 days, myself and a videographer (Matt Jeppsen) were turned loose on a 1500 acre property on the King's River complete with ATV's, models and apparel. So you see? Adventure, not work :) Here's a few of the resulting images. Enjoy. 

Christmas for me came early this year, in the form of a Media Pass from Bike Arkansas Magazine, for the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) World Summit. Bentonville played host to the biennial event which can best be summed up as...