we loved our time with eric and lindsay at the tower theatre a couple of weeks ago…  it’s an amazing place for a ceremony and you get to have your name in lights.  just a few steps outside gives you the ability to stop traffic.  please enjoy…

"j" took the bus…  He was blessed with a great day, got his belongings back, and got a great job at the ritz carlton.
the same night, he was jumped by a gang of guys who drug him out of his tent on the beach and beat him so badly he spent the night in the hospital.  with a broken jaw and swelled head, he called to tell me the news.
I just have to ask the question that can’t be answered… why?  why do people do what they do?
blessings,
–b

"j" came to maui to live out a dream. 
having spent most of his working life in the restaurant business, going to culinary school in maui seemed like a good idea.
Not long into his stay, "j’s" afflictions and addictions landed him homeless, jobless and living on the beach.  an abandoned tent serves as shade, while countless people from nearby resorts walk by.  perhaps they notice him out of the corner of their eye, but not one in weeks has made verbal contact.

lauren broke the silence. 

sometimes my heart is a bit reluctant.  all too often I feel like the resort dweller,  too busy and too tired to make contact.  what amazes me when i’m (thankfully) awoken to reality is how wonderfully relational we were created.  we use email, blogs, texts and phones to communicate, but how often do we sit down with someone we hardly (or don’t) know to get to know them?  we’re either too scared or too preoccupied.

after a few long talks with "j", i find he’s no different than anyone else i know.  his particular circumstances are slightly different, yes, but the person is the same.  i almost felt as though by ignoring his existence i was ignoring mine, and by speaking with him i felt more alive.

"j" is going to be alright, more than alright. like all of us from time to time, he just needs a little help and some encouragement.  I can identify with that.
"j" knows there is a plan for his life and he’s all about starting over to find that path, at this very moment, he’s on a bus ride to change his direction.  his sunburn is a reminder of where he’s been, and in time it will fade.  at his request, i captured a moment of his time on the beach of ka’anapali so that in the coming years he can remember where he’s been, so he can always remember where he needs to be.

let "j" be the encouragement to you that he is to lauren and i.  it takes courage to get on a bus.
God bless you "j."

have you ever looked at someone and wondered if there were crazy?
While visiting a very touristy section of Lahaina, Maui yesterday, we experienced such a person.

On a very busy street corner stood a man with long hair, a guitar, a bible and a shirt that read "Jesus Village."  screaming into the air the man read scripture to the seemingly unaware as they passed by on the their way to the local shops.

lauren and I, who believe the Bible is complete truth, were curious.  we found ourselves, although the man was using the text of the Bible, still wondering if he was crazy.  we thought it either takes a lot of guts to stand on the corner and proclaim the words of the Bible, or insanity. 

after the man, whom we later came to know as Phillip, was finished, he retreated from the street corner to his home, a flattened cardboard box under the giant banyan tree.   along with a new friend we met while listening to Phillip, Lauren and I followed Phillip to his "home."

without going into great detail, I’ve come to realize something.  just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so to is sanity.  to many who walked by Phillip as he preached from the corner, I’m sure they thought he was a crazy lunatic, probably drunk, who just needed a job. 

those who take the time to get to know Phillip know he has a job as a teacher, of sorts.  he’s not homeless, he receives all the comfort he needs.  he eats well, and has a generosity unmatched by any who live in a large house with a healthy bank account.

Phillip taught me that insanity isn’t the man on the street corner proclaiming what he believes in, it’s the man who’s afraid to do it.  Insanity is walking by those who need something to eat, or drink.  It’s not our job to decide who’s worthy of our handouts.

This Thanksgiving, I give thanks for Phillip.  I choose to post the most beautiful picture I have to offer…

aloha from maui! 
we’re on vacation for the holiday and want to wish you a very happy thanksgiving. 
no matter where we are in life, no matter the circumstances, there is always something to be thankful for.

i’ll post some maui shots throughout the trip.
Blessings!

spent some time in the studio with our good friend Jeramy Burchett, a professional studio drummer based out of portland, or.  here’s some grabs…

wow.  we’ve been busy.  shooting a ton of wonderful commercial projects, portraits and a great article that we couldn’t show, until now…
we were blessed to shoot the cover of this months Bend Living as well as the accompanying article on "extraordinary kids."
please enjoy these images from the shoot…

we were blessed to hang out with mark and amy in portland for their wedding.
please enjoy a few moments…

days from now, or perhaps even minutes, a small child will come in to this world blessed to look up and see rachel smiling back…

we’re honored to be the first featured artists in Antioch’s new magazine.  check them out, get plugged in!

we were blessed to shoot the style issue for the source.  I didn’t know my friend gary could leap like he does.  now that I know, I’ll be careful…

mc is a summit high rockstar.  here’s a few from the shoot, thanks mc!