Portrait of a Jewelry Artist: Leticia Niemuth

Leticia is the creative force behind Gem-n-i & Co. Designs jewelry. We spent the day with her, her husband Nathan and their cute little pug Oso to do some portraits. Oso needed some motivation in the form of biscuits! He could sniff them out no matter where we hid them!

Fine Jewelry Photography for Scottsdale Bead Supply

We met Mike Charveaux and his wife Kelly of Scottsdale Bead Supply at the fall Tucson Best Bead Show. They gave me the opportunity to photograph some of their beautiful inlaid jewelry designs for a new ad campaign. To see more of their incredible work, visit their website at: Scottsdale Bead Supply

Photography for World Flame Off at Fall Best Bead Show, Tucson, AZ

We've finally caught up from our 3 days down in Tucson at the 3rd annual fall Best Bead Show. We were setup on location to photograph artist's work as well as cover the entries for the World Flame Off. We met many wonderful artists here and had a great time! Some images from the World Flame Off are below, as well as several of our favorite pieces. Enjoy!

Artist Bronwen Heilman


Artist Margaret Zinser


Artist Josh Mazet


Artist Michael Turner (photographed under ultraviolet light to show glow glass powder)

Artist Jah Free (photographed under ultraviolet light)

Artist Greg Hoglin


Artist Filip Vogelpohl

Artist Dolly Ahles

Artist Chris Riley

Artist Devin Somerville

Nature Photography at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, AZ

The second half of our Labor Day adventure was visiting Boyce Thompson Arboretum, just down the hill from Globe near Superior, AZ. Our timing couldn't have been better. The weather was cooler than normal and the wildlife abundant! We happened to see a very rare, once-in-a-lifetime hybrid hummingbird, an interesting cross between a broad-billed and violet-crowned hummingbird. Volunteer Program Coordinator Paul Wolterbeek was kind enough to point this guy out!

Hybrid Hummingbird

Broad-Billed Hummingbird

Black-Chinned Hummingbirds

Green Lynx Spider

Cardinal eating a large Praying Mantis!

Weekend Getaway in Globe, Arizona

Amanda and I decided to try something new for Labor Day. Rather than risk getting stuck on the freeway for hours upon hours, we opted for a vacation a little closer to home. We stayed at a great bed & breakfast in the small mining community of Globe, AZ. Noftsger Hill Inn was Globe's first elementary school. The "classrooms" were huge, probably half the size of our home with 20-foot ceilings, and decorated with beautiful antique furniture. The smell of breakfast in the morning was all the motivation we needed to get up and explore!

Amanda makes her AZ gubernatorial bid alongside two former governor greats (both from Globe): George W.P. Hunt and Rose Mofford.



Some cool alley scenes from historical downtown.
A night shot of Broad Street, Globe's historic district.

Dave tricked into wearing a sombrero for a cheesy photo op!

Amanda relaxing at Vida e Cafe (great Chai here!).

The view from Pinal Peak in the Tonto National Forest, south of Globe.

Did Somebody Order a Monsoon?

Tonight was perhaps the best night in Monsoon season this year, maybe even in the last 10 years! We had a constant barrage of strobe-like cloud-to-cloud lightning and continuous rumbling. Not a moment was it quiet or dark! No words can describe it! Here's one photo I managed to capture but it definitely does not do the storm justice.

Creepy Crawlies

If you're scared of anything with 8 legs that bites or stings, consider this your warning! Read no further . . .

Of course, we're a little scared too. But somehow these guys insist on making themselves a part of our lives, especially in the sweltering summer months. There is nothing quite so disconcerting as coming home late at night, getting ready for bed, and finding a large alien-looking scorpion poised and waiting for you at the bottom of the shower. If they could talk, it would be something like, "I've been expecting you. Just come a little closer." At least that's what I imagine they're saying. This summer, rather than going on an all-out eradication mission, I decided to make peace with some of these spiders and scorpions and get some interesting photos while I was at it. That is not to say that there aren't any casualties (mostly Black Widows). But for the most part I've made an effort to relocate the trespassers.

This Arizona bark scorpion was on our block wall in the backyard. I had to get a little less than a foot away with my macro lens to get these shots. But the scorpion was actually pretty passive, and thankfully doesn't have the ability to leap off of walls like many of the spiders around here.



This "speeder-spider" (as my Mom affectionately calls them) made himself at home on our car. I took some photos of him next to our window decal to give you an idea of the sheer size of these guys. They have an uncanny ability to show up dangling over your head while you're fumbling for your keys and trying to unlock the front door, or maybe crawl up your arm while you're on the freeway driving to work (poor Amanda!). So far we haven't been bit, but they do have some pretty impressive looking mandibles!