Jaime

My friend Jaime had an idea for a photo and it evolved into a quick photo shoot before work one day in which we made the most of one hour of shooting time. I have to say that Tina's choice in one nice clean studio layout and a ridiculously nice couch made where to take the photos a lot easier. Thanks T. And thank you Jaime for being a good friend and being a lovely model.

The POWER of the Canon 24mm 1.4L by Cleo the Cat.

So today I am posting a couple simple photos of Cleo the Cat. She is an amazing little animal that has become a good friend of mine over the past little bit. What's amazing is that I was horribly allergic cats not long ago, but somehow, my body has adapted and I am able to enjoy them (her cohort, George aka Big Man, aka Morris, aka Fat Man, aka Dreamsicle, aka Big Boy, aka Butterscoth, aka...you get the point; is also in the house) with no allergy meds at all. Pretty cool I think. With that said, I am still allergic, but as long as I don't touch my eyes, I seem to be good.

So this is a simple tech post about the might Canon 24mm 1.4L camera lens. For those that aren't familiar, lenses are generally not that sharp wide open (f1.4). This is so not the case with the 24 1.4. This b%@$# is tack sharp wide open and grillin' close to the subject. Cleo was my willing model for this quick exercise. Note the incredibly narrow depth of field,; especially impressive considering it is a wide angle lens.

Winter in Chicago

As many of you know, I'm a recovering climbing and nature addict now living in Chicago. This set of shots comes from me enjoying the wild, cold, and dangerous winter that exists here in the city. Many of the shots below were taken on the very coldest of days. This was my way of escaping the city and being back in nature; when it is -20F, there is no city, only cold and the need to stay warm. This has brought me a lot of joy and piece of mind while being outside the country and wilderness that I am so familiar with. I hope this will help you to enjoy the photos, since most of you viewing this are my friends and know me well. With that said, I really enjoy being here in the wilderness that is Chi.

















This is the old Zion Church next to where Tina and I live. It was built in 1866 and is now a permanent art installation.

Johsua Tree

These are from a recent trip to Joshua Tree Nat'l Park, CA. With Tina, Bonnie, Val, August, and Kadile; we enjoyed good weather, great scenery and superb climbing in the high desert of So Cal. Good times.

These are some shots from the airplane on the flight out. I used my Canon point and shoot in RAW via a program on the memory card called CDHK...for all those inclined. Thanks for the heads up on that on Joe.







This is Val on his first ever traditional lead on Overhang Bypass. Well done Val!



Tina on Fote Hog, a 200ft route in the Real Hidden Valley...she's 6mos pregnant! And crushed it...safely.



Bonnie flashing Illusion Dweller on toprope. Bonnie pretty much killed it the whole trip!



This is Bonnie on her second trad lead on Sail Away, a classic fingers to hand crack.









And this is my bother from another mother, Mike Kadile, also on Sail Away.






And this is August also enjoying Sail Away with yet another spectacular skyscape.



And here is a couple pics of the landscape that is J Tree.







This is a bulb exposure of Mike with a flash that I popped on his face. One of my faves of the trip...although I don't have any that I don't like.



This is August spray painting light. The artist for the light was Val.


All images Copyright 2009 Aaron Brouwer Photography