Juskuz Photography

Our apartment in Lewiston, ME. 

So, it feels like we just moved to Maine… and I suppose we did as we’ve only been here 5 months. Anyway, it’s already time to move on. The last few months have been fun, but I can’t say that we’re any closer to finding a permanent life path. This next leg of our journey should be fun though. In just a couple of days we will be packing up again and moving to Vermont. For the time being we’re going to be crashing on couches and with some luck we will have a new place to live within a few months. 

Being here has been fun and I have to say that I’m pretty disappointed that we won’t have the opportunity to explore more of Maine. I was really excited about the 100 mile wilderness, kayaking in Acadia National Park, and being within striking distance of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Also, I met some really cool people here, and not just the kind of people you become acquainted with, friend on Facebook and go have a drink with after a long day at work. These guys are long-term friend material, and it’s unfortunate that our paths are diverging. 

Anyway, I just wanted to share some recent photos from Maine and wish everyone a Happy Holidays!

Later.

Eric and his girlfriend Sam

The man himself… Jason Bosch

Another snap of Eric

Freddy the cat…

So, I know I’ve been sucking out and not posting very much lately. But, things around here have been busy… really. So, the big news first:

My wife Mari was recently offered a short-term position teaching geology at Bates College in Lewiston, ME and it looks like we will be moving out there sometime towards the end of July or beginning of August. Now, we’ve lived in Houghton for the last decade or so and this is going to be a big change and a lot of time has been being spent on figuring out where we’re going to stay, when we’re moving, how we’re moving, etc… There is still a lot to work out, but I’ll let everyone know more as soon as we know more.

Next up… a lot of my recent time spent not at work has been spread out between trying to do a better job helping out around the house and running/biking. With Mari spending a lot of time at home this winter after graduating I was able to get complacent and didn’t really have to do much because Mari was being a super-wife and pretty much taking care of everything. Now she has more on her plate and I’m doing my best to help pick up the slack. Let’s just say it’s a work in progress. As for the biking/running… I pretty much always try develop some kind of routine. And with all of the traveling I did this winter there wasn’t much time left for things like working out and spring arrived with me being heavier than I’ve been in a very long time. Because of this I’ve really been trying to make sure to take advantage of any free time and getting out from behind the computer and getting on the bike or going for a run. I’m feeling pretty good and just need to start bumping up my milage and things should take care of themselves.

On the photo front things have been a little quiet. I haven’t been shooting too much, but when out I’ve been trying to make the most of it. I captured some early spring surfing a few weeks ago and it looks like some of the images might be appearing in the fall issue of The StandUp Journal. Below in the most recent issue of Adventure Kayak I happy to say I have a handful of images. Here’s the link to the online version – Click Here.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Hopefully, I will start getting out a little more now that the weather and trail conditions are improving. Getting out more means more posts, so stay tuned.

Later.

So, it’s the end of the ski season here in Upper Michigan. This is one of my favorite times to take pictures in the park. It’s warmer and there are less people so I can set up wherever I want and not be in the way. Also, the talent has had the entire season to get their tricks dialed and everyone is feeling super comfortable on all of the obstacles. So, for the last couple of nights we’ve been at the park shooting a couple of the features. The one I was most excited about was the launch rail. From most angles it seems pretty tame and some of the artwork on the sides isn’t all that appealing. But, if you look at it from the next set of features downhill it becomes a large triangle. The problem is you can see inside the structure and it again isn’t all that pretty. So, when I started thinking about lighting this feature I immediately wanted to light it from the sides and shoot it when it’s dark enough to push much of the background to black. Here you can see some of the shots earlier in the evening while the talent was warming up and there was still some light in the sky.

Not quite warm yet…

Getting warmer…

Here’s a pull back to show our setup…

Here’s my favorite shot of the night… Watson getting some good air. I really like the geometry of the shot…

Here’s another fav. Again, I really just like the shapes. I wish I would have framed it a little lower to include more of the snow… but what are you gonna do

The following night a couple of guys wanted to set one of the rails on fire and, well… I’m always game. Turns out it’s a little harder to set a rail on fire that one might think. Everyone was expecting larger flames, but I think what we came away with is still pretty cool. One of the other things we didn’t really consider was that the rail would get a little grabby once it got hot. This caused a few tumbles… no injuries fortunately, but definitely something to keep in mind.

Theresa Kewley looking HOT with someone creeping out in the background…

Ryan Nordstrom getting his blaze on…

Well, it’s been so long since I’ve updated this here blog. I don’t even know where to begin and everything has kind of run together in my mind anyway. So, I’m just going to take this opportunity to fill in the blanks a little bit. In the last post I made mention of our Whistler ski trip and our trip out to Ottawa. Here I will hopefully cover the rest. Basically the last 2 months looked a little something like this…

Jan 26-4: Whistler Ski Trip
Feb 4-6: Icefest
Feb 7-10: Work
Feb 11-13: Ottawa
Feb 14-16: Winter Trade Show in Madison
Feb 17-18: Work
Feb 19-20: Only Free Weekend!
Feb 21-24: Work
Feb 25-27: Ray’s Women’s Weekend in Milwaukee for Bike Mag
Feb 28-Mar 4: Work
Mar 5-6: Copper Dog, Parents in Town
Mar 7-10: Work
Mar 10-13: Searchmont Ski Trip
Mar 14-17: Work
Mar 18-20: Home for Dad’s heart surgery
Mar 21-Today: Work

That’s basically how I spent my last two months. Now, it’s been busy… but not all of it has been work and a lot of it has been pretty fun. There just isn’t much time left for some of the projects I’m supposed to be working on in my free-time which creates a little stress. But that should be coming to an end pretty soon. There’s nothing on the calendar for a while which hopefully means I can get some stuff accomplished in the upcoming weeks.

So here’s the photo illustration part:

Ice climbing at the Curtains during Icefest

We saw a record number of people at Icefest.. 511!

One of my favorite products from the trade show in Madison. I actually liked them so much that I ordered a pair while at the show and had them in time to ski at Searchmont. Best boots I’ve ever had.

Just a random helmet… these photos are just to prove I was there. It’s really not all that exciting.

One of the female participants working it on the Pump Track at Rays

Two dudes showing off for the camera at Rays

The start of the Copper Dog 150

Bretzl helping guide teams to the start

One of the teams out on the course

Jason giving snowboarding a shot at Searchmont

The only problem is how far away from the lifts we were…:)

Our last night they had a torch parade… anyone that was interested could grab a flare and go for a run… crazy canadians!

My dad after his heart surgery

Here are some photos from Ripley. One of my projects this winter has been to shoot some photos of the place throughout the winter. Because it’s been so busy I haven’t been over there as much as I’d like. Also, with no weekend free I don’t have the opportunity to get over there during the day when there’s some light. Now, the snow is melting and there really isn’t much time left. I’m hoping to get some stuff this week and maybe this weekend. Here are some shots from this last week. I ducked out of work a little early a couple of days to get some of these.

Today we woke up to cars covered in snow. After suffering through a little warm spell I was actually a little excited to have to shovel the car out. After clearing out the driveway we grabbed our skis and headed over to Mont Ripley. The photos pretty much tell the story of what happened next. With any luck the Lake Superior snow guns will keep it coming. I wouldn’t mind another couple feet of snow.

Later.

Last night was the Down Wind Xmas party. It was pretty sweet as Dan was his usual self. In typical Danimal fashion he stuffed something in his shirt, stood up on a table or chair in the restaurant, and showed his nipples to people that weren’t there with us. It’s these three things that make the Down Wind Christmas party in Houghton the event that it is. Oh… and I should mention that all the employees got some sweet gifts. The guys got nano puff jackets from Patagonia, and the gals got insulated skirts from Skhoop.

Afterwards I told Anna I would give her a ride to the Dee as John was there playing hockey. I decided to bring the camera – it’s what I do – to take some photos. Here are some random images from that game. John’s in net and Kane Johnson, Chris Marr, and Kyle Rubin were all out there also.

Happy Holidays!

Makela hiking up the T-bar line…

Kyla, Makela, and Lynner nearing the top…

Lynn and Mak taking a break and getting out of the wind after hiking up…

Mari, Lynn, Mak, and Bill Marlor preparing for the way down…

Bill getting ready to drop into Wipeout…

Glen testing out his new telemark skis and skins…

The Husky Chair at Mont Ripley was acting up today. A little before noon it decided it didn’t want to run stranding quite a few skiers and snowboarders on the chairs high above the ground. Fortunately, the Mont Ripley Ski Patrol is very well organized and in a very short amount of time had crews out on the hill helping the stranded persons back to the safety of the snow below. Here are some images of the guys in action. After watching them work it was obvious that they were trained well and I definitely feel like safer knowing that they’re around. Hopefully the lift will be up and running again tomorrow. I think we’re going to head over a little early and hike a few runs and go from there.

Think Snow!

John Mancini at the top of the T-Bar ready to go…

Just thought I’d share a couple of images from this Friday’s Dawn Patrol at Mont Ripley. This is a regular thing during the winter months here in Houghton. If you’re ever awake at 5am on a Friday wishing you had something to do… grab your skis or snowboard and come join us. Last year was my first year and I will definitely be out there more this season.

Think Snow!

At the top of Center Bowl with my new hellbents… not exactly hellbent conditions but they’re new and I just had to get on them

Chuck packing up his skins after the hike up…

Well… we skiing here in the Keweenaw. Coverage is not complete, and there are still quite a few thin spots and some rocks, but there are actually a lot of good turns to be had. Plus its just nice to get up and get going in the morning and be active again. The last few weeks for me have felt pretty lazy… no more biking, very little running, lots of sitting in front of a computer at work. I’m just glad things are changing over. Now if only I were any good at this skiing thing I would be all set.

Later.

Michigan Tech from the top of Mont Ripley…

Chuck charging through the snow, grass and icy crust…