Basically Bob

So Bob is your normal 65-year-old California native who immigrated to Utah by way of Texas. He always wanted to be a cowboy so he went to business school at BYU and became a very successful Pharmaceutical manager.  Apparently the distance from the top of a horse to the ground was not all that appealing in real life.  He doesn’t feel old except when he has a hard time getting out of the rollercoaster seat at the new Harry Potter gig in Florida.   So all in all Bob is a normal guy and not just because he is a retired baby boomer from California.  He is normal cause he can relax, unless you ask him if he is normal, in which case he tenses up and rapidly reminds you he is not normal.

When he relaxes and thinks about it Bob figures he is normal because just like Donald Trump, he puts his pants on one leg at a time.  Even though his pants did not cost 10 billion dollars.   He is not a respecter of persons but stupid people really drive him nuts. After all he feels that normal people think before they act, unless they are being spontaneous. Most of all his judging of people is something he hates about himself but does anyway when people forget to use logic.

Part of what makes Bob normal is he tries to find balance in his life between his career, (being retired) his family, (his greatest success in life) his religion, (devout Mormon) personal time, and friends.  Not to mention that he has a body temperature of 98.6 degrees and a dog, essential requirements for normalcy.

For Bob normal people are comfortable with themselves, except for the parts they don’t like.  They known both success and failure: he found his success in work, along with his 4 perfect daughters and wife. While failures include a not so good relationship with his dad and having his piano instructor run off because he was that terrible…

Bob believes there are a lot of normal people left in the world. This hope will not be confirmed according to him until the 2016 election is over. So like most normal people he knows his Presidential candidate (it’s not Trump) is the correct one to save society. 

In the end I know Bob is normal cause he loves his family a lot, you can see that in his eyes when he talks about them. He is a loyal friend; tender hearted, and cares about people.  He, like most normal people, loves himself unless he is mad at himself. Plus his life is balanced, unless he is a little wobbly. 

Thanks Bob for the smiles and thoughts!

Sierra

Meet Sierra, like the mountains in California, only she is full of gold. When she walks in the studio you feel a bright sense of hope, caring and longing for more. She is totally a uniquely normal girl that like most totally uniquely normal girls loves horses.  She thinks most people like being normal because it means they fit in, for her standing out may be more in line with normal. Here are some thoughts from both of us about why she is a NORMAL person.

Her: Horse people are normal people and she loves horses therefore is normal.

Me: There is some bundled up sassy in all that innocent pretty smile.

Her: She loves being in the outdoors hunting elk and enjoying nature.

Me: She hopes for success in the future despite its great unknowns.

Her: She is normal because her greatest joy comes from helping others and the feelings that brings.

In the end Sierra showed me that being normal is being unique and smiling when the world may frown at you. Normal is getting out and doing things you love with people who understand your passions. That perhaps being normal has nothing to do with fitting in but rather standing out, with a rose tattoo and a melt your heart smile while serving others.

After all NORMAL people are full of dreams....

Juls

Meet Juls a.k.a Julie. She is my first official normal person to participate in the normal person project.   Based on this shoot this is going to be an amazing adventure and I am so excited for the things we are going to learn. Now here are some things according to me and her that make Julie a NORMAL PERSON.

Her: She freezes and gets nervous when having her picture taken.

Me: She is strong yet soft like beautiful women everywhere.

Her: Having her hair pulled back is a way of life to gain 15 minutes extra time in a busy life. Which leaves more time for visiting with friends and loved ones and keeping up on social media.

Me: Her eyes are the light of her body and like all eye's they shine with the love she has to offer, which equates to a few million tons in this case.

Her: Night sweats and hot flashes are now part of life. But what really makes her normal is she is accepted and loved by her group of peers.

Thank you Julie for an amazing 15 minutes of your time!! For the rest of you please be sure to like and share the post right after you schedule your time to be part of the project. 

Traditional

When Mike McKell called and asked if I would do his Family and personal photographs I was super excited, after all it's not everyday you get the opportunity to photograph a State Congressman.  Who also happens to be a very successful lawyer, business owner, husband, father and slightly obsessed hunter and fisherman, yes a politician with hunting and fishing "stories" (Don't worry I have boot's designed for this kind of crap, I mean stuff). As I spent time photographing him and his family one word kept coming to mind; traditional.

In the art world sometimes traditional is like a bad four letter word that run amuck in length because it is so boring. In politics as of late it seems to be a word to describe grumpy, rich old men, who hate everything and everyone but their own personal wealth, power and ego. This family,  just also happens to fit the "traditional Mormon" stereotype of Mom, Dad, married in the temple, with four kids. They also wanted to do a formal look, you know formal like suits, dress's, the kind of stuff I have to wear for three hours on Sunday kind of clothing, in the studio on a perfectly sunny beautiful spring day kind of traditional. Are you bored yet?

Through the course of the session this totally traditional family taught me a great deal about traditional, they showed me that we far to often get traditional wrong. Traditional is not so much a descriptive term as it is a value we all need. The McKell's showed me in their smiles, kindness, laughter, love, and charity that traditional is a lot of things.

Traditional is love: Love of your family, community, state and country. This love is not about the make up of your family or the color of the state in which you live. Traditional is just good old fashioned love, the smiling, hugging, laughing and helping kind of love.

Traditional is commitment: Commitment to your dreams, family, job and fellow man. This commitment could care less who you vote for or your political party but how you stay the course in rough times and good times. Commitment is about holding true to principles like liberty, freedom, faith and equality. Commitment is about preserving these ideals we hold self evident up as a light for our kids and the world to see.

Traditional is fun: The pull your sister's hair, photobomb mom then run as fast as you can through the pasture kind of fun. The fun that happens as you do crazy things like spin around on the modeling stool and karate moves as you walk down the drive way.  As counter intuitive as it sounds this traditional family knows how to have fun.

Traditional is Charity: The give your shirt off your back to help your neighbor kind of charity. The spend hours and hours of service to help people, to show people that someone cares. Traditional is doing your best to help take care of those around you. Giving something for the benefit of all. Perhaps the greatest thing I saw through my lens when it was pointed at the McKells was true charity, pure love.

As I photographed the McKell family I saw all the goodness that is traditional, the kind of traditional we all need.  I loved every minute of it!!

**As a disclaimer he still has to convince me his policies are the best to get my vote at the county convention, but I know for sure he is a good man!!

 His campaign add will however have amazingly inviting photo's that will persuade many.  Your welcome Mike :-)

Colored Glasses

When I was a kid I remember putting on colored glasses and being amazed how the world became a whole new color. Now that I am old I love to put colored glasses on as I edit my photo's. It is amazing what can happen when you add just a little bit of color, how the mood changes and what we feel is often dramatically different. Below is a photo I took tonight and then added some of my favorite filters to. Would love to know how they make you feel. It is always interesting to me to get the ideas of others and contrast them with my own.

Original strait from camera

Filter 1

Filter 2

 Filter 3

Filter 4

www.nathaniviephotography.com

Horsing around

So there are a few things I love, my family, horses, and photography. The best part is I get those things together often.  Well actually everyday in one form or another. Today I wanted to share some of my favorite photo's of people and horses. Tomorrow starts the Utah horse expo and I have a booth set up showcasing the work I do with both. A couple things to keep in mind as you try to combine people and horses.

*People listen a little better than horses, set them up and watch for the horse to be correct with ears up and attentive expression.

*Take your time, horse respond to soft voices and quite movement, remember this and avoid your subjects literally running away.

*Step back and use a long lens, one challenge with a horse is avoiding lens distortion, while a close up of a horses nose may look cute, no one likes their nose or their horses to look long and big. A zoom lens will allow you to step back and zoom in avoiding lens distortion.

*Show love, people love their horses like people love their dogs. Set up poses and settings that allow that affection to shine.

www.nathaniviephotography.com