June!!

I just wanted to post that I am pretty stoked that it is June now.. Even though it feels like I've been away from Ashley FOREVER, if I look back on it time really is moving quickly! I still remember when I was two months away from my mid tour getting all excited! Now Im just a little over two months until coming home to my family PERMANENTLY! I have already promised that unless it is completely out of my control I will never leave their side again.. If I have to come back to Korea again, there is NO WAY its going to be without them this time.. Ash and I have been married over 3 years now and only spent half of that time together because of this job and that is not the way it is supposed to be at all.. We knew what we were in for when we signed up, but I dont think we quite realized exactly how things would turn out. Im so grateful though that I have such an amazing wife that supports me and is there for me through anything! Many marriages fail because of separation like ours, but I truly believe that we have only grown stronger from it, and now there is nothing that could ever take us apart!
I love you Ashley Ann.. and I cant wait to grow old with you :)

Retro picture of Ash and I back in the day :)

Portrait Session - Katrina Turco

So I've been doing a lot more marketing and handing out a bunch of business cards, trying to set up some sessions for our portfolio. We are currently preparing a website and its time to get some more work to display! Well Katrina was the first one to reply so we set up a shoot this past Saturday. Katrina is here in Korea teaching English for the summer and she is from Florida! Small world huh?
She was great! She had never had her pictures taken before "professionally" other than school photos yet she was a natural when it came to posing and fell right into place! Im totally loving the shots we got and Im sure she will as well. Thanks so much Katrina, you did awesome!

Well enough talk here are some of the shots from the day -

Yea... Ever had random drunk people wearing Kilts come running through your photo shoot? I have now! 

What is it about colorful benches that is so AWESOME?

Oh Happiness!

Today just happens to be an awesome day. Just got done work, which was long, but rewarding..
If you don't already know, I am an Avionics Specialist on the F16 Fighter Jets here in Korea. It is a pretty awesome job considering all the crazy things I see everyday and learn, but very stressful. As an Avionics Specialist we deal with a variety of systems that the pilot uses, anywhere from Flight controls, to Radar and everything in between. Basically the pilots break the jet, and we slave away to keep them flying! It is very rewarding and even though a lot of times I am miserable because of the long hours and weekends, I still don't think there are a whole lot of jobs that could top it. Other than photography of course!
Today I was able to fix one of our Jets in time for "first go" of the day, even though it had been broke for various reasons that we thought would ground it for days! Its always rewarding when you know you worked hard to be able to get that jet to fly that day when it was broke..
Now its off to a to a LONG OVERDUE 4 day weekend! I cant even remember the last time I had a three day weekend, or even a "full" two day weekend! Im loving it, AND I have a portrait photo shoot tomorrow which is going to be amazing! So yea.. if you cant tell Im pretty stoked right now..

The ONLY thing that could make this weekend better right now would be if ashley was here.. I miss you so much ash.. and weekends just are never the same..
Hope everyone else has a great Memorial weekend as well!!

Old shot of an F-16 takeoff that I took back in Arizona before "Under the Stars Photography" existed

"Believing in art, is believing in yourself."

I set out this weekend to do a lot of marketing and all in all it went pretty well I think. If you're seeing this because I talked to you about Under the Stars this weekend, please shoot me an email and lets set something up! Also, if you haven't already, be sure to check out our Facebook.

Ok so I've been following Chase Jarvis for a while now and it doesn't seem to matter what he touches it turns to gold. I am always extremely motivated by the heart he pours into everything, and this show with We are Augustines is no different. It is so good to really think that everyone has a struggle, but you can push through it if you believe in yourself! I cant say that I have figured out exactly how yet though. I myself recently have been pushing through several struggles, anything from being away from my beautiful wife Ashley and son Aspen, to trying to get UTS photography on its feet. When Ash and I set out to make this business happen I didn't quite realize just how much work it was going to be, then we topped it off by the decision to go to Korea alone.

It has been crazy hard being away from them, and I know it is the same for them as well. When you decide to spend the rest of your life with someone and make your two hearts one, then you become this thing, that requires you to be together to function normally. Your heart is totally not meant to be ripped apart and that is the way I feel about being out here anymore. I still think that it is what is best for us in the long run, but it is just SO hard to see that when I'm sitting in my "cubical" of a dorm room staring at pictures of the love of my life, or watching videos of my son growing older. I just know that I have to keep pushing through and believing in myself and it will all turn out work out. Its just a matter of 3 months now till I will be where I belong!

Anyways here is the Chase Jarvis live session with We Are Augustines, and thus the motivation for my blog today. Check it

Mt Daedun

Finally got the chance to work on the pictures from last weekends trip! We took an ITT trip from base to Mt. Daedun about 2 hours away. Our "tour guide" was a 70 year old Korean man who insisted that we all stayed together on the hike. I'm not a huge fan of that idea because, being a photographer, I like to explore and take my time finding sweet spots, but it wasn't too bad. Oh, and this "tour guide" of ours was up the mountain with much less struggle and MUCH faster then most of the people that went with us! It once again backs up my "Koreans make us look lazy" belief!

The mountains there were rugged and beautiful, kind of reminding me of Sedona, Arizona. When Ashley and I were stationed there we hated it so much because of the lack of seasons and the desert and all that, but honestly I am really starting to miss it. Maybe its just because I am here alone and it is no fun, or just the fact that my dorm room is making me go crazy. Just THREE more months and I will be back where I belong holding two people that mean the world to me.. I am starting to get anxious!

Anyways a little more about the hike..
At one spot there was a bridge that crossed peaks and you could feel it swaying in the wind! Most people were practically running across it in fear, but of course not me! I was standing in the middle of it taking pictures of course..

There was also this AWESOME staircase that you are only allowed to climb up, as it was too steep and narrow to have people climbing down as well! It was quite the experience and I'm not going to lie, stopping, turning around, and taking a picture back down while on this staircase was kinda creepy! But, of course I did it..

I posted some more of the pictures from the trip on our Facebook if you would like to see!

Going to do some marketing this weekend if all goes well and hopefully be able to land some portrait sessions to use for our portfolio and upcoming website! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Jumping off cliffs and editing

Yesterday a few of my friends and I went hiking at Mt. Daedun, which ended up being pretty awesome. The mountain range is made up of very rugged cliffs and steep climbs, which made it challenging, but BEAUTIFUL! Hopefully I'll get to the pictures this week sometime..

While we were there though I couldn't stop thinking about this video Ashley had sent me a little while ago. Not only is the video freakin amazing, but what's even more amazing is that my WIFE sent it to me and said she wanted to do it! How many people have wives as awesome as that?! I'm just sayin..

Anyways so you can see what I'm talking about here is the video..

On another note, most everyone knows that my wife and I love photography and are planning on making a very successful business with it. We have recently decided to pinpoint our direction specifically to weddings and portraiture. I don't know what it is about people, but they are the most challenging and rewarding subjects I have ever shot, and what could be better than shooting the happiest day of some ones life? My dilemma lies in that while I am trying to get through my last few months out here in Korea I find myself losing interest in all other aspects of photography as ALL I WANT TO SHOOT is portraiture, and to be honest the opportunity hasn't been coming up really at all. I work with mostly guys and of course, guys are too "hard" to need their pictures taken, and I really haven't  put myself out there I guess. 

So in writing this Im hoping I can either find some motivation to get myself out there a little more OR I can time warp to August when I will be home with Ashley and we can get serious about putting together our portfolio.. I know which choice I WANT to happen! :)

I miss you Ashley and Aspen.. and our four legged furrballs..

Head in a clean spot!

Another cloudy/rainy day here in Korea, and Im loving it! Ever since I was living in Arizona and hardly ever getting rain, I have loved it! Its funny how we sometimes take the simplest things for granted until they are gone..

Oh and if you are an aspiring photographer, or want to be an aspiring photographer and you have not yet discovered Zack Arias you are totally missing out! I've been spending all the little free time I get watching his "Foundations of a working photographer" class on creativeLive. It is amazing! He starts at the VERY basic and just really hits every possible angle you could think of. I specifically love his point of view on the equipment that we use.. Anyways if you get a chance it is totally worth a look!  Hope everyone is having a great week!

Happy Mommies Day!

A Mother's Love
written by Helen Steiner Rice.

A Mother's love is something
that no on can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it
or take that love away . . .
It is patient and forgiving
when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
even though the heart is breaking . . .
It believes beyond believing
when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty
of the rarest, brightest gems . . .
It is far beyond defining,
it defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
like the mysteries of creation . . . 
A many splendoured miracle
man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence
of God's tender guiding hand.


Happy mothers day, to all of the mothers out there, BUT especially the two most AMAZING women in my life..

Mommy,
You were always there for me when I needed you, even if I didn't know it.. No matter how much stress or trouble I caused, you still stood there and showed me your love. The amount of forgiveness and patience that you have is unbelievable! I have you to thank for ALL that I am, and I just hope you truly know how grateful I am that I have the best mother in the world! Wish I could be there to spoil you today like we used to when we were younger.. I love you and miss you Mom!

Ashley,

You are by far the best thing that has ever happened to Aspen and I. Even through all the daily struggles of just being a military wife, you are somehow able to keep yourself together and raise the most amazing kid in the world! Aspen is SO lucky to have you as his mother and someday he will tell you that himself! I hope you know how much you mean to us and just how lost we would be without your patience and love.. I wish I could be there for you to spoil you, not just today, but every single day.. There isn't a second that goes by where I don't think about just how lucky I am to have you to share my life with.. I know that Aspen is in the best possible hands on the planet! There is only one Ashley Ann and I wouldn't trade her for the galaxy.. I love you Ash.. I hope Aspen gives you a nice big present to show his appreciation for you today! :)

Friday!

Well, its Friday here in Korea and I am currently working on the pictures from our amazing trip this past weekend! The laptop that I have out here with me is not the fastest so working with RAW images takes a lot of patience, but Im getting there! I cant wait to write all about the trip to paradise, but I have to get these pictures done first!!
What? You want a sneak preview?
Ok ok.. You twisted my arm.. Heres just a small preview.. BELIEVE ME.. There is MUCH more coming!