Sun Valley Magazine--Winter Edition

Sun Valley Magazine called me a few weeks back looking for a photographer to capture the look and feel of a rural Idaho town, Gooding. I have enjoyed working for the amazing staff at Sun Valley Magazine over the years and eagerly took the assignment.

On a quiet fall day, I drove down to Gooding and began photographing up and down their Main Street. I was amazed at how few people were on the street and so stuck my head inside a business and asked where all the locals had breakfast. "New China Restaurant" the gentleman replied. Off I went looking for the locals eatery.

Once inside, I realized I had struck gold to get some images of the good people of Gooding, Idaho. I sat at the bar and took the cup of black coffee the waitress offered. With my Canon camera around my neck, the folks started wondering who I was and were happy to talk about Gooding and my assignment. I stayed through my cup of coffee and with some new

clues went back out on the road to capture the rest of Gooding with a bit more local perspective. Here are a few of the images that apprear in their Winter '06 article, "Scratch the Surface."

Kids

Here are some of the images from a few family portrait sessions I was hired for this past Fall:

WPJA

As a wedding photographer, I am extremely proud to be a member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA). The members of this association are top notch professionals seeking to promote the idea that the best images come from a "candid, documentary approach – a distinctly artistic vision toward wedding photography."

As a member, I look forward to the four WPJA contests held every year: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. To simply become a member of the WPJA was a great feeling, then this summer I placed 7th in the "Emotion" category!

The best part about these contests is the manner in which the winners are announced. David Robers, who manages the WPJA, simply sends out an email stating that the winning images are online. Once the annoucement is made, all of the members then hurry online and peruse every image in every category enjoying the spectacular photography and hoping for a placement. After much anticipation, the Fall contest rolled around wherein I found an image of mine in the "Sillouettes, Shadow, and Light" category.

Lastly, a large congratulations to my friend and collegue, Brett Butterstein, for placing 4th overall in the Fall contest!

Cheers, -Craig