I highly suggest you watch this video in fullscreen. And in HD.

This video is part of my Fringe Focus Landscape Prints Kickstarter project. Get yourself some great prints from the locations in this video!

I shot this video throughout the month of February 2012 in New Zealand. It’s a compilation of quick shots from my travels. Hikes, campsites, trails, rivers, mountains, glaciers, volcanoes, even an animal or two.

I did a lot of one-day hikes throughout the country, as well as several 3-4 day hikes. I carried all of my gear in an ultralight backpack, with a small titanium stove, and tons of other tiny pieces of gear. I ate straight peanut butter with my fingers, got bloody toes, and smelled generally terrible.

It was an exhausting and incredibly rewarding journey. I hope this quick video is inspirational to you, since it really captures the intensity and vastness of a region far away. I’m looking forward to exploring more places, and as an independent artist I’ll need all the help I can get.

If you’re interested in grabbing some awesome photo prints of New Zealand, back my landscape project on Kickstarter. If you have any questions, hit me up on Twitter!

Buy prints of these photos by supporting my landscape prints Kickstarter!

Kepler Rock - I started this mountain hike too late, just clearing the treeline at sunset. My late start allowed me to capture this beautiful lighting that most hikers wouldn’t see. Kepler Track, Fjordlands National Park, 2012.

The Ice Cave - This retreating glacier moves rapidly, so chilly ice caves like this one form and collapse all the time. By now this cave no longer exists. Franz Josef Glacier, 2012.

The Crevasse - As we stared into this deep, eerie chasm, a girl dropped her iPhone. In 300 years the phone might be found, but the glacier will have ground it into dust. Franz Josef Glacier, 2012.

Kepler Ridge - I climbed a mountain alone all day, surrounded by dense beech forest. I’ve never been more tired and isolated than I was when finally reaching this clearing. It was absolutely worth it. Kepler Track, Fjordlands National Park, 2012.

Kepler Path - The second day of this hike had winds approaching 50mph. My large backpack acted like a sail, so I was pretty worried I would get blown off narrow paths like this. Kepler Track, Fjordlands National Park, 2012.

Glacial River Mists - Terrible weather meant I couldn’t even see the mountain I had come to photograph. But dramatic views like this were possible in the brief seconds I allowed my camera to get wet. Mt. Cook National Park, 2012.

Picton Clouds - The steep mountain faces and notoriously bad weather in this area often create rapidly rolling fog. Picton, Marlborough Sounds, 2012.

The Lonely Mountain - These mountains surround the valley in which the Franz Josef glacier is formed. One of the fastest moving and lowest altitude glaciers in the world. Franz Josef Glacier, 2012.

South Island Horses - New Zealand has no native mammals (except for bats and seals). Mammals didn’t evolve on the isolated islands, so animals like these horses were all brought by human settlers. Kaikoura, 2012.

South Island Fields - Much of New Zealand’s rich farmland is on the South Island. The blur effect in the foreground is actually motion, as I shot this out of a moving bus.

In February 2012, I left my job, friends, and family for one month to live in the New Zealand woods. I slept in a tent (and a lot of hostels), climbed mountains, jumped off cliffs, and drank fresh glacial melt water. Leaving the city to have this kind of adventure was basically the best feeling I’ve ever had, and I want to share that with you. Check out these prints on my landscape prints Kickstarter!

My brilliant design buddy, Kevin Scarbrough (of Robot, Monster, and Ghost Co.), asked me to do a photo shoot with him. Fortunately the photos were not of Kevin, but rather two lovely ladies working with him on his Paper Doll Pinups project. Long story short, Paper Doll Pinups is a burlesque and pinups stationery company. Notebooks, calligraphy and illustrations are all a part of the project, but this photo series will eventually serve as marketing to tie everything together. (Also check out Halloween Pinups, Kevin’s new book project.)

So expect to see more from Kevin and Paper Doll in the future, but for now, here’s a peek at some of my favorite shots. I’m no pinup photographer (at least I wasn’t until now), but we all had a ton of fun putting this together.  I did all of the photography, lighting, and post-processing, but this series was very much a group effort. I’d like to thank Kevin for his planning / organization / awesomeness, and the girls for handling their own makeup / hair / costumes on top of the intense amount of shots we packed into one day at a hotel.

Fun fact: My favorite part of this shoot was me eating an entire bag of cheese cubes while we worked.

Let me know what you think of this shoot in the comments! Stay updated by following @FringeFocus on Twitter, and especially @PaperDollPinups.

I’m no professional photographer, but obsession was indeed strong enough to risk life and limb and venture out into the blizzard last night. With nicknames like “Snowmagedon”, “Snowpacalypse”, “SNOWMG”, and “Snowtorious B.I.G.”, you would be expected to stay indoors. I threw on a lot of extra clothing, and went out in hopes that I wouldn’t break my camera. Some of these shots turned out alright, so I thought I’d share them here.

Some of these photos are available as prints! You can get your hands on some by backing my Kickstarter Poster Project! (Which also includes 6″ photo prints like these)

Even with the tripod at full height, it was often buried up the middle in snow. By the end of the night my viewfinder, and rest of my camera, had ice packed all over it. I believe I saved it with paper towels.

The images above all link to my Flickr as well.

Let me know what you think about these shots, or tell me your blizzard story in the comments! You can also hit me up on Twitter.

This is an incredible shot I pulled off following a storm here in Chicago. The sky was eerily chaotic and orange. There probably wasn’t a single person in the city that wasn’t freaking out and taking pictures at this exact moment.

Sort of a Photographer

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a baby with a cellphone, and 10 being Ansel Adams, you could rate my photography skills at perhaps a 3 or 4. Nevertheless, I find photography to be an awesome hobby. Normally I’m trapped behind a computer all day, so being creative outside among the other humans is pretty exhilarating.

My Best of 2010

Including the shot of Chicago above, here’s a collection of my favorite photos that I shot in 2010.

Another great shot of Chicago. The sky really was that pink during the sunrise. Looks like cotton candy.

Crazy storm one night, with lightning striking buildings every few seconds. I made sure to have the color scheme feel like Gotham City rather than Chicago.

Update: Some of these photos are available as 6″ Photo Prints on my Kickstarter Poster Project!

Well there you have it. My best attempts at photography of this year. If you want to see more, check out Fringe Focus on Flickr. I’ll be sure to upload tons more photos in 2011.

What do you think of these shots? Constructive criticism is allowed, haha. Drop your thoughts in the comments!