Recent Shoots
Honduras
Nestled deep in the mountains of the Olancho region of Honduras sits the small village of San Antonio de Capapan. 211 people call this rural, mountain village their home. By western standards life in San Antonio is tough. The homes range from simple shacks to more elaborate adobe structures. There is no runing water, limited electricity and few of the homes have a floor from something other than dirt. Life consists of subsistance living–people grow their own food and raise animals and other crops as a means to provide for their families. Here in the US, many would feel sorry for the people of San Antonio. I do not. My heart goes out to them since they do not have the resources for some basic necessities like clean water and sanitation, but simple living is the life they know. It’s part of their culture and is something to be celebrated.
My wife and I just returned from a life changing trip to the village of San Antonio. We joined The Potter’s School, a non-profit organization that offers supplimental classes for the home school community, on their annual service trip (my wife teaches for the school). Partnering with a Honduran-run medical organization, Predisan, the school adopted the village of San Antonio ministering to it’s people and helping them with basic physical needs and spiritual health.
Swimming with sharks
I’ve never really been one to heed warnings. More often than not danger needs to be staring me in the face before I react. On my recent shoot in Hawaii I spent countless hours bobbing in the ocean like a cork without a home. I was almost halfway through the two week shoot, so although this was my first time shooting with an underwater housing in the ocean, I was feeling extremely comfortable in the water by now. In my ongoing quest for outstanding locations I came across Snorkel Bob’s description for Olowalu: “This prolific reef will keep you busy for days or till lunch, whichever comes first. That’s Oscar’s lunch. OLOWALU IS POSTED WITH SHARK WARNINGS.” Blah. Blah. Blah. “Surely,” I reasoned, “the guide was written 10 years ago by some bloke who no longer spends any time in the water.” The location looked like it had lots of potential, and after seeing numerous locals in the water, I decided it was worth a look.
Despite Snorkel Bob’s warning and my wife’s strong opposition I bravely headed to the water’s edge. “Warm sun. No fins surfacing. Seems fine.” Then, less than 2 minutes after submersing myself, it happened. “Oscar” and two of his friends emerged in the distance. I guess that Snorkel Bob dude was right. Now I’m no oceanic expert, nor do I claim to know anything about shark behavior. But a shark is a shark in my book. And I wasn’t about to stick around to see if “Oscar” and his friends were an aggressive species or not. In all my time in Hawaii, I don’t think I ever swam as quickly as I did that afternoon to shore. Typically I can spend hours poking around in the water even when I say I’m only going to be a minute. So when I emerged from the water after only a few minutes, my wife knew but said nothing to save any ounce of manly ego that remained. (She’s cool like that.)
Park & Pipe
In my opinion Park City Mountain Resort has the best halfpipe and parks in Utah. Not only are they well groomed but the staff at the resort is phenomenal as well. The images above are from a recent action/lifestyle shoot at the resort with freeskier Ty Peterson. Ty is a killer park and pipe rider who is on the current Winter Dew Tour. Make sure to root him on this weekend (Feb. 4-7) as he competes in the Toyota Championships at Mt. Snow.
Yoga
A few images shot at Centered City Yoga earlier this week here in Salt Lake City with yoga instructor Kim Warren. Kim offers incredible yoga retreats in Costa Rica, Mexico and here in the US. If you are into yoga check out her website or consider taking one of her classes.
Mike Tittel Photography
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