Earth Day at Redrock... (and a Rant about Littering)

I decided midway through Earth Day to spend the afternoon at Redrock and just admire a small corner of the Earth on a day that is designated "special" for the planet. As I was hiking around and taking a few shots here and there, I thought about the dramatic planet changes that could be made if everyone just did a little bit each day for the Earth, like not littering! There wasn't a large amount of debris out at Redrock, but a candy bar wrapper here, a lid to a Gatorade bottle there, and cigarette butts seemed to be everywhere. I am the first to admit that I do not recycle, but... I do know what a trash can is and what it's main function is in our society. Here are a few images from Redrock, including a Ladybug (there were bushes full of them!), I hope you enjoy them... and use a freakin' trash can! Seriously!

~ Glenn B.

Amazing Weather Changes in Vegas

The past few weeks have been crazy! One day it is 59, cloudy and windy... the next it is sunny and 75! It seemed to change dramatically every day! Last monday, I had a shoot with a great model that I have never had the opportunity to work with before, Crystalina at Lake Mojave for sunset. The weather was supposed to be 70-72 and sunny with a few clouds. When we arrived at the lake, there were dark clouds covering the sky and pockets of wind here and there, and the temperature was about 63. We still hiked to a private cove and began the shoot. The water was cold and the wind didn't make it feel any warmer, however, Crystalina never complained about it and as a result, I think we we able to get some amazing images! You tell me...

~ Glenn B.

oh yeah... the next day it snowed in Clark County and there were actually flakes seen in Las Vegas! in April!

Taking a day for me...

Yesterday I decided to take an official "ME" day! For those of you that don't know me, this is a very rare thing. I parked my car at the New York New York Casino garage and walked for over 6 hours up and down the strip. Now it wasn't a true "ME" day because I did have my love with me (my camera) as she tends to go everywhere I go, but I actually didn't shoot a great deal of images, but more importantly concentrated on thinking and enjoying a nice breezy day in Las Vegas amongst thousands of strangers. Here you will see a few of the images I was able to get while down there. *note ~ the butterfly picture is REAL and from the Bellagio Botanical Gardens! If you get a chance, pay this season's display a visit... it is beautiful!

~ Glenn B.

The Death Valley Experience 2009

This year's first trip to Death Valley was planned to be a 4-day excursion with about 16 fellow photographers from the Nevada Camera Club. Apparantly, someone forgot to mention this trip to Mother Nature and she decided to test us both individually and as a group. Within four days we saw hail, sun, rain, snow, dust devils, ... And wind, wind, wind! None of which deterred me from shooting what I wanted to and having a great time. On this trip I got to learn more about some fun people in the club and got to learn more about me... Both as a photographer and as a person. Here are a few of the images I was able to capture while being sandblasted by the wind. The waterfall is in Death Valley and is year-round! Enjoy.

~ Glenn B.

Cathedral Gorge State Park and Pioche, Nevada

I heard about a park about 170 miles northeast of Las Vegas called Cathedral Gorge and a few days later I found myself on the road at 3:30am headed for it. This place is beyond words. The more you look, the more there is. It has three main sections named Moon Caves, Cavern Caves, and Cathedral Caves along with other areas to explore the countless slots (caves) within the gorge. Once you get over the external beauty and start exploring the inner slots it becomes apparent just how amazing and deep this park is. I have never seen such beauty and think this is my new favorite getaway from Vegas. Also close by is a small town called Pioche, some may think it is a ghost town, but there are actually people that still live there! It was known as a very rough town in 1870 and from talking with a few of the locals, it still seems to be a town full of characters! Be watching for a gallery soon at the Beyond Pairadice Studios Website!

~ Glenn B.

New Gallery at Beyond Pairadice Studios site... "The Dreaming"

This series is from "The Dreaming" Live at the Icehouse Lounge on June 12, 2008. It was a small venue and had a small crowd, but that made it better for the fans that were there to see the band (and hang out a bit after the show and just b.s. and drink)! Chris Hall was full of energy even though the band's Van had broken down earlier on the way making them fashionably late for the show. I hope you enjoy the images as much as I enjoyed the show! "The Dreaming" will be playing again in Vegas on April 24th at the Hard Rock with Trust Company! I strongly recommend this show, and hope you will come out and support this band! I will be there, that is for sure!

~ Glenn B.

New Gallery at Beyond Pairadice Studios site... "Carnivale"

A new Gallery was added to my Lifestyle portfolio at my main website titled "Carnivale". The shoot was a few years in the making in getting costumes and thinking of a great location, but while driving down the 95 last Friday night, I saw a Ferris wheel. I immediately pulled off the highway and found the person in charge of the Carnival. We talked briefly about the shoot what I wanted to do at their location and he was very accommodating! I scheduled the shoot for Sunday morning and then came the difficult part... finding 2 models on extremely short notice and hoping they would fit the costumes and be able to pull off the shoot that I had envisioned. I immediately went to my favorite resource for models: Model Mayhem and started emailing models for the Sunday morning shoot. One model contacted me back right away and I asked her to help me find another model for the shoot. She texted me Saturday evening and said she had no luck and I was re-thinking the shoot and trying to envision how it would look with only one model, and then it also dawned on me that it was Daylight Savings time the morning of my shoot so there would be an hour of lost sleep. ***Panic***. Did I set my alarm clock right, and then at 1am The booked model texted me again with good news: there would be a second model for the shoot and as an added bonus, she was going to bring another friend to help with lighting! The second model booked within only 7 hours of the meeting time of the shoot and actually was the first to arrive on location (beating me by mere minutes), 15 minutes early. On top of all of that, it was a cold and windy morning, so I was unsure of how the shoot would turn out, however... It all seemed to work out! check out the new Gallery here and leave comments if you would like, I would love to know what you think about this non-scripted and chaotic shoot on a freezing sleepless Sunday morning in March.

~ Glenn B.

Two quick things that made me smile today...

1. I completed the Spring 2009 Beyond Pairadice Newsletter! and it should be out this weekend... what? you aren't signed up to receive it? email me at: newslettersignup@beyondpairadice.com to be added to the email list (I promise it will be quarterly or monthly.. not daily spam)!

2. I found this video from a Nine Inch Nails show in Australia from THIS WEEK! it has an interesting camera perspective (from onstage) that I really love! Oh, and it was shot with a Canon 5Dii in full HD (yes a digital 35mm slr camera). Thus proving... Canon Rocks!

The NIN Video

more soon... I promise!

~~~ Glenn B.

Planning yet another trip to Death Valley...

This time I plan on being out there for 4 days and 3 nights! Of all of the desert locations I have seen around the Las Vegas area, Death Valley is my favorite. From the sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells, to the drive through Artist's loop, and just the complete serenity at night when the sands shift with a gentle song and every star visible in the sky is there it seems... just for me. Waking up before dawn to capture the sunrise at Zibriskie Point is just as breathtaking as watching the sunset at Dante's View overlooking the entire valley below. This year I have invited members from the Nevada Camera Club to come out and share in the beauty. What I think will make this trip exceptional has to do with the amounts of rain that has fallen in Death Valley in the last few months. If predicted correctly, there should be an amazing bloom of wildflowers this year and hopefully they will be in full bloom during our four day visit. The reports from the Ranger's station say it should be a great year to capture fields and fields of wildflowers throughout the park and in the surrounding area! I have gone to the park many times in the last few years, but this year I am hoping to see parts that I haven't visited before. Instead of camping at Furnace Creek, I intend to camp at Stovepipe Wells so I can explore the Panamint Mining area and hopefully trek out to the Racetrack and other spots on the opposite side of the park. Of course, no trip is complete without a visit to Scotty's Castle and the closeby Ubehebe Crater. This Death Valley trip is a journey for me, a time to just reflect on life and enjoy all of its beauty. The peaceful and often desolate surroundings are a way for me to find a "moment of clarity". Seeing the night sky keeps me reaching for the stars... Seeing the jagged crystals that make up Devil's Golf Course reminds me of how fragile life is... and staying in the park, if only as a visitor for a short time, is the ultimate life experience for this Photographer. Until next time...

Glenn Brogan
Beyond Pairadice Studios

A long overdue update and big news!

Since my last posting, some significant things have been happening! A big step in my eyes, and the big news is that Beyond Pairadice Studios is now officially in the Perfect Wedding Guide! Please check out my page on their site and feel free to leave feedback! I am very excited about this as it is my first official ad and I look forward to it coming out in the Spring edition of the Perfect Wedding Guide.

I must apologize for not keeping this as current as I should. The lack of posting is mainly because I have been trying to meet some self-created goals, and somehow forgot to post, but that too will change as one of my NEW goals is to post at least weekly with the happenings of 2009. This will include updates to my Beyond Pairadice Studios site and this blog and eventually the Glenn Brogan Photography site (which I plan to have up and running by the end of the year). The images here are some of my favorites from some weddings I have recently done. Enjoy and keep checking back... I will be updating! :)

~~~ Glenn B.