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I recently photographed a couple of runway shows on the roof of the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale. I got there early to stake out a spot from which to shoot and had some time to kill before the shows began. The roof was dimly lit, but here and there you could find little splashes of light, so I dug out my fastest lens – a 50mm f/1.4, which photojournalists say can see in the dark – and wandered around the pre-show party looking for interesting images. I especially liked the blue LED lighting the producers used to set the mood.
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Meet the scholars of Boys Hope Girls Hope of Arizona. BHGH finds academically capable, motivated kids, who have financial and other obstacles to their educations, and offers them, without charge, the opportunity for a comprehensive learning experience.  The kids are offered scholarships at the best private schools in Phoenix, as well as counseling, medical care, personal growth opportunities and, eventually, college counseling and assistance with college tuition.  Since 1989 when the Phoenix branch of BHGH was founded, every single kid that has graduated from the Arizona program has been admitted to college.  They are often the first in their family to go.  Schools they have attended include Arizona State University, Colgate, Dartmouth, Gonzaga, Pepperdine and others.  It is an amazing, amazing program.  Here are some of the current BHGH scholars:

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We just got back from a quick escape to Utah, where the daily high and low temperatures were at least 20 degrees below the inferno we left behind in Arizona.  It was nice to be able to work outside again without having to worry about heat stroke.  I took advantage of the beautiful weather and shot a bunch of images of my nieces and nephew, who generously indulged me.  They are sweet, beautiful children and it was fun to spend a couple of hours photographing them.  Here are a few of the resulting images:

Kylie

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Savannah

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Lexi

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Kylie, Zach, Savannah and Lexi

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As part of my birthday celebration last weekend, Jennifer took me on a road trip up into the beautiful mountains east of Phoenix.  We stopped first in Pine (34.385067, -111.457709), population 2,000, to wander around the annual Strawberry Festival.  It’s not really a classic summer festival, and they were out of strawberry pie, but it was a spectacular day in the mountains and we did manage to catch about 30 minutes of a great blues band.

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President Obama came to Phoenix yesterday to address the graduating class of 2009 at Arizona State University.  I had planned to photograph the speech and the commencement ceremony, which was being held in front of an audience of 71,000 at Sun Devil Stadium, but after seeing the completely useless set-up that ASU had constructed for the media, I decided to bolt for the airport to catch the arrival of Air Force One instead.  Here is the President, disembarking from the plane:

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I don’t care how jaded you are, seeing Air Force One up close and personal is a thrill.

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Just before the plane arrived, the motorcade showed up, led by the Presidential limo, which the Secret Service calls the Beast.

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This event would have made great fodder for a doctoral thesis in American sociology, but we’ll save that commentary for another time.  Here are a few images from last night’s premiere of the new X-Men movie.

Hugh Jackman

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Ryan Reynolds

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Liev Schreiber

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Lynn Collins

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Taylor Kitsch

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