Alaska

Last week was amazing! I hopped on a plane and flew to the incredibly beautiful state of Alaska with my Brother-in-Law Rick and his friend (and now mine) Dwayne. When we arrived we picked up a camper and Rick's Drift Boat and drove 5 hours to the Gulkana River. The great thing about Rick and Dwayne is that they speak "Fish." The Gulkana river feeds into the Copper River. The fish we were after...Copper River King's aka Chinook. For those of you that don't know, this the best, most sought after Salmon run in the world. The fish are incredibly strong, their meat is a vibrant red and the taste is indescribable.

Because Rick and Dwayne speak fish they also understood them and knew where they would be and what they would be hungry for. I'll spare you the details of a long story about the boat launch, but essentially the owner of the RV park that has access to the only ramp on the river less than 28 miles from the end of the run was making it very difficult for people to stay there let alone launch their boats. Rick and Dwayne have a history with him so after some wheeling and dealing and potentially Rick working as a guide for him next year for a short while we were given access to camp and launch. We were the only people in this huge area and some of the only people with a boat on the river! 99% of everyone else had to fish off the bank. This was a huge advantage for us.

Because the run had just begun the salmon weren't thick in the river. What was lacking in quantity was certainly not lacking in quality. We landed between 10 to 15 fish a day (you can only keep 1 per person though). If you have never caught a wild King Salmon but plan to do so I have one piece of advice for you...work out! These fish are strong and that is an understatement. I'm not ashamed to admit that one fish fought me and won. For nearly 30 minutes I wrestled with what had to be a huge salmon. We had to pull the boat to the bank and I ran down stream trying to keep up with it. After an awesome battle the fish found the strong rapids and after all the tugging and jerking the hook must have loosened and he broke off. That is one fish I hope makes the end of the run.

The average fish we caught was between 20-25 pounds with a couple over 30 pounds! There were Bald Eagles everywhere which I love. It was a great experience slowly walking through the river trying to get as close as I could to eagles feeding on Salmon or chilling out in the trees. One of the greatest moments for me was while reeling in my first fish of the trip a giant Bald Eagle flew silently over my head. At that moment I knew I was in God's country for sure!

Something that took a lot of getting used to was the fact it doesn't get completely dark up there. We were fishing past midnight on a regular basis! One day we started fishing at 4AM and didn't end until after midnight! Didn't hit the sack until 2:30 and back on the river at 6:30! It was a shot in the arm to feed my soul and I am incredibly grateful to Rick and Dwayne for allowing me to join them on the adventure! Below are quite a few photo's from the trip as I had a tough time narrowing it down for the blog. There are of course many others. It was an adventure in itself keeping the camera dry and clean while floating down the river all day but I pulled it off.

Enjoy the photo's and as alway..comments are welcome and appreciated very much!

I huge iceberg near the highway. Rick and Dwayne tell me this was over 2 times the size just 4 years ago.
Is this the hand of a fisherman or what?
Quickfish Lures get em every time!
Dwayne letting a big Buck go to fight another day.
Rick proudly displaying the first fish of the trip.
I was literally on my knees in rapid water up to my chest being as stealthlike as possible to get this shot. The Eagles eat well on the Gulkana River.
Dwayne and a giant King Salmon!
Did I mention these fish fight hard?
The one that got away :)
One of the only bucks (male) we kept. This guy was a hog!
At the end of the day we vacuum packed the fillets for easy freezing. Here is Dwayne crossing his fingers in hopes it would work...it did.
4AM mist on the river. This was my view most of the trip.
A proud fisherman. What you can't see in the photo's is that my arm was about ready to fall off holding her after an epic battle :)
95% of the fish we kept were hens (female). They are loaded with eggs which makes for the very best bait. We cleaned and filleted the fish right on the river.
Even at the end of a fight these fish don't stop!
Rick with a big, fat fish.
Rick and Dwayne showing off their catch in the middle of the night.
Rick is an incredibly strong rower. He never got tired after rowing literally all day long.
A feast by the fire. This shot was taken at around 2am. It appears darker than it was because of my shutter speed.
I wasn't the only one taking pictures.
An adolescent bald eagle hanging out nearby waiting for some fish.
While I was in the river stalking Eagles Dwayne and Rick each hooked a fish at the same time in the best hole on the river.
All three of us with our keepers for the day.
Dwayne showing off an incredible bright silver hen.
A huge hen I caught just moments before the end of our final river run. Awesome fish!
A very welcome site after a long day on the river :)
Now that I think about it..I may have gotten a bit too close to this giant Moose. She was just too pretty not to shoot though.
The End Result!

Travel season has begun

When I look back on 2008 I imaging I will reflect on the summer as being a season filled with travel. Amy and Eddie's wedding in San Francisco. This week I am on a much needed vacation from the restaurant. Sunday Lea, the girls and I drove out to the coast to spend a few days at the beach. We arrived and the weather was great so we took advantage and hiked to an abandoned road we had discovered a couple of years ago for a quick photo session. It was wise that we did so as the weather turned nasty and fast! 70mph winds were rocking the house we had rented. We stayed in a house that was built on stilts so when the wind was blowing we felt it! There is something about sitting on a couch in front of a warm fire, looking up and watching the ceiling fan swing back and forth. I thought it was cool, Lea thought it was cause for concern. Either way it was pure heaven spending a couple of uninterrupted days with my amazing family.

I just recharged my batteries, packed a bag and I'm posting this quick blog before I hop on a plane and fly to Alaska for a fishing trip. You know I'll be posting pics asap.

I'm in the process of changing my main web page so I need to upload these pics the old fashioned way.

Amy and Eddie

Last weekend was a lot of fun. The 2008 Wedding season started out right for me. I left the beautiful blue, sunny skies of Seattle on Saturday night and flew to San Francisco where I was greeted by gray skies, cold weather and sprinkles of rain. It didn't look good. I was pleasantly surprised when I woke up on Sunday morning however when I saw that the skies were blue and the weather was just right. Not too cool, not too hot...a perfect day to get married.

The first time I had met Amy and Eddie was on their wedding day. Upon meeting them both separately (they weren't seeing each other until the ceremony) it became very clear immediately that they were absolutely perfect for each other. Both Eddie and Amy were beaming with happiness. Each with a highly contagious, radiant smile on their face all day long. It was so much fun to watch them with each other and with their great group of friends and family. From the beginning until the end they each enjoyed their wedding day to the fullest.

With their wedding coordinator Shannon Berryseeing to all the details while we were off in a limo shooting pictures on a pier with a view of the Bay Bridge the Old Fed aka the Bentley Reserve in the heart of San Francisco's Financial District was converted into an elegant ballroom filled with amazing flowers and happy people.

The entire wedding day was so much fun and it was an absolute privilege to fly down to photograph it. I hope to shoot more weddings in the Bay area for sure. Here are a few of my favorite photo's from the day. I'll post a link to a slide show when it is ready.

Mat Hayward

This was a seriously funky statue in front of the Bently Reserve
Makeup time for the bridesmaids
The Happy Bride getting her hair done.
Her dress was stunning!
A little bubbly in the bridal suite.
Makeup and Champagne..this bride knows how to get ready!
I love shooting the details on wedding day.
Every other car was honking and shouting out their congratulations while the ladies were getting their photo's taken.

I like how this shot catches just a bit of the motion in her hands. The harp is a beautiful instrument.
A fun moment before the ceremony.
Mom, Sister and Bride moments before the ceremony.
Something caught Amy's attention and I caught this photo as a result. My wife was ooing and ahhhing over her eyelashes in this one :)
Seeing each other for the first time.
Amy's expression says it all.
I LOVE THIS PHOTO!
Getting frisky in the middle of the group!
Is it obvious these two are madly in love with each other or what?

A lucky gust of wind just after the portrait session.
A few ladies from the bridal party checking out a funny photo.
It's hard to resist shooting pictures when the kids are twirling :)
Fun on the dance floor
One of the "best men" giving his toast.
First Dance
There was some serious dancing going on at the reception!

San Francisco

Today is my beautiful bride Lea's birthday. We started the day pretty far apart. Myself in San Francisco where I spent the weekend to photograph the awesome wedding of Amy and Eddie. Lea down in Eugene with her family where she was showered with gifts and very thoughtful cards letting her know the tremendous impact she has on the lives of those lucky enough to have her as a part of it.

I wasn't going to do the "touristy" stuff in San Francisco but found myself with an extra hour or two before I had to leave for my flight so I hopped in a cab and checked out the Golden Gate Bridge. I snapped a few pics, cruised over to the observatory for a couple more pics, flew back to the hotel to pack (it's amazing how big an unorganized mess can pile up in a short time when Lea isn't around to keep me in line:).

Of course there are many photo's to come from this weekend. I will blog more soon!

Mat

Queen for a Day

For the past three years I have had the privilege of documenting a wonderful event through my photography at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Lynnwood. Pastor Judy Hoff puts together a huge event with hundreds of volunteers to bring in dozens of women from shelters around the state. These women inevitably show up on the bus with looks of apprehension and skeptisicm. They are immediately greeted with a hug from Judy and escorted down a red carpet by a Navy man in dress uniform. They enter the lobby to find hundreds of volunteers cheering wildly. They are then escorted into a dining room where they find entertainment and a gourmet meal.

After lunch they head out to get a new wardrobe, massages, makeovers, hair cuts/styles, foot cleansing, manicures, pedicures, waxing...the works! It's amazing. That is followed by a ceremony where they announce that they are a Queen and they receive a rose.

The transformation in spirit from the time they arrive to the time they are at dinner is awe inspiring. These once somewhat shy, apprehensive women are filled with laughter, tears of joy and they all have a certain indescribably swagger to their step that says "Yeah, I still got it!" It's a great event and I am proud to donate my time to it.

You can view my slideshow of the most recent event here.

The following is a letter and request from Queen for a Day....

This only takes a second, but could have a huge impact on the work we do
to help women from local shelters and transitional housing!

There is an article about the event on The Readers Digest website and a chance to win a prize which could enable them to help even more women! Please, if you'd like, they need your support by visiting the Reader's Digest web page and voting for the event at:

Readers Digest Web Page
To Read and Vote: Click on Judy Hoff and read the story at the bottom of the article right below MUST READ then, click on Yes! I vote for this story




Then Click on our DVD to watch and rate our story you will see the five stars click on them and your vote has been tallied. We can watch our popularity grow.

You can vote every day!!! Please pass this on to everyone you know.

Robin Williams

Easily the funniest man in the world...Robin Williams. He flew up to Seattle to do 3 shows at a super cool club downtown called the Showbox at the Market. The club only seats around 500 people so it was a very intimate show. Not a bad seat in the house.

I read in Steve Martin's book Born Standing Upthat when he became a huge mega star he would perform in huge arena's with tens of thousands of fans and the show lost it's appeal and wasn't as fun for him any more. If a heckler in the front was being obnoxious he couldn't respond because the people way in the back wouldn't hear the heckler and would have no idea what he was responding to. That was not the case here for Robin. There were a few people in the crowd that perhaps had over-consumed a bit and let me tell you something...Robin Williams ripped them apart! It was seriously funny! "Don't $%@# with me woman! I do this for a living!" was one of my favorite quotes of the night. Obviously, Robin Williams is one of the biggest stars in the world. He's performing in Vegas at the MGM Grand at the end of the month and I'm sure he'll get a fat paycheck for it. He performed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday this week and all the proceeds from each show went 100% to charity. How cool is that? I would imagine it must be fun for him to get back to his roots and play these smaller clubs every now and then. The show was called "Working on New Material." I don't know if it was literally for that reason, if so..he's got it down pat because I couldn't breath through most of the show I was laughing so hard. I wouldn't do any of the jokes justice by typing them here. If he puts out a DVD you should buy it!

We previously met Robin back in 2002 in Portland after his show. He came out and was greeted by a group of people hoping for an autograph or a photo. That night he didn't leave until everyone got to say hi and get a signature. At the time I told him my wife didn't really want the autograph, really she wanted a hug...He gave her the biggest hug of her life and a big wet kiss on the cheek. He was so incredibly nice, funny and generous with his time and made us so happy.

At that show, I didn't know I would get to meet him and I didn't think to bring my camera so no photo's. Last night I hoped to meet him again so I stashed my camera in the car. After the show we ran back to get it and ran back to the club. Minutes later he showed up in the back and there were about a half dozen or so of us. His car pulled past us to a different door so he could jump in and not be bothered. He clearly looked very tired yet he ignored the car and went to us to sign autographs and pose for these two photo's. I have said before and I will say it again...Robin Williams is a class act and if you get a chance to see him live...DO IT!

The Deadliest Catch

Left to right: Jake Anderson, Norman Hansen, Sig Hansen, Edgar Hansen, Matt Bradley

Tonight the crew of the Northwestern featured on the popularDiscovery Channel show "The Deadliest Catch" stopped by the restaurant for dinner. They were nice enough to sign some autographs and pose for this photo in front of the restaurant. They've got a clothing line out at Helly Hansen.

I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous when they were ordering King Crab for dinner. They said it was good and this group of guys don't seem like the type to BS you so I was pretty darn happy about that.

Andrea and Reid

The photo's for Reid and Andrea are finished. Here are a few of my favorites from our session together. You can view their slideshow here...

Andrea & Reid
The entire gallery is here...

gallery






Never take my word for it when I say the ground is just a "little damp." :)