I’ve been doing a fair amount of canyoneering this year. A few weeks ago I lost my GoPro HD Hero 2 in a canyon along with its footage. Earlier this year, I had taken that camera and my old HD Hero 1 through Little Santa Anita Canyon. Above is a short video I put together recently with that footage.
It’s been a busy year. With the holidays approaching, things are slowing a bit (although they may ramp up again in a week or so). This gives me a little time to finally update this neglected journal. Unfortunately, this post will primarily be another avalanche of videos I’ve worked on in the last few months. Hopefully, I’ll start adding some meatier content again soon.
I’ve shot a fair bit of GoPro footage this year, but only now have I edited any of it. Above is a video from the Foam Fest back in May. Hopefully I can throw together a couple more GoPro edits and the 2012 collective video in the next few weeks. In related news, I lost my GoPro Hero 2 camera (along with the LCD backpack, tripod mount, a monopod, and the footage)Â while canyoneering a couple of weeks ago.
Below is a recent video I directed, edited, and posted for Ubisoft and DeStorm Power. This was also our most recent Butcher Bird project.
There are several commercials I’ve worked on in the last few months, but they aren’t online yet. There is this one that I did for this year’s West Hollywood Book Fair. This is the third spot I’ve done for them.
There have been several Nexon videos over the last few months. I am particularly proud of the three part series we did for the Presidential Election. Brian Schmoyer handled the character animation of the three MapleStory characters. I handled the motion graphics, animated infographics, puppet show, backgrounds, and compositing. The third installment is embedded below followed by links to the first two.
MapleStory Election 1
MapleStory Election 2
Oh yeah, I moved into a new place in September.
That’s all for now.
Because I’m such a great son, I’ve included the sorts of photos in this post that make my Mom nervous. (Don’t worry, I am attached to a rope in that top picture.)
Spring and Summer seem to appear from nowhere and fly past each year. This year seems to be no different. Although not as much as I’d like, I am getting myself outside a fair amount. The photo up top is from last week on Tahquitz on pitch two of “El Whampo.” I’m not leading trad yet, but I’m getting a decent bit of practice following. I’ve also been attending rolling sessions with a kayaking club and I am happy to say I can roll my kayak now. I haven’t tested it on a river yet, but maybe I’ll get a chance before the season is through. Since Hawaii, I ran in the 5K Foam Fest, canoed Black Canyon again, jumped off rocks in a few places, climbed rocks in others, ran a canyoneering route through Eaton Canyon (where I ended up helping out in a rescue), and returned to Yosemite. It’s good to see that typed out, it makes me feel like I haven’t been slacking as much as I have been.
I’ve included a few images from these various things in the gallery below. But, first, here are some links to a few projects I’ve been working on that have gone live recently:
The Many Maladies of Marty Mitchell – a kids’ show made in my apartment
Infex Animated EBook – I was responsible for some of the animation
Maple Rising Star – animation
Blabberbox 6 – visual effects and motion graphics
MapleStory-Renegades: Jett – animation and motion graphics
MapleStory-Renegades: Phantom – motion graphics
Spiders Vs Scorpions – motion graphics, vfx, and color (all 3 eps)
ConnecTV Top Tweets – ESPYS – motion graphics
There are also a few local commercials on TV Â I worked on that I haven’t seen online yet
It seems like I am always hearing people in California talk about how they are going to or returning from Hawaii. Even though the flight is only a little longer than a flight to the east coast Erika and I had never been. Finally, that has been rectified. We spent eight days there in the middle of May—specifically on the Big Island.
The Big Island (the one island actually named Hawai’i) is big, larger than all of the other Hawaiian islands combined. It is also less developed than Oahu and the landscapes are more varied—all but 2 climatic zones exist on this one island. We flew into Kona on the Western side (the dry side). I’m not one to fawn over airports (and I haven’t been to all that many), but the Kona Airport is pretty superb. The entire facility is outdoors and each gate is a thatched pavilion. We stayed at the Royal Kona Resort primarily because half of our nights were free thanks to a time-share presentation we had attended in January. There are many nicer upscale resorts on the island, but—as folks used to sleeping on the ground—it was more than sufficient for us. Besides, we didn’t intend to spend much time in the room. We didn’t.
We squeezed as much into those eight days as we could. We spent a day on the Eastern side of the island, but most of our time was on the Western side. I’d like to return and spend several days exploring the lush jungles and forests (full of waterfalls and enormous trees) on the Eastern side of the island. Much of our time was spent participating in water activities: scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, and beach bumming.
SCUBA: We went on four dives during the week. The reefs and life in the area are beautiful and the water is a bit warmer than California, but the big draw in Kona is manta rays. Our last dive was the famous Manta Night Dive. This is a surreal experience. For roughly 45 minutes, we sat at the bottom of the ocean while various lights attracted plankton, in turn attracting several mantas. These alien-looking creatures not only swim near you, but often brush across your head as they eat the plankton your dive light attracts.
Snorkeling: We tried various spots, but nothing beat Kealakekua Bay. The hike in and out can be rough, but it is absolutely worth it. If you can only go snorkeling once when in the area, go there. if you don’t want to hike an hour or so down and up the steep trail, you can launch a kayak from the end of NapoÊ»opoÊ»o Road across the bay or go with an outfitter.
Beaches: Big Island has an enormous variety of beaches of all types. The ones we especially liked were:
 Pololu Valley: We drove North until the 270 ended. There we found Pololu Valley. It is a spectacular green valley that opens to the ocean. We hiked down a winding trail at the end of the road leading down to the valley and beach. My words won’t do it justice so I won’t bother. If you are in Northern Hawaii, make the drive to Pololu.
We also had a short visit to Volcanoes National Park where we saw an active caldera and hiked through a lava tube—a cave created from hardened lava. There is clearly lots more to see and do there than we could manage in a few hours. We had a short visit to Hilo, saw Rainbow Falls, visited a macadamia nut farm, and climbed a huge banyan tree. We even attended a luau. It is hard to do everything in eight days on Hawaii (we’d probably need eight years). Now that I’ve been, my list of places to see has only gotten larger.
As we drove to the airport to fly home, we pulled to the side of the highway and explored one last lava tube as the Sun set. We checked our baggage, then sat under the moon as a cool breeze wafted past and planes rolled down the tarmac. I doubt I’ll ever again be so content while waiting for a plane to arrive.
Gallery is below, but there are even more photos on Facebook.
Yesterday I headed out to Tahquitz again and climbed six pitches. It looks like I’m moving steadily into trad climbing. That makes me stoked.
I still have a special place in my heart for canyoneering—it combines two of my passions after all: rocks and water. Sunday, Karl and I ventured into Little Santa Anita Canyon. It is filled with several short falls and a few slides. Apparently, it can be a very wet canyon when conditions are right. Unfortunately, rainfall has been lackluster this year. Thankfully, it had rained a few days before and water levels were adequate.
I received a new GoPro HD Hero 2 a couple of days before. I tested it out in the canyon. So far, reports that it is optically superior to the first generation camera seem to be true. We shot a fair amount of video and I’m sure some of it will end up in an edit some day. Below are a few select screengrabs.
It’s been a while. This year has turned into a busy one. Much of my time is, unfortunately, spent sitting at a computer, but I do manage to get out a fair amount.
That is indeed Fabio in the photo above. I do meet celebrities every once in awhile, but I try to avoid being that annoying guy who begs for photos and autographs. There are, of course, exceptions. When I discovered that the man who shirtlessly adorned every romance novel in the 80s and 90s, the man who recorded amazing work-out videos and romance cassettes, the man who appeared in hilarious bit parts on many B-rate TV series, the man who hocked butter that wasn’t butter, the man who defeated a goose with his nose on a roller coaster would be at my local Whole Foods Market—I knew fate had smiled upon me. I also knew that my dearest pal, Bryan Nelson, would never forgive me if I passed up this serendipitous opportunity. And so, Erika and I traveled to the Glendale Whole Foods just so I could meet Fabio (and apparently buy his whey protein powder). Who says dreams don’t come true?
Besides being shackled to a computer and admiring Fabio, I’ve also been keeping to a relatively frequent climbing schedule. I attended the Red Rock Rendezvous in Nevada again this year. It’s an annual climbing festival filled with clinics, events, and vendors giving away lots of great stuff (Mammut gave me a free $90 headlamp!). Despite having our tent destroyed by high winds again, we had a great time. My highlight this year was my multi-pitch clinic where I got to go trad climbing for the first time. If you aren’t familiar with the term, trad is traditional climbing, what some consider “real climbing.” It’s the type of climbing where a group starts at the base of a rock and places protection as they climb up bringing the rope up with them. As they make their way up the rock pitch-by-pitch, the follower removes (or cleans) the protection. I took on the role of follower. Leading a trad climb is the dangerous part and requires experience and practice. The guide was our leader. We climbed four pitches on a 5.8 (moderate) route. Besides Erika and I, a few of our friends came to the Rendezvous this year also. Maybe we’ll get even more folks there in 2013.
One of the nice things about attending the Red Rock Rendezvous are the cool people you meet. I met a guy named Mark who has been climbing nearly as long as I’ve been breathing. He offered to start taking me trad climbing. I’ve been trying to move into trad, but it’s difficult since I’m the most experienced climber amongst my friends. The multi-pitch clinic at Red Rock and Mark’s offer were two great opportunities that graced me on the same day. Two weeks ago, Mark made good on his offer and we headed over to Idyllwild and climbed a six pitch route on Tahquitz Rock. It was a low-grade easy route, but snow had fallen earlier that week. The base was covered in snow and four of the six pitches also had a bit of snow on them. That made the ascent a little tricky, but dealing with the snow was a valuable piece of  additional climbing experience. Mark and I are heading back tomorrow.
I’ve also been doing as much canyoneering as I can squeeze in. I’ve run Rubio Canyon multiple times in the last few months and Karl and I ran Little Santa Anita last weekend. If we’re lucky, we’ll get a permit to do Mystery Canyon in Zion this summer.
In closing, a huge thing that happened in the last few months was the completion of “The Many Maladies of Marty Mitchell.” This is a short kids’ show I shot in my living room three years ago. It was finally finished and premiered in March. We held a Butcher Bird Studios Screening at the Goethe Institute on March 16th. We showed several of the projects we’ve worked on together and with others. We closed the night with the premiere of “Marty Mitchell.” It felt really good to finally be able to show it to people, especially those who helped make it happen.
And so the year the world ends begins. What better way to celebrate than by jabbing sharp metal into icicles and ascending them? The Extreme Things Adventure Club has visited the Ouray Ice Climbing Festival a few times in the past, but I have never gone. It is a bit pricier than other excursions partly because it involves transport to and lodging in Colorado. This time Erika and I decided the cost was justified.
Nine of us boarded an Allegiant Air jet Thursday morning, January 5th. I had never heard of them and they are cheap so I was a bit skeptical. They do charge for everything: beverages, snacks, seat assignments, etc. But, it was fine. I don’t have many expectations or requirements for air travel, especially for a flight under two hours. If they service areas you intend to travel, it is worth looking into their prices. We landed in Grand Junction, CO in the early afternoon and headed for a large cabin in Ridgway—right next door to Ouray (pronounced yoo-ray). The cabin was quite large: three bedrooms, two stories and a huge basement being converted into more living space. The incomplete nature of the basement made it seem rather creepy and a certain member of the group refused to enter it alone.
We had two days and a night to visit the area. This gave us enough time to visit the festival, partake of the night life, soak in an underground hot spring (known as the Vaporcave), visit Telluride and its ski resort, and meet Telluride’s local rasta. Oh, and drive through the mountains at night in a snow storm.
Thankfully, there were enough spaces available at the Ice Festival that all of us were able to try ice climbing. A few of us enrolled in a six hour seminar and had a full day of ice climbing instruction. I would later recognize one of our instructors while flipping through one of my climbing magazines—Jack Tackle. Apparently he is a bad-ass mountaineer and alpine climber. I thank him for belaying me on my first ever ice climb. Ice climbing is similar to rock climbing, yet drastically different. It uses many of the same principles, but it is entirely dependent on your abilities to wield its gear: crampons and ice tools (think pointy boots and pick axes). Although I hadn’t climbed before, I ended up in the intermediate class. This worked out well because we spent more time climbing than talking. I was able to climb six times and finished each 50-60 foot route. On my last two climbs, I did begin to feel some exhaustion in my arms. I tried a variation up a thin section of ice on my very last climb that was psychologically and physically taxing, but rewarding. I am certainly interested in climbing more ice.
Ouray is a tiny mountain town with an inviting atmosphere. We spent a fair amount of time in O’Briens Pub, but my favorite place was Mouse’s Chocolates. Their chocolates are fantastic and locally made. During the festival, Mouse’s was selling large chunks of chocolate decorated like ice climbers.
Overall, not a bad way to start a new year.
The beginning of a new year always means an inundation of “best of” lists and montages reflecting on the year before. Shortly we’ll all be so sick of both we’ll be vomiting iridescent rainbows of turkey and electromagnetic radiation. Never one to miss an opportunity to contribute to mass public puking, I too have put together a GoPro retrospective of last year. Watch it above.
Above is a short video encompassing some of the experience of hiking through Subway in Zion National Park in early September. It’s a damn good time if you have the knowledge and will to do it.
I recently got back from Zion yet again—this time—backpacking the Narrows route for my third time. It is always rewarding, although, I felt the pain afterward in a way I hadn’t before. Too much time at a computer being sedentary is wreaking havoc on my body. Thankfully, I was able to renew my gym membership last week so I can get into proper shape again.
I finally decided to give sleeping outdoors tentless a try while on the Narrows trip. Thankfully, it didn’t rain and it was an enjoyable experience. I’ll have to do it more often. I also led my first multi-pitch sport climbs in September (two pitches each). Hopefully, I can start devoting some more time to climbing and advancing my skills.
Work has been pouring in, which is great, but I’ve had little time for much else. Balancing life and self-employment is a challenge I certainly haven’t mastered yet. I’ve completed several projects recently. Some of them will be live soon and posted here for the world to deride.
I’m back from Utah. Karl, of Extreme Things, and I were doing a bit of canyoneering through the Left Fork of the Virgin River—a route called Subway. It’s a great slot canyon with a few rappels, squeezes, and swims. We added a bit of extra adventure to our trip by accidentally entering the canyon too soon adding four rappels to the hike. The adventure compounded when we realized a few members of an inexperienced group of ten had followed us down and were stranded on a ledge 35 feet above the canyon floor.  Karl ascended our rope, built them harnesses from webbing, and I belayed them down to safety. The next several hours were filled with awesome canyoneering and a bit of babysitting as we helped the group navigate the more technical obstacles. I, of course, brought along the GoPro and intend to post a video and more in-depth trip report later.
A couple of videos I directed recently are also online now. The first is this year’s commercial for the West Hollywood Book Fair. The second is one of three Combat Arms shorts we at Butcher Bird Studios  did for Nexon earlier this summer. The other two should hopefully be completed soon.