As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, "A man cannot step in the same river twice. In the winds of time, an opportunity lost is lost forever, for it is neither the same river, or the same man."

All too often, we tend to wait until the opportunity has passed to preserve the memories that we take for granted each day. Our little ones grow up so fast and then we say, "I remember it was just yesterday when you were a toddler and now look, all grown up and leaving for college...", and older relatives and friends can pass on all too quickly. Do you have a three or four generation portrait for example? If we wait too long we may never get the opportunity to get a portrait like that, professionally done and priceless in value.

We are finally getting through a fairly tough summer here in Utah. The weather has been immoderately hot and dry and the wildfires in Utah and Idaho have broken records.

We seized the opportunity between photo shoots to take some time off for some photography in southern Utah, visiting places like the Shakespearian Festival in Cedar City, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Capitol Reef National Monument, Kodachrome Basin, and others. We were going to stop off at Fort Cove, Utah to visit the museum there, but were behind schedule and decided to catch it on the return trip home. Just a few hours after we passed Fort Cove, the largest wildfire in Utah history was started by a lightning strike. Thankfully, Fort Cove only lost a small building and a couple of vehicles, and the museum was not damaged.

As a result of the fires, the air quality was compromised in all of the areas we visited. Despite this, some fantastic photographs were taken and are posted on the gallery page of the web site. Some are for sale as 16x20, 20x24, and 20x30 prints. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing one of these prints.

This incident just further reminded me that as we continue on our daily lives, we often take too much for granted. The old sayings, "I'll do it tomorrow" or "It can wait" are a risky thing. Had Cove Fort been burned, never again would the museum and its artifacts be viewed. A few years ago we visited and toured Glacier National Park. One week after we left, the place was on fire. Had we procrastinated making the visit, we would not have seen, and photographed, the rare beauty of that magnificent terrain. (No, our being there was not the cause of any of the fires.)

I advise everyone I meet to get family and friends together for a portrait. A hard fact of life is that we can at some point expect the occasional "empty chair" of a friend or family member. What a blessing it would be to have a current photograph of these friends and family members done the right way by a professional photographer.

Yes, there are department stores, discount stores, box stores, and small cubbies in malls where volume pictures are done by employees who shoot pictures on one camera setting with the lights set at a "one size fits all" setting with the result of a dimensionless and common picture, one just like everyone else who visits these places gets. They even print the pictures while you are there. Of course the quality is far from where it should be.

Don't take chances with something so precious. Seek a professional photographer who is willing to do what you want. Look at the photographer's work and make sure it is their work, not someone else who happens to work for the same studio. Do they guarantee their work? Do they just mass produce pictures on a "one setting" printer?

I use a top professional print lab, guarantee my work, and will work to make your portraits the best possible. I take the time necessary to make your experience the best ever whether in or out of the studio.

Give me a call or shoot an email to me and let's get a session scheduled. You'll be glad you did.

By the way, if you haven't done so already, enter the special drawing for a chance to win a free portrait sitting which includes a free 8x10 print.

Thanks.