You know it’s laughably cold when Lake Michigan, which had ice in it a few days ago, is now steaming at sunrise. The air temp is 1 degree F, with a wind chill of -17. Time to have some coffee and find something to edit here at home. 
Stefani and I ventured over the pond to Europe and North Africa for our honeymoon. It was 2 weeks of adventure and relaxation that will be engrained in our lives forever. We shared indulgent food, amazing vista’s and a few days of just sleeping and chilling out.
Here are a few of the views we witnessed in beautiful Morocco and Portugal.
Gear wise, I limited myself to the Canon 5Dmk3 and 3 lens’: 35mm 1.4, 85mm 1.2 and 14mm 2.8
Deep Morocco
High Atlas Mountains, Morocco
Berber
Dades Valley, Morocco
Afternoon Prayer
Hillside Village
Far Eastern Morocco
Gateway to the Sahara
Sunrise Trek
Full Moon Dune Climb, Sahara Desert
Our Hosts
High Atlas Mountains, Morocco
Roadside Vender
Marrakech Souk
Our Guide, Jaime (Hi-me)
Oh yeah, we went to Portugal too… Lisbon sunset above.
Lisbon is a very cool little city…
And Lagos, Southern tip of Portugal
My conclusion: the 35mm and 85mm I always said you could cover a wedding and most editorial shoots with alone, and apparently honeymoon’s too. The 14mm was nice to pull out in ideal locations. Portugal is a cool little gem of a country… highly recommend if you’re in Europe. Morocco, I’ve been wanting to see this side of Africa (World) for a while, and I was right, I loved it. It s a nice intro to a region that generally harbors skepticism, and yet the culture and people are extremely friendly and welcoming. We loved them both.
And we got some beautiful Moroccan rugs after an incredible negotiation with a masterful carpet salesman…. we walked away with 3.
Stef and the Dealer
Had a great view of the Chicago Air Show last month… just getting around to posting a few good ones. They were flying right over the building…
14mm
Passing shadows from 30 floors up.
So as luck would have it, I just so happen to be keeping my 300mm 2.8 on tripod in the living room these days. That comes in handy when you’re having coffee and President Obama and his helo’s come flying around Lake Shore Blvd. Just wondering what secret service must have thought when seeing some dude in boxers with a huge lens snapping photos of the presidents Helo’s on the 30th floor. Hopefully, just that I need to workout more, and nothing else.
Feel blessed to have this for my view for a few months…
After a very very stressful setup process, I shot some staff portraits of the Palmetto Medical Initiative Board and Staff. I’m still learning this new one light set up I got the other month, however, I’m liking what I’m getting so far. Slow and steady. Nice and simple.
Here are some of Katie playing around between shoots. 
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This is from the summer of 2010, but came across it and like it. Anyone have a plane and want to fly me around?
Alabama from above
beautiful morning on Folly Beach, SC
Joshua Drake Photography 