Monthly Archives: February 2009

February 15, 2009

We did a lot of stopping to shoot on Day 2.  There are lots of good places to shoot Route 66 between Flagstaff and Kingman. I should note that the photos in this post are just the fun shots off the mini cam. The “real” shots will come later as we will put quite a bit more effort in to the post production of those images. For any perspective brides who may be reading this, you haven’t been misinformed; we really do specialize in wedding photography, this is just a brief hiatus. To view more wedding photos just click WEDDINGS off the list of categories to right.

Williams, AZ

Ashfork, AZ

Ashfork, AZ

Ashfork, AZ

Seligman, AZ

We had to drive through a muddy field to get to this motel.  The Electronic Stability Control kicked on but we didn’t get stuck!

Seligman, AZ

Watching this guy take pictures of the smart with his phone.

Big Horn Sheep near Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

For $1.oo Pappy will tell your fortune.

Apparently they sell used license plates at Hoover Dam

Lake Mead is a man-made lake; the direct result of Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam is 700 feet tall.

Construction is underway on the new and terrifying suspension bridge. Once the bride is complete travelers will no longer be able to drive over the actual dam like they do now.

These photos really fail to convey the true scope of how large everything is.

This photo is looking down the front of the dam. It may not look that high but it’s 700 feet!

Spoil sports

My favorite pic from Day 1

DAY 1

February 14, 2009

These are the photos from Day 1 of our road trip to Las Vegas in the smart.  Incase anyone is wondering, despite the fact that smart is indeed a proper name, it is trademarked with a lower case “s” hence “smart” and not “Smart”.  Anyway, Day 1 was spent driving to Flagstaff, AZ. The plan was to photograph all the cool Route 66 stuff between Flagstaff and Kingman. We had already shot Albuquerque to Flagstaff a couple years ago on a different trip. Once we start shooting “for reals” it takes us forever to get anywhere so we wanted a whole day to get from Flagstaff to Vegas. These photos are all off the mini cam and several are shot from the moving car. Some would say that it is not safe to drive and take pictures at the same time but to them I say I just point the camera around and shoot, I’m not even looking at it!

Check out all the stuff that fits in the back!

Gallup, NM

Self portrait in gas station bathroom

That ain’t no joke!

Plaza Cafe anyone?

Hats, belts, blankets, film!!!

Gas up in Winslow, AZ

Approaching Flagstff

major snow in Flagstaff

Dinner at NiMarcos Pizza

mmmm

About two and a half  years ago I was driving home from work on I-40 when I saw a car like I had never seen before.  I called Rick and told him “I’m behind the smallest car in the world!” Naturally I had to catch up to it to see what it was. The only word I could see on the car was smart. That night I came home and did some research and thus began the journey that lead up to today. Through my online research I discovered that smart cars were not yet available for distribution in the United States but that they were HUGE in Europe. I also learned that there were plans in the making for smart to come to the U.S.

Fast forward about a little over a year ago and I was driving home from Bernalillo in what has got to be the worst traffic jam I’ve ever seen. This is no exaggeration, it took me 3 hours to drive the 27 miles from Bernalillo to my house. I-25 was closed and all traffic was being diverted at the Montano exit. So while fuming mad and driving 3 miles an hour I got off at Montano with everyone else and then I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was a big neon sign that said smart. “Hmmm?” I thought.  A couple days later I went back to see what appeared to be a car dealership that wasn’t open yet.

Fast forward to February 2008 – The smart dealership is open! Rick and I went in and instantly fell in love. Well, in all honesty, I fell in love – hardcore. So I went for a test drive with smart salesperson, Stacilynn, and put down the $99  deposit knowing that it would likely be at least a year before my made-to-order smart would be available.

Late last week Stacielynn called and said “come get your car”.  With our crazy busy schedule we didn’t have enough time to go close the deal until today. Today is the day the smart car came home.

If you would like to get a smart car of your very own you can learn a lot at the smartUSA website http://www.smartusa.com/ If you would like to see them in person and/or go for a test drive visit the

smart center Albuquerque

1220 S. Renaissance NE

Albuquerque, NM 87107

505.999.2500 ask for Stacielynn Miller

There it is!

Believe it or not, that’s a happy face

Stacielynn is gonna give us the run-down on all the bells and whistles

There are important things like the tow hook and the battery under the floor mats on the passenger side. Did I brush my hair before leaving the house?

More important items are located under the “service flap” which most people would call “the hood”

Fluids are under here

Rick’s turn to give it a try

I love these gauges

Finally, a “me sized” car!

This is my favorite shot. Thanks Rick

Rick in the showroom

Smart Accessories

Red Smart with bike rack

Blue Smarts

Rick getting back from his informative test drive

The Smart with Rick’s Tacoma

Loadin’ er up!

A bittersweet moment. We traded the truck for the car.

Saying “Good bye” to the Tacoma

First stop – lunch with my Mom at India Palace!

At the office