A couple weekends ago, I was the second photographer at the wedding of Misa & Ory. Here are some highlights from the day. At the bottom, you’ll find a link to all of the images. Enjoy!
http://photos.codyjbennett.com/Weddings/Misa-and-Ory/All-Images/
Heather and I went on a great mini-roadtrip this last weekend. It was three nights away from town and I thoroughly enjoyed the time away from phones and email and other distractions to be able to sit and chat and giggle with my wife. It was our two year anniversary on Monday, and it’s a good reminder that we’re in love, not just the business of living together. Anyhow, I took my camera along for the drive too, expecting the weather to cooperate a bit. Here are my top selections from the images I brought back…





This morning I was up by 3:15 and before the sun was up I had some breakfast and 30 minutes of reading under my belt (appropriately from Wild at Heart). Getting out the door at around 4:15, I headed out to catch up with my friend Bill for some bear searching near the Peterson Creek Meadows. On the way there, I saw four deer and a bear. Here’s a picture of one of the deer.
After my brief stop, we made it out to the meadows and wandered about through the woods hoping for bear, but there wasn’t much more than a single pile of scat. It’s was a beautiful morning, but woefully slim on wildlife save for birds chirping incessantly. Of course, on the way back, there was more wildlife right along the highway… This time, it was two different bears…
You can see more images from the day at http://photos.codyjbennett.com/Other/2011/
Here’s the Zamboni getting the ice prepped for the recent figure skating event. I took nearly 2300 shots through the 2 hour show, so when I get some breathing room from other projects, I’ll dig in and get some keepers to post. I hope to check back soon!

I love macro shots because they help me to capture such great detail of something that we commonly overlook. It’s so easy to see a forest floor and recognize that it’s green in color, and might be soft to step on, but how often do you lean in close to see the individual ‘blades’ of the moss and how they catch light during a sunset?
For me? This was a first.
All too often we get busy with life. We move too quickly through the crowd, we don’t stop to smell the roses. Oftentimes, we don’t realize that we are in the midst of beauty because we don’t expect to see it. Take for instance this image… I’ve grown up in Juneau, experienced around two decades of wintertimes, and never noticed this growth before. It’s a fascinating frozen bud with white wisps of fuzz. I’m not even sure what plant it’s from, but I’m glad I stopped to notice.
[Update: I found out that this is a Willow Rose. For more information, see this posting on the University of Alaska Fairbanks website.]
I’ve known Adriana for probably over a decade and while we periodically lose touch, we’re always thrilled to see each other when our paths cross. In recent years, she’s moved back to town and found herself forging the minds of tomorrow in the Juneau School District. What’s more is that she met Lance and obviously fallen deeply in love.
I’m stoked for these two.
Lance is a Man’s Man, humble, generous, strong, and wise. He and Adriana will make a great pair. I’m excited to share in their adventure by documenting this special time.
Congrats, guys!
Click on the image to head towards their gallery.
Enjoy!
In mid-February, I heard that the Aurora’s were firing up again with another 4/10 rating, so I decided to head out to do some Northern Light hunting. It also happened to be a full moon. As I drove around Juneau, I eventually made it out to Aurora Harbor and, while I never found any Northern Lights, I did capture a few frames of the bright moonlight and the deep blue of the night. In this frame, we see the Shrine of St. Therese illuminated warmly in contrast of the frozen evening:
During the last PhotoWalk that I coordinated, I spent lots of time looking, but very few minutes clicking. Part of the fun for me is to see others having a good time with a camera, observing the world. I did my own observing of course… I came away with maybe 5 “keepers”. Click on my favorite below to visit the gallery with the rest:
It’s actually a lichen, but if I ever needed to disguise myself as an old gentleman, it seems this might do the trick. This is again with my macro lens. It’s great to be able to capture the detail of such a thing that I never thought to observe at these ranges before. I’m sure I look strange standing in the parking lot, intensely focused on a piece of moss or lichen just a few inches away from my lens. I’m glad I’m just now looking.