Gold, Frankinscense, and Chocolate Sauce!

This year, and every year, the Moon family gathers to reenact the Nativity (complete with costumes and props) while Dad reads the story from St. Luke. With the shortage of Myrrh this year, we decided that the chocolate sauce from the fridge would have to do. Here are some pics from the event! Enjoy!
Merry Christmas! 

Escalante - Take Two!

These are a little late, but now that this semester is over, I finally have time to post things! These are photos from my second trip to Escalante - which was amazing! Here are some of my favorites! Enjoy.

The Moon's Are Reunited!

The Annual Moon Family Reunion was the last big event of my summer! For the first time in a long time every one of my siblings (besides Shanna in Texas) made it to the reunion. We even got a picture to prove it!

B&M Wedding

Ta da! My second wedding job! I worked with the groom at Jamba Juice for the past year and met the bride when they started dating. They are both amazing people. I was surprised and honored when they asked me to do their wedding photos!

They were married August 16, 2012 for time and all eternity in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. Congratulations and thank you for a wonderful day of smiles and fun. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day!

if i die young

       Today in class my professor informed us that one of our fellow students in Art history, Alyssa Isom, passed away. This came as a complete shock, but I don't know all the details. She was a beautiful girl with big dreams and I never heard an unkind word leave her lips. Alyssa had the sweetest disposition. I can't believe she's really gone. I saw her just the other day at the Art History Assembly - she stood in front of me in line for food afterward. She was a TA for a class I am taking this semester. She was very modest and loved art history. When I see her picture, I keep thinking she is going to walk around the corner at any second. She was my age. In my major. She was about to graduate. It's cheesy, but the lyrics from the song If I Die Young ran through my head. This song hits a lot closer to home today.
       I couldn't help but think what would happen if I died today. A life is fleeting. A blip in time. We are all only one person, but together (and individually) we can make the world a better place. So, what are you doing to improve your world? Live every day to its fullest. No regrets!
       Alyssa was, and is, an inspiration to me. She really loved Art History, and worked really hard on her papers and exams. She was an amazing student. I can only attempt to be as studious as she was. Her passing also makes me think of the clip from the movie It's A Wonderful Life. I don't think any of us realize the amazing change we make in the lives of the people we associate with. The world is far better because we are living. I didn't know Alyssa well, but her presence in my classes made an influence on me, and made me want to be a better person. She didn't even know I felt that way - we were just fellow Art History students - but she really did make a world of difference.

We love you Alyssa! (left)

Bear Lake

Every year since I can remember, I have been going to Bear Lake with my family toward the end of the summer. It started as a annual family vacation, and then turned into a place to celebrate my older sister, Shanna's birthday. I can't remember how it started, but we go eat Bear Lake Pizza one night during our stay to celebrate her birthday. We spend two full days at the lake playing Ultimate, Bacci, flying kites, building sand castles, wind-boarding, reading books, and of course, playing in the water! As we drive out of town we stop by for a famous Bear Lake raspberry shake before driving out of town.
      Here are some shots from this years trip. I used what I learned in my photography class constantly - and even taught my sister-in-law a new trick or two. It was a blast!

lollies for the ride up

the bathroom doors at The Bear Cave

High in the Mountains

Yes, I went on this trip the last week of July and I am just getting around to posting the pictures. Please forgive me - I got a new job and currently it takes up all of my time.

        I took a Nature Photography class (taught by the Outdoor Recreation Instructor at BYU) this summer term. It was fantastic! I bought my Canon Rebel XS off of a friend two years ago and now my photography dreams are closer realities that they were before. Since then I have had the opportunity to be the photographer at two of my friends weddings and one engagement shoot. I still have a lot to learn, so thank you guys for being my guinea pigs and helping me learn the tricks of the trade. My future clients thank you.
        This photography class was but a short six week crash course, during which we learned the basics of the Canon camera, and techniques for shooting photos in nature. The goal of this class was to be able to take a picture and have it look like what you saw without having to use Photoshop. We were only allowed to use it to crop our pictures, but for no other improvements. I definitely know my camera better after this class.
        We went backpacking in the Uintas for three days, carrying everything we needed on our backs. It was fantastic. I haven't been backpacking since I was 16, so I was pretty scared leading up to it. Then again, I always do that to myself; I scare myself to death about the trip getting ready, and then I do fine and have a great time! Silly me. After we got back (and showered) we had a photography show of everyone's favorite pictures. These are my (in my opinion) my best six pictures from the trip. Click where it says "Click here to see more..." to see more shots from the trip.

Tested

I did want to tell the tree what it was. I wanted it to tell me something,
 and through my express its meaning in nature. - Wynn Bullock

Picturesque Lake    7.26.2012

Parched

Trees are the Earth's endless effort to speak
to the listening heaven. - Rabindranath Tagore

Paul's Point    7.26.2012

Uinta Ziggarat

If I could tell the story in words,
I wouldn't need to lug around a camera. - Lewis Hine

Taken from Paul's Point    7.26.2012

Burning Brush

Sometimes I get to places just when God is ready
to have somebody click the shutter. - Ansel Adams

Paul's Point    7.26.2012

Cotton Candy Clouds

The poetry of the Earth is never dead. - John Keats

Teal Lake    7.27.2012

Day Is Over

Photograph: a picture painted by the sun
without instruction in art. - Ambrose Bierce

Taken from Hayden's Peak    7.27.2012

Purple, Green, and Yellow!

I think it's time that I explain the name of this blog. One of my favorite childhood picture books is entitled Purple, Green and Yellow, and since I love bright colors so much, what better name than could I choose?

It is a story about a girl named Brigid who loves to color with markers. First she begs her mother for markers that smell, then markers that make things look better than they are, and then super-indelible-never-come-off-until-your-dead-and-maybe-even-later markers. She promises with each set of markers that she won't draw on the floors, walls or on herself. Brigid is soon bored with drawing on paper with the super-indelible-never-come-off-until-your-dead-and-maybe-even-later markers and starts to draw on herself. first a fingernail, then her fingers, hands, and eventually her whole body.
To cover up her ill deed, she colors over top of all those bright colored patterns with a marker that makes things go back to their original color. When her mother asks her if she has washed her hands for dinner, Brigid answers yes. Her mother then smells her hands and takes her up to wash them again. The cover-up marker comes off to reveal the amazing patterns Brigid had drawn all over her body. Her mother then calls the doctor and has to figure out a way to get the markers off her daughter. She soon finds that Brigid has colored on more than herself with the super-indelible-never-come-off-until-your-dead-and-maybe-even-later markers.
This is a fun story written by Robert N. Munsch and illustrated by Helene Desputeaux. Some of my other childhood favorite books by Munsch include Something Good, Moira's Birthday, The Paper Bag Princess, and PIGS.

Escalante!

I went to Escalante, Utah at the end of May! I went with a group of fellow Fine Arts Majors from BYU. We hiked down through Bryce Canyon, to Lower Calf Creek Waterfall, then through Peek-A-Boo and Spooky Slot Canyons, and drove across The Hog's Back.  Here are some of my pictures from the trip. Enjoy!

 Looking up through Bryce Canyon

M&J Engagements

These two were a fun couple to work with, and they helped me come out of my shy shell as an engagement/wedding photographer. The lighting was perfect and they were great! I hope you like what you see! :D