The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

We waited, hundreds of us, in the cold and wet December Pacific Northwest weather. Shortly after 10 AM, the first-ever 787 Dreamliner pulled away from the flightline. It taxied down the runway, turned around and fired up its two Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines. Seconds later it filled the viewfinder of my Nikon as I held down the shutter release, clicking off 6 frames a second as it climbed into the atmosphere. Within moments the 787 was a spec against the cloudy sky, and several minutes later it vanished into the horizon. After almost a decade of hard work and billions of dollars in investment, the flying 787 Dreamliner became reality.
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I was not sure where I was heading, I just knew I needed to cross the Puget Sound and head west. After catching a boat to Bremerton, I headed north on 3, caught the 104 to the 101 and eventually cruised along the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the 112. Five hours later the Explorer pulled into a campsite in Ozette, WA. For the next few days this secluded plot would serve as our base camp as Caitlin, Sharat, Emily and I explored the very western edge of the United States. Above is Emily jump standing on the coast of the Pacific at the Dungeness Spit.
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Cabin fever is serious. As we shiver through the early days of March, please be careful to diagnose and treat any symptoms related to this ailment. Since the Andy Aupperlee “explosion” (that’s what we’re calling my S&F), this blog has gotten uber serious about medical issues. The best form of treatment is prevention, and that’s why I’ve decided to dedicate an entire post to this subject. Also, all ad revenues from this post will be donated to the Society for the Advancement of Cabin Fever Knowledge (SACK).

The following is a case study of a group of 20 somethings from Seattle, Washington as they battle cabin fever near Mount Baker. (continue reading…)

Claire, Curtis, Tom, Desiree, Rich, Sarah, Kristen, Emily, Laura, Lara, & Drew.
Lake Wenatchee. October 5, 2008.

If you read the comments on this blog, you will notice that people are always asking, “Andy, how do you get such great pictures of your friends goofing off and the-what-not?” Whether it is capturing your friends in the middle of ‘the little things that make life meaningful’ or just party pixxxxxing when yall are having a good time, properly operating a DSLR can make the difference between some ‘nasty Facebook tags’ and ‘authentic profile pics.’

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Mount Baker from Lynden, Washington.
August 16, 2008. 8:39 PM.
Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR lens @ 112mm.
Program Exposure. 1/4 sec @ f/5.3. ISO 200.

Here are few shots of Mount Baker from Uncle Jim & Aunt Sharon’s house in Lynden, Washington. We were just sitting down to dinner when my cousin, Derek, noticed the moon coming up. For this exposure, I used my dad’s classic technique. I dialed in ISO 200, threw the D300 in P mode, pointed straight up into the sky, half-pressed the shutter release to get a metering, tapped the AE-lock button, recomposed on the mountain and fired.

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