Video Shoot for Party Company

On this past 4th of July I shot a video for the party company BT Bouncies. They provided a slew of bounce houses and other amusements for the City of Peoria's 30th annual 4th of July Festival. It was so much fun filming the kids having so much fun.



BT Bouncies 4th of July from John Bering on Vimeo.

Sunset Over the Crops

As the sun was setting and the storm was rolling in I made my way to a few vantage points to enjoy the evolving weather system. Irrigated fields reflected the evening glow. Not that far away was a patch that revealed a silent explosion in violet hues warmed by the crimson sky.

While the western sky was filled with the closing of another day the eastern atmosphere was alive with yet another passing electrical storm.  Off I went in another direction to capture the approaching storm.

Summer in the desert is an enchanted time as the earth's orbit brings constant change to the natural world around us. We just need to look up and witness the glory that surrounds us.

Lighting Up the Sky

A spectacular lightning storm rolled over Arizona this evening and out into the night I went.

It was hot, windy and electric! Gotta love those summer storms over the desert.

Summer is Our Winter

Here in the Sonoran Desert we usually see 100 days of temperatures in the 100s each summer.  When the mercury soars the desert dweller typically hibernates similar to what our neighbors elsewhere do during winter. Staying inside a bit more often, catching a matinee movie to avoid the heat of the day, adjusting workouts to dawn or dusk and finding covered parking whenever possible becomes the norm during the 100 days of summer. As we preserver through the harshness of our dog days we daydream of cooler places.

Just a few months ago I was back in Missouri visiting my parents when Farmington was hit with some severe winter weather.  I pulled out the camera and made my way to the old bridge in Desloge that spanned the Big River. Yes, unfortunately I used the past tense for the bridge because the day after capturing the image above news was released that the bridge was coming down and being replaced by a new one. I count myself very lucky to be in the right place at the right time and have some recorded history of the bridge that was.

While I was capturing all possible angles to record the old rusty span I heard a man shouting "are you alright?" You see, I was laying in the middle of the road composing the image below.

The alarmed voice came from a middle aged chap that happened to be snowboarding in a farm field directly behind me. All he could see was my truck parked on the shoulder and me lying face down in the middle of the road. I turned around and explained that I was shooting the bridge with my camera and we both got quite a laugh over the juxtaposition I presented.

Later that afternoon my sister and niece accompanied me to a friends farm.  We were there just in time for the cows to be served dinner and headed out by way of a tractor and 4-wheeler to witness their evening smorgasbord. Much to our surprise a bull elk was also in the field no doubt also looking for his next meal.

It was great to be back in the rural farmland but as much as I enjoyed a taste of winter I was looking forward to returning to the beautiful climate of Phoenix in March.

Now that I've endured about 30% of our 100 days of 100 degree summer and am longing for a cooler change to come my way I am reminded of a passage from a great book I read earlier this year. "When we are always almost somewhere, we can't be happy where we are," Suzanne Roberts, Almost Somewhere. Maybe that's the reason for a lot of what I do; never content, must keep moving on to the next trip, the next adventure, the next season.

Fortunately it's a dry heat but I'm still looking forward to Starbucks promoting their Pumpkin Spice Latte later this year.

4th of July 2013

I was commissioned to shoot a video for BT Bouncies on the 4th of July.  They are a large party company in Phoenix and they wanted a cool video of their bouncies in use to play on their website.  With 0ver 30 inflatables, a rock wall, chair swings, mechanical bull and much more BT Bouncies rocked the event for the City of Peoria and 35,000 or so guests.

It will take a few weeks to edit the video for them but I also shot stills of the fireworks at the end of the evening. It was a wonderful event and I can't wait to share the video when I'm done with it.

Rising Early to Catch the Setting Moon

In the mountains by half past four, hot coffee, camera on tripod, 71 degrees. It was a perfect morning to capture the June Supermoon of 2013. Last time the moon passed this close to planet earth I was in total amazement at its enormity. Reminded me of the movie Melancholia. This year, however, I was a bit disappointed that the vision did not match up to my expectations but it was still much larger (closer) than normal. Looking forward to next year.

Chihuly Towers

There is a fascinating display of cacti at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens and not all are organic. World renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly has a display there that is as beautiful as as any of the indigenous desert plants there on display.

I was recently at the Botanical Garden with my daughter and son-in-law on a Friday evening before we headed downtown for First Friday. While we were there a jazz ensemble began playing at sunset and the natural amphitheater pushed the music out surrounding us with beautiful traditional jazz beats as we finished our tour of the gardens. When we made our way back to the Chihuly exhibit the cacti were wrapped in beautiful light and the glass was transformed into amazing beauty.

In November of this year the Phoenix Botanical Gardens will host a large collection of Chihuly glass cacti and I will certainly be there to capture Dale's glass in my glass.  Hopefully to the backbeat of a jazz band.