In Guam!

Hello our neglected iMaxwells.com readers. It's Been far too long.
I just woke from my first night in Guam and have so much to write about but it will have to come later.

I'm currently contracted by National Geographic to document an expedition of engineers and oceanographers as they try to unlock the mysterious of the lowest parts of this planet.

So excited.

Dream job.

I hope to do this more!.... I think. :)







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Will's Visit & Disneyland! (updated: with video)

Will flew in last week and we all had a great time. We capped off the fun with a Saturday at Disneyland!
More pictures will be added soon.. all I have with me are the photos I took using a really cool iPhone app called instagram.
I love the app but don't love the small versions your left with.

Like I said earlier... more picture will be added soon and I am sure Katie will write up a great essay about the weekend. WE MAKE A GREAT TEAM. :)

Hearst Castle

Over the weekend Katie really wanted to visit Hearst Castle. I was fairly apathetic and didn't want to go but was glad I did.

Hearst Castle is an amazing place built easily within this last century. It feels like it would have many hundreds of years between now and when they started building but not at all. It is a marvel and just a fun experience.
We happened to visit the castle on a very wet Saturday but were lucky enough to have a fantastic tour guide.
Here a few photos I took throughout the tour:

HDR Photos @ Gorda Springs Resort

When I have the time I like to play around with HDR photography. When you first see HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography they tend to strike wonder and awe, but those feeling quickly fade. The trick is pretty easy combining three varied exposures into one. There is several different software options out there that lend a hand in creating these types of photos but the effects are always pretty similar.
One of my great heroes in photography: Vincent Laforet recently stated that HDR photos are only effective when you do not recognize the gimick that is HDR photography. Succesfull photos should look like an Ansel Adams piece and not a video game frame.

Recently a few East European filmmakers created quite a stir with their HDR video piece:
The Chapel

TheChapel. A short film. (HDR timelapse) from Patryk Kizny on Vimeo.


Some people love it and some hate it but either way you have to admire what they created.

Here are a couple of HDR photos I shot over the weekend: (not succesfull in Vincent's eyes but fun none-the-less)

Our Big Sur / Gorda Springs Resort Adventure

Me and my beautiful Wife in Big Sur

Katie and I were able to get out of town over the President's Day weekend and shot a resort commercial film. We traded a free stay at Gorda Springs Resort for a web video showcasing the beauties of this resort located on the PCH with a wonderful view of the Pacific!

Throughout the weekend we shot several timelapses with varying success. My last timelapse I shot Sunday night at 2:00am and it finished around 11:00am. My camera took a picture every 45 seconds and afterwards I stiched the over 800 photos together to create my best timelapse yet.
This video has not been color corrected or even really touched up yet. Its pretty much straight from the camera and I already think it looks amazing. What do you think?


I am sure that this will look even better after some color correction and added to the rest of the film.

Katie and I had a great time eating out and simply enjoying the beauty that surprises us around every twist, bend, and curve that makes up the PCH.

Capturing my first timelapse for the weekend

the prius provides the perfect shelter 

iphone photo 1

iPhone stitched photo using photo stitcher app

Big Sur Filming

Katie and I are in Big Sur filming a web video for resort client.
More to come...

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Location:Main St,Cambria,United States

Vday 2011

Lahvah's Day is swiftly upon us.  I have started calling Feb. 14 "Lahvah's Day" thanks to funny nienie and this beloved SNL skit:



Have you decided how you are going to celebrate your lahvah this holiday?  For the past two years, my lahvah and I have jet-setted to San DiAHgo to celebrate both our love and George Washington's birth.  This year, however, Uncle Sam and the dentist seemed to have dipped rather deep into our pocketbook, thus we are left to be creative in our celebrations.

Last year I also shared ideas of gifts your lahvah (or myself) might enjoy.  So in case you are a Last-Minute-Lucy or -Larry, may I offer these suggestions:

Yes, please.

Hehe.

Sweet and citrusy.

Uhhh... this is not so romantic, but your lahvah will LAHVE this for his/her iPhone or iPad!

Make this! Happy lahvah guaranteed. (bonus: it's super easy!)

Wear this while you make that.

Happy Lahvah's Day everyone!

Roasted Chicken with Dijon Sauce

I haven't tried this recipe... yet!  It popped up today on one of my favorite cooking blogs, SmittenKitchen, and apparently she found it in an old Gourmet magazine.  I don't really have much else to share at the moment, so thought I'd put this out there.  Let me know if you try it!

Roasted Chicken with Dijon Sauce

Adapted from Gourmet, March 2008 (borrowed from SmittenKitchen.com)

The sauce is on the thin side but can be thickened up by reducing the sauce over high heat for several minutes. This concentrates the flavors as well, and if you haven’t used a low-sodium broth, you might find the results a little salty. Just a word of warning.

3 pounds chicken parts (thighs, drumsticks, and/or breasts), with skin and bones

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 small shallots, thinly sliced

3/4 cup dry white wine

3/4 cup reduced-sodium or sodium-free chicken broth

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons smooth Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon finely chopped chives or the green parts of scallions

Preheat oven to 450°F with a rack in middle. Pat chicken dry and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet (if you’ve got a cast iron skillet, it is great here) over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Working in 2 batches, brown chicken, skin side down first and turning once, about 5 minutes per batch. I like to take a lot of care in this step, not moving the chicken until the skin releases itself and has a nice bronze on it, which will provide the best flavor and seal in the most juices.

Return all chicken, skin side up, to skillet and roast in oven until just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter, then add shallots, wine, and broth to pan juices in skillet and boil, scraping up any brown bits, until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cream and boil until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. To thicken the sauce further, turn the heat to high and boil it until it reduces to a consistency you prefer.

Strain sauce through a sieve into a bowl, if you’re feeling fancy (I never am, but if you don’t, you might find some chicken bits scraped up from the pan in your sauce. We don’t mind.) Whisk in mustard, chives, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve chicken with sauce.

Film: Maxwell Christmas Decorations 2010

Here is a little film I did over the holidays of a portion of my parent's house. Every year they go all out for Christmas and I love everything they do.
This video provides only a small slice of what they do each year.

weekend realities

A 3-day weekend is a glorious thing. Sundays always go too fast - between teaching, service, lunch, a nap... suddenly it's Sunday evening and it feels like nothing was accomplished. So this weekend, we were work-horses and accomplished so much and it feels great!

We did lots of things around the house:
- cleaned out drawers
- vacuumed out my closer... I could have made a small pillow with the amount of dust and hair that was buried back there
- hung my new spice racks and reorganized a kitchen cabinet

- Matt organized his new tools/tool bags
- bought our fancy new vaccum and cleaned our floors

- cleaned up our back porch

We still have more things to organize and clean-out before we can pronouce ourselves "done!", but I'm proud of what we've done so far. As for the rest of the weekend...

- date night at Chi-Dynasty
- Matt, Barkley and I all got hair cuts
- I DID visit Sweet Butter Kitchen and enjoyed a cinammon scone (latte next time)
- watched and cheered during Golden Globes
- we watched The Kids Are Alright, The Social Network, and Despicable Me... I recommend them all!
- found a new recipe for delicious margaritas
- taught our favorite 3-4 yr olds in our Bible class
- did NOT start the apothocary cabinet... but we'll get there soon

Next weekend: no plans yet ... and that's how I like it :)