This wallpaper for February, 2012, created on a beautiful evening in San Francisco as the sun descended over the Pacific Ocean. Enjoy!

Device-specific files are available after the jump.

This past spring I had the opportunity to work with the El Paso County Health Department, in partnership with two local high schools, to create an anti-tobacco media campaign. It was an awesome experience to work with a group of high school students to help them share with their communities their commitment to avoid tobacco products and instead pursue healthy choices.

The campaign had multiple purposes:

• Provide a platform for high school students to tell their stories about making healthy choices versus using tobacco products
• Deliver a message to the local city council encouraging them to pass legislation discouraging the use of tobacco by youth
• Create media products — through photography, video, and audio — that could be distributed through different channels in the school and community

The rest of the story and images after the jump.

While this blog has been very hit or miss—mostly miss—for me, I'm not ready to give up on it yet. So with a new year, new focus, and new directions for my photography and video, it's time to hit the reset button on this blog. I'll be rolling out more of my work, thoughts, and initiatives over the coming weeks and months, but to kick things off I am posting the wallpaper for January 2012.

For this month's wallpaper, I'm pulling out an old photo, taken at Rocky Mountain National Park. It could be argued that with a fresh start on the blog should come a new image. But over the past few weeks I have been busy with family visits and a surprise allergy attack (our new dog came and went rather quickly...I've spent most of my life with dogs, but apparently I am allergic to Australian Shepherd–Yellow Lab mixes), so new images have been scarce...unless you want photos of my family on your computer screen.

Device-specific files are available after the jump.

This wallpaper will do just fine up to a 17" Macbook Pro, although it doesn't look too shabby on a 27" iMac either. Click on the image above to access the larger file.

I am in the process of exploring new ways to share my work with a larger audience, and I figured posting a monthly wallpaper would be a fun way to do that. So, I present to you my inaugural wallpaper for October, 2011.

I'll share the story behind the image after the jump.

Eight months ago, I was doing the same thing many people do when a new year rolls in. I was casting vision for the new year and creating a number of goals for myself. I had rather grand aspirations. I was going to read one book per week. I was going to shoot (and post to my Tumblr account) one iPhone photo a day. I was going to do more personal projects. I was going to write at least one blog post per week. I was going to learn Spanish. I was going to exercise more.

Then life happened.

Fast.

and Furious.

Last week I watched a PBS special called Art & Copy, an excellent documentary that provides a deeper look at the advertising industry and the visionaries who radically changed the course of advertising over the past 50 years. "Think Different", "Got Milk", "I Want My MTV", "Think Small", "Just Do It" — familiar with these phrases? They were created by individuals such as George Lois, Mary Wells, Jeff Goodby, Dan Wieden and David Kennedy. I was impressed by the amazingly creative people who exercise so much influence in American culture.

I recently attended, at a local church, a gathering of artists that come together monthly to encourage one another and discuss art. The topic for this particular gathering was "Sacred Space." I am interested in the intersection of art and religion, and I looked forward to hearing the speaker and engaging the topic. It was a valuable discussion and encouraged me to continue thinking about what sacred space looks like in my life.

At the end of 2010, after further considering some of my goals for 2011, I realized that I had developed a number of action items without having a strong sense of the values and motivations behind them. It was easy to say I wanted to read one book per week, write one blog post per week, complete one photo shoot per month for my personal portfolio, etc. Why? Why do I want to accomplish these tasks/projects? What is my motivation? I decided to take a step back and consider some of my values that were driving my goals for the new year. In that process I developed a number of themes that will guide my goals, tasks, projects, and the kind of jobs that I am willing to take on. Here is the quick list: Generosity, Collaboration, Relationship, Courage, Remarkability, Non-Conformance.

2011 is off to a great start, and I am off and running with new (renewed) vision, goals, and projects for the upcoming year! I'm not normally one to pursue new years resolutions, but I do appreciate the changing of the years as opportunities to refocus and grow on the previous year's work, both personal and professional.

If you are a photographer, and you have a heart for giving back to the community and people in need, then you have probably already heard of the Help-Portrait movement. If you haven't heard about this amazing event, make the jump to learn more about it.