admin | November 13, 2010
Noah and Grace are engaged! We headed out to take some photos, the sun never came out but we still managed to find some color on Guemes Island and in Anacortes. Noah and Grace are an awesome couple and I am very excited for their upcoming wedding.
admin | November 8, 2010
After a few months of the the galleries and portfolio being taken offline. They are now back up, reorganized, and redesigned. Much thanks to Nathan Getzin @ www.nathangetzin.com.
I am very excited to have a portfolio up and running. Currently there are galleries for:
Wedding photos,
Travel/life photos &
“Featured” – which will change periodically with new work
I love the simple design that Nathan implemented, taking on the current look of the blog and showcasing the photos in a nicely designed flash slideshow.
You can find the other galleries in the hidden menu behind my name, on the left hand side of the site. A new feature that I love about this site, is the auto resizing that allows it to be seen full screen on any computer. (sorry ipad & iphone… we will try and accommodate you shortly, until then, enjoy the blog)
I’ll keep you all posted as a few new pages are added to the site.
It was fun to go through some older photos and fit them into the site. I hope you will enjoy them.
Thanks again Nathan.
-Matt Land
admin | October 14, 2010
A trip with Agros and a lot of photos (above – seated on the right is David, our guide for the week)
I’ve worked with Camano Island Coffee Roasters for the last two years, and am a huge advocate of their coffee. Sorting photos with a french press on the coffee table can make for a wonderful day, and I do this consistently with CICR’s coffee.
What I love about Camano Island Coffee Roasters is that they partner with non-profit organization Agros International. Agros works with poor rural farmers in Central America, providing land loans to them along with training on the land in sustainable practices. They are helping farmers to own their own land, provide for themselves and even make profit (breaking out of poverty!). Many of these villages end up growing coffee and Camano Island Coffee Roasters becomes the middle man bringing delicious fairly traded coffees to its customers.
I had the privilege of going on a “vision trip” with Agros and was able get a first hand glimpse of what partnering with them really means and what their version of community development looked like. It was a short trip, and we by no means saw everything, but what we did see confirmed to me why supporting them is such a worthy cause.
(Dan and a fresh grape fruit, just thrown out of the tree to him.)
I was overwhelmingly impressed with both the Seattle based Agros staff who served as our travel guides, and their staff on the ground in Nicaragua. The work they are doing is much more than a job to them. It was very clear to me how much Agros cares about the people they have set out to help. Both the look in their eyes and and depth of detail they have put into their plan for empowering poor rural families is heart touching. I had heard that Agros was, “not just another charity,” and from what I saw this holds true. They are so much more.
The questions I had about Agros and the work done in Nicaragua were not questions that the staff could answer. I knew who they were before going but just wanted to see it first hand. I wanted to hear from those that they were helping what was going on and to see if lives were really being changed. The villagers I encountered were proud of their farms and homes and getting them to share about their lives was natural; those I talked to were eager to do so.
a group stands in front of the coffee processing building at Nueva Esperanza
Nathan (Agros) and Jeff (CICR) get shown corn. We were told this amount would feed a family for 6 months.
I was so impressed to hear from one man in particular as he told me a bit about his life. How he had been working on coffee farms since he was 15 and about his old job was in a nearby small town. As he told me about his life I was curious why he would have left his job. From the poverty I had seen in the surrounding area I could only imagine that many people would have longed to have held any job at all, even with the low wages payed.
The answer this man gave to my question could not have been closer to the the mission statement of Agros if they had said it themselves. As we walked between coffee plants, and through the scattered shade of banana trees he told me how his life had changed. How his old life, while he had held a job, really offered no escape from poverty. That while he was surviving, there was no hope. On his new land his life was different, and there was room to grow. This man knew what was going on and seemed to have gotten from Agros exactly what they had intended, and it was a powerful thing to hear from him.
As Agros works to get farmers owning their own land the farmers are empowered and can take responsibility for their futures and and that of their families.
coffee processing building, on our tour of the San Jose village.
(Kelsey in the community building)
While Camano Island Coffee sells coffee grown by Agros villages and supports them directly in that sense, Agros as an organization is doing much more than just teaching the poor how to grow coffee. They are pushing for holistic sustainable practices and releasing these farmers to endless possibilities. Agros villages become self sustaining, filled with live stock and a number of different crops.
There are Agros villages around Central America in various stages of development. One of the many special moments we had there was when we were able to see new land yet to be lived on, and later a truck load of families heading off to start a new life there. In the back of the truck was every possession they owned… and it hardly made a pile. After seeing the change made in the more developed Agros villages we had visited, I felt real hope watching that truck drive off to the new land where these people would make a home.
they helped cook us lunch
a kitchen in one of the houses
the scenery continues to blow my mind, so beautiful
coffee at a coffee exporter building
we were greeted with beautiful music at San Jose
the community building
cocoa
too cute
coffee mid process
i love the colors here
we got to meet a lot of beautiful people
i think this is one of my favorites
rainy season
cows in the street, we saw this a lot
taking turns removing the cherry from the coffee beans
watching farmers hand pick each bean adds a new appreciation to drinking coffee for me
banana trees
what a cutie, and love the little cat at the lower left
showing off his home to us
this guys was throwing us all grape fruits
musical welcome – I love the faces in this one
i like that he has a big stick
this was our send off as we left, photo taken through the window of our car
a little tromp in the jungle, looking for the monkeys
a few houses
evening light
Melody works with Agros
a truck load of families headed to a new Agros supported village. I’m excited for the change that awaits.
Agros Staff
Frog.
on tour of their beautiful land
horses along the side of the road
coffee being processed
the view from the top of San Jose
proud home owners
on tour
Paul, Kristen, and Erin, monkey hunting
volcano
It was great trip and amazing to see the good work that is going on in an area that needs it so greatly. I think this is the longest post of all time, but I hope you enjoyed it, and I encourage you to check out the links below for more info and ways to get involved.
Get involved : www.agros.org
Get Coffee that supports this : www.camanoislandcoffee.com
admin | October 1, 2010
This last week I spent in Atlanta, Georgia. I flew out to meet a friend who works with “Youth With a Mission,” (YWAM) there in the city. The idea was to document as much as we could over the course of the next few days, and to then use the images in the creation of their new website. The week was packed. Debra and I drove for hours and hours, and then walked some more! It was a great time though, I got to see a lot of history and sites that I had never seen before, and we took a lot of photos. I’m very excited to see how the site turns out, however, first to sort all the images.
Here are a few from a hike we took to the top of “Stone Mountain.” The idea was to get a silhouette of the city’s sky line… some clouds ruined that idea but we still had a great time, check it out!
More of the whole trip will be up later.
admin | August 29, 2010
Concerts at the Mural – at the Seattle Center | I love seeing the Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band live! They are awesome and get me excited about rock. The night was great, a warm evening in downtown Seattle, with great music, a huge crowd, and the space needle as the band’s back drop.
Be sure and check out the videos at the end of the post if you’ve never heard them!
The MSHVNB are great, get your hands on their new album — it is filled with GOOD STUFF.
mad rad showed up and added a little extra spice – people loved it. it was crazy.
erika
traci
above: Traci | below: the roaming drum
trouble
They played right before the Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band and honestly were amazing – they helped set the mood and got the crowd excited for what was happening. They are a new local favorite for me and here is a song to introduce you to them if you haven’t met. You really should meet, they’ve got some great stuff.
here’s “Lost In My Mind”
I ended the last Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band post (see it here) with this video. It is really good, check it out if you havn’t seen it yet.
admin | August 21, 2010
Bridget & Justin are married. They had a beautiful outdoor wedding at Beaver Lake, in Issaquah, Wa. Here are just a few photos, to preview their wedding, I assisted at this wedding with the talented Kayla Soper, and will get some of her images on here with mine some time soon. Enjoy, and congratulations to the new couple!
admin | August 4, 2010
Great Friends, Good food, and some paddling | I received a B.A. in Spanish this June and got to celebrate with a few of my best friends and family. There was great BBQ and everyone got to try out the paddle boards that having been filling my free time this summer.
To those who have noticed the lack of blog posts, I apologize. The sun has been keeping me outside, and this summer has been nothing but fun (Lots of photos taken but a little lack blogging motivation). Should be new stuff up next week… or next time it rains.
Sean and Mandi, Sean and I go way back and Mandi (Just received her degree as well – was really her party!) is pretty much the greatest. I love these two, and they love each other… just look at them.
(photo by : owner of these feet)
My Favorites! They showed up to celebrate.
admin | July 22, 2010
Jackie and Seth had a beautiful wedding in Indiana a while back and their wedding never made it to blog. So here are just a few from their wedding day. Enjoy!
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admin | July 12, 2010
Felicia & Teunis | What a beautiful couple, and a beautiful wedding. When I arrived three days early for the wedding and was to stay with the wedding party I wasn’t sure how things would be, but now I look back at one of the funnest weddings ever – met a lot of great people and even made some new friends. Felicia and Teunis are amazing people both with great stories. She is from Canada, but has called many places home over the last 10 years, and Teunis is From south africa. They are both currently living in Calgary, Canada.
Here are some photos from their wedding day – It truly was a great day.
(Felicia walking through the forest to see Teunis for the first time in her beautiful dress)
This is the party, and life of it – I had a blast with these guys.
A lot of kissing on this day.
Bride & Company
I loved the location we shot at, and I think this was my favorite photo of the day.
Famous photo of the day, and shows a glimpse of how much fun we had getting the images
I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun getting to know a wedding party. Check them out!!!
Love this, one good looking couple.
She looked good.
Felicia has spent a lot of time traveling in India, and took on a tradition from there for her own wedding, henna. This was part of getting ready for her wedding day.
Felicia and her Father walking down the isle | Sharing words with her mother before taking her spot on stage.
The ceremony took place on a beautiful 6,000 acre equestrian ranch.
The kiss.
And they are off…
Great wedding my friends, It was a pleasure to be a part of it.
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admin | June 28, 2010
Here is just a SMALL sneak peak from Felicia and Teunis’s wedding in Calgary, Canada, this last weekend. The wedding was beautiful, the people were a blast, and it was very fun to get to know Felicia and Teunis.
