birchblazephotography.com » The Photo Blog of Kerry and Taylor Struble

Recently we’ve begun a project with several restaurants and inns in and around the beautiful Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire, not too far from where we live. First on the list: The Bernerhof Inn in the little town of Glen, just a bit north of North Conway, NH. The Inn was actually built as an inn in the 1880’s “to accommodate travelers on their way north through Crawford Notch to the Mt. Washington Hotel.” You can feel the history as you walk through its many rooms and alcoves. George and June are super nice and have done a great job maintaining the Inn’s rich history and classic feel. We also were treated to some of the Inn’s great german cuisine…ok Taylor had chili, but it was very good! I had the sauerbraten, which was amazing. Chef Gary has it goin’ on up there at the Bernerhof! Ok, on to some pics…

Ok, a little background…Taylor’s Father, Peter (aka Petey Pajamas, in some circles…you didn’t hear that from us, ok?), besides being an ace builder/carpenter, is also a pretty fantastic bass player (I should know because we’re bandmates). We were hangin’ with the folks-n-law last night, and Pete asked me about posting some photos of some of his bass equipment on his favorite bass forum. The forum thread he wanted to post on was entitled, “Rigs of Doom.” (a ‘rig’ being your amplifier and processing gear setup) So, we thought, with a name like Rigs of Doom (which is an awesome name for anything, especially if you’re a bass player!), you’ve got to have a photo worthy of that title. Tay and I were up for the challenge, so here’s what we came up with (Petey Pajamas was pretty pleased…):

Last month Taylor and I photographed Doug & Denise’s wedding in Haverhill Massachussetts. It was Valentines Day, so their theme was, what else? Hearts, of course! Denise’s girls were very cute, so it was fun getting to photograph them. We enjoyed meeting their families and making new friends. Here are some pics from the day…

Saturday we showed up at the Purity Spring Sled Dog Race Classic in Madison, NH. Maddie and Dylan took a sled dog clinic last week at the adjoining King Pine Ski area, where they learned the basics of operating a sled, hooking up the dogs, and more importantly, how to stop! So, on Saturday they had a sign-up for the kids, and the first twenty could actually get a chance to run (actually, be towed might be more accurate) in a one dog race! Dylan was thirteenth in line (Maddie opted out of the racing part), but somehow didn’t make it in. But that wasn’t about to stop my Mom (thanks Mom!) from making sure that her Grandson got his place on the starting line…that’s a story for another day, but our sincerest thanks go out to local dog sledding hero Bruce Crowther, and Gretchen Karlson of Karlson Kennels, Concord, MA for lending Dylan not only their team leader, Squeaky (I apologize Squeaky, if I’m not spelling your name right) and a sled, but also their time and expertise in getting Dyl ready to roll (I mean, slide). He had a blast and so did we! Here are some shots Tay and I took…

Yes, their eyes are that blue!

After racing 12 miles, they’re just a bit tuckered out on the home stretch…but still workin’ it.

Nothin’ like a good old Dodge to get yer dogs to the race on time!

This next photo is one of my top 3 faves, I think. I swear I did not Photoshop the expression on that dog’s face (I didn’t even know a dog was physically capable of doing that). It’s priceless…way too funny, but I promise she is not choking him!

Another classic from Tay:

The kids have a go…I think it’s great that the kids can get involved in this great sport at such a young age…with or without a sled!

Pre-race pep talk:

…and she’s ready to go.

One of the things I love about photography is the story you sometimes find in your photos only after you take them. This little guy was doing his darnedest to keep his dog motivated…the dog, feeling a bit social I guess, stopped off to say hello to the spectators:

Oh well…

Ok, you definitely deserve some lap time…

Dylan finally gets his chance:

The End.

Ok, so here we go, dipping our toe into the blog pool that the Internet has become. It would seem that we’re a little late to the party, but that’s alright with me, it’s still pretty exciting stuff. Come late, stay late…that works. I think blogging just peels away a layer or two from the traditional, window shopping feel of your standard, run-of-the-mill ‘contact us’-paged business Website. It allows for a truly interactive experience for the bloggers (us) and the bloggees. We look forward to hearing from folks that happen by our cyber front porch and see where this new (to us) world of blogging takes us.

Who Are We, Anyway?
We are Birch Blaze Studios, aka Kerry & Taylor Struble. Birch Blaze, a name brilliantly conceived by my partner in crime Taylor (I’m Kerry, just in case you weren’t clear on that), is a small design-slash-photography studio happily nestled somewhere between the White Mountains and Lakes Region (have you heard of Lake Winnipesaukee?) of New Hampshire. We’re a bit off the beaten path, but thanks to the World Wide Web soundly beating its own path to our door, our design work has found its way all over the world, on a pretty regular basis (more on that later). 

When Taylor and I met in ‘04, one of the many things we found we had in common was a love for photography. Although you can risk losing your passion for something when you decide to try and collect a paycheck for it, you’ll also find that high up on the ingredient list for many a successful business man or woman, is a love for what they do, create and ultimately, sell. So Taylor and I decided that design (something I’m good at) and photography (something she’s good at) would be the perfect duo to fund our adventures together, allowing us to collaborate spend more time together—something I’m extremely pleased that we both like to do!

Ok, but Why a Blog?
Fair question. I touched on it in the opening paragraph, but it’s pretty obvious that blogs are SO much more conducive to interchange than a typical, ‘brochure’ Website. Like an ongoing conversation, that you keep adding to whenever you have something to say. Of course, like everyone else, we love those bloggers that post nearly everyday…we probably won’t quite be able to keep up that pace, but at this point the plan is to keep it moving.

The primary purpose of this new blog of ours is to promote and grow the photography side of Birch Blaze. Although we can hopefully share a photography tip or two from time to time (we know we have lots to learn and that is truly exciting), this blog will serve as a journal to share our photographs and our path, and a cork board for friends and passers-by to grab a tack and stick up a note just to say hi, introduce themselves or offer an observation and maybe even a gem of time-tested wisdom.

So, we hope this little introduction piques your interest, answers a question or two and maybe even puts the thought in your head that you might just check back in from time to time. We plan to populate this little ‘net canyon so that when you do come back around, you’ll be glad you did.

l8r,
k