Liam Demetrios Miller, my new nephew...

So, I had a somewhat surprising phone call from my brother, Zach, with the announcement that Dina was in labor.  Then, hours laster, another phone call saying that my new nephew has joined us. A happy (if not a bit early) baby boy at 4:55pm (east coast time) coming in over 8lbs and 21 inches long. I am very happy and excited to say the least. Now to get east next week and take some pictures and spoil that kid. What is an uncle to do?  Someone has to make sure he's getting the right tattoo.

Addendum:  After spending some time back east, I have updated to a new photo site called smugmug, where I've posted some new pictures of Liam and the family.  Feel free to check out other other galleries while you're there.  I have no stock options in smugmug, so I say this as a neutral party, I really like how the site is setup and it looks a lot nicer than other sites (flickr, snapfish, etc.).

~nathaniel

Alaska Expedition pictures...

So after much complaints and requests, I've finally gotten the pictures up from my Alaska Expedition.

Updated with an HTML page...

Click here for the pictures in a flash page.

Click here for the pictures in an HTML page.

Enjoy.

~nathaniel

Carl & Nancy get married...

(aka Nate's New York & Connecticut tour, Fall '07)

After a brief, but most enjoyable trip to San Francisco to help Jamie unpack, paint, and discover local eating and drinking spots, I headed out to NYC. First stop, Hell's Kitchen and Scott and Ami. We had dinner and I took care of some last minute errands before heading upstate. After meeting with my Dad in Yonkers, we drove up to Lake George and made our way to the rehersal and dinner afterwords. There was a good amount of drinking and festivities that night, which included some jumping off the dock and enjoying a late night swim at the lake. Next day was the wedding. It was great. Beautiful ceremony and the weather held out for the reception as well (which could have been a tough time, being that it was completely outdoors). After recovering the next morning at the Liss lake house, my dad and I made our way back down state, where I met up with my younger brother and sister-in-law for two days of complete sloth (well, it could have been worse if the weather was better, but that's my excuse). After that it was another stop down to Hell's Kitchen, then out to Queens to see Matt & Gina and a great italian meal. Next day, back on the plane for L.A.

All in all, a great trip and a great wedding. For those of you who want to see...

Click Here for wedding pictures in a flash player. <--- This one looks better and lets you watch in a slideshow. Click Here for wedding pictures in a HTML browser. <--- This one allows for you to download pictures onto your computer.

A Face In the Rock...

After a year of patient waiting, the trailer for "A Face in the Rock" has been posted. For more information on the movie and any news, check out the site. Shot on a Panavised super 35mm camera and HD post production at Bionic, I am extremely proud and excited for furthur work on this film. Much thanks and credit goes to Sharla, Thomas, Jennie, Colin, C.Scott, Gina, Matt, Jimmy, MK, Dianna, Joe, and everyone else that got this film made. Thank You.

~nathaniel

Home Sweet Home...

Here's a picture of what Haines, Alaska looked like on about the halfway point on the Alaska Expedition. I arrived back at home last night and was greeted by a very happy dog and more mail than I can look at right now. I am both happy and sad to be home, but mostly happy. The trip was amazing. I would strongly suggest that any of you go to alaska at least once in your life. I would also strongly suggest that absolutly none of you take a cruise. Aulthough camping and roughing it isn't for everyone, I had a great time and would do it again. There will be a detailed seperate blog, mostly because of all the damn pictures that I took, so stay tuned for that (gotta get 9 rolls of film developed).

As for the quick synopsis, here goes: 28 days, 28 people, a dozen or so campgrounds, 15 miles hiked in denali, 2 bears seen from a nice safe distance while in the backcountry, 36 Kokonee beers for the bus drivers (don't worry, no drinking and driving), one bottle Knob Creek Kentucky Whiskey for me, 2 countries, a doezen or so cities, more than a dozen or so glaciers, one flight on a sea plane, one on a regular baby cessna, one rolled ankle on the last day and about 800 pictures to show for it.

I hope that you are all doing great. Now to unpack.

~nathaniel

One week left...

So, I'm not even sure how many people are interested or even reading this often enough, but I'm getting done with the Alaska expidition. I thought it would be a good time to stop and give an "I'm still alive" update. So far there has been so much to report that I figured it would be enough for it's own blog, but I'll just say that it's been a great trip and I'll be sad when it's over.

We are currently on our last canadian stop (having already made a few jumps into and out of Alaska) before making our long trip up into Denali and back out to Anchorage. As of now we haven't had any angry bear run-in's, but we have seen a few Black and Grizzly Bears from a good safe distance. A bald eagle or two, a moose from a distance and various deer, mountain lions and other small creatures. We've come to hate the state bird of Alaska, the mosquito (not really the state bird, which is actually the Willow Grouse(?)).

Leaving the Yukon we should be back in Anchorage on the 5th of July and having a flight back to Los Angeles on the 6th. Will be in touch with much more Alaska trip stories and more pictures than you can possibly imagine.

~nathaniel

Alaska, or bust...

So, it's been about since I was eight that I wanted to visit Alaska. My father had landed a job working for the company that built the alaska pipeline. He would tell me stories of how beautiful and majestic it was up there and all the time since then I wanted to go. It has been a couple of years of me almost going, then either not being able to go due to money or work. I have finally got things to line up and I am now going to Alaska. I'm taking a trip with a tour group called Green Tortoise, who run a bunch of other trips around the U.S. and elsewhere. I'll be gone from June 5th to July 8th, traveling through much of coastal and a bit inland Alaska. I will obviously be posting stories and pictures when I get back.