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I don’t know about you guys, but when I was a kid I loved seeing the illusions of magicians. I was given a simple paper folding magic trick once and I eagerly would volunteer to make a dollar bill disappear then reappear for anyone willing to appease me. I loved the misdirection and the reactions I got from people. For years, like so many, I’ve seen big time magicians wow audiences on television and on tour and I always was interested in the idea that these individuals were still carving out a living in illusion in a time where people are being bombarded with new technology and entertainment of the 21st century. When I moved to Bozeman last year, it became known to me that Jay Owenhouse, a national name on the magic circuit, lived in Bozeman and that he used tigers for his performances. I had to meet this guy. Over weeks and weeks of trying to line up our schedules, I finally was able to hang out with Jay for a week leading up to his tour kick off performance at the Montana State University Brick Breeden Fieldhouse last Saturday. I was interested in his unique occupation and the fact that someone in this small little Montana town had two tigers as pets. I wanted to document his relationship with his big cats and try to show our readers what it was like to prepare for a magic show. Time was against me, as always. Between daily assignments and not enough hours in a day, these images are what I was able to come away with. It was really cool to watch the relationship/passion this guy has for his craft and with these beautiful animals. If you ever get a chance, it would be worth checking out his show. You always want more time or more access to work on stories but overall I was pleased with many of the images I made of him. Thanks for looking, -M

In the blink an eye, I’ve realized that it has been almost a month now since I’ve been living and working in Bozeman, Montana. I’ve been settling into my new position at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle here quite nicely. My transition from the busy world of California into the calm wild openess of Montana has been a surprisingly quick and painless journey for me. It’s a place that already feels like home. Like all newspaper gigs, I’ve had a gamut of different things to photograph lately. The one major difference has been the change in temperature. Where in California I would consistantly be shooting out in 100 degree heat, I was quickly re-introduced to the polar opposite of Montana’s winter and trying to operate my camera and my numb fingers in the daily snow storms here. In all, I’ve been having a great time photographing in a place and culture that fuels my soul. I feel like I’m just racing out of the starting gates. I can’t wait to see what awaits around the corner. Here some of my work from the last couple of weeks. -M

Note: I’m trying to figure out why my work computers are making my images look all flat when I save them for web. I’ll work on the annoyance. Thanks for looking.