Without a doubt, the most difficult aspect of my backpacking trip across Washington this last summer (2017) was being away from my wife & son for almost a month. It really hurt to be away. Cell reception was limited at best overall, with no reception for the last 2 weeks. I can't wait to share these types of experiences with my kids. Until then, this little video will have to suffice for my son, Trekker. ~1 photo for every mile of trail. Pardon the cliche song, it was stuck in my head for a month. More info on my backpacking trip across Washington State can be found here
On July 7-31, 2014, I embarked on a Solo Backpacking trip across the state of Oregon via the incredible Pacific Crest Trail.
I may never be able to properly convey how meaningful that challenge was. It became a part of who I am.
This video serves as a brief & almost comically simple glimpse of the that ~460 mile walk through the wild.
More information regarding the trip (complete recap, gear lists, route, FAQs etc) can be found here.
I may never be able to properly convey how meaningful that challenge was. It became a part of who I am.
This video serves as a brief & almost comically simple glimpse of the that ~460 mile walk through the wild.
More information regarding the trip (complete recap, gear lists, route, FAQs etc) can be found here.
This video was an ongoing project while living in Jacksonville, Florida. I wasn't sure what this video was going to be, so I just collected large amounts of footage until I understood my motivations a little more. My wife and I lived in Jacksonville for about 8 months so that I could finish flight school and work as a commercial pilot. We had been working towards and sacrificing for this goal for over 3 years. Unfortunately, recent discoveries regarding my health have steered us in a different direction. We have since packed up our things and have moved back west. Although this new information was very difficult to swallow, we are both optimistic about our future.
Life has an interesting way of forcing you to realize what's important. Although this video clearly reflects many of the emotions relating to my time in Jacksonville, I also can't help but emphasize how insanely grateful I am for my wonderful wife. She is the reason we were able to make this bold attempt, and she is the reason why heartbreak is so quickly replaced with happiness and optimism. I love her.
This video is a labor of love. This is what I did when wondering, hoping and attempting to understand while in the beautiful city Jacksonville, Florida.
Subsequently, we had some neat opportunities selling and licensing the footage from the aforementioned video to a variety of clients. It was such a blessing to be able to be rewarded in such a positive way for work done during a time of great difficulty.
One of the more interesting partnerships we were able to develop was with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In an effort to one-up the Dallas Cowboys in the "our tv is huge" contest, the Jacksonville Jaguars installed two 60 x 362 foot video boards, and held the "largest video boards in the world" title. For the unveil event of their massive boards, around 50,000 fans poured into the stadium and watched a fantastic video/pyrotechnic tribute to the city of Jacksonville complete with a large amount of footage we shot while living there. I would have loved to have been there for the unveil, but I was at mile 354 of 460 of my solo backpacking trek across Oregon. I had a smile on my face all day. The presentation has since been used again at a half-time show and other events. Pretty great!
A slew of fans recorded video of the unveil with their phones, so I was able to experience the scale of the event after finishing my trek. This video by Brooks Biagini was my favorite. Thanks Brooks!
Life has an interesting way of forcing you to realize what's important. Although this video clearly reflects many of the emotions relating to my time in Jacksonville, I also can't help but emphasize how insanely grateful I am for my wonderful wife. She is the reason we were able to make this bold attempt, and she is the reason why heartbreak is so quickly replaced with happiness and optimism. I love her.
This video is a labor of love. This is what I did when wondering, hoping and attempting to understand while in the beautiful city Jacksonville, Florida.
Subsequently, we had some neat opportunities selling and licensing the footage from the aforementioned video to a variety of clients. It was such a blessing to be able to be rewarded in such a positive way for work done during a time of great difficulty.
One of the more interesting partnerships we were able to develop was with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In an effort to one-up the Dallas Cowboys in the "our tv is huge" contest, the Jacksonville Jaguars installed two 60 x 362 foot video boards, and held the "largest video boards in the world" title. For the unveil event of their massive boards, around 50,000 fans poured into the stadium and watched a fantastic video/pyrotechnic tribute to the city of Jacksonville complete with a large amount of footage we shot while living there. I would have loved to have been there for the unveil, but I was at mile 354 of 460 of my solo backpacking trek across Oregon. I had a smile on my face all day. The presentation has since been used again at a half-time show and other events. Pretty great!
A slew of fans recorded video of the unveil with their phones, so I was able to experience the scale of the event after finishing my trek. This video by Brooks Biagini was my favorite. Thanks Brooks!
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2023 had so many magical moments. Often, as of late, we record something while realizing that we're going to watch it over and over again when we're old Grandmas and Grandpas while stuffing our faces with prunes. 2023 was packed with those types of moments.
I feel like the theme for our family this year was connection. 2020 COVID lockdowns were tough for everyone. In 2022, we felt like we were making more meaningful connections than ever. Such an excellent year.
2020 was quite a year. Skylee is getting more mobile every day, which means an increase in outdoor exploits. We'll all for that!
2018 was an incredible year for the Blackburn family. We got a new family member! Skylee Anna joined our family this summer, and we couldn't be happier. What an incredible year.
We have a 1 year old son. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. When waiting for little Trekker to come, Jesse and I sat on the couch while I strummed away singing "Trekker come out of Mama's Belly". He was over a week late and we were starting to get inpatient. Like so many things, the wait was worth it. We love our little Trekker.
We recently learned the very best news in the land. We have a baby on the way! We're not talkin' baby hamster here either. This is going to be a full-blown human baby. We're incredibly excited. One of the many things I learned about having a baby? The term "babymoon". It's a thing, guys. Here's the idea: Go on an incredible trip before your wifey can't walk without tipping over. We did just that. Here's a little re-cap my wife made of our trip to the always amazing Oregon Coast.
Every year, my wife's side of the family has a film festival. It's just for fun of course, not a serious contest. Most submissions are meant to be funny and comical. While in Jacksonville, we decided to make a fake news story for the festival. This is the result. We thought it turned out great and fooled quite a few people. It was fun to explain to them that it was just a joke and that I'm not an avid speed-walker after all. Everything in the "story" is fictional with the exception of me and my wife!
Another family film festival, another gem that our future kids will never let us forget. All shots were captured around the Las Vegas area. I must admit, even I wanted to purchase this fictional cologne after seeing the completed video. We had high hopes of taming a wild burro for this video, but I can't help but believe that my flowing white shirt was far too dazzling of a distraction.
During an awesomely fun stay in Indiana, an adorable little puppy showed up on my brother's doorstep. He came around Thanksgiving time, so naturally we pushed for his name to be Grat (Gratitude). Naturally, this video features a lot of Grat, as well as a lot of fun. We can't wait to make it back to Indiana.
Hawaii is a magical land of wonder and adventure. That's just not debatable. Me and Jesse had a tremendous trip to the Big Island of Hawaii where we spent time with family experiencing just a sample of what the Island has to offer. Without a doubt, we will be back as soon as possible!
Nearly 7,000 photos make up this 3 minute video of a flight from MDT-ATL (Harrisburg to Atlanta) We were flying in a CRJ-200. I'm excited to do more of these from different aircraft. Hopefully next time we'll have a clean window, a smooth ride, and the sun will be on the other side of the aircraft. Hooray time-lapse! This was taken with a GoPro2 camera
Here's one from a fun trip me and Jesse took to Lincoln City, Oregon. We love the beach. Especially the Oregon Coast. The warm water of other beaches is fun and all, but there's something special about Pacific Northwest beaches that we both absolutely love. We decided that instead of taking pictures on this trip, we'd just record as many video clips as possible. This video was the result!
Here's a little video we did for one of my Bros and his family. They have had this little car for many moons, so naturally thought it fitting that the car had some sort of tribute before selling it. We agreed with our whole hearts. After filming the video, me and Jesse considered making a lucrative offer on the car. Somewhere in the $30-40 dollar range. We've regretted not making the investment in a reliable form of transportation ever since.
0-60 in 29 Seconds? You Bet, No Sweat |
2021 was the year of Campy the van. A huge undertaking that was such a fun addition to our family. Finished just as the warm season was kicking off, Campy was ready to roll. So were we! Such a fun year for our family! I hiked my silly self across Scotland, new discoveries for little Skylee and adventures for all.
Family Film Festival time! I was dragging my feet this year, but my wife still came up with this gold. All filmed while I was at work one day. Also, sorry, Trekker, for the lifetime of fear your parents have instilled in you.
2017 was an eventful year. PCT: Washington, wildfires in the Columbia Gorge, & so many great memories with family. Oh yeah, and the end of the video had a little spoiler regarding the size of our family. Surprise!
Saddle up for another contribution to our annual Family Film Festival. Titled "Cowboy Inventory", this film explores the necessities of an average American Cowboy. No animals were hurt in the making of this film. Perhaps they were a bit tuckered after filming, but not hurt. I mean, who isn't tuckered after a 1 hour romp through the sticks in search of an outlaw and a meal?
Pop! Goes my Heart is an example of what happens when 4 people know each other really well. This video was made many years ago with my Bro and his wife in Salem, Oregon. We took our roles pretty seriously, and feel that we reaped the appropriate rewards of tight white pants and mustaches.
Here's a classic treat from the video vault. This was filmed in Salem, Oregon many moons ago. It was a high-octane day riddled with speed and performance. No one can deny such mastery of a skill. If they claim that they're able to deny such talent, they are lying straight out of their face. Bladers are Mitchell and his brother, Ben. Mustaches were provided by weeks of careful grooming and an all beef jerky diet.
After a change of plans in Jacksonville, we were faced with a drive we'll never forget. Jacksonville, Florida to The Dalles, Oregon. We had family along most of the route, so we took lots of breaks and it wasn't too bad. However, there were moments where we wanted to gouge our eyes out with plastic forks as we passed through Nebraska.
My wife is awesome at making these video collages. Like we mentioned on our home page, we try and video as much as we can in our lives. As a result, we end up with a TON of random footage. Bad news for our computer hard drives, GREAT news when Jesse gets bored and wants to make another collage.
Here are some things that we love. Camping and Family. Put the two together and you have an awesome beach trip at Ft. Stevens State Park on the Oregon Coast. The weather was awesome, the fun was abundant, and we're so glad that we kept our video cameras rolling!
We spent about 8 months of our married life living in Las Vegas. We were so lucky to have lots of family close to us while we were there. From wild burros to high quality shows, Vegas has a lot to offer. Perhaps our neighborhood was one notch too high on the "shady level", but we wouldn't change a thing! I stole this video from our friend Tyson. It demonstrates exactly what happens when someone loses a bet on Fantasy Football. Who has two thumbs and lost the bet? This guy. I also learned that I really enjoy directing water shows, especially while wearing something that commands as much gusto as a penguin suit. |
