Adjective – Descriptive News, Events
UAE
I had the great honor to spend this Christmas with a fantastic family in the United Arab Emirates. The Hillman family took me in as one of their own sons and we had a lot of fun slacklining, sandboarding (like snowboarding except on sand dunes), and checking out the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa. Check out some pics from my visit. Thanks for a great time!
Cheers,
Jeff
 Dan Hillman puts up a first ascent on a V2 in Al Ain.
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 Brad Kellogg dropping in for some super clean lines while sandboarding.
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 Tearing it up.
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 Josh Hillman throwing a backflip at sun down.
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 Tricks while Slacklining in the Park.
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 Scoping the ferrari...what a nice looking vehicle!
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 Ski Dubai
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 Burj Khalifa
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Istanbul
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The meeting point of East & West, Christianity & Islam, History & Modernity, this city has it all. The pulse of the city is driven by the progressive tension of its existence. Truly this is a city of constant change – even evident in its name change from Constantinople to Istanbul (as made evident by the song from ‘They Might Be Giants’). Enjoy my photographic journey through the city.
 Taksim
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 Blue Mosque
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 Dome in Blue Mosque
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 Lights of Aya Sofia
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 Aya Sofia Pillars
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 Aya Sofia Ceiling
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 Blue Mosque from windows of Aya Sofia
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Grasp of Reality
What is your grasp of reality?
What things in my life will I not let go? What matters so much that I cannot willingly release my grasp? What am I holding that is only a figment of my imagination; a sketch compared to reality?
I rolled these questions around in my head looking for answers. Floating in a space between prayer and concentrated thought, I made a feeble attempt to reflect on my necessary dependence on Jesus. It’s a foundational component of Christianity – one that I often fail to recognize in my day-to-day life. The Bible says…
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galations 5:1
I like to ask myslef why I believe in this person called ‘the Messiah’, to remember what it’s all about. In among many reasons is the idea that Christ carries our burdens of sin- setting us free from the grasps we take on things distancing our relationship. As people, we are inclined to a sinful nature grasping all sorts of ‘baggage’ – be it mental, physical, or spiritual. The beauty of it, is that Christ offers freedom from sin and timely healing. He offers a grace that can only be offered through a commitment to relationship so strong, he died to secure it. In a relationship with God, we are able to cast our concerns and worries on him and know that he will sustain us (Psalms 55:22). It’s a complete reliance on God – a release of anything we’re holding onto that comes between us and God. As you look at the blend of reality and sketch in the clenched fist above, I hope you are drawn to challenge the things in your life that you are holding on to which are holding you back from God.
Blessings,
Jeff
Exchange Visit to Korca
Exchange.
When collaboration and integration transcends the post-communistic mentality that still lingers in this progressively developing country and brings new hope to rural farmers struggling to make ends meet, its far more than merely an “exchange” visit. Beyond the years of dis-trust festering in their country, this group of farmers are looking forward to the potential that they possess to improve their lives. Exchanging ideas, techniques, and practical successes, farmers walked, talked, and shared their work with their compatriots from the south of the country, Korca. And it’s all part of the 2-day exchange visit that WV facilitated in order to stimulate thinking around the efficiency and importance of farmers working together. Enjoy the images of development unfolding in real-time.
Sincerely,
Jeff
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Month of May
Enjoy a collection of my photos from the last few weeks. I beg you to use your imagination for the lack of theme with which these photos hang together other than the simple and boring “last month.” Climbing, Hiking, Friends, and Castles – what more could you ask for?
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I amsterdam
Amsterdam – home of canals, tulips, and heineken beer…not to mention the BICYCLE! Woohoo – this city is great – so cool with the canals and great parks – everything is so green!
Also, Josh Oh and I went to the public library…and I have to say, it was AWESOME. Now call me a complete nerd, but this library was inspirational. Fantastic new-age art, a piano with an old man playing jazz (but open to anyone who plays piano), circular book cases, work stations everywhere, cafes, and the best part – you don’t have to whisper! I might move to Amsterdam and just live in the library. If only I could.
 cool sign for a cool library
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 Lights...camera...awesome. Public Library
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 Circular shelves - this one is all movies.
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 Kids section. Makes me want to be a kid again - just for this library.
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 Flowers - one of the signature items of the Netherlands. Vondelpark
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 Borrowed Josh's bike and found these gardens in Vondelpark.
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 Are you Amsterdam? Because I am.
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 Bikes Galore! Everyone, All the Time.
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 View from an evening canal tour.
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 Cruisin' the canals.
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 Public Library - AKA Public Cool-brary
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 Old old church. I think it was built in the 1600's - cool wooden roof.
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 Canals, Churches, and leaning buildings.
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 Josh Oh blows a huge bubble in the Nemo museum. It's an awesome interactive museum - I learned a ton about science from that place...more than I ever did studying for years in school... :( but whatever...
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 Logo Progression - More than anything, this beer's brand is impressive - and worldwide!
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 Bird's Eye View
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 For Amsterdam's traditional architectural sake.
Hooks are to move furniture and pianos to the top floors.
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Peaceful Remembrance Walk
After things got a little out of control last week, Tirana played host to a much more peaceful remembrance walk for the three victims of the anti-government protest on Jan 21. The days leading up to this event had heated debates between the international community, the opposition, and the government; the tension seemed to rise until the event began at 2pm on Friday as nobody knew what to expect (especially with the outcome of the last protest just 1 week ago looming in the back of everyone’s mind). Opposition party backed up their claim to a peaceful walk, while the government stood with layers of police anxiously watching the thousands of passers-by for any signs of violence, fortunately people picked up flowers and candles instead of weapons. Tonight, Tirana is quiet.
NOTE: Below are some pictures from the peaceful walk today, but also the pictures from the violent political protest about one week ago.
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Political Protest with 20,000
I’m not much of a reporter, nor do I know the full story enough to contrive my side, so I will just paste a headline of the events as reported by a professional.
“TIRANA, Albania — State hospital officials in Albania say three people been killed during a violent anti-government protest outside the prime minister’s office.
Ongoing clashes involving riot police and hundreds of pro-opposition protesters have also left 22 civilians and 17 policemen and national guard officers hurt, according to authorities.
More than 20,000 people attended a rally Friday organized by the Socialist party to demand that that conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha call early elections over because of a scandal over alleged corruption.” By The Associated Press (CP) as reported by ‘The Canadian Press.’
To give some context, I work about a block away from this place and bike by here at least twice a day. I went home and grabbed my camera. And here are my pictures from a brief excursion into the area (of course after things settled down a bit).
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Behind Every Picture, There’s a Story
Welcome to the redesigned JEFFDOKMO.com! Behind every picture, there’s a story.
Rich Carroll rides a wave in the summer of 2009.
It’s a design that will give you the latest pictures right away. A cross between blog and portfolio, I hope that it provides a presentation of my images which allows you to enter the experience. You’ll still find a minimalist’s “Photography” section (only pictures), downloads, information about myself (and my gear), etc, but you’ll also find some new categories of my blog: noun, adjective, and verb – think about it and I think you’ll find it quite fitting. This will help break down some of the archived blog posts and (hopefully) ease any browsing you may want to do.
In case you were wondering, the big photos at the top of the home page are the 5 latest blog posts. So you’ll always be up-to-date right away when entering my website.
-Jeff
P.S. If you have an opinion (good or bad) about the new design don’t hesitate to let me know!
More Photos From Summer of 2009:
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Project Climb.
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Super excited – All my climbing holds made it to Albania! The airlines temporarily lost my checked bags (150 lbs worth of holds, plus another 50 lbs in my carry-on) but delivered them without hindrance the next day. I have emptied my bags and taken a closer look at what I’ve got to work with – holds, shoes, a hang-board, and bolts. Check out the pictures. It’s a good start. Now, all I’ve got to do is… find a location to begin building! Ha.
Unfortunately, it’s really not as easy as it sounds when you don’t speak the language and as soon as they see that you’re not Albanian, the price rises by… oh, about 300-500%. So, wish me luck (and pray for me!) as I embark on this daunting task. God will provide and I can’t wait to see how…
Climb on!
Jeff
Lucky Ascent of “Floater”
Picture by David Rau
I got lucky. After a few warm-up climbs, I set out to try a route I had been eyeing; a short (4 move), but difficult (V5) boulder problem found in Ute Valley, CO called “Floater.” It has an inverted orientation and sets up on two sloping holds (seen in the picture) before moving on to an awkward right-hand crack hold before hitting the top knob for a finish. It was a hugely fun route that I am stoked to have the chance to finish, let alone jump on during my short stay in Colorado.
I spent this last weekend in Fort Collins visiting some great friends from summer camp and climbing some fun routes both at “The Palace” and at “Horsetooth Resevoir” – What a blessing to see old friends, climb some ‘sick’ routes, and enjoy root beer floats in the perfect fall weather. God is good!
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-Jeff
New Apartment
Greetings,
This is my new place. I’m very excited about it. It is close in proximity to my last apartment, but in my opinion, much better. It has a more open layout and some nice windows from which I can see the mountains. The wooden ceiling is vaulted and makes the space feel quite big.
God is good, let the celebrations commence.
-Jeff
Oregon Trail Riding
Remember that old computer game named “the Oregon Trail” where your oxen would die crossing the river and you would run out of water while your child caught hay fever? Yeah, well this is nothing like that…except the part where they forded the river…
So here’s to fording rivers… safely. And to old broken down ‘Mercs’ that were probably used after the oxen died.
Seen in the photos: Mike Low and Gary Anderson
-Jeff
Back in Albania
I was welcomed back with an intense bike ride waiting for me – after some regrouping of the regular bikers from the scattering caused by summer traveling. It was a good wake-up call to how out of biking shape I am. Apart from the fatigue, we were rewarded with groves of untouched wild black berries at the top of the hill! Fresh and plentiful, it was a great way to reward ourselves after a long, hot climb.
The next weekend, some friends and I traveled to what we thought was an obscure beach along the coast called ‘Spille’ – little did we know this was quite a popular beach and we found huge crowds of people soaking up the summer sun and splashing in the warm, salty Med. Fortunately the crowds didn’t arrive until a bit later in the morning, so that explains why it looks devoid of people in the photo below (that photo was taken at 6:45am or something like that). Despite the disappointment, we camped out and found some space to throw the frisbee around on the beach!
It is great to be back.
Athenian Easter
With a loud burst, the Orthodox priest burst open the doors entering back into the church amidst the dimly lit candles held by the rest of the congregation. This is all part of the hour long service beginning at 11pm and ending at midnight on Saturday – all signaling the resurrection of Christ from the grave. After traditional songs led by the head priest, the candle lighting ceremony – beginning in complete darkness and one-by-one spreading through the congregation, and the incense filling every nook and cranny of the small chapel, bells ring and fire works erupt around the city in celebration of the momentous occasion of Christ’s resurrection. What an experience to see such a passionate and traditional approach to this meaningful holiday – hardly watered down by easter bunnies and chocolate in Greece. Instead, one of our waiters described the atmosphere over Easter to us best after a slight miscommunication over the time of the church service – “It’s about Christ!” he said emphatically and unreluctantly!
Check out more pictures from this experience and the visit around the ancient city under “Athens, Greece” in my photography gallery. Enjoy.
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Cheddar – a commodity.
Greetings. Let me just clarify all those questions running through your head. Yes, this is a picture of me with a pile of grated cheddar cheese in my kitchen. And yes, that is a 1 kilo block of cheddar cheese that is half gone sitting on the table next to me. No, that item is not available in local Albanian cheese markets and yes, it was imported by my mom from Cyprus. While I’ve got you licking your lips, I recommend you check out some of the other tasty photos recently added to my “Tirana, Albania” album (which outgrew its name with the second posting of pictures; it is really just a collection of photos from Albania, not Tirana). But let’s not get caught up on technicalities, shall we?
Enjoy the pictures. As I may have mentioned, Albania has a tremendous beauty about it, but often times just outside the frame of my pictures, there is a pile of burning trash, some commonplace plastic bags, or what is dubbed the national flower “the-big-blue-empty-water-bottle.” It breaks my heart knowing that there is a lack of responsibility for the environment in this beautiful country. It’s not fair to show just one side of this place, so I feel that I will begin to attempt to show what is often the harsh reality next to the sprawling majestic vistas.
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My humble abode…
Welcome to my new life. Check out some of the pics of things I see everyday…like a pile of carrots in the market and some graffiti just outside the gate to my house… http://www.jeffdokmo.com/photos/?album=TiranaAlbania
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Tirana
A panoramic of Tirana. The home I’m staying at is near the lake on the right-hand side of the photograph. Click on “Photographs” above and then “Tirana, Albania” for more photos…
Books!
Yes, yes. The time has finally come. The moment you’ve all been waiting for…
BOOKS.
Jeff Dokmo has now begun selling books online. It’s simple, order a book online, pay with paypal and it will be custom printed and then shipped for you in a timely, orderly fashion. Currently, there is a fantastic North Shore (Lake Superior on the Minnesota side) book available, but there will soon be many more books available. I’m very excited to bring you my photography in this new medium.
Need an excuse to buy a book? They make great coffee table books, great gifts for family and friends, and they’re made with professional quality so you don’t have to worry. They are full of the highest quality photographs and they contain all original photographs by Jeff Dokmo.
Click on “Books!” above.
-Jeff
Merry Christmas!
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope that you all make the best of this advent season and look back to the source of it all…Jesus Christ. What an encouragement and joy we have in him! Enjoy the time with family, friends, and those close to you!
Merry Christmas!
Jeff
A Day in the Life of Andrew Reiland
For one whole day, I followed my friend Andy “Heiney” Reiland around to document his artistic lifestyle and work. An incredible experience, I got some great pictures hopefully giving a little bit of insight into the life he leads and the infusion of his passion (art) throughout his life. When looking through these pictures, I would encourage you to take notice of the brilliant colors that flood Reilands’ daily activities. To better understand the mind of Reiland, be sure to notice the style, the font, the quality of the materials used, the message trying to be communicated, and what sort of process would be used to get the end result. After passing any three signs, you should be a bit overwhelmed…welcome to the life of Andy Reiland. When asked if he had any time to do his own artwork, he responded “my passion is my work” describing just how his love for art and his work are so closely intertwined; there is little distinguishing between the two.
One of the key components of his art is the influence of the culture in which he lives. Reiland intentionally seeks out people who are like minded, who push him to greater creative means. Along with this culture, comes a specific lifestyle; a whole different outlook on life. Everything is art. As many know, making a living as an artist is not always easy. Reiland knows the difficulties first hand and takes them on with enthusiasm. Numerous times he has pulled all-nighters finishing printing jobs in order to deliver on a deadline. The work ethic that goes along with making art is oftentimes cast aside and downplayed, but from firsthand observation: art is hard work. Reiland works long hours creating and printing (mostly t-shirts and posters) in his studio. Chemicals, thick long-lasting paints, and lots of tape and t-shirts are scattered around the studio as he works on yet another project. Outside of the hands-on process of creating, Reiland lives out his work as he constantly networks. From business deals with a university to a handshake at the nightclub with a local DJ, Reiland is always on his feet passionately bringing people a taste of his work; good design and quality products. Check out some of his artwork on his website www.andyreiland.com and drop him an email for any printing jobs you may need; he does great work.
It was truly a pleasure to get a small taste of this artist’s hard working, artistically permeated lifestyle. A special thanks to Andy for opening up his life to me for a day. Check out more photographs from the day in the gallery!
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-Jeff
Tirana, Albania
This coming January, I am planning on taking an internship in ALBANIA! I will be working for VisionFund Albania (renamed from BuildingFutures) which is a microfinance subsidiary of World Vision. The core function of this business is to bring small loans to rural, poverty-stricken communities and entrepreneurs who otherwise don’t have the collateral to get a loan from the bank. It aims to have a wholistic approach to community and economic development. I am very excited about this as it will be my first opportunity to work and live (alone) overseas – in a field of work that is quite exciting! I hope to bring many good stories and pictures to you all.
-jeff
Thoughts?
If you haven’t visited my site before or it has been a while since you last indulged, I encourage you to look around. I am venturing into a whole new design for www.jeffdokmo.com! I would like to hear your thoughts! What do you think? Is it professional? Playful? Easy-to-use? Intuitive? Please give me some feedback…you can do it easily by commenting below…
Don’t think that you’ll offend me, I’m still trying to play around with ideas and see what I like myself…
-jeff