Annie and Jay took me to Mission Cliffs on Saturday. It was great to be rock climbing again, but my body let me know how long it’s been. The first wall I climbed was no problem, but I felt exhausted for each one after that. I also remembered halfway up that I’m afraid of heights—it’s not a good place to be, especially with holds the size of quarters. What this really means is that I need to hit the gym more—mainly to work on cardio. I get bored running and only like to bike from point A to point B, but if I’m spent after an hour of climbing, something’s not right. We ended up staying for a good four hours—Jay’s new nickname is spider.

Check out the photos taken that day.

If there’s one thing I love about San Francisco, it’s the views—seems like everywhere I look is filled gorgeous architecture, beautiful scenery, or just something unique. This photo is from my hotel room, where the Apple store glows bright next to Virgin records.

There’s always so much activity, but it’s not over-the-top or stressful. Though I did have the chance of walking through some shady neighborhoods, they’re nothing compared to those of Baltimore—it’s actually a bit refreshing, bringing a bit of familiarity to the west.

I think Robert Hodgin, of the Barbarian Group, said it best in his speech at the 2006 Flash in the Can, “If you’re constantly staring at an environment that doesn’t inspire you…I’d highly recommend you find the energy to pick up and move.” Oddly enough, he was referring to his move to San Francisco as well.

For those whole live around Baltimore, this weekend was the ever-popular Artscape—a chance for all the rednecks of Maryland to stumble down the streets of Bolton Hill. To me, it’s an exhausting day of heat and sore feet combined with a 1% chance of finding a free parking spot. I documented the occasion, which can be seen on Flickr.

Jen’s sister, Heather, volunteered to have her boyfriend and pro skater, Pat Bryan, ollie over her. He’s quite talented and one of the nicest guys you’ll come across. Check out the trailer of his latest skate video and an HD video of the stunt below.

Getting out of the city is sometimes all you need—seeing the things you don’t get to see very often. Jen’s backyard is frequently visited by deer. This fawn was accompanied by her mother, who was just fine with me being so close. I love when animals understand you just want to capture their beauty. It also gave me a great chance to try out my newish 70-200mm IS lens.

Check out the rest of the shots here.

Jen and I decided to drive home to see her family and we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. Make sure you all get out this weekend—I know I’ve needed this.

This week has been berry, berry good to me. My parents surprised me with a new lens as a graduation present. The new addition to the fam is the Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS. It’s a gorgeous piece of glass, which is perfect for video because of the stabilizer. Canon currently has a solid rebate for specific lenses, so I thought I’d cash in and treat myself to a graduation present of my own. Following my parents, I ordered the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro. Since switching from the 30D (APS-C) to the 5D MKII (full frame), my Canon 60mm f/2.8 macro no longer fit since it’s APS-C-specific. The 100mm is actually the 60mm-equivalent for full frame, so it’s perfect. The photo above is the first shot I took with the 100mm. I’m really looking forward to how portraits look with it. Below are photos of the two lenses: