mgravesphotoblog

Dinner

2012-02-09T13:53:00.000-08:00

Homemade mini-pizzas with chicken, black olives, green pepper, and artichokes, topped with a 3-cheese blend. Another benefit of a home studio- you make it you shoot it! Hopefully, you can shoot it before it gets cold! It just adds a dimension of simulated "real-world" pressure. You gotta be ready and shoot fast...or fall prey to evil hungry glares of others!

Sparrow Waits: Alive!

2012-01-31T07:30:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited to announce Sparrow Waits have just unveiled their new look with the images I shot last week! You can find them at http://www.etsy.com/shop/SparrowWaits. If you have the time, please check out their shop. Emily and Liz are great folks, so please support them and support small business! Here are a few more of my favorites from the shoot. Ah, I love it when a plan comes together!

A Sparrow Waits Preview

2012-01-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

Recently I had the great privilege to shoot the product line for Sparrow Waits. They are a small company (Em and Liz!) who design and sew aprons, pot holders, and pin cushion owls and sell them on www.etsy.com/shop/SparrowWaits. I definitely recommend checking them out there, especially after we've updated all of their imagery! Here is just a quick sneak peek. All I can say is, look out Etsy, Sparrow Waits is coming for ya!

Parking Lot Dead Ends and The Image as Metaphor

2012-01-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

There is a lot of talk in certain circles about the image as metaphor, but the story behind these images work as a kind of metaphor for life in itself. I was driving in my car headed home taking the usual way, but I decided to take a different route, so I turned left and found myself lost in one of those giant parking lots, you know the ones which 18 ginormous box stores share. Anyways, I eventually wound up at a dead end. I stopped, got out of the car, and started taking pictures of the tire tracks left behind in the snow. Then I climbed back in the car and finally made it back home a week later...or maybe an hour. There's a metaphor and a moral in that story somewhere, but I think the images do the trick best. Also, I found this helpful...if these images made sounds, they would probably sound like this.

Dreams, First Friday, Artist Reception

2011-12-16T11:31:00.000-08:00

Just finished up the latest First Friday video for The Center for Fine Art Photography. It features some very interesting work. Thanks to all the artists for their insights and sharing their work! Artists featured are Elliot Ross, Bear Kirkpatrick, Danny Grant, and Kendall Messick.

Oxnard, CA

2011-12-08T19:26:00.000-08:00

The unofficial motto of Oxnard, CA is "not just a beautiful name." I think that goes without saying. I was swimming around in the archives today and found these images from 2009 taken at the tail end of my Venoco shoot for Hispanic Business. These were shot from the helicopter as we were descending into the Oxnard airport at the end of a very adventurous shoot.

Nicole and Rob

2011-11-28T15:15:00.000-08:00

Nicole and her husband Rob came over the other day to shoot some photos for their holiday cards. So, we converted the living room to a make-shift studio and let the shutter fly. Let's just say dangerous amounts of fun and hilarity ensued. What's the best part about shooting at your make-shift home studio? You get to shoot in your house shoes. That might just be how I do all my photo shoots now, in my house shoes. So nice!

The Geometry of City Life

2011-11-28T12:54:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone survived your turkey day, survived your families, survived your travels, and lastly if you're viewing these images I hope all those turkey and giblets are safely in your rear view mirror since these images may be nausea inducing.

rund um das haus im herbst

2011-11-18T15:14:00.000-08:00

Stephanie and a Dog Named "Dog-Dog"

2011-11-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

This is Stephanie.

Stephanie has a dog named Brisbee, but she just calls her dog "Dog-Dog."

This is Stephanie and Dog-Dog in "Blurry Face" Mode.

This is Stephanie and Dog-Dog in "Attack" Mode. Or "Yawn" Mode, whichever.

This is Stephanie and Dog-Dog in "Are We Done Yet?" Mode.

Yes, yes we are done. This is me in "Ending Blog Post" Mode. Dog!

Down to Business

2011-11-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

With the rain comes great angry clouds. These were some of the last images taken and it was literally just across the street from the aforementioned blue apartment building. Another great different look in the same area. Who needs a studio? Oh, right, the rain and the cold, but for now, thank you nature!

Fashion City Part 2...Hidden Bonus Track

2011-11-13T08:40:00.000-08:00

Of course there's a hidden bonus track! Love the look here. Statuesque and haunting. I tamed down the play of color a bit from this.

Fashion City Part 2

2011-11-13T08:30:00.000-08:00

During our adventures in this great neighborhood in Denver we came across this beautiful blue painted apartment building. There were so many great spots and backgrounds to shoot all within a very short distance from each other it was amazing. At the end of this alley, behind Nima in the top shot, is the bed of sunflowers we used for these shots. Totally different look and feel just a few feet away. Who needs a studio? Well, until the temperature drops, then we'll just see how I feel about that.

Throwback

2011-11-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

As long as I'm on the topic of cut-ups, this is one from way back. It might still be my favorite.

Fashion City Part 1...Hidden Bonus Track

2011-11-12T08:39:00.000-08:00

As I said, it's sometimes good to try new things. Here I'm still working on incorporating a "cut-up" style influence along with the usage of color into my portraits. I'm pretty happy with the results so far.

Fashion City Part 1

2011-11-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

It wasn't all car wrecks and broken glass. We had some fun with fashion, too. Sometimes its good to get out and push yourself from what you normally do and try something different. More from this series coming soon!

Art in Nature, First Friday, and So Much More

2011-11-11T10:01:00.000-08:00

Recently I completed another First Friday video for The Center for Fine Art Photography. It's always great to be able to talk to the artists and hear their thoughts and stories about their image making. I'm glad I get to share that with everyone! The Center is also exhibiting a beautiful show by David Zimmerman called Desert. I definitely recommend checking it out. Some of the most breathtaking landscapes you will ever see! We had over 400 people come through the gallery this time! One of the biggest shows we've had since I've been here. Not bad for a little town on the edge of the frontier.

Next month plans to be even bigger with an all day event and panel discussion on Saturday, December 3, with the juror of the next show Dreams, Aline Smithson, and a workshop on the business of photography with Tom Bol. Both photographers were included by PDN in their list of top 13 photography workshop instructors. It's sure to be a day packed with valuable information! And I've assisted on one of Tom Bol's workshops before. He goes about a 100 miles an hour, so strap in and buckle up!

A Portrait of a Somber Thoughtfulness

2011-11-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

During our photo shoot it started raining. Immediately following there was a car accident a block away. Then there were sirens, smashed glass, and the unknown.

A Summer Portrait for the Snowfall

2011-11-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

On this second snow storm of the season I thought I would take it back to summer. I'm finally getting a chance to go through the portraits I took then. So many looks to go through! So many directions to go in! More to come.

Parkscapes

2011-10-31T15:46:00.000-07:00

Landscapes

2011-10-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

Landscapes from the Colorado countryside.

Snow Day Part 2- Squares

2011-10-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

Snow Day Part 1- The Trees

2011-10-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

And this is what that mass of gray clouds brought. Sort of like what goes on in the desert.

Clouds Coffee Portraits and Wilco

2011-10-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

Here is another experiment in color, perhaps it was to combat the mass of clouds moving in today bringing the first snow of the year or perhaps it was all the coffee and listening to Wilco's The Whole Love on a loop, but this happened playing around with some recent portraits.

David Bram Interview Part 2

2011-10-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

There was so much good stuff from the David Bram interview we had to break it into two parts! Here he gives us his insights into the future of digital media and social networking. Enjoy! And here is a link to check out Fraction.

David Bram Interview

2011-10-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

David Bram, the editor and founder of Fraction Magazine and curator of the Food exhibition, stopped by The Center for Fine Art Photography for the First Friday reception last week. While here he gave us a little of his time to talk about the show and the future of fine art photography. In this interview he tells us a little about what goes into curating a show and the difference between looking at work online and seeing it in person. Enjoy!

Another First Friday Video

2011-10-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

Recently completed another First Friday video for the Center of Fine Art Photography. It's great to have a resource like this here in Fort Collins!

Hibernation and Interviews in My Dreams

2011-09-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy past few weeks, but while I've been hibernating I've also been doing some work with The Center for Fine Art Photography here in Fort Collins. I've been working at re-tooling their blog and I've done a couple of videos for them, too. One is an interview with talented photographer Molly Landreth on her series, Embodiment: A Portrait of Queer Life in America, which is currently being exhibited at the Center. You can view the interview here. Molly was great to work with which made for a really fun and fascinating interview. I hope you enjoy.

Goletaville Day 17- Nature Poised Like Godzilla at the City Gates

2011-08-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

Obviously these are images that on one level evoke metaphors of the "man vs. nature" persuasion. But in my mind I see it as a bit more amplified than that. I see it like the people of Tokyo trying to keep out Godzilla. Or maybe it's some sort of John Carpenter or Stephen King movie where nature has developed an evil intelligence and the trees are poised to attack, but all we humans have time to do is erect these poor feeble barriers of wood and stone that are no match for nature's size and strength. It's only a matter of time before nature reclaims what is rightfully hers. Already you can see that the ivy is trying to strangulate the speed limit sign. Nature has no respect for the order society tries to keep with it's laws! And when you're up against an enemy that has no respect for the "rules" all one can do is run, run for your life!!!!!

Goletaville Day 16- Ventura Monsters

2011-08-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

all monsters have moons
that grow radio silent
but their shadows still hum
with a future of electric dreams

Goletaville Day 15 Part 2- A Brief Period of Blue

2011-08-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

Goletaville-Day 15 Part 1...and the Best Thing I Read about Photography Today

2011-08-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

From an interview conducted by photographer Todd Hido on the influence of Larry Sultan:

"One thing he helped me articulate was that it wasn't my job to make total sense of my images, but to simply 'charge the air, so that meaning could occur.'"

I like it when people say things like that. "Charge the air"! Indeed.

Goletaville-Day 14

2011-08-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

Day 14 was a gray and foggy morning, see bottom picture. Truth be told this is what Santa Barbara/Goleta looks like most times in the summer, but it makes for a beautiful soft light and there are still images to be found.

Goletaville-Day 13 and Thoughts on Photography by Ernst Haas

2011-08-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts on the philosophy of photography by Ernst Haas:

"If truth is what we believe to be true, then every period, every culture has created its own truth, which has always been deeply rooted in man's concept of the reason for existence. But in extreme situations, such as pain, love or joy, man reaches from the narrower fact of truth into the broader dimensions of poetry to express better all that he feels, sees, and believes.

William Blake saw 'the world in a grain of sand.' It can be seen in many such things, for in the smallest cells are reflections of the largest. And in photography, through an interplay of scales, a whole universe within a universe can be revealed."

Ernst Haas

The Belly of the Buddha: Ruminations on the 20th Anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind

2011-08-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

1991. I'm sorry, I wrote that backwards. Let me start over. 1991. It was a year of tragedy and triumph. It was the year we lost a young president with so much promise and potential. A president we now know most commonly as the Oliver Stone film "JFK". But, it was also the year, nine months later, that we banded together as a nation and honored his memory by fulfilling his dream of putting the first Russian on the moon.

It was 1991. I was 12 years old and obviously I was neck deep into LA's underground trip-hop scene. Those were strange and heady days. For months my only sustenance consisted of a caustic cocktail of pig hormones, ecstasy, and repeated trips to the plastic surgeon's table. All the while the unborn dreams of unwed mothers danced like heretics through my still developing and ether infused mind.

But one album from one band would change all that crushing the potential nightmarish future of suburbanite track housing plump with the flashes of late night television flickering ridiculous soap ads and ungodly white toothed smiles onto hard dark walls and peach fuzzed surfaces of frozen eyeballs. Only one album would reach into Michael Jackson's intestines and pull out a middle-aged white woman gripping a pocket sized Gideon's Bible in one hand and a larger than life King James Bible in the other shouting, "The Lord is your Salvation! All those who deny their Lord shall burn in the fiery pits of Hell!" forever changing the American political landscape for picket sign writers and altering the legacy of one Elvis Presley.

So what was a young unassassinated boy to do? Dismantle his psyche and leave the bloodied greasy bolts out on the curb for the vultures and badgers to pick apart? Or, disintegrate into the howling scratching growls of a plaid covered cuckold from Aberdeen on the way to his slaughter with a goateed grin and bits of Taco Bell tortilla stuck between his teeth? What were any of us of that time to do, really? He was the only one with any sort of light in a darkened dank din of thieves.

The Return of Goletaville-Day 11 Revisited

2011-08-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

I'm never going to get caught up if I keep revisiting the days I've already posted! I was reviewing some past shoots and I liked these images, too, so I thought I would put them out there. All total there were 20-something days I shot for the Goleta Project. There's a long ways to go yet, but we got nothing but time!

A Bar B Que Story

2011-07-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

One picture package just leads to another. This is a bbq joint in town, it's called Moe's. They do Alabama style bbq, but there's something in there about Wisconsin and I'm not sure what it is.

Picture Package...Hidden Bonus Track

2011-07-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

Probably my favorite from the whole shoot. I just couldn't help myself!

Picture Package Promo Piece

2011-07-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

These are images from a recent shoot I did for a promo piece for a local musician (by way of San Diego), Richard Pavelec. He's a really nice guy. We spent some time in a parking garage and waxed nostalgic over our moves from California. I put together some of my favorite shots as part of a picture package. Hope you enjoy!

Charlene and Me-The Green Portraits

2011-07-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what my fascination with green and discolored images is lately. I suppose it had to happen at some point and that point is now.

In Cars

2011-07-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

And Gary Numan's influence rears its ugly head.

Downtown Loveland and The Start of an Old Artist Statement

2011-07-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

The other night I found an artist statement that I had started a while ago. I hardly even remember writing it. My first response was, "where'd this come from?"

[All true art contains the element of death. By death I don't mean a literal death, but a conscious awareness of one's existence. The feeling of a heightened sense of awareness to your environment like the feeling soon after the death of a close loved one, when you see reality as it is and you know, or you think you know, its motivations. I want to boil that feeling down to its essence to make it a dot, a spec, a period with the density of a black hole. The problem is the period becomes smoke and the smoke is impermanent. And that's the great tragic comedy of it all. The smoke can't be nailed down or made into a period. It can't be grasped. Yet, it is a truth experienced. It is evident in the clouds and the side glances of strangers. It can be an honesty so painful it gets hidden. Buried deep down in an anonymous field at midnight somewhere in one of the Dakotas. The contradictory notion of simultaneously existing yet trying to deny one's existence.]

Well, it's a start.

Dreams and Mongrels

2011-07-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

these mongrels have no proof
though they may convince you with their forceful stares
and their longish teeth
that could easily tear through clothes
and pinch the skin
but their teeth have spikes
and the spikes have spurs
and the spurs won't allow them to swallow

so hold steady

there is still gasoline in the ice chest
and these shark infested waters
will soon be under the sticky pavement
of white light
and blue sky
and a warm hearted open sun
who in all his millions of dreams
has yet to dream up his own death

New Lights, Rembrandt, and Transfiguring Grammar

2011-07-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

I've been testing out my new lighting rig, which apparently is a good time for more self-portraits. (What do you want, I'm the only one here! Except for the cat and I'm not getting the cat to do anything.) So I figured, if you're self-portraiting at some point you've got to Rembrandt. And then I figured, if you're writing at some point you've got to use a noun as a verb. And that's when it occurred to me, might as well do it all here at once.

RGBandBeeswax

2011-07-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

BlackandWhiteandBeeswax

2011-07-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

Jellyfish

2011-06-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

mystical and foul
the mad shape of things to come
jellyfish aim true

with spineless backs splayed
and ready wet tentacles
they rise from the sea

slow the sea recedes
ebbing a foamy remorse
to an artless sky

Strange Floor Shadows

2011-06-28T13:03:00.001-07:00

These are not Steve's Cars

2011-06-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

Marc Maron and Me

2011-06-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to see Marc Maron at Comedy Works in Denver. Just a word to the wise, if you go to see stand up, sit up front (and I'm talking maybe 1 foot away), and you have, what some might deem, a larger than necessary beard, you will become part of the show. Who knew Marc Maron had so much beard material? I didn't get it as bad as some of the others sitting up front, though. In reality, I got off pretty easy and it was all really funny stuff. I believe the term "hipster" was used and there was something about getting a "sensible" hat. Fair enough, but I could never wear skinny jeans.

Actually, it was a pretty surreal experience because I listen to his podcast,WTF, a lot and on the podcast it's kind of like he's speaking directly to you, so when I was at the show and he was speaking directly to (or at) me it did nothing to help me separate what is "real" and what is "fantasy." I think it could haunt my dreams for some time to come.

Steve's Cars

2011-06-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

Experiments in the New OfficeslashStudio

2011-06-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

A Forest of Clouds

2011-06-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

ripe urbane brave clouds, break apart and leave behind, small fits of madness

A Forest of Trees

2011-06-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

Empty Rooms

2011-06-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

a cacophony
and i am hard pressed to find
a Byzantine monk
with the work ethic
of 19th century man
behind these walls
these blissful cold walls
these walls of unfed longing
that turn dams to dust

Outside the City Walls

2011-06-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

Outside city walls. Nature is a beast for sure. Was this a haiku?

More from Fort Collins

2011-06-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

There are reflections and strange shafts of light here, too. So that's good.

Fort Collins-There is Color Here

2011-06-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day of full on shooting in the new town. Walked around and got to know the place a little. Still getting used to the light here, it's different, but I'm not sure how. Maybe it's the lack of air pollution? Maybe that makes the light "purer"? Something to do with the elevation? I don't know. The sun seems to be at a different angle in the sky. And I don't know if this will become a "Fort Collinsville" type project. We'll see how things go. It's a good way to get to know the town, though. I found some color today amongst other things. For more images of the day click here.

The Story of the Asparagus

2011-06-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

So, you ever go to clean your sensor and think, "I should probably take out the CF card in my camera. Nah, it'll be alright. You know what you're doing."...Well, yeah, so I managed to erase all the images from the trip out to Fort Collins. Why did they put the "Format" option, which clears the CF card, and the "Sensor Cleaning" option, which does not clear the CF card, so close in the Menu options! I suppose they assume smarter people than me will be using those things. But, I do have this pic I took of asparagus we got the other day from the farmer's market. C'est la vie.

Goletaville: The Soundtrack Vol. 3

2011-06-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

Sucked Out- Superdrag
Mockingbirds- Grant Lee Buffalo
Everybody Hurts- REM
Debonair- The Afghan Whigs
Queen- Melvins
Talk Show Host- Radiohead
Down to This- Soul Coughing but this is even better!
Bull in the Heather- Sonic Youth
Down by the Water- PJ Harvey
She Don't Use Jelly- The Flaming Lips
The Distance- Cake
Live Forever- Oasis
Loser- Beck
Human Behavior- Bjork
Piggy- Nine Inch Nails
Hurt- Nine Inch Nails
Bulls on Parade- Rage Against the Machine
In the Meantime- Spacehog
Possum Kingdom- Toadies

I should maybe call this the "120 Minutes Volume". Many of the songs here remind me of that show on MTV which I watched pretty much every Sunday night in high school. 120 Minutes would always play the best videos, or at least the ones I was most interested in seeing, but they could not get a good host for that show! It was just painful. Matt Pinfield and Lewis Largent were responsible for some of the most awkward interviews and video intros ever recorded! But, that too, was part of the "alternative" rock schtick that was so popular at the time. It's "umbra" if you will, to use a recent Word of the Day.

This volume could also be "The Volume of the Riff". Many great riffs here, "Queen"(from the Melvins, the masters of the riff!), "Talk Show Host" (and here Radiohead was entering entering another phase growing creatively by leaps and bounds),"Piggy", "Possum Kingdom", all great riffs that were quite potent to my blobby teenage brain.

One of the interesting things that starts to arise when listening to these songs again are similarities I didn't notice before. Such as the songs "Possum Kingdom" and "Down by the Water", both songs which on a surface level are seemingly about the same thing, murder down by the river. Both songs are part of a long tradition of rock songs about murder at the river, see Neil Young's "Down by the River". His 1969 version, appropriately, follows from a blues and folk tradition of songs which was reflective of that era of song writing . But these songs, some 25 years later, are great examples of the evolution of pop music and the culture as a whole to an acceptance of art (or "art") to go to a darker and more psychological place, and certainly that is in part due to previous artists such as Neil. "Possum Kingdom" now takes us inside the head of the killer, which appears to be some sort of serial killer a la Silence of the Lambs. However, PJ Harvey one ups them all. Her tale of murder, takes a more poetic, symbolic, and possibly darker (depending on your interpretation) tact. She takes that common theme and turns it a little bit. Is it filicide or is it metaphor for the loss of innocence, or something else? Anyways, it would seem that pop song lyrics and themes were evolving and exploring new aspects of common themes during this time.

And, yes, "Everybody Hurts" may be the most depressing song (and video) ever written!

Goletaville-Day 12

2011-05-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

So, it finally happened on Day 12. The subconscious agents of whomever's dream I'm in finally recognized they had a foreign element in their midst. "Eradicate...Eradicate...Eradicate" they seemed to moan with each approaching foot step that pervaded and reverberated through every pore of my being like the polluted acid rain of a paranoid future that hungrily waits in the shadows with tensed jowls, an iron lung, and pockets full of the lonely spoiled meat of our precarious and misguided times.

One of the reasons I like going out at sunrise to photograph is that there aren't many people or distractions which allows you to get into a sleep deprived coffee fueled right-brained zone/fog/cloud/antiseptic mist/what-have-you. Most mornings the few people you do run into just give you a tired head nod that says, "Oh you're up too? Yeah, it's way too early." It's like there's some sort of unspoken club. Most times. The morning of day 12 was a bit different.

As I was in my own world taking pictures of cracks in the pavement, garbage, and leaves in the parking lot of the nearby Ralph's I noticed a woman in her car smoking cigarettes and talking loudly on her cell phone. I started to get a strange vibe from her, but decided that it's all in my head and I should just ignore it. Several minutes later as I was smashed against a wall taking pictures of it, getting the real "nitty-gritty," figuratively and nearly quite literally becoming one with this wall, I hear a voice break through that beautiful golden silence of the morning. It was a voice as soft and soothing as a styrofoam cup full of broken glass, vinegar, and bees, that said, "Excuse me, I go to this school here. What are you taking pictures of?"

First of all, there's a school here? I thought this was a Ralph's parking lot. Secondly, my brain had a difficult time trying to comprehend the juxtaposition of those two statements. At first I thought maybe she was taking a photography class and had a photo question, but I didn't detect that sort of curiosity in her voice. Maybe it was the use of the word "of" that threw me. What did she mean "of"? She'd been watching me, she'd seen what I'd been taking pictures "of," so that couldn't be what she really meant. Then I thought, actually, what a great question! What am I taking pictures of? And immediately I felt very distant like I was from another planet. I wasn't prepared to answer that question in the context of that situation. At that moment it seemed too pretentious, and maybe somewhat naive or just maybe a heaping of grandiose self-importance onto what I am doing, to say, "I'm taking pictures of humanity and the way our identity is manifested and reflected in the evidence we leave behind, like tire marks on the pavement, or the way those plastic crates were stacked and then fell over." And that probably would have made about as much sense as what I was able to stutter out in my 7am delirium and confusion, which I put as eloquently as a styrofoam cup full of broken glass, vinegar, and bees, "ohhh...light, shadows, shape, uhm...abstract compositions."

She seemed to accept that answer, if a bit confused, and I suppose that sounded enough like I was actually doing "something." But her response was beautiful. I'm still reeling in its understated profundity. She said, "Oh, ok, cuz I was scared." And that's it! That's the big looming unspoken force that can envelope you every time you go out to take pictures. It's that feeling that what you're doing is being perceived as something "bad" or "dubious" that causes an awkward self-awareness that is completely detrimental to the process of what you're trying to accomplish. That's the feeling you always try to keep outside the door. Don't let that monkey into this party! And something like that always seems to happen just when you're starting to let that element go. Once you've convinced yourself that it's all in your head and that's not how people perceive what you are doing. Once you let your paranoia go someone comes over and goes, "here I think you dropped this."

And who or what is responsible for such a nefarious perception anyways? Is it just a heightened sense of awareness people have when there is something unusual happening in their environment? And what does it say about our society? Are we that paranoid? Is the act of capturing light onto something tangible like film or a computer chip so powerful that it can induce fear? Is that a rational response to have? Is picture taking such a strange and unnatural thing to do? Is it my beard? Do I need to start wearing a shirt that says, "Don't mind me I'm not weird or anything I'm just a human being. Would it make you more comfortable if I shaved off the beard?" And thank God I don't drive a mini-van anymore. Or maybe I just need a t-shirt that says, "DON'T LET THAT MONKEY INTO THIS PARTY!"

So, anyways, that was Day 12. And this is what I take pictures of.

An Anachronistic Pause

2011-05-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

In the future I think we will be so inundated with technology that this is how all portraits and self-portraits will look. This picture is from breakfast the other day. On the left, in the mirror, is Charlene's hand showing me a picture on her phone she took of me taking a picture. On the right, outside the window, is the Pacific Ocean and chairs.

Goletaville: The Soundtrack Vol. 2

2011-05-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

Sex and Candy- Marcy Playground
Fade Into You- Mazzy Star
Brick- Ben Folds Five
Runaway Train- Soul Asylum
Wonderwall- Oasis
Fake Plastic Trees- Radiohead
Lump- Presidents of the United States of America
Been Caught- Stealing- Jane's Addiction
Self Esteem- The Offspring
Daughter- Pearl Jam
Bullet with Butterfly Wings- Smashing Pumpkins
Cannonball- The Breeders
Low- Cracker
Feel the Pain- Dinosaur jr.
Novocaine for the Soul- Eels
Sink to the Bottom- Fountains of Wayne
Bad as They Seem- Hayden
Supernova- Liz Phair
Sick of Myself- Matthew Sweet

I'll just start this off by apologizing for the advertisements at the start of some of the videos. I'm trying to find videos that aren't Vevo, but sometimes that's all youtube's got or it's the best quality video. However, I will say, I should be watching more of these videos for this project. Videos were so strange! At times I wonder just how much these images and lyrics influenced me. Sometimes I think they influenced me more than I realized. For instance, during this time in high school when I was taking pictures I felt I "saw" more (or pre-visualized more) in B&W, but now I am being more attracted to color for the first time. Seeing these videos and their usage of color I think maybe I was influenced by them. It only took another 16 years for it to surface. I'm thinking particularly of the Mazzy Star, "Fade Into you" video, "Sick of Myself," "Fake Plastic Trees," and there's a couple others. It's interesting to see how the '80's usage of gels and color effects started to become more sophisticated at this time.

Random memories here are: "Low"- Cracker, it seemed Mtv would play that video a lot of early mornings as I was getting ready for school, and now it's sort of surreal that the LA landscape depicted in the video isn't so foreign to me; "Daughter"- Pearl Jam, there was a guy on my bus, the "bus clown" if you will, who would sing that song but changed the chorus to "move over butter", it was pretty funny; when "Fake Plastic Trees" came out it was Radiohead's highly anticipated follow up to "Creep" and I remember it wasn't really received that well because it was so different from what they had done before, but I thought it was great, little did we know just how different and weird and great they would become; "Self-Esteem" was totally cashing in on the "low self esteem" vibe of the music at the time, it does capture it pretty well, but it's such a Nirvana rip-off even down to the "yeeeeaaaahhh" chorus; "Brick" (yes, some songs from 1997 snuck in, oops!) reminds me of my first stint in Lawrence when I first started college, some frat guy wearing khaki shorts, Birkenstock's and a backwards hat (one with the frayed bill) pulled up next to me in a jeep at a red light once blasting that song and it just kind of summed up the place for me at that time, in other words, kind of lame, but I kinda like that song...and I'm kinda lame. Or is that just the themes within the music influencing my self perception?! Such is life.

More from Day 11-Echoes of Miming and Mimicry

2011-05-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

In these two shots from Day 11, I like how the abstract shapes within the shot of the damaged fence mimic the shadows on the gravel in the shot above it, which is not a shadow of a fence at all, but a row of individual triangular bicycle racks. These two scenes were found just around the corner from each other. The fence was in the alley of the bicycle shop that had the bike racks. Strange how close these two similar random and abstract shapes were to one another in this big old great big world. More shots and experiments can be seen here.

Goletaville-Day 11

2011-05-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

Goletaville-Day 10

2011-05-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

These seem to me to have more the appearance of strange monsters.

Goletaville: The Soundtrack Vol. 1

2011-05-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

No Rain- Blind Melon
Bound for the Floor- Local H
Friends of P- The Rentals
Undone (The Sweater Song)- Weezer
Buddy Holly- Weezer
One Headlight- The Wallflowers
6th Ave Heartache- The Wallflowers
Beans- Nirvana/Kurt Cobain
D7- Nirvana
Opinion- Nirvana/Kurt Cobain
Fell on Black Days- Soundgarden
Black Hole Sun- Soundgarden
Unsung- Helmet
Stars- Hum
Pepper- Butthole Surfers
Longview- Greenday
Today- Smashing Pumpkins
Selling the Drama- Live
It's a Shame About Ray- The Lemonheads
Cumbersome- Seven Mary Three

So that's Volume 1 of 4 so far. These are the songs that are once again pervading my existence. I didn't choose these songs so much because I liked them or not. The criteria was more about the songs being in someway connected to a memory. Take for instance "Cumbersome", not a song I cared for at the time, but the rock radio station I listened to occasionally in Killeen, TX played them all the time. So like it or not I remember that song being on the radio on a warm Texas night (still my favorite nights of any place I've lived. There's just something in the air) as I drove home from my first job in my first car, a 1964 Chevy Bel-Air. So it is connected to that time of new found freedom and that looming sense, and uncertainty, of "the real world" being just around the corner. So memories like that.

I did have to draw the line at Alanis Morissette, Madonna, Janet Jackson, etc. Even though their songs were everywhere back then I just couldn't do it. These songs are closer to defining me in some sense, even if I didn't like all of them at the time. Actually, I'm finding that it's the songs I didn't like so much are the ones that take me back to the time of '93-'96 most, probably because they act as a sort of time capsule since I haven't listened to them since.

Of course I was discovering other music, too, during this time. I spent a lot of time combing through my dad's record collection listening to The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The Roling Stones and just starting to get really into The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper at first, and then The White Album just blew me away and is still one of my all time favorites). However, those songs were not quite connected to the rest of my generation and that moment in time. So these songs are sort of a bridge between me and what was going on at the time in a larger sense.

Don't worry, there are still three more volumes to go, but this should be enough to get us all going for now.

More from Day 9

2011-05-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

These are images I took before the clouds moved in. Here you can see the pier from where I took the shots in my last post.

Goletaville-Day 9

2011-05-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

I was shooting the clear sun-filled sky at the Goleta beach and pier when these clouds came sweeping in. Pretty amazing how the environment can change so quickly. I'd been wanting to get some seascapes just like this for some time. Glad I was there that morning.

It should be noted that these images are an homage to Hiroshi Sugimoto and his series on seascapes, which can be seen here and many other places on the web. I highly recommend checking out all his work. This exercise was not about originality, but about emulating someone and something I admire so that hopefully somehow the experience would improve my work. Sugimoto creates his images using an 8x10 view camera, which means his negatives are 8x10inches big. Compare that to the roughly 1 inch 35mm neg! That also means his images contain a lot more visual information and subtlety. He also captures his images using long exposures. I did my the "lazy" way. I used a digital SLR and utilized camera movement to get my images. However, if these images were any bigger the quality would start to fall apart and you could see just how dusty my sensor is! His can be printed large and beautiful and they are real art, I'm still just practicing.

Goletaville-Day 8

2011-05-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

This project is turning out to be a bigger monster than I expected. I'm 3 weeks into it and it feels like it's just getting started. It's turned into something completely different, and all in ways beyond what I could have hoped for. I'm not sure where this project is going, all I know is that I want to keep doing it. By now, the inmates are definitely running the asylum.

As always, more from the day can be seen here.

Goletaville-Day 7

2011-04-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

So backtracking a bit, Day 4 was about Color; Day 5 pt.1 was about trying some new things breaking out of the mold; pt 2 was a combination of several past experiments of line, abstraction, light vs. dark, composition, and reflections, with a splash of color; Day 6 was about applying those same elements, along with more emphasis on light quality, to a new location while attempting to get more of a sense of place; and now Day 7 was about bringing it back down to communicating a mood. So I turned back to the clouds, another common subject of mine...and the ground...and the darkness. Once again, the thumbnails tend to fall a bit darker, so please click on them to see them closer to how they are intended, if you are so inclined.

Goletaville-Day 6

2011-04-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

Some say God is in the details and others say the devil is in the details. Whichever it is, at this rate this could take a while...

Goletaville-Day 5 pt.2

2011-04-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

This is a building I drive by all the time. It is part of the "industrial complex" part of town. Got to give it up to the architect, he definitely new what he was doing utilizing the shadows from the nearly constant sun here. Just amazing lines and reflections and reflections of lines.

Goletaville-Day 5 pt.1

2011-04-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

On the heels of the inspiring words of Mr. Callahan and other Abstract Photographers of the same period, such as Aaron Siskind, day 5 results in an explosion of new found images. 2 locations and 2 parts for this day's ramble about. Another photographer of this era to check out is Frederick Sommer, he is perhaps my favorite.

For this part I decided to switch things up a bit and play around with the square format. I think I could do a whole series on just the ground of parking lots. There's so many abstract compositions that can be made from each one of them.

Day 4...and The Big Deal...continued

2011-04-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

Carrying over from the post the other day, much of that interpretation was derived from later reflection on the photograph. When I took the photo of the tarp and garage doors I was just walking around, saw that scene and thought, "Oh, look, a slice of life. That tells a story." And, too, I was drawn to the contrast of the rigidity of the shapes of the garage doors and the amorphous shape of the tarp. Later as I was looking over the photos of the day on my computer, I kept coming back to that photo wondering, "why do I find this so interesting?" Then I started to realize that along with the explicit rectangles in the back left there are also all these implied shapes lurking mysteriously in the shadows on the right. And I thought, "Now, I've got something! That's interesting. Now there is this subtle element of material vs. immaterial, the concrete world vs. the world of ideas. O.K. I like this photograph." Then I must have liked it too much and thought, "how can I muck this up? I know, I'll try to force some mood on it. Art is supposed to be "moody", right? Alright, that'll do the trick!" Note to self, let the photos speak and pay attention to what they are saying. As the photographer sometimes you should only be the interpreter.

Which brings me to my next point, I've been noticing with these recent projects where I am returning day after day to the same subject, that round about the 3rd/4th day the excitement and newness of the subject starts to where off and I enter this existential quagmire. Nothing seems like a picture, confusion as to what I should shoot begins to sink in, and my focus is all over the place. Mostly it kind of goes like this, "Well, there's that thing. I guess I'll take a picture of that." Click. Check the back of the camera, "eh." Move on. And at the end of the day it's sort of like, "What am I even doing?" Ah, but then you find something that sets your mind at ease. Recently I found this quote by one of my early influences, Harry Callahan (who was an Abstract-Expressionist photographer in the 1950's) and it made it all alright. It reminded me of what I'm doing and that it's not always going to be easy. There will be bad days. It's part of the process.

"I photograph continuously, often without a good idea or a strong feeling. During this time the photos are nearly all poor but I believe they develop my seeing and help later on in later photos. I do believe strongly in photography and hope by following it intuitively, when the photographs are looked at they will touch the spirit of people." -Harry Callahan

What is the Big Deal?

2011-04-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

Now might be a good time to take a look at what exactly is going on in a photograph and get down to what it's all about. Why take photographs? Why make the effort to get up early and go through all the trouble to take a picture? It's just a picture! They're cheap and easy and everybody can take a picture with their phone these days, so why would anyone want to go to school for it, or even worse, dedicate a life to it? And for what? To take pictures of a nasty old tarp laying on the ground? Bravo! There are tools which lay sharp in the shed...and there are stars which shine brightly in the sky...actually I forget that metaphor. It's, "not the sharpest tool in the shed" and, "not the brightest...bulb in the sugar patch"? Anyways, I digress.

So, what's so great about a crumpled up tarp carelessly tossed on the pavement in an alley in some town no one's ever heard of? Well, I find it interesting, probably due to some faulty wiring, but I find it interesting nonetheless because of the play of order vs. disorder and man vs. nature going on in the photograph. The foundation of this photograph is based on the order and sharpness of the squares and rectangles in the background, of which there are many, created by the garage doors (see photo below, I highlighted a few) and the formless disorder of the tarp in the foreground.

What is also interesting is that most everything in this photo is synthetic and man-made. Even the organic form of the tarp is at odds with the synthetic material of which it is made. The only natural things in the photo are the few blades of grass poking through the cracks in the pavement and the small wood board laying on the tarp, but even that is only natural by material and is still a man-made object.

Now, that is only the foundation of the photo. From there the next step is to hopefully capture some sense of place and/or character. And beyond that, if the photo is to be really successful, it has to communicate some form of mood or feeling. It really is a visual language. Just as words are symbols for thoughts and concepts, so too can be the aesthetic elements of photos. Both have their shortcomings and are by no means a perfect and complete way to communicate, but it is these quirks that make them interesting in their own right and it is the mystery of the thoughts which make them so fascinating, scary, and exciting to attempt to express.

In the end, I think this photograph is most successful in its "intellectual" foundation and it is fairly successful in communicating a sense of place. Where it falls short is in communicating any really interesting mood. Hopefully that's just my bias being the one who took the picture. When I took it I was feeling pretty ambivalent. I was just kind of taking pictures of interesting looking stuff. Then later in post-production I felt like I had to try and form it into some sort of "mood" and to me that awkwardness is apparent, or at least is responsible for making this photo not as good as it could have been. But that is o.k. Not every photograph needs all of those elements to be successful. Some photographs just need to be about what they are about. Some photographs are just about texture, or just about mood, and lack in the other areas. That's perfectly acceptable. The problem comes in when, like I did with this photograph, you try to shape it into something it's not. So, in the end, what makes a "successful" photograph is accurately portraying a sense of the subject. It's what the "listening", "feeling", and "looking" is about. It's more difficult than it sounds, but that is why you get up and do it again and again...

Goleta Project- Day 3

2011-04-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

This is "Old Town Goleta" near my apartment. It has more of a downtown feel than the strip malls and box stores of "new town."

Goleta Project- Day 2

2011-04-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

Back in Goleta day 2 found me in a thrift store. I was searching for a dress, a large stuffed trout or catfish, and a violin bow, just the usual. It was for a project for my cinematography class. A mock art short film...or was it?! Anyways, the search was unfruitful, so we went with a guy dancing with an inflatable monkey wearing a chicken beak instead, but that's rather obvious. Two distinct types of shooting going on in these shots all taken within a matter of minutes of each other. Some days are just all over the place.

A Ventura Kitchen

2011-04-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

I thought I would show more images from the non-day day for two reasons. One, the late afternoon light in this kitchen is amazing. And two, I think they help lead into the shots from the second day of the Goleta project and put them into some sort of perspective.

a pause for station identification

2011-04-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

Out sick. Trying to get caught up! I've gotten a couple of days behind, but there are new pictures to post, just haven't had the time. Until then, here's a picture of a dish towel and cabinet handle.

Goletaville-Day 1

2011-04-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

I don't think the rules for this project will be as strict as the last one. The location for this project is a bit broader so I plan on shooting 7-10 days, not necessarily sequentially, but to be done in 2 weeks time, at least for this round. I don't think I'll put any time limit on it either. Last time an hour was sometimes too long and sometimes not long enough. The one constant I will introduce to keep this an experiment is that I will only listen to music from 1993-1996 as I shoot. For me those are the high school years. Recently I watched some episodes of The State, which operated in the year 1993, and it sent me in a tailspin of nostalgia. The mid 90's were about half my life ago, so I'm curious as to the wisdom and perspective, or lack there of, that I have gained since then. Am I where I thought I would be? Am I doing what I thought I'd be doing? Am I the person I wanted to be? Would my 16 year old self like my 32 year old self? Coincidentally, that was also the time that I set about on this crazy road of photography. Maybe I can rustle up some of my old photos from that time and post those! That probably won't be embarrassing at all!

The shots from this first day show some of the effects, or what I'm assuming are the effects, of the down economy. These are some of the shops in the neighborhood I used to work in and I would walk around during my breaks. Look, the nostalgia is taking affect already! What I like about these images is that the reflections in the glass created a multiple exposure effect. I finally got my in-camera digital multiple exposures! I didn't only shoot in this area, though. More shots from the day can be seen here.

Next Project-Goletaville

2011-04-09T15:22:00.000-07:00

As The Tick once stated, "This is the city. It's my The City." For some time now I've been wanting to do a project on Goleta, the city I live in which grows along the north side of Santa Barbara. So, on the way home on the last day of the Preserve project I started informally on this new project. These are some photos of the overpass at the end of my street. I live in the hi-way armpit of where the 217 juts out from the 101. I can hear the cars rushing by now. Oh that sweet sweet symphony! Like a thousand mechanical angels tempting me to come ashore of that cyclopean Norse island Valhalla! Hold on, I think I'm getting my mythologies mixed up. No mind! Immediately this was a completely different subject. Not only were the lines and shapes now angular and not amorphous and organic, but gone, too, were the serene, quiet, and SAFE confines of the preserve. I could feel the rush of air from the cars whizzing by and the noise of the traffic reverberated against the concrete walls of the overpass. These ain't no butterflies. And here we go!

Butterfly Preserve Project Day 7-The Final 12

2011-04-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

At first I was going to post these in color, but I wasn't quite happy with them so I decided to wait and think about it some more. I finally decided that I would go ahead and post them in color and just chalk it up to an "it is what it is" thing and move on. Then as I was about to post I serendipitously happened across some photos of Robert Adams and I knew what I had to do. Namely, black and white, low contrast, concentrating on subtler gray tones as opposed to the more heavy handed usage of shadows, high contrast, and under exposure I've been into lately. Revolutionary! I'm much happier with the way these came out. In full disclosure I did take more than 12 images, but I didn't take nearly the 100+ shots I had been taking, not even close, and I edited on the spot with a more discerning eye leaving the preserve with closer to 12 images (I also did a 360 panorama that I'm still working on.) It was definitely a different experience limiting myself to fewer pictures. It was the difference between sitting on the beach listening to the waves at sunset and being on a construction site in the middle of the day. On the way home from the preserve I started my next project. Images soon to come.

Multiplex Thunderclap-Day 6

2011-04-06T01:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I did any multiple exposures. Probably not since my junior college days back at Johnson County. Back then I was using 4x5 film and/or a Pentax K1000. Now in the digital world multiple exposures have to be done in photoshop. I will attest that they are not as fun. I'd almost rather do it in camera and be done with it.

Today's first big adventure was arriving at the butterfly preserve only to find that I had forgotten my phone, which in the 20th century means I had forgotten my clock/watch thing. So, all the way back I went. One must adhere to the arbitrary rules of one's experiment. The next big adventure was getting lost in the sinews of the trails in the woods. Which is fine, it's where you want to be on day 6, but not when you have to get to class in half an hour. I felt a little like Rambo running through the woods, jumping over fallen trees, wading waist deep through a pond. At one point I thought I would have to gnaw off my leg. I killed a squirrel for sustenance, which in retrospect was a bit hasty on my part. However, all was not lost and I found my way out and made it to class on time. The End.

Day 6- 9-10am, 103 frames.

Wonderdome Thunderhose-Day 5

2011-04-05T00:43:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to take a completely different approach. I wanted to do something I hadn't done before to see what other possibilities the subject could offer. I reached into the art history bag and came out with Pictorialism, an early movement popular in photography at the turn of the 20th century. In other words, to knock some of the cobwebs off I put a cobweb-like material over the lens just to keep things interesting. It must have worked for me because I shot more images today than any other day.

Day 5 Stats- 3-4pm, 165 frames.

Butterfly Thunderdome-Day 4

2011-04-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

I'll start this post off with a quote from Paul Cezanne, "A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art." It is a good reminder of what is more important than LOOKING, it's FEELING. The looking supports the feeling and then lastly the technical stuff supports the looking. Honing into the feeling of a place is not usually an easy thing to do, in this case, and perhaps many cases, it involves listening more to the birds. Today the flash made it out with me again (what has become of me?) though this time I used it more of a supporting role. I used it subtly to fill is some of the shadows and not to call attention to itself. Today I also wanted to step back and show more of the environment. Over the last few days I've been taking environmental shots, but they really weren't working. Today they felt better. More shots from the day, and all the days, can be seen here.

Day 4 stats- 132 Frames, 6-7pm.

Butterfly Thunderdome-Day 3

2011-04-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

Today went better than yesterday, at least in my mind, as I was back on track with just LOOKING. Today was overcast and a bit rainy so I decided to take my flash to see what would happen. Though usually mixing nature and flash is something I consider sacrilege today seemed like a good day to break some self-imposed rules. I think it came out well. I liked being able to just sprinkle some light out there. Now the question is, would I do it again? By breaking my own rules have I set forth a series of events which will be the cause of my own self-destruction spiraling me into a world of debauchery, immorality, and chaos? Yes, that will probably happen. Still 4 more days to go!

Day 3 stats- 7:30-8:30am, 144 frames.

Butterfly Thunderdome-Day 2

2011-04-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

Already the project has a new name! Day 2 was a bit more of a struggle. Maybe because I went in with an agenda or maybe it was just the wrong agenda. I went in with a preconceived idea that I was going to concentrate on the ol' "shape, line, texture". I kept trying to impose my will and the subject was not having it. I spent most of the time second guessing myself. It felt like I was on a time limit and had to shoot and shoot to make sure I got something instead of like the first day where it was much more of a relaxed thing and I just LOOKED! It took about 59 minutes to overcome this hurdle. It was a good reminder to just let things happen sometimes. We'll see just what happens tomorrow!

I thought it might be interesting to include some stats too.

Day 1- 10-11am, 55 frames
Day 2- 8:30-9:30am, 157 frames
Ah, the digital age where frames run like water! My goal for the final day is to only shoot 12 frames. There may only be 12 frames left in the world at this rate.

A New (mini)Photo Project

2011-03-31T13:33:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd try a mini photo project. My plan is to visit the butterfly preserve, which I have previously blog about here, for 7 days in a row spending only an hour there each day. The limited time will force me to focus my energies and the limited location will force me to be more clever in my shooting. Nothing but my wits and my camera. Two men enter but only one man leaves! Oh, this is no Thunderdome, this is a Butterfly Preserve! Day 1 10-11am PST.

A Parking Garage in San Francisco

2011-03-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

Things are always a bit different after a trip to San Francisco. I made my way up there last weekend for a photography seminar and took these shots while I had a few free moments.

Images from Planet Moon

2011-02-19T15:46:00.000-08:00

Recently I tagged along with a friend of mine who was shooting a documentary about a surfer who wants to surf to the moon. I helped out by disappearing and came back with these images. More can be found here if you're into that kind of thing.

In and of a Butterfly Preserve

2011-01-15T15:59:00.000-08:00

Near where I live there is a butterfly preserve. The winter is the time when thousands of Monarch butterflies flock (if butterflies "flock") to this area. They can travel as many as 3,000 miles as part of their migration. And they always come back to the same spot every year. It being "winter" I went to check it out. To get to the butterflies you walk deep into a densely wooded area over muddy paths, sun rays streaming through the leaves of the trees, and then across a rickety one foot wide board which serves as a bridge over a small creek. You know you have arrived when you hear the distant chirping of the butterflies or you see people randomly spaced throughout the woods gazing upward, almost zombie-like, in dumbfounded awe. Overhead, way at the tops of the eucalyptus trees, the butterflies fly back and forth creating a living fluttering canopy. It is almost mystical or like something through the cupboard. The difficult thing is the butterflies are so high up it does not make for great pictures. So, I took these pictures of things closer to the ground, instead. The funny thing was the next day outside of my apartment there was a Monarch butterfly feeding from flowers. I watched him for a little while, as he was probably less than a foot away, until he flew off directly into my face! So, I believe it only goes to show that butterflies are spies and very very dangerous.

Down Souf

2011-01-06T15:20:00.000-08:00

These are some pics from my recent trip to Pine Bluff, AR. Yes, that's True Grit country! It is also the town where I was born which is just up the road, about 20 miles or so, from where Johnny Cash was born. A little further down the road from there, about another 20 miles, is Fordyce, AR whose claim to fame is holding over the Rolling Stones in their city hall for about 10 hours for "reckless driving"back in 1975. Going through the town on this trip there were about four squad cars that I saw, one had pulled someone over. Things haven't changed that much! And the town isn't big enough to need four squad cars. That must be their whole fleet! More shots from the trip can be seen here.

Life Down at the Alpaca Farm

2011-01-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

Checked out an Alpaca farm the other day. Now these guys know how to party!

December Cover for Hispanic Business

2010-12-28T13:10:00.000-08:00

The year started with the cover of SLM magazine and now it ends with the cover of Hispanic Business. That makes for a nice feeling of completeness for the year. Goal for next year: a cover for the other 10 months!

very cold fun at the beach

2010-12-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

Latina Bloggers

2010-11-22T15:50:00.000-08:00

I recently photographed a couple of Latina bloggers in LA for the cover and story for Hispanic Business magazine. Ana Flores founded www.Spanglishbaby.com and Monique Frausto created www.blogsbylatinas.com. Spanglish Baby is a blog for parents raising bi-lingual and bi-cultural children. Blogs by Latinas is an online directory of Latina bloggers that Monique started just a couple of years ago and now has over 900 blogs from around the world!

I photographed them before a conference of Latina bloggers that Monique was hosting. Somehow amidst all the madness we were able to get some pretty good shots which I attribute completely to both Monique and Ana being such great fun to work with. I wish them all the best of luck!

Waves-Pismo

2010-11-16T14:02:00.000-08:00

New Promo Piece

2010-11-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

The life of an egg.

sometimes there is color

2010-10-31T19:14:00.000-07:00