long hair and pictures

Baseball Camp

2008-03-31T17:27:00.003-05:00

Got the display on the metro front today. I didn't know that until I got into the office, but I like that the fine folks at The N&O have enough confidence to hand out display assignments to a freelancer like myself.

two thousand and ick

2008-03-29T01:15:00.008-05:00

This 2008 has been a bad year for pictures. At least it feels that way.

I like to have made at least one photo I find fulfilling or beautiful every week. I don't always pull that off, but that's the goal. Sometimes I make a couple in a single day, sometimes I go through dry spells.

Well, I've made six so far this year.

Now, I'll grant you, I've spent a couple of weeks in Iowa for holidays and a funeral, and I don't count those pictures here. They'll have their own space, both in my mind and in my blog.

In the meantime, here's what happened in front of my camera in the first quarter of this year.

It's fun to come across old shacks. Harder to do around here, these days.

Two chickens became chicken. This was a hard, hard day.

This is The Blue Ox, aka C.W. He's old time country. Over his shoulder is his neighbor's expensive new home. Something there is that doesn't love a fence.

It's a prom fashion show... gave me Project Runway flashbacks.

I'm not one to post a lot of sports photos. I shoot a lot, for sure. Just don't post a lot. Sports pictures generally bore me. Now, there are a number of amazing photographers who do it right, whose work continually interests me. And as soon as I'm as good at sports as they are, I'll start my own sports blog. Meanwhile, I did like this picture.

Holy crap it's Easter!!!

the long mirror

2008-02-09T12:32:00.000-05:00

In the process of fulfilling a promise I made, I ran across a few photos from '06 that got me excited, and that I haven't shared in blog or even email form before. So here's one of those blasts from the past, served up warm and friendly for you with a side of pancakes.

Colin, Allison and Seth taking a break in the rain forest.

I got my degree from Alien College!

Bald guy, at sunset, and yet it's not Andy. Weird.

Pilot dreams.

The race is over.

Am I Not Among The Early Risers

2007-12-22T02:54:00.000-05:00

Am I not among the early risers
and the long-distance walkers?

I kept coming back to those opening lines from that Mary Oliver poem during a dawn race recently. A bit literal, I know, but the previous post, the line from Douglas Adams, got me thinking about that again, and some of the other reasons I've been up at dawn lately.

What will ambition do for me that the fox, appearing suddenly
at the top of the field,
her eyes sharp and confident as she stared into mine,
has not already done?

every dawn

2007-12-21T23:48:00.000-05:00

There is a moment in every dawn when light floats, there is the possibility of magic. Creation holds its breath.

Douglas Adams
Life, The Universe And Everything

It's important not to bypass the profoundly meaningful messages you encounter throughout your day, even those tucked away in the silliest and most frivolous places.

Holiday Story Time!

2007-10-31T19:32:00.000-05:00

the evening started off like any other...

bumblebees in the autumn leaves...

but the citizens were frightened...

it crept up on the town slowly...

no one knew where the first attack came from...

soon, the blood was everywhere...

fighting to survive, the citizens huddled together in the night...

the streets ran red...

as the sun rose, the bloodshed was over, but the survivors could never sleep again...

It's Holiday Time!

2007-10-27T23:56:00.000-05:00

...so grab yourself a holiday hostage!

Happy Halloween, ya'll!

verses

2007-06-20T01:00:00.000-05:00

This is my friend Victor:

This is also Victor. And this. And also this and this. The boy gets around.

He has started making jeans. This requires large machines that come from a place like this:

Large machines are not easy to transport:

Now the boy's running a sweatshop:

But at least his place look nice:

...and to wait...

2007-06-06T15:16:00.000-05:00

Children who can delay gratification--wait for their reward--will be more successful than their peers. Psychologists at Stanford University put pre-school children alone in a room with a marshmallow. The children were told that they could either eat the one marshmallow in front of them or wait, and receive two marshmallows to eat. One-third of the children were able to wait the full 15-20 minutes for the second marshmallow. (source)

I like marshmallows.

I know I said back in November that one need only to be, and to wait. Well, I've waited. My readership has waited (thanks, mom). And when the waiting was over, we waited some more. Waiting wasn't actually intended to be the point of that post, but it's a lesson we've all learned.

So, as a reward for waiting, here are two marshmallows. I mean, a few pictures. These are from the end of the year. I'll start rolling with 2007 the rest of ~~this week~~ this month.

pregame

suburb parade

kenna y john henry

a game of dog

coat dancers

time-space warp

night dancers

only to be, and to wait

2006-11-28T01:50:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, when I was last in Charlotte, I picked up a small book of photos by Cartier-Bresson at a used book store. My father recognized the name and planted a book in my hands called Sextet by John Malcolm Brinnin. One of the six tales in the book is about Brinnin's cross-country trip with Cartier-Bresson in 1947, their bizarre relationship, and the famous artists and thinkers they meet along the way.

May 27th. They visit Stravinksy's home in Los Angeles.

"Come," he says, "we shall visit the garden." We step onto a terrace above which is another terrace with trellises and an orange tree. "On days I wonder who I am," he says, "I climb to see the ocean. One look, then I climb down. You have seen the Pacific?"

"Never."

"Then you must climb."

I scramble up to the second terrace. "Now," he calls, "you are strong? You lift yourself to the branch, you look away from the sun, you see, like a floor maybe, one piece of blue."

"I see!"

"Bravo!"

When it's time to leave, he walks me to the car while Henri and Mme. Stravinsky follow behind. "You must not be so much the journalist," he says. "A journalist must hurry and do much, he must always use things. The poet, he has only to be, and to wait. Patience. You have lived with this man Cartier-Bresson. I know already you have much patience."

only to be, and to wait

Old Pictures

2006-10-14T02:40:00.000-05:00

Going through the archives, looking for CPOY entries, I came across a number of images about which my perceptions had changed dramatically. I've changed so much in the past six months, not only with how I examine the photos themselves and the elements within them, but how the photos interact with me. It's tough to explain for me right now (since it's after 3am), but photos definitely have a life of their own.

Two of these are nearly a year old, and one's from just last month, so they have a good age range.

thanks to timmy for this dragging me to this party

berkley, a lake, and a sunset

roxy does her thing alone

melih: on blue, plus blue

electric cars blew my mind

if the leaves don't dance, you have to dance for them

Wedding, part three

2006-10-13T22:48:00.001-05:00

The final wedding post. Such a fantastic place, with fantastic people. I can't stress that enough, really nice folks. Port Hood, NS, is something else. If I could stand the cold, I'd move there in a heartbeat. (Oh, and for all you photographer types, the light is excellent, too. Very little touchups to these photos. The sky comes out blue, the shadows aren't that harsh... I love it.)

Sorry, I know from a volume standpoint, ten photos after the wedding, plus all the other stuff, is a bit of overkill. But I liked 'em. So there.

Go look at Wedding, part one
or maybe Wedding, part two

Wedding, part two

2006-10-07T00:24:00.002-05:00

The wedding was beautiful. Outside, in a lovely grassy field bordered by wildflowers, on a wonderful day, with an amazing sky. Reminded me of my own wedding, out on the farm in Iowa.

Go look at Wedding, part one
or maybe Wedding, part three

Wedding, part one

2006-10-05T22:42:00.001-05:00

I went to Canada again for a wedding ... last month? The month before? I don't know, it's so hard for me to understand the passage of time. Anyway, I had a fantastic time with some wonderful people, and made some images that made me very happy. I hope you enjoy them.

I'll break them up into three posts: pre-, in-, and post-wedding. Obviously, this one is the former, with a little hint of in-wedding at the end.

Go look at Wedding, part two
or maybe Wedding, part three

Afrikadey! part II

2006-09-07T00:04:00.000-05:00

A few more pics from Calgary.

Afrikadey! part I

2006-09-06T22:50:00.000-05:00

I was up in Calgary recently, one of Canada's favorite cities. It was Afrikadey ...day.

Good times. Lots of dancing, lots of fantastic music, interesting characters all around.

Manifest Destiny

2006-07-24T02:04:00.000-05:00

July 11, 1865 - With the Civil War recently completed,Horace Greeley unofficially kicks off America's western expansion, or at least provides it a slogan, with his editorial in the New York Tribune. "Go west, young man!" became the rallying cry of those seeking both personal and financial growth west of the Mississippi.

July 19, 2006 - "Go West, young woman, and grow up with the country!"

All The Hottest Hotness

2006-07-18T15:49:00.000-05:00

Some recent local work. This post goes out to Andy. Keep cool, my brother, I'll see you soon enough.

Special Olympics swimming

Lazer tattoo removal

Wedding Planner

Last day of year-round middle school

Summer swim meet

So much of sports is waiting

Inside

2006-07-18T12:11:00.000-05:00

So, I went to a furniture store opening in Calgary. Nice furniture... very, very, very nice furniture. I had a good time with it, and the photos were ... well, they were interesting. It's definitely not the sort of thing I've shot much of in the past, but that's always been my favorite way to approach photo projects. Coming in fresh without preconceived notions frees me up to explore the offerings of the environment as it presents itself to me rather than chasing what I've seen before.

But enough rambling, here are a few photos.

There were dancers getting warmed up.

There were queens getting dolled up.

They're her nieces getting tatted up.

How often do you get champaigne in bed?

Wall of shoes -- Everyone wore black.

Even the washed masses were roped off from the expensive sofa.

They held an auction, with some super-cool visuals.

Book Larnin'

2006-07-13T22:57:00.000-05:00

I've been on a book binge lately, both acquiring a lot of them as well as reading a lot of them. Well, a lot for me. The interesting thing, of course, is that half of the books are photography books, which demand very little of the literary student within, while the other half are weighty books on academic or philosophical subjects, and it's these which have occupied my time of late.

Right now, I just want to discuss ideas from the one book which is absolutely the biggest chore to get through: The Object Stares Back -- On the nature of seeing by James Elkins. Dense, often meandering and rarely insightful in an overt way, instead presenting ideas from a number of different directions, as though he couldn't quite figure out what he wanted to say about them so he said it a hundred different ways in the hopes that you'd be able to put it all together. Sort of a philosophical use of negative space. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend reading it, but it's worth having read.

The book's certainly not about photography, per se, but here's one of the things he says in the first of six chapters:

Photographs clip out instants in time... a photograph pushes a small part of the person forward and presents it as the whole and adequate person, and that will tend to hurt the subject's sense of herself. "I am not that exaggerated thing," she might say.... We know our own selves so well that we are hypersensitive to partial versions of what we are. I think this incompleteness is an inbuilt property of photographs and it is only because we see so many thousands of photographs that we lose sight of how each one is a little travesty, a peculiar caricature.

Tim pointed me to an article wherein the author, Jim Lewis, uses the discussion about a specific photographer to posit his broader opinion that photography is a predatory and exploitative act, necessarily stripping something of value from the subject. He references that old nugget about photographs stealing the soul, and concludes about photography that "everyone who engages in it is compromised, right from the start." These two points of view, both Elkins' and Lewis', share a distrust of photography that is, to my mind, largely unwarranted. Photographs are as accurate and honest (or inaccurate and dishonest) as your best friend when you ask her how you look in this dress, or whether she thinks you've gained weight. Subjectivity is the name of the game, my friends. Much of the weight of photographs are in what we as viewers bring to them, which Elkins gets at (as indirectly as ever) when he speaks of our repulsion at photos of ourselves. To his credit, he dismisses the notion that vanity motivates us, rather that it is the incompleteness of the image which offends our desire to be fully and truthfully represented. But the idea that we, as complex people, could possibly be summarized accurately in a medium that did anything less than record our lives, thoughts and feelings from birth to death is simply a dream. But his point stands that a photograph is, at best, a sliver of the whole, and it is this idea, this "little travesty," that grabs me and won't let go.

Photographs are truth. Photographs are a lie. Photographs are unbiased. Photographs are opinion. All of these statements are true and accurate; there is no contradiction there. We either accept or embrace photography, chiefly because it is a compromise. As subjects, we want to give a part of ourselves in an open and honest fashion; as photographers, we try to preserve and honor what is given over. It's true that we could take the photo as some reprehensible photographers might, but there's a reason that we, as thoughtful and careful photographers, make photos. It is a constructive act we take part in, not the destructive act these men see it as. Collectively we hope that this one fraction of a second can give a glimpse of the great depth that lies within, a depth that can only ever be hinted at. Grab your favorite novel, then try to pull one word out of there that best summarizes the book. That is a photograph. Grab ten. Grab a hundred. Do we yet know the style? Do we know the full arc of events? Without reading the novel cover to cover, we do not know it, we cannot know it. Likely after a dozen readings, we still do not understand it fully. But that is the job of the photographer, to see and assess quickly, to boil things down to their essence and present them quickly. We are the poets of the visual world, compressing broad ideas inside four corners, quick stanzas with small truths embedded within.

2006-05-28T15:11:00.000-05:00

Shots from the first game in Buffalo. Had a great time, bought some excellent books in the used bookstores there. Good times.

Sabre Stare

Guys Check This Out

Warpaint

Cross-Street Fan

Group Chug

Ketchup Guy

Beer Cup Funnel

Flag-O-Scope

Public Lynching

Window Gal and Freak

Hockey Fans

2006-05-25T12:38:00.000-05:00

I downed a full can of Rock Star Energy Drink in about three minutes, then hung out with hockey fans for about 5 hours. The light was incredible, and I had a great time with the folks I met. To mis-quote Loretta Lynn, I was almost drunk from the beers that I turned down.

Now I'm in Buffalo shooting fans again. More pictures from this trip when I get a little more time.

Live from Clovis, NM

2006-05-11T02:51:00.000-05:00

As we crossed the border of Clovis, NM, the White Stripes were playing:

When you're in your little room
And you're workin' on something good
But if it's really good
You're gonna need a bigger room

And when you're in your bigger room
You might not know what to do
You might have to think of
How you got started
Sittin' in your little room

Joy

2006-05-05T01:46:00.000-05:00

I've been slowing working on an essay about the visual nature of joy. This is where I am right now.

Dogs

2006-04-30T22:23:00.000-05:00

I took care of a couple of awesome dogs this past week. Good times.

Ishmael likes his bone.

Sometimes Elle steals it, though.

Ishmael pretends like it doesn't matter.

When she's done, Elle relaxes in the sunlight.

Just Some Stuff

2006-04-20T00:35:00.000-05:00

Here are some things which have amused me recently:

He tried to hide, using his green shirt to blend in, but I could still see him.

As I was wandering through the woods, I came across a soccer match. Why they played there, amongst the woodland creatures, I do not know. They must be fairies.

Someone stacked a pile of newspapers very, very high. It was not these two women.

They just discovered a new book of scripture, and people are already embracing it.

Midland craziness!!!1!

2006-04-04T12:31:00.000-05:00

A week in Midland, MI, hangin' out with all the cool guys at the Midland Daily News, workin' on projects, gettin' feedback, chuggin' some beer and sippin' some coffee. Here's some documentation of the wondrous events that could only occur in east-central Michigan.

- - - THE TIMMY FILES - - -

Working, alone, late at night. Except that he was checking MySpace. And I was there. But it was late.

Timmy does pullups so fast that he's blurry! Or else I can't take in-focus pictures, which seems unlikely. So he must be going fast! yeah

Helping to clean up the coffee shop. Timmy's helpful.

Cracklewalk!!!1!

Timmy equals equals Junior

Jab! Jab! Dodge! Weave! Jab! Uppercut! Body blow!

Rack 'em up, sucka!

Midland craziness!!!2!

2006-04-04T12:22:00.000-05:00

- - - THE OTHER PEOPLE FILES - - -

Timmy and Andy walk past the MDN offices on the way to the bar minutes after we've arrived in town. ThingToDo#1: Hug, act like we just intercepted a pass. ThingToDo#2: Drink Beer!

Ryan helps Timmy edit down his cheerleader story to something reasonable.

Brett prepares to dance in a sea of lights.

I distract Kevin by putting the camera on the edge of the table, and this causes him to miss the shot, seriously pissing him off. Sorry 'bout that. (But it was funny to watch.)

Andy gets his think on in Casa de la Timmito.

Midland story 1

2006-03-28T20:12:00.000-05:00

This here is the story I worked on while up in Midland, MI, visiting Tim. Big ups to the brain trust there in the photography department at the Midland Daily News (Ryan, Kevin and Brett) for all the feedback and guidance.

I'm posting the whole thing across two posts, fyi.

Kaitlyn Mercy, 8, lives in rural Sanford, MI, and is a second-generation homeshooled child in a state where that's a difficult task. Kaitlyn's mother, Susan, teaches all of the subjects, and Kaitlyn in turn teaches her brother Kristopher, 3. She's treated like an adult in the house, and her maturity is matched only by her childish enthusiasm.

Kaitlyn gets ready for her day by brushing her hair. Too short to see herself in the mirror, she stands on the toilet.

Kaitlyn frequently goes over her day's work in her mother's lap after her day's work is done, making corrections when mistakes are found.

Prayer is part of the daily routine, and Kaitlyn both guides and supports her little brother, Kristopher, 3.

The rules posted in Kaitlyn's bedroom mix both her maturity and her innocence.

The workspace for Kaitlyn and Susan is often cluttered, both frenetic and energetic, and allows for what they term "active learning".

Midland story 2

2006-03-28T19:08:00.000-05:00

With guidance from her grandmother, her artistic ability has flourished, whether a striking painting of Jesus (with holy aura, not flames) or a nature painting.

Mondays are for getting out of the house for swimming class, church youth group and flute lessons with Pam Rowe, a longtime family friend.

Weekly swimming lessons are not only an opportunity to exercise, but also to socialize and make new friends.

As Kaitlyn goes over her workbooks every day, Kristopher is never far, and frequently listens to her lessons. Homeschooling is a constant, daily learning process.

Kaitlyn's bedroom is a mix of princesses, ponys, pink ribbons and other girly toys.

Kaitlyn frequently helps Susan with cooking, whether preparing a separate meal for Kristopher or simply chopping olives for the family's chili, as shown here.

Recent and random stuff

2006-03-26T12:42:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a month or so since I last updated, which is way too long without an update. Like about 28 days too long, give or take.

As an aside: Jeremy, shoot me an email at r3 (at) accessnode (dot) net. I can't find an address for you online, so lemme know what you're up to these days.

Here's some pictures from a table tennis tournament, and some from a local teen band called Hayvyn. As another aside, you should watch this short film about a very bad table tennis team.

Biba Golic, "the Anna Kournikova of table tennis" doing lickyface after losing a point. She's called that because she's easy on the eyes, not because she can't play her chosen sport. She made the quarters at this tournament, losing to the eventual champion.

There's lots of time between matches if you don't want to play practice matches...

...as these kids are doing. This is during the medal rounds, and they're just off in a room by themselves playing and having fun.

Semi-final rounds. The white guy beat the African guy (not a racial slam on my part, the guy was from Togo), then lost to another white guy. Which was strange for what is largely an Asian and African sport, for two white Americans to be in the final.

HAYVYN!!! Pronounced like 'haven', but with more Y's! Local band of high school kids playin' the metal!

More Basketball

2006-02-26T18:45:00.000-05:00

Not that I make much of sports photography, but I did a decent job Friday night with a double-header. First the girls, then the boys. Only got one good shot from the girls' game, but the boys' game was much better for me.

She's waiting for the award ceremony, to receive the runner up plaque, and she's not happy at all. And the fans are just filing past her to their seats because they're all here for the boys' game, anyway.

They're happy because they're winning.

This is the shot that ran.

Best 'fans rush the floor' shot I've gotten. I haven't gotten many.

Not sure it works completely, but I dig the framing. And I tilted 'cause FORGET THE RULES, I DO WHAT I WANT!

Throwback Post: Rollergirls!

2006-02-24T02:25:00.000-05:00

Whoa! Two posts in like an hour or so. The world is ending!!!

Here's a post from a week or two ago, when Andy went to shoot portraits of Rollergirls. I tagged along and shot the scrimmage after Andy left. Anyway, definitely a fun time.

Eva - the r0x0r face

the Suck It pose

the Flex pose

Lisa - That's Quacktastic!

Lisa - That's Mallardrageous!

A New Post With New Pictures

2006-02-24T02:14:00.000-05:00

So, while the X-Fantastivengers are on hiatus for a day or two more, I will inundate you with way too many pictures from my first three N&O shoots.

First off, here's my first shoot, a piece on the health benefits of nature hikes. They ran these three.

These others didn't make the cut for a variety of reasons.

This lady fell and broke her ankle on the far end of the mountain. It's her right foot that's at an unnatural angle. The fellow beside her is Dr. Lee, a retired physician who happened to be on the hike, and took good care of her until EMS arrived.

Then, of course, some state tournament basketball. Two games in two nights, and another game again on Friday.

First was a girls' game, powerhouse Southeast Raleigh demolished Leesville Road. They ran this one.

I liked the rest of these, but they didn't run or make a web thing or anything. No biggie.

Lastly, here's some of what I turned in for the boys' game. Durham Riverside crushed Southeast Raleigh. Not a fun game to watch, and a pretty mediocre overall performance by yours truly. They ran the first one, a block, but I like the second one much better.

Costa Rica - Issue #3

2006-02-09T00:05:00.000-05:00

Do we dare to hope? Yes, because Costa Rica Force X-Fantastivengers issue #3 is at hand! No amount of nefarious plots, dipping sales or lunatic critics could stand in the way of progress!! Um, well... such as it is.

Exposition be damned, on to the pretty graphics!

Allison is not the source of INFORMACION, which is available only on the other side of our lodge.

First morning in town, after breakfast, I went in search of cool stuff I hadn't seen before. Like vultures, which turned out to be everywhere around the place, but who knew that going in? Not me. So I darn well took pictures of 'em.

People wasted no time at all finding the hammocks in front of the supa-bad painted wall. There were two different camps: Let's Get Going and Do Stuff We Can Only Do In Costa Rica versus Let's Relax And Enjoy The Vacation. I'm not saying that one camp was right, and one was wrong, but I am saying that people who punked out on doing cool stuff could string up a hammock in their damn living room instead of spending all day in a rain forest paradise with their nose in a ******* book. Is all I'm saying. Not that this applies to the people pictured, I'm just sayin' is all.

Skip has delicate, feminine fingers. Despite the sentiment expressed in the previous caption, hammocks are super-awesome. For real.

Ahh, planning the details of the wedding at the rehearsal. Seth keeps his antipathy to himself. Obviously.

Seth, Fashion Photographer, sizes up a potential "model" while we're out drinking on the last night before his marriage. Ahem.

Costa Rica - Issue #2

2006-02-06T15:46:00.000-05:00

After a long delay with the line art, then a problem with the printers, we've finally got CRF X-F #2 onto store shelves! We introduce a new, recurring villain right at the end, and we settle into a setting that will carry us through the arc of the story.

So, at long last, utilizing the latest in three-color-printing, I now present to you Issue Number TWO!!!

Stopped by the American Mall, near the university. It sucked, because we were hoping to find some good, third-world-style deals on sweatshop clothing, but no such luck. Everything was just like an American Mall, even the prices. That's when we realized that this was not the third world, that this was the second world at worst, and they were trying hard to become first world capitalists. And everyone knows how I feel about capitalism.

A bank of phones in a park by the university. I couldn't get over this guy's sweatsuit. Awesome.

Again, looking for deals, we stopped in a little street-side shoe shop. Well, Allison did; I hung outside and took pictures. The sign reads '1 for c5000 / 2 x c9000'. That's $10 and $18 for one and two pairs of shoes, respectively.

After cleaning out our security locker at the hostel, where we'd kept our passports, cash, and camera gear.

After meeting up with our crew, we drove from San Jose in the west-central area of the country to Puerto Viejo on the southeastern, Caribbean coast. The trip took us through the mountains and the rain forests, including this moment as we drove through a cloud, with sheets of rock and foliage going up almost horizontal on one side, and open vistas overlooking beautiful valleys on the other.

We arrived at Cashew Hill Jungle Lodge late at night, got some food and hit the sack. Andy stayed up a little later writing in his journal once he went to bed.

Costa Rica - Special Pre-Issue #2 crossover with The Graffiti Squad

2006-02-05T16:38:00.000-05:00

While we're still waiting on the inker to finish the work on the long-delayed line art for Issue #2 of CRF X-F, we've already got a crossover in the works with TayTay's supergroup, The Graffiti Squad.

No TLC, ya'll!

Apparently, TLC is the alphabetism of the Spanish for the Central American Free Trade Agreement that the Bush administration is pushing, and it seems to be opposed on all sides in Costa Rica. I asked the Tico who runs our hostel about it, and he said everyone's against it because it's like a corner store trying to compete against a giant corporation, and that they'd just be run over. Fair enough. But why vandalize some shop's awning to make your point? Anyway, I saw at least five or six occurrences of this message before I started taking pictures of it, so it was all over the place.

Costa Rica - Issue #1

2006-02-03T10:23:00.000-05:00

Now is the issue where we generate interest in the team and introduce the players. But in typical rip-off fashion, Costa Rica Force X-Fantastivengers Issue #1 (19 covers! COLLECT 'EM ALL (tm) !!!) will not even remotely resemble the rest of the series nor will it contain any of the same characters that will carry the series later on. Well, okay, it'll have one main character, but that's just the hot chick who doesn't actually do much fighting, she's just eye candy and brains.

On with the Issue Number One!

Alex Webb-ian blue, but from a car. Our ride through San Jose from the airport to the hostel was courtesy of Jerry and his crew, a bunch of emergency room folks from the Baltimore area we met on the flight, staying about three blocks away from our hostel.

Charlie's Chocolate Factory, San Jose office.

'By Far The Creepiest Image I've Ever Seen' official award winner, part of the Don't Rape Our Children campaign. Anywhere tourists were likely to be, DROC campaign posters were plentiful, but none out-creeped this poster, hanging on the wall of our hostel.

Sunset from the laundry area out back of the hostel.

Our first night out on the town. Telephones are cool. So are shady businesses with cool colored walls.

After a dinner where it really hit us that we didn't stand a chance of getting by without some help, we found a bookstore near the university and bought a Spanish-English dictionary. Then we wandered through the back streets checking out the nightlife and looking things up in the dictionary.

We stopped at Spoon, a little cafe near our hostel, and had dessert at the end of the evening. Even little cafes in San Jose have armed guards (center), traffic directors (right) and guys who throw signs and act a fool when someone has a camera (left).

Costa Rica - Issue #0

2006-02-01T23:36:00.000-05:00

Comic book style, here's the pre-story behind the actual story. In all its glory, I present to you Costa Rica Force X-Fantastivengers issue number ZERO! With six different covers so you can COLLECT 'EM ALL(tm)!!

Or, ya know, it's the trip, but we ain't quite made it to the land of milk and honey yet.

Mom leaving for work, my sister Christina heading to the car so that we could go to breakfast, then the airport. Mom only works a couple blocks away, so it's not uncommon for her to walk over there. That's my old elementary school in the background, now a high school for young and expecting mothers.

Christina at breakfast, using my lens as a mirror to clean something out of her teeth.

Allison gets a giant good-bye hug at the airport.

Charlotte Douglas International. This abstract shot says something about the eroding nature of America's image abroad, but I'm not sure exactly what it says about that. I need to talk to Melih for a while to work out the details.

During a showing of Cinderella Man. There were only three windows left open during the movie, and you see all three of them in this shot. I went with an uncharacteristic white border here, since it's a dark (but not swarmy) picture.

You must fill out paperwork that says you are not bringing oranges in your suitcase and you will not rape children while you are in Central America. I feel confident signing my name to that on both accounts. More on the creepy 'Do not have sex with children' campaign tomorrow... er, in Issue #1, that is! Stay tuned, true believers!!!

Not Costa Rica

2006-01-28T12:50:00.000-05:00

Here's a few I meant to post before the trip.

A Names and Faces of a girl who runs tours for school kids at the NC Art Museum. Grant nixed it because of the 'exposure' on the right.

Paparazzi attack on Giana at the Cook Out. GLOAM!!!

Andy rocks the horseshoe glass at lunch.

Jared does his best to explain some deep stuff.

Chris makes a near-fatal decision to photograph Daemon.

Poker night at Casa de Onvural. Andy actually won a hand! Yay Andy!

Blue wall. Blue light. A tongue touches a nose. I wish I could quit you, Arms With A Blue Light.

MLK Weekend 2

2006-01-17T01:52:00.000-05:00

The Saturday stuff was basically just this one class on praise dance, and I was there for 4+ hours. I think I whiffed on most of what I went for, and my percentage was way down from Friday night, but I was much more engaged in what I was photographing. It was a tough day for me on a number of levels (photographically, spiritually, emotionally), but it's always good to have your basic assumptions challenged, especially when their foundation is cynicism.

Anyway, Friday night and Saturday afternoon MLK events.

The Parade Of Hats, with my three cool girls from the other day.

This guy lit things up. He was the featured singer in a male chorus, and he drove up from Ft. Bragg apparently to set this church on fire. One hell of a singer.

This is Cheryl, the dancer from Friday. She ran the class on Praise Dance at the Expo on Saturday. Those are some of their awesome outfits behind her.

Sometimes you have to stand on a chair while someone spins around and throws their arms up at you. Here, there are two groups doing very different moves at the same time along with the song.

These are called "angel wings". All ribbons and streamers and things used in praise dance are considered weapons and armor in the war against satan.

Speaking of angel wings, this one's for Timmy.

the un-longhairing

2006-01-16T16:42:00.000-05:00

Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
I Corinthians 11:14

MLK Weekend 1

2006-01-16T02:26:00.000-05:00

Martin Luther King weekend came and went, and I was there for all of it. At least Cary's MLK celebration. I was there so long I helped close the doors, figuratively (and almost literally). They gave me a t-shirt for my time, and because it was the end of the events and they had dozens of shirts left over ("You want one for every day of the week?").

This is from Friday night's events. More of this tomorrow, along with Saturday's expo.

There were mimes...

Lined up and waiting for the Parade of Hats.

These girls were awesome. They've been best friends all their lives. They got to lead the Parade of Hats.

And, of course, people danced.

And Cheryl danced. Very passionate and intense dancer. More of her tomorrow.

Eid 2

2006-01-13T02:46:00.000-05:00

The other group of shots from this event.

For one brief, splendid moment, I felt like Cartier-Bresson.

Eid 1

2006-01-11T20:50:00.000-05:00

The other Muslim holiday rolled around this week, and the Cary group celebrated this morning. You know me: where Muslim folk get together, I show up with a camera.

The essay grows.

More pics tomorrow.

The Click and whatnot

2006-01-11T20:40:00.000-05:00

Things from the past few days.

Super Crazy Final ANSPAD Lunch: The Late-Night Nun-Boxing Attack!

We cheered Timmy on his birthday! Yay Timmy! Number 3, you're SHORT!

Timmy's birthday crowd! Yay Timmy!

Late night bonfires rule!

Found a guy with no hands! This guy HAS NO HANDS! Look down, what do you see? YOU SEE YOUR HANDS! THIS GUY, HE AIN'T GOT THEM SORTS OF THINGS! HE'S NO HANDS GUY! LOOK AT HIM SUFFER! LOOK AT ALL THAT SUFFERING! FEEL IT DEEP IN YOUR GUT! YEAH! YEAH, FEEL IT! FEEL IT! NO EFFING HANDS!!!

Iowa, part the final

2006-01-06T10:35:00.000-05:00

The last of the Thanksgiving pictures from Iowa.

From the trip home.

Massages are one of the benefits of having family that owns a day spa.

A decidedly more intimate photo.

interlude

2005-12-19T04:05:00.000-05:00

A quick break in the Iowa pictures, with some things I shot on assignment this weekend. A Chinese dance class with young girls and traditional costumes and ribbons.

Iowa, part three

2005-12-13T00:07:00.000-05:00

More glorious images from Iowa. I would call this series Allison In Motion, except that I added another picture at the end that blows that up. I'll let you guess the theme. (And if you guessed these probably work better in black and white, then you guessed right!)

Allison and Berkley in downtown Clarion. This is where all the magic happens.

Again, downtown Clarion, late in the day.

This is pure Iowa. Paint a sawblade to celebrate agriculture, make it into a clock, and when it breaks, display it in a museum.

A very little church across from the museum.

Iowa, part two

2005-12-08T02:12:00.000-05:00

Some more pictures from the Iowa trip. This concludes the drive and the first 24 hours in Iowa.

Okay, so it's Black Friday, I've filled up my 512 card by this point, and I'm pressed into trying to find either a card reader or a new card to buy there in Clarion. None of the stores had anything. The Radio Shack guy, when I told him I needed compact flash, looked really confused and said that either I had an old camera or I was a pro. He said they were out of cards and readers, but that if I just needed to dump the card, he'd gladly burn it to a CD for me on his computer. Nice guy, saved me from driving an hour away to a big box retailer on the worst day of the year.

Anyway, pictures:

Allison at an Illinois rest stop. Very cold and very windy.

Carrie tries to help Aaron style his hair, but he's so picky about his bangs being just so that he freaks out and starts combing it himself.

Mmm, Susan fixing some creamed onions. Don't worry, they're better than they sound.

Chris and Carrie checking out the new furniture store in town.

Iowa, part one

2005-12-07T00:17:00.000-05:00

A few pictures from the Thanksgiving trip to Iowa.

30 second exposure at 4am, just outside Cincy. I was supposed to have my attention on the road, but c'mon, it's a 22 hour drive.

Big-ass turkey. Takes two people to move it, and one to 'supervise' and make sure things progress well.

Beautiful sunset, but it was 18 degrees with 30mph winds and I didn't have a flash. What to do? Ask Allison to kneel in front of the headlights on the gravel road for a few minutes. I ever mention that she's too good for me? Yeah, I don't deserve her.

Grandma at Thanksgiving dinner.

Sidney takes a call. Gotta love that mixed light.

TimLyt

2005-12-06T03:53:00.000-05:00

Oh, and big ups to TimTim for turning me onto the blogspot. I like it much better than LiveJournal, though I do like the social network that LJ promotes.

GhostTim does battle with the demonic light beasts.

The Mystery of Our Being

2005-12-06T00:43:00.000-05:00

Here's something I ran across in my readings for PHI340, Philosophy of Science. The course explores the ideas behind science and religion, where they merge and diverge, how ideas like Creationism get mixed in that great soup.

Anyway, from physicist Max Planck (1858-1947), a piece he wrote called "The Mystery of Our Being." This excerpt is from a Q&A at the end of the essay:

Planck:[...] Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and, therefore, part of the mystery that we are trying to solve. Music and art are, to an extent, also attempts to solve or at least to express the mystery. But to my mind, the more we progress with either, the more we are brought into harmony with all nature itself. [...]

Murphy: Goethe once said that the highest achievement to which the human mind can attain is an attitude of wonder before the elemental phenomena of nature.

Planck: Yes, we are always being brought face to face with the irrational. Else we couldn't have faith. And if we did not have faith but could solve every puzzle in life by an application of the human reason, what an unbearable burden life would be. We should have no art and no music and no wonderment. And we should have no science[...] because science would thereby lose its chief attraction for its own followers -- namely, the pursuit of the unknowable[...]

hola

2005-12-05T23:56:00.000-05:00

This blog will be a place for me to post a few pictures, some links, and some ideas that I run across that I want to hang onto. All of this will be photography-related, though how tenuous those relationships will be, I wouldn't care to guess at this point.