“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”

New Mexico was a game changer in my life.
In 1994, I stashed most of my ego into a back pocket and signed up for a workshop in Santa Fe… it was a little rough for a very short time. My photographic education was completely homespun to this point. My parents were both serious photographers, if not full time professionals… they had vision and enthusiasm to spare but technique, in our small house, was limited. So I brought a bit of a chip to this class and discovered, to my delight, that I was in a crowd of my peers… we were all there to fine tune a thing we already knew.

Long story short, I found that a solid week of photography and photographers was a balm to my inner skin… no phones, no real housework, no outside life… no contest.
The textures and light that make up Santa Fe and it’s near neighbors were a healing time to me and they return to tease my mind on many a grey day here.

My teacher that amazing week was Kent Barker. Out of Dallas at the time, he was subtle and easy to talk to… a sweet sense of humor, his work was very strong.
He took us two hours north of Santa Fe to his friend’s art gallery in Tres Piedras… a hot pink adobe schoolhouse sitting all by itself on the Taos Mesa.
Imagine 18 photographers, 10 white dogs and a stormy afternoon sky… it was like a dream.

New Mexico pulled me back for many trips in the next seven years. I went until I couldn’t afford to go again but I am not done.
My camera will dance under those wide skies again some day.

My lucky life has more of this in it… the oddities stumbled upon. Seems as if I spend a great deal of time working at the computer for other people these days and I miss the sense of adventure… maybe chance is what I should call it.
I need to grab a little more time for me. That’s a given.

This particular scene is on the way into Santa Fe… right there on the side of the road. Seems that the owner/artist has a blow-in insulation company and he has crafted all of these life sized foam creatures in the yard by his house.
I passed by it a couple of times before I drove up to the house to ask permission. I am pleased to share the planet with all sorts of people. ;0)

The massive crab on the Governor Hotel used to show up every summer in the ’90’s… it was a promo for Jake’s Grill and I was always amused to see it up there. Well, one day I got serious and went downtown on a mission. Having waited too long on a few other things in my life, I was determined to make sure I showed up for this one.

My favorite personal film for the longest time was Kodak’s Infrared… all of the images in this post are that flavor. For all that digital has made reasonable progress, they have yet to bring this one to the table. I will keep my fingers crossed.

The Pterodactyl in Pioneer Place was a real surprise. I wish I had taken note of the artist’s name so that I could give proper credit here. It had a full, articulated wing span and I left out the beautiful wings and their supporting structure in this picture because I needed it to be more organic somehow… in film I didn’t have the chance to leave out the shiny metal rods. Makes me wonder how I might shoot it today since I have more tricks up my photographic sleeve?
Makes me wonder if that is a good thing…

I do believe photographs should be honest and I will try to keep that promise to myself.

The gentleman on the bench had the kindest eyes and a rather squashed hat on his old head… the pug was a little nervous. We were walking through Faneuil Hall in Boston and I didn’t do my usual sneaky candid. I decided not to treat him as a tourist sight… I went over and asked if I might take a picture of his dog. His smile and his yes were so gracious that I only took this one frame. I left out his fabulous face and hat because I had only asked about the dog.
Unusual for me.

Here’s to a kinder year ahead!

The street was quiet… no one rushing off to work this Christmas morning. The sun playing in the bedroom curtains gave me a chance to relax and reflect a little… it has been a year to give us all pause.
Normally, I am a pie eyed optimist and I’d like to say all of my friends are happy and well but the economy and general distress have been rough on everyone. None of us will miss 2009. The uncertainty needs to subside. The smiling has to come back.

I don’t mind learning to rein in the spending habits of the last years… I had a good run for a bit. On the other hand, it is very uncomfortable to have dipped below the happy medium. It will turn around… I am sure of it. Meanwhile, we have to get up every day and go about the business of making a life.
Got to give it your best shot.

I am thankful for a roof over my head and a good man to share it.
I am thankful for family, friends and nice strangers.
I am thankful for fractious cats.
I am always thankful for time to think.

Photographers must all have a longish list of shots that we only took in our head… I can’t be the only one.
Opera Boy and I went to Venice for the first time in 2006. We got to our little hotel completely beaten up by the flying. The tall windows in our room looked out over Campo San Stefano… interesting and busy in the late afternoon light.

So we walked to stretch out and find a quick meal, stealing to bed as it got dark… it was like drifting off to sleep on a movie set… the cafes don’t get going until after dark so all of the friends and laughing people gathering for dinner mingled with faint music and, always, the sound of heels on stone.
I woke up at dawn and looked out the window… trying to identify a sound.

Here is where you will have to imagine the Campo empty save for one man and a two wheeled blue cart. He was sweeping the whole place with a long brush broom… made of twigs like we see in our fairy tales. No cars in Venice, of course, so he is the garbage service.
I was so entranced by the whole thing, I had to just watch. The camera, in the unpacking of it, would have made me miss something I wanted to see.

I went back to bed but my dreams were colored by that early morning encounter. Next time, I will be better prepared.

Last Spring I wrote a little about how fast time goes for me… nothing has changed in that but I am still surprised. November has come and is already at the exit… an audible whoosh in it’s wake. I took 4 hours this week to rake the leaves and trim the lavenders, to put up the hoses and pull in the houseplants that live outside in the nice weather. Yes, it was stolen time but not from work… I took it out of my gym time. Burned some calories and got some fresh air in the mix.

Work has been it’s own angry red planet this year… the season was short but kind of packed so all of the work has been crammed into a short space… not particularly graceful but it looks good when I get through it. ;0)
I have a few more jobs to finish in the next two weeks and then there is a stretch of about four months that will be dedicated to album design and production.

Our household expanded by one cat this year. Joey Tallboy chose our house at the beginning of August. Frankie has had a rough time trying to adjust but he gets a lot of points for trying. It occurs to me that I have not properly introduced the Tuna Kings to the blog yet. For now, a couple of faces to go with the names… Frankie is the silver boy and Joey is the guy in the tux. Both have attitude to spare.

Opera Boy has just about finished his back to school stint… now if only the job market will be kind to him… for now, we have domestic projects to keep him off of the streets.
He gets points for patience and perseverance in all things.

Still waiting for the other shoe to drop regarding the empty lot behind my house… as I understand it, someone is about to build a fat assed house on a space that has been open for my 29 years here. There are already trees missing and a taped outline that seems very large… no digging yet but I know it will come soon enough. We are going to plant more birches and try to recover some of the shade and privacy lost… if I can restore some of the bird space, I will.
I have found myself looking out my bathroom window to try to lock the green space in my mind. I hope the new house isn’t yellow or pink!
This shot was taken through the screen… my apologies for the extra texture in the sky. I expect to post occasional updates as this progresses.
Frankie brought in a most beautiful garter snake this summer… I got some up close time as I released him back into the wooded corner of the lot. I have to hope that some of that habitat will continue.

In the long run it has been a year for holding our breath, for waiting to see, for keeping the faith… I can live with that for now.

“Every exit is an entrance somewhere else.”

Crisp and moving, the late light comes early now. I don’t do it often but I am sometimes lucky to go out with my camera and wander… eyes open, no plan. We call it Walk About…

There was a time when my camera life was all my own… no clients to answer to… “unfettered and alive” and this was how I spent my free time.

Now, you might call it a stretching exercise, a chance to get away from the desk for an attitude adjustment. It makes my inner child smile… and breathe.

On a glorious late September day, Morgan and Dave gathered their people on the summit of Mt. Tabor… one of Portland’s prettiest parks. Theirs was one of those deliciously personal weddings… chock full of bits of their personalities and reflected in the ease of the crowd. No stuffy wedding rules, no one worried about scuffed shoes or shifting hair… just a great shining sense of happiness all day.  Keep your eye out for Sasha, the ring bearer and note the cowbells that guests rang with total abandon as they kissed and left the crowd. I love this job!

Eight pedicabs bombed down the slope through neighborhood streets, across the Hawthorne Bridge and into the Pearl to a cozy reception at the Bridgeport Brew Pub. It was great to see the people on the sidewalks and porches laughing and cheering this passing parade. The LOL moment was when the Portland Police car sitting at an intersection across from us said a very serious “Congratulations” over the loudspeaker. Sweeet.

Great day, great couple!