the word hope...

On this past Sunday, I read about a mural that was painted in downtown Greenville over an 8 hr period the day before. I hate that I missed the opportunity to get a photograph of the artists in action.  But I did stop by on Sunday afternoon to get a photo of a portion of the mural.  The word hope rings as true today as it always has. Here is an excerpt from a blog post that I did several years back:

hope - to have a feeling, chance, desire, expectation or wish to do something or to make something happen...

Without hope, our lives would be meaningless. We all have hopes that get us through the day (week, month or even year).  Hope is something that transcends all things.  Let me say it again...  Without hope, our lives would be meaningless.

I love this excert that photographer Robert Adams wrote and how he relates it to hope. "Of all the sacred places on the coast, none is more comforting than where rivers join the sea. By the river's disappearance we are reminded of life's passing, while by the ocean's beauty we accept it, in a hope we cannot explain."

We could all learn something from this.  Maybe by trying to focus a little less on the fleeting failures in our lives and focus a little more on the hope in our lives that eternally matters.

in their own world...

A image of Pyper and Allister that was taken over the Christmas holidays. They look so peaceful & happy. Even if it is watching movies on an iPod/iPad. With their intent focus on the movies, I was able to sneak in and capture them acting as if nobody was around...

exposing my weirdness...

I know I am weird. I was passing by a spot in my office and noticed the sun and my shadow. Knew that I had to take a picture so I grabbed one of my SX-70s and framed/shot the image above. Something so simple, yet potentially complex. So little detail, yet so much about me...

positive and negative...

Two shots of Cap from the weekend. It was so fun to get to shoot these. Cap is a photographer in the making and he was soaking all of this up. The first shot is a Fuji FP-3000B positive and the second one is an FP-3000B paper negative. Cap wanted the original, so I gave it to him. It is amazing what you can do with the paper negative. Both photos were taken with my Polaroid 180 Land Camera and two studio lights... 

just look up...

So many things to stop and photograph along Hwy 287. I've traveled this road from Decatur to Childress for over 25 yrs every time we go to our hometown to visit family. I've talked (and thought) about stopping to photograph hundreds of items along the way. On our way back home (over the Christmas holiday), I convinced Sherri to let me stop twice to take photos. This sign (and many just like it) has been softly speaking to me over the last several years. I can now check this one off the list...

tonight I shot film...

Definitely not one of my best self-portrait poses, but I wanted to show the success of a New55 negative that I captured tonight. I shot this one using the new wood wall in my studio/darkroom as the backdrop. Alot went into this shot to set it all up and photograph myself with the Toyo 4x5 camera and Fujinon 210mm lens. An overwhelming success on the focus. I think that this is as sharp as I can expect from a self-portrait. Lots of guessing on the location of my face, but I got it right tonight. For the lighting, I used one strobe and tripped the shutter using an air-bulb cable release. All-in-all, this is the result of needing something to take my mind off all of the stress from the day. Sometimes I watch TV, sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I read books. Tonight I shot film...

weekend - let's do this...

Spent the weekend doing quite a few things, but ended it with this photo tonight in my studio. Love taking pictures of Pyper and being able to play with lights to get a unique look in a photo. Took this one with my Polaroid 180 camera on Fuji FP-3000B film. 

mack truck...

Sometimes the image is in the small things. Found this Mack truck on the side of the road along Hwy 287. Took a photo of the truck and then noticed the boss of a hood ornament and couldn't resist getting in close for the 2nd photo. Amazing what you can find if you just stop, get out of the car and explore...

motels and selfies...

One of our stops on the way to Childress over the holidays. A motel right off from Hwy 287 in Wichita Falls, Tx. Took more than enough shots of this motel with way too many cameras.  After I was done with capturing the essence of the motel, I decided to take a shadow selfie with my 4Runner in the background. The Mint TL70 camera and Fuji Instax Mini film seemed to be a great choice for these shots...

Do not discard...

Double and triple exposures are not something that I've done very well.  This one accidently turned out (and I really like it). I was trying to take a photo of Maci with a flash on my Polaroid 250 Land Camera.  The flash didn't fire, so I took another one. After it didn't fire the second time, I figured that one more wouldn't make it any worse. No flash again, so I pulled the print and was amazed at the results. 

So much can be brought out of this one simple photo that some might discard. 

It demonstrates how time does not stand still. Ever... 

It represents an end to a year that was definitely a blur for me. Where did it go... 

It helps reiterate why I have backed off on social media to enjoy the here and now in my life at home. Real images capturing real moments of real people that mean the world to me... 

It is a wonderful image of my oldest daughter that I will cherish. Forever... 

It helps me understand that good things can come from stepping outside of your norm. In everything...

add a little light (part ii)...

Here is another photo from today. This one of Pyper was taken in the same place as Allisters, except with my another camera/film. I used my Polaroid 180 camera and Fuji FP-3000B film with the portrait closeup lens. I am continually amazed at the photos that come out of this combo. Some may think that instant film is gimmicky. They should understand that these photos are the basis of so many of my memories of my family. They have (and will continue to) become some of my most valuable keepsakes to pass on to my kids, grandkids, etc...

add a little light...

My goal this year is to get back to my blog and add photos along with the story and only add the photos to Instagram (mostly the same pictures without the stories). This is my first one of 2017. A photo of Allister taken today while her and Pyper spent the day with Sherri and me. It was our last day off from work/school/daycare. Most of my instant photos are taken in bright light, but this one was captured with subtle window light in an otherwise dark room. Wow, the results were spectacular!  I love how I have so many closeup pictures of these two girls. Someday, they will all look oh-so-good in an album for everyone to remember the years of the girls growing up...

me by me...

I realize that I post quite a few film photos of myself. Many times I wonder what people think and then other times it really doesn't matter to me what they think. As I have often said, I get bored and there is nobody to take a picture of, so I end up photographing myself. After spending such a large amount of time at work, photography is my means of releasing/relieving stress. Some nights it is almost a necessity to pick up the camera. This was one of those nights. In the case of this one, it is a photo of ME by ME (sort of). I have one similar to this (except it is an 8x10 photo) that a friend of mine took of me with my 8x10 camera. This one was entirely taken by me using my Polaroid 180 on a tripod with a self-timer. I always seem to like pictures of myself with my Leica M6 and this one is a winner in my book. One of my fears in life is that my family will forget me when I am gone. My goal is for them to have tangible memories of our time spent together on this earth. Unfortunately, I am behind the camera for most of the photos that are taken around our house so there are very few with me in them (relatively speaking). A photo like this represent something to me. Think about it. It shows me being photographed with one of my favorite cameras by none other than myself. And the funny thing is that the actual photograph was taken by nobody (since it was a self-timer). What a mind-bending concept for no reason other than to provide my family with a subtle memory of who I am...

princeton cafe...

Took this one a few months ago when I was passing through Princeton one afternoon on Highway 380. Figured I better sieze the opportunity of capturing this place with no cars around. Clean lines and distinct colors makes for a good photo...

cold and blue...

Another 4x5 selfie in the record books. I can't quite figure out how to control the color of this film.  It's definitely not the temperature of the film. I heated this film before exposing and before processing to get it to 80-90 degrees. I think it must be the color of the light. This was taken in the shade and it seemed like a blueish light. At least it matches how cold it was outside in the shade. Regardless of the results, it is always fun to play around with my 4x5 camera and instant film...

before we left...

Today, I wanted to use a film that I hardly ever use and take it in a place that is not my norm. The film was expired Polaroid Type 59, the camera/lens was my Toyo-View G 4x5 / Fujinon 210mm f/5.6 and the location was in my office using cloudy window light. Because of the scarce lighting, I used a shutter speed of 1/2 second and hoped for the best. Sherri is becoming more accustomed to me surprising her with another hairbrained idea for a picture. I have taken so many pictures of her lately with all of my different cameras and film, she is probably becoming numb to it. This picture was a spur-of-the-moment photo request when we were on our way out the door. I had the camera set up in my office with a film holder loaded for the occasion.

Not for sure why this particular box of film has the orange band across the middle, but it has been there on every shot. If the exposure is dark, it seems to show up even more. Even with the orange band, I can't wait for more pictures with this film. Glad I still have almost 3 boxes of 20 left...  

out of place...

This is a house from Childress that was in the neighborhood where I grew up.  It was right across the street from a city lake where I spent many of my days. It is one of the more unique houses in the town/neighborhood. As much as it belongs in the landscape of West Texas, it is totally out of place where it is built. I think that is why I like it so much. As an added bonus, there is an Airstream in the yard...

pictures of us...

It is always a good day for me when I get to take a picture of Sherri. It is an even better day when I actually get her to take an instant photo of me with one of my Polaroid cameras. She's not completely brainwashed yet, but I have made some progress...

little indian...

Trying to be more intentional on capturing closeup images of the family as we all age together. Pyper had a pre-school thanksgiving program where she had pilgrim and indian costumes. After the program, she still wanted to wear the indian costume so I felt it was a good opportunity to capture this image. This whole program brought back memories of Maci at nearly the same age. It is crazy how Pyper's looks and mannerisms mimic Maci so closely...

off the beaten path...

Always amazes me the things you can come across if you just take the time to get off the beaten path and explore the backroads. Most of the time I am in a hurry to get somewhere and I take the fastest route which usually involves Interstates. Not exactly the scenic route. Saturday was such a refreshing day in that I had an open schedule to do whatever I wanted with no reason to be in a hurry. I spent some time in downtown Denton to visit with Armand at Denton Camera Exchange and then headed north to Dennison, Sherman and Celeste on my way back to Greenville. Didn't really find the "fall landscapes" that I was looking for, but definitely found my share of stops. I caught a couple of the stops on some Polaroid 690 expired film that ended up being my favorites for the day...