Dallas door knobs

Yesterday I decided to walk around the Victory Park area and see what I would see with the camera. Everything was very new looking. I guess because the whole area is brand new. I find it difficult to take good photos of perfectly new things, for some reason, to me, they lack character. I guess that's because character comes with age. But, I found a few things to snap despite that. All the shops up and down the retail area had the funkiest knobs. I liked this one inparticular. I don't think you can even call it a knob though, its more of a handle. Very cool nonetheless.

I imagine it will be even better in 20 years when the handle has weared and the wood has aged. Cheers to getting better with age!

Gotta crawl before you walk

Meet Peyton. Peyton is my second cousin. I met him over Christmas during the tour-de-family. He was just learning how to crawl. It was so cute. First of all, he was center of attention on the floor and he knew it! Second, he couldn't actually crawl. He just hung there on the floor swaying forwards and backwards, waiting for the right moment to pick up his little hand and go forward. Finally he gave it a shot of sorts, but he just ended up face planting into the carpet. Poor Pey-ster wasn't so much a fan of that move. But, he kept trying a little bit. I never did see him crawl, but I'm sure he finally took the plunge and figured it out soon enough.

I feel like little Peyton right now in some ways. Despite what we were taught and learned in graduate school (which was outstanding) it wasn't even close to what I'm learning at work. I'm trying to take note of what all my experienced colleagues say and do each day. I'm sure I'll do a few face plants from time to time too. But, sometimes that's the best way to learn. It frusterates the hell out of you to the point you want to get it right so bad, and you want to get it right soon.

Peyton, you and me, we'll crawl together, buddy. Don't worry, we'll walk one day. [Word of advice to the photographers out there, make sure you have plenty of memory when you are photographing these little rugrats. You won't run out of good photo ops, trust me.]

Fun at the pump

Gas. Everyone's favorite topic right now. With the prices skyrocketing it seems, it can't help but be center stage. This photo was taken at an old, old gas station in Bryan, Texas. What's strange about Bryan is when you drive into that city it feels like you go back in time a little bit. And in true Bryan-form, this gas pump radiates the past. I think we all hope that this unfortunate gas situation could be a thing of the past as well.

Recently my company offered us free-DART passes until the end of the year. A great way to skirt these gas prices, is mass transportation. I've always been a fan of mass transportation. Something about it is adventurous, which is maybe what I enjoy about it. Unfortunately I live in an area where the rail system has yet to be developed. I do get to walk to work though, which has really helped me reduce the impact of gas on my wallet.

I still have to visit the ol' pump from time to time though despite my walking commute to work. And going to the pump is definately not an adventure I enjoy. So, hurry up DART rail, you're the adventure I'm looking for!

Patches

This is Patches. Patches loves to have her photo taken. She is my Aunt Leila and Uncle Donnie's dog. Patches was actually pregnant with lots of little pups when I was there. But that didn't stop her from enjoying the photo shoot. She'd roll around in the grass for me like a true model. She would even strut up to the camera. She was really digging it. I caught this particular photo while I was laying on the ground with her. All of sudden I lost her attention though and she went after something. Well that's when I took this one. And, I love the angle.

Keep on keepin' on Patches and good luck with all the pups.

Perfect is for fools

I love succulents. They're sturdy. They're pretty. And they're pretty easy to take care of (although I have killed two, still working on my brown thumb). For a while I'd been wanting a photo of a succulent since they are so unique. But honestly, at first I was disspointed with this photo and how it turned out. When I took a closer look at the photo I realized that the succulent had all these broken limbs and bruises. In my mind, when I took the shot I think I wanted a photograph of a perfect succulent. Why though, I'm not really sure.

There's a bit of lesson there I suppose. What is it to be perfect, really, and what does it even matter? We may want things and people (ourselves mainly) or life even to be perfect, but they won't be, and they are not supposed to be. But, we can appreciate them even still. In fact, they're better when they're not perfect. So needless to say, the photo has grown on me.

After all perfect is for fools.

Let me see!

This one goes way back to my days as a photographer and reporter at The Battalion (the Texas A&M student newspaper). I worked there over the summer and naturally news is slow in the summer. So as a solution we did features on different student organizations around campus. I was assigned to write and shoot about Project Sunshine, an organization dedicated to working with little kiddos and putting on different events for them.

This little kiddo is Quentin, who is one of the Project Sunshine regulars. Quentin will forever be a part of my memory. I met him and his mother at a public pool one afternoon to do the photo shoot. He was supposed to have swim lessons that night, but I remember the clouds rolling in and they were thinking about cancelling. Well that didn't stop Quentin from having fun. He was having such a great time with the photo shoot I don't think he even cared his swimming lesson was cancelled.

His smile was so great in every picture. I remember taking this photo then looking down at the digital screen to see how it turned out. Well, it was awesome, especially with his little hand placed on his face. I think Quentin could tell from the look on my face how good the photo was, so he gets up (which I don't even notice him doing) comes around my backside and puts his hand on my shoulder and says, "let me see!". The funny part is I had already put the camera back up to my face and he wasn't in the viewfinder. I was like, "where did he go?" I realized that kids these days don't know photography that isn't instant. They're completely unaware of film and the anticipation of getting it developed.

Well, he was the sweetest kid and for sure my favorite Battalion assignment.

Here's to the hose

Another important indicator of summer is the classic green hose. I remember being a little kid and we would spray each other putting our little thumbs over the nozzle to get the water to go every which way. We'd run around, get hot then drink from the hose. Life was carefree when the hose was around.

You don't have good hose territory at apartments. Just one more good reason to buy a house one day.

Goodbye guitar

I know how to play two songs, home on the range and simple gifts. Neither of which are worth playing around the campfire and I've forgotten three quarters of each of them. So after 17 years it's time for this little guy to have a new home. I've decided to sell my guitar. After going back and forth on the matter for months now due to sentimental value, I've finally decided for sure. This guy has been benched for years now, he's never gotten his chance to shine, because I can't be musical to save my life.

Well buddy, I've taken your picture to remember you by, but I'm sending you to the big leagues, or atleast to a league so you can play.

Bobbins and such

My friend Kate is a sewer. She sews great things. In fact, she's so good she could quit her day job. Last summer my Seattle roommates and friends, Kate and Andrea, were making their bridesmaid's dresses for a wedding they were in. They worked diligently every evening after work on their dresses. And, while they were sewing I was usually drinking a glass of wine and playing on facebook, completely wasting time in comparison. Eventually I decided to document a bit of the process. At one point, Kate left the light of the machine on while she went to talk on the phone with her beau. And, that's when I took this one.

It was fun to watch you guys create your beautiful dresses. I was very impressed.

Silly moon, tricks are for kids

This is the moon. It sure is. After I left studio one night I took this photograph. I remember looking up and seeing the bright full moon. I wanted to get a long shutter photograph of the moon "dancing". But, to do it, I basically had to be looking up and dancing around in the parking lot myself, swirling my camera around. It's a good thing no one was around, or I might have looked a little crazy.

Happy Friday the 13th.

Infiniti in the sky

This is my favorite car, currently. The Infiniti FX35. It's nice. I love it. Last night was a gorgeous night. Wonderful breeze, still a bit cooler. So I decided to go up to the roof of the parking garage and just take it in. Once I got up there I ran into my friend, the infiniti. He was up there all by his lonesome, in perfect position for me to take his portrait. The sun was practically down, but was still reflecting off the skyscrapers glass, so I had a few minutes to get a shot. As an aggie, I know I'm not supposed to like burnt orange, but man I dig it on this car.

If I ever get an FX35, I'll probably park it on the roof too, it looks good up there.

The wall jem

I'm walking along this residential wall one day and as I look over I see this jem inset in the wall. And delicately falling next to it is the vines of its neighboring plant. It was very enjoyable, especially with the shadow created by the inset of the jem. It reminds me of the opportunity we have in design; it's not always about the big stuff, sometimes its the smaller things that really amp up a design.

I guess Mies van der Rohe said it a little better though, when he said, 'God is in the details." Well, Mies I think you would have really like this little jem.

El diablo

This is my friend Alejandro, and no, he is not the devil. But, he did pose quite well for this photograph. I took this photo a while back for my "slow shutter" assignment in photography class. We set this shot up in the conference room of the office we both worked in at school, obviously at night. I had bought a red bulb to emit the light behind him. I really had no clue if I could pull the shot off the way I had planned.

The top of the fork is drawn with a lazer pointer over a six second shutter. We tried over and over to get it right. It's quite difficult to draw with a lazer point, especially when its dark when you start, and your first click has to be right on or the light will show up in the shot. Poor Alejandro had to stay very very still while the shutter was open and while I drew over and over again. But, finally we got it right. I don't typically crop photos, but this one I did and I think it turned out well.

Miss the dreads Ale, they sure worked well in this shot!

Roasted memories

It was about this time last year that I became a "regular" at Lighthouse Roasters in Seattle. This is for sure the coolest coffee house I've ever been to. First of all it was literally a stones throw from our apartment. And, the sun would come up so early in Seattle, you could get a cup of joe at 6AM and you'd be able to enjoy the daylight. Inside the shop was great. They roasted their own beans there. They would keep the back doors open near the roaster and it really gave the place a community feel. Eventually I would walk in and my buddy at the register just knew to ring me up for my short drip. Newspaper were everywhere, you could grab one and catch up on a few stories before getting ready for work.

This photo looks down the counter towards the cream and sugar area. That's the roaster in the background, it's a very cool machine. Today I drink my coffee to you Lighthouse, and remember our good times.

The post-forest

So it's normal to personalize your desk at work. Typically you see some photographs and maybe some momentos, but not often do you see a post-forest. Chris Culley, who sits next to me at work, grew a post-forest at his desk. So, what's a post forest? Well, you are looking at it. Those "posts" are the little guys that you usually punch through documents in order to bind them. Personally I think the post-forest is a much better use than binding paper. As you might suspect, Chris is a hoot, and it doesn't take long to notice his creative genius. RISD would be lucky to have you, pal.

Oh and the rubber ducky. If I had to guess I'd say he's the forest's keeper. After all, someone has to watch after the forest.

Lone leaf

I have always enjoyed this leaf. I looked down one day and there he was, laying straddled between the two boards. I wondered to myself, how he got there like that, and why he was the only one around. He must have just been taking a break. To me he looked like an older leaf, a very wise leaf, a leaf comfortable in his own company. A leaf with many great stories. He was scarred and broken, yet sturdy. He left his tree awhile back and ventured on his own and made his stories. You can tell he was a go-getter. He realized that life doesn't happen to you, you go out there and get it. No one will do it for you. You can bet he was a tough cookie. I'm sure he has a good war story for the piece he's missing on his right side. But, you can tell, he's happy. Older. More tired. But, happy. Enjoying what his life was and is. Happy with himself and the life he had made.

Big D backyard

This is the view from my new balcony. Now I wish I could say this was the straight-on view, but it's not. This is the view when you look off to the right. You can see most of downtown, including a sliver of Fountain Place (which is my favorite I.M. Pei building). Last night was the first night I'd actually gone out on the balcony to enjoy the skyline. Mara and Regina came over for a glass of wine, and we took in the view and talked a little architecture, naturally.

But, the view comes with a price. So, tomorrow I start work so I can pay to live!