Stay focused

This photo comes from my field trip to the AFI Dallas office. I had fun that evening taking photos of their little outdoor plaza area near my apartment. Fencing in the area was this wonderful cabled fence. The new, crisp cable was held tight between old posts with peeling paint. A nice combination of old and new. I especially enjoyed the ends of the posts that had silver caps finishing off the cables. My camera had a little difficulty staying focused on the cap when I was trying to take this shot. Eventually I got the photo composed well and the camera agreed with me. I like how the cap is almost perfectly centered in the photograph, but not quite.

It's time

It's time to wake up. It's time to go to bed. It's time to eat lunch. It's time to go. If you listen people use the "it's time" phrase a lot. Well, last night I looked at the clock sitting at my desk and I decided to take a photograph of it. After I was done I realized the clock was stuck at quarter after three, and probably had been for a while. Time had stopped as far as that clock was concerned. And every now and then we'll have those moments too, where time is not a concern or even noticed. They're nice. I'd say, try to revel in those moments, but as soon as you realize the moment it's usually a thing of the past, no pun intended. Nonetheless, timeless moments are nice and to be looked forward to.

People power

I read the paper in the morning (online albeit) and drink my coffee just like millions of Americans. And while I read, like many, I wonder what can we believe in during this economic mess? Well, the answer is fairly straightforward, we can believe in ourselves. While looking back through some very old papers that I had in my newspaper bin I found this column by David Brooks written on August 2nd. It spoke to America's need to improve human capital. Meaning we need to improve ourselves and our skills. The column went on to be quite divisive at which point I tuned out, but the overarching message seemed to be right on. Each of us has the ability to improve ourselves. And we should because that's where real change happens.

The color blue

I've always been facinated with the color blue. It is, without a doubt, my favorite color. So once I discovered this building in uptown I knew I'd have to go spend some time photographing it. The paint is a bit faded on the masonry, but to me the color is still endearing. Something about blue, this color blue, is awesome.

When I was a kiddo I preferred everything in blue. I used to love to get ice cream served in the little blue plastic helmets at Texas Rangers games. I had a blue wooden egg I carried around with me as a lucky charm. In high school I had t-shirts that I wore to pieces because they were blue. My car is blue. I carry a kanteen that is blue. Simply put, I love the color blue. Why? No clue, I just do.

There is rarely reason for why we like our favorite color, but everyone seems to have a favorite. In fact, isn't that always a get-to-know-you question? "What's your favorite color?" which is usually followed by "what's your favorite ice cream flavor?"

Well, I like vanilla ice cream served in a blue helmet. And, I like my buildings blue too.

Inner beauty

Everyone loves a good flower shot, right? Well, this one comes from the rainforest of Costa Rica. These guys were little cup flowers that hung from their limbs. I got up under this one with my camera and tried to take a photo looking inside the flower, which was, ironically, much more beautiful on the inside than on the outside.

We the people

Yesterday I went to College Station. It was a quick day trip to make a presentation. I took my usual route down Interstate 35 through Waco to Highway 6. I started taking this route in graduate school instead of my old faithful I-45 route. I changed my route because going down 35 to 6 was so much more interesting, mostly because I got to pass through Calvert and Hearne. Calvert and Hearne are two little towns that got left behind a long time ago. They both have the main street that you have to slow down on when driving through. Old brick buildings of stores and businesses line the street. Some are open, some aren't.

And there's this one wall at the south end of Calvert's main street that I have always loved. The we-the-people wall. Everytime over the last two years as I drove by it I thought, I'd really like to photograph that wall. Well, usually I would drive past and say to myself, "next time I'll stop and get my camera out". Yesterday was my last "next time" for a while, no telling how long. So I stopped and got a portrait of my wall.

We the people here on main street. It's nostalgic and hopeful.

Small simple space

I was returning home last night and I saw something I hadn't ever seen before. I noticed these lights uplighting a wall near my apartment complex. So I decided I'd walk over and take some photos once the sun went down completely. Once I got over there I realized that this wall was part of the American Film Institute Dallas office. The whole office was very small, but had some very unique features I'll show you over the coming days.

Here is one of the lamps that was lighting the wall. The wall is actually a temporary wall that was attached with silver bolt caps. There was a rock courtyard in front of this wall with boulders randomly placed. It was a very small yet "architectural" space.

It was a pleasent surprise to find this place. You never know what you're going to find, even on a path you travel daily, so keep your eyes open.