Wednesday, August 18, 2010

coffee (how I love thee)

Someone once said, "If you agree with coffee, and coffee agrees with you, then you can drink it as much as you want." Well, I took him literally. I love coffee. I do. And it loves me, I know-I've asked it. I tested out an old Olympus film camera I recieved as a gift by doing a few shots of my wife and I's various Starbucks coffee mugs. We are planning on using them for artwork to hang in the kitchen and dining room. Huge Starbucks fans, we love the idea of a coffee/Starbucks themed kitchen and dining room, so here are a few shots for the house.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

the house (detail)

This little guy lives here, inside the house, inside an apple in the house, perpetually frozen in this state of predicament. He looks out of his tiny little hole he's ate himself into, only now realizing that all of the apple he's eaten resides in his little belly, that's no longer a little belly. He's grown too fat to fit back out the tiny hole he made for himself. And he sits and ponders what to do, what to do? I should let him know that he can just eat his way out again, and maybe he's even thought of that too, but is just too full to begin!

Monday, August 16, 2010

inspiration

Every now and then I like to bring attention to a photographer that inspires me is some sort of way ( I really should do this more often). A portrait of Jonathan Franzen-an amazing author-graced the cover of Time magazine last week. The portrait is striking, like a detailed oil painting, it is muted with subtle, solid lighting. I loved the shot. So I looked up the photographer. You should too. www.danwintersphoto.com. He's shot for many magazines most notably for me, Texas Monthly (a great mag even if you don't live in the state). I urge you to check him out. Dan Winters. More photos soon...

Saturday, August 14, 2010

the house...

My dad parks his John Deer tractor right here when he's done with it. It sort of greets you as you drive up the drive way as if it were an abnormally large yard ornament. It's right off the drive way just on the very edge of the top of the hill where the house sits. It's parked there, in that same spot, every time because it doesn't crank. Nope. The reason is a bit cloudy, I don't quite remember why it doesn't crank but the point is that here it is parked on the edge of a hill so that Dad can hop up on the tractor, push and hold down the clutch, let it slowly begin to roll down the hill in neutral, then he puts the tractor in gear and waits, rolling, rolling, rolling down the hill gaining a little speed until he pops the clutch and jumps the old Deer off. Well, hey. At least it's better than hooking the chain up to the pickup and pulling it off, which was the way I did it growing up. Somethings really never change.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

the house (cont'd)

Hopefully I'll be able to get away with this photograph. It doesn't show too much of the bed, the disheveled bed I slept in the night before. I had explicit instructions as I went from room to room taking pictures not to photograph the bedrooms if the bed wasn't made. I took this picture anyway, cropping out the strewn about sheets and comforter, instead focusing on the painting my brother did that hangs above the pillows. It's a simple photo and doesn't show much of the room-I admit. But I think it does a good job conveying the feel of the room: the pastel colors, the soft, white light, the way it makes you want to relax and settle in with a good book and forget about everything else.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

koi

I've been working on a personal project dubbed "12" for several weeks now. Intended for a show incorporating some of the objects photographed as well as a sculpture I've been working on, the pieces are all parts of one greater theme meant to be viewed at one time at a gallery or a show, but I can unveil one or two pieces that are able to stand alone. This is one of those.

Monday, August 9, 2010

morning treat

Another vacant building whose outsides tell tale of what was, not too long ago. The faded words say 'morning treat' and I picture a store front selling bread, a bakery, the owner lived just across the road. He or she awaking every morning early, walking the thirty or so paces to the store that sat on the same property. Opening up shop, watching the hunters come in before sunrise for donuts or honey buns or biscuits. Maybe you see something else. That's fine, as long as it tells a story, yours or mine.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

hidden

Hidden away from what could be called the main highway, at a junction right before you cross the Amite River and leave Livingston Parish there is a convenience store, an antique store, and a drive through liquor shop. Beyond these things, if you pull over onto the dirt shoulder, park, and walk about fifteen paces, is this scene: an abandoned house boat just off of a pier that I wasn't sure could even hold me up as I walked out onto it's rotted, wooden planks to get this shot. The scene, both peaceful and haunting, is one of the many I set out to capture along my "Livingston, Louisiana" journey. The magic being found in the fact that a 'sportman's paradise' is literally a dirt shoulder away from the street one drives on to reach the convenience stores and liquor shops of the Parish.

Monday, August 2, 2010

the house (cont'd)

Straws have always been a big deal in the house. In the same exact way that Diet Coke has always been a big deal in the house. They sort of go hand in hand. My mom's classic drink goes like this: straw, crushed ice, Diet Coke in a glass. Make sure though that you put the straw in the glass first, then add the crushed ice, then pour the Coke. If not done in this exact order the ice all fuses together into one huge clump of abstract ice sculpture and the straw will not be able to chisel through the ice making the Coke undrinkable by straw. It's a very scientific process, but when executed with precision, makes for a very refreshing drink.