merry christmas!

As we pack for Louisiana this will be my last post until after Christmas, so to all of you out there who still read, have a Merry Christmas! Thank you for your devotion, I hope you and your families enjoy each other, the holiday, and the season. May God Bless...

krista and ano-teaser

Currently working on Krista and Ano's wedding which took place at the A&M Gardens in Azle, Tx. Full post coming soon, but I just couldn't wait to post this image.

enter livingston parish

I picked up the last official roll of film that was devoted to the Livingston project today from the lab. As I held the negatives up to the light in the foyer anticipating what I'd seen, Steven, the guy I've been handing film to and picking film up from for years at Barron Photografix said, "You're the last of the medium format shooters." I laughed to myself thinking that I, oh me of so little, can't be the last. In fact I know I'm not the last by just flipping through a couple of photography magazines you will find another shooter or two still using film, but maybe rare is a more accurate statement. Many of the images are shot digitally, but after I got deep into the project and had a bit more of an idea of the direction I was headed, it was film all the way. Anyway, these two shots aren't my favorites, so who knows if they'll make into the book or not, but I thought they'd be a good send off image to commemorate the end of a personal project that took me so far into the woods, the eyes, and the beauty that south Louisiana is. Even though the image making process is over, I still look forward toward the next step, knowing the final chapter will only be closed after the book hits the shelves. Who knows then what other stories may be told after mine is done. I'd rather think of my story just as one of many others-like a puzzle piece fitting in with the rest of what makes the parish the place that it is, the people that live there, and the feeling of home.

train cars

The difference between Texas backroads and Louisiana ones are most evident in a shot like this. Taking road trips down and around rural south Louisiana the view of the sky is often crowded out by tall pines that line the road on either side. You can see blue sky above the road, but look to the left or the right, and it's tall thin bark and underbrush, palmettos and thickets. In Texas, it's all open sky. Along side the railroad tracks this road was taking me home one day, picked out by my GPS, which at times is wrong and it sends me down these untraveled back roads thinking it can get me to my destination even faster. Once I learn the road I'm on is the wrong one though, I can't get angry, because although I may not be headed directly toward my destination, it's what you find on the road to getting there.

arts goggle

Arts Goggle, the art fest with the funny name. Tomorrow I'm showing some recent work at the SouthSide art fest in Fort Worth, my home away from home. The set up was today, spent a couple hours hanging frames and tweaking the background, moving easels around, and working on my space. The venue is Thumbtechs 201 South Main Street. It's some computer tech company with a really nice building and an impressive glass conference room. The people there were kind enough to open their doors to local artists, those of us who can't handle a lot of time in front of a glowing monitor, to show our craft and schmooze with the community a bit. I thank them for letting us in. It's October the 1st today! And I couldn't think of a better way to kick off the fall season than this. Here's a couple of shots of the venue and my set up. If you're a Fort Worthian and can come by, you should. I hope to see you there.