D114: I Hate Sugar!

Or at least I hate the fact that I like sugar. I avoid sugar as much as humanly possible, and I generally refuse to buy anything candy related. I do well enough at avoiding it, but when I do partake I usually get sick.

Kind of a fitting punishment, don't ya think?

Well today was filled with things far more important than me taking pictures, so I decided to take a shot of "S'mores Delight". Its from a local popcorn shop here in town. They've been in business for about 7 years, and I stop in ever few months to say hi, and pick up some popcorn. Sure, I could get popcorn for way way cheaper at the grocery store, but that is not what my visits are about.

My visits are about supporting local business.

The internet has become a valuable tool in keeping many retail markets competitive. However, I feel that we are too quick to look to the internet to save a buck or two. You might have saved $2.23 on that new book you wanted, but what does it cost you in the long run? Local Mom & Pop operations are a dying breed, and that makes me a little sad. There is an intrinsic value to shopping at a store where they know your name year after year.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you should NEVER buy things online. I buy things online from time to time, especially when I can't find them locally. If I can't find a substantial discount online, along with some good service, I keep my dollars here in town.

That's just me.

Manual: Page 120 - Taking A Closer Look: Playback Zoom

Images:Luis VallecilloLuis is amazing with his lighting. That is one area that I am completely lacking on the equipment side.


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D113: Meet Me In St. Louis

My sister's boyfriend is the drama teacher at one of our local high schools, and this weekend was his big musical production. We decided to go support him, and had a great time in the process.

I'm a huge fan of supporting local arts, its the creative in me. In fact, that's probably why I'm also drawn to other creative types. Without artists, we would have no culture in the world. Where would we be without Van Gogh, Shakespeare, Ansel Adams and countless others?

The musical was actually really good, beyond anything that I would expect from high-school students. If you don't have plans on Monday night, go see their closing show!












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D112: Really?!

*DISCLAIMER* If you are easily offended, you may not want to read today's post. These are strictly my opinions, and mine alone.

Tonight I sit at my desk distracted by many things, including the content of today's image. While I was driving around town I saw a home with a confederate flag hung in the front window. I quickly rolled down the window, parked, set my exposure, shot, then drove off.

Typically I would have spent more time getting the shot right, but I didn't want to chance dealing w/ the owners of the home. Being a brown man makes me annoyed when I see things like this being displayed, but I also don't want to start a conflict where I am outnumbered.

Which brings me to tonight's question. Have you ever had personal experience with racism?

I have a few friends that tote around the cliche "I don't see color" when the topic of race comes up. I think that would be a wonderful world to live in. However, that is not the world we live in. Every friend that has said that to me has been Caucasian. A white kid growing up in a small white town is going to have few problems when it comes to discrimination.

I grew up as a brown kid, born to a mixed-race couple, in a small white town. I was being subjected to discrimination & racism before I could even understand what it was. Most kids that gave me problems had no idea that I was Hawaiian, so they simply chose whatever racial slur they could think of. By no means was this an everyday occurrence, but it was something that I grew up with.

As a young child I understood that some of my friends were darker than me, but most of my friends were lighter. I didn't realize that this actually signified ANYTHING, until other neighborhood kids informed me it did. I think we need to spend more time thinking about what behaviors we are passing on to our kids.

In my adult life, one particular experience stands out. I was fishing with two good friends on a river in northern Idaho, and we decided to take a lunch break at the only cafe for miles. As my two friends(both Caucasian) walked into the cafe, they were met with smiles and passing glances. When I walked in behind them, THE WORLD STOPPED SPINNING. I kid you not, the entire place went silent. I think the grill even stopped sizzling. My friends asked me if I wanted to leave, but I assured them that this was where we were eating lunch. Other than the occasional stare, we had a great lunch and continued our fishing trip.

I don't agree with racism.
I don't agree with stereotypes.
I do realize that they still exist.
I do hope for a day that they only exist in history books.

Your thoughts?

Manual: Page 153 - Custom Setting 22: Monitor Off

Images:Carmen Stansberry
I stumbled across Carmen's site this evening, and I was really blown away by some of her work. There is an image of a little girl sitting on some steps, and it is just awesome.


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D111: Cursed

I partly blame Gabrielle Geiselman. The rest of the blame rests on me for not breaking the rules today.

Gabrielle has talked about the funk you sometimes get in after you produce some really great images. Well every time I look at my image from day 109, I fall even more in love with it. I can't really explain what it is. It just works for me. It works so well that I'm having it printed on canvas.

Crazy, I know.

Anyways, I'm not really having a creative block, I'm just uninspired. While traveling home from a morning meeting out of town, I pulled over at a rest stop. This particular rest stop has some massive lava bluffs, so I wanted to try and get a nice landscape shot. I initially ignored the sign that said the trails were closed during the winter and headed up the trail. Then I came to a large gate that sternly read "TRAIL CLOSED". Super easy to walk around, but this would be a little hard to explain. You can't exactly miss seeing a huge gate across the trail.

Maybe I'll head up there one morning and sneak in for a sunrise shot!

Manual: Page 198 - Troubleshooting

Images:Jeremy Cowart
I never EVER get tired of looking at Jeremy's work, he is crazy talented. I'm truly inspired by so many of his images. It doesn't hurt that he's pretty much one of the most amazing human beings, either.


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D110: I Promised Myself I Wouldn't

Yeah, so about that. Tonight is a filler image fo sho. I got wrapped up in some charity work I do, and the day completely got away from me.

I've had this random bag of animal hair in my closet for years. I bought it for fly-tying, the kind of thing you do when you fly-fish. I used to fly-fish a lot, but I haven't done much of it in the last 2 1/2 years. Don't get me wrong, I love to fish; however, I have a hard time doing anything outside anymore without my camera strapped to my hand. Oh well.

I'm hitting the sack early tonight, in hopes of an earrrrrrly morning at the gym!

Manual: Page 196 - Caring For Your Camera And Battery

Images:Gabrielle Geiselman
I know that I just reviewed Gabrielle a month ago, but I listed to her interview with Ron Dawson today. For some reason I totally look at another photographer's work differently when I hear the back-story behind the images. It was fitting to look at her work again due to the fact that some friends of mine are putting together a band, and they want me to do the pics.


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D109: Momentum

Have you ever found yourself fighting an uphill battle? I'm sure we all have at one point or another. I have fought an ongoing battle for the past 10 years with no major successes. There are times when I am just positive that I am the reincarnation of Sisyphus.

Over the past six months I have managed to create somewhat of a perfect storm to aide in this battle. The load is lighter and I even feel like there is actually a crest to this hill. Was Sisyphus cursed, or did he just lack adequate support?

Manual: Page 188 - ISO Auto

Images:I looked at the work of a photographer whom I also listened to in an interview on my ipod today. I'm withholding his name because I wasn't a fan of his interview AT ALL. He came off as a little too old school, adamantly against the digital evolution of photography. While looking through his portfolio, I also found a few images that I REALLY didn't like. Now I am the first to admit that I have a lot of "crap" that I need to purge from my image collection; however, why would you include something so plain & uninspiring in your professional portfolio?

Overall he's excellent. I'm just saying.


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D108: Let It Melt Away

Stress, that is. This last weekend saw the passing of my grandfather, and the birthday of my mother. Growing up in Hawai'i, one of the skills in my grandfather's wheelhouse was that of a tour guide. I'd like to think that my mom is taking a turn at the helm, showing my grandfather "the ropes".

Luckily I have amazing family & friends to get through it all. I spent a portion of the weekend with a great friend that is an endless well of understanding and humor. Sometimes vino & zombies are just what the doctor ordered.

Today I decided to get out of town for a bit, in hopes of finding some hoar frost. The weather was not conducive to my desires, so I decided to take the scenic route home through the countryside. Whenever I saw a photo op I pulled off to the side of the road. No schedule. No time frame. No to-do list.

For me, there is something therapeutic about aimlessly driving the back-roads of our great nation. Singing along to the radio, thinking about problems, unwinding the stresses that life imposes on us.

While singing along to the radio today I was inspired. Have you ever heard a song that you've heard a million times before, but its as if you're listening to it for the first time? This happened to me today. I have an idea for a series of photos that is so exciting(to me) that I'm freaking out. It could take the better part of the next year, and that's all I'm going to share about it for now.

How do you unwind?

Manual: Page 103 - FV Lock

Images:Jerry Ghionis
Jerry does great work and I love his story. Just listened to his interview with Ron Dawson today.


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