first film in a long while.

so a while back my good buddy tyler, our intern, encouraged me to go out and shoot some film. it's something i've wanted to do for a long while, but honestly i was afraid to. i was afraid i had become reliant on the back of my camera. as a trial run i loaded a role of regular old 24 exposure fuji 400 and took a walk around midland at night. the goal to shoot whatever caught my eye. the first three images are a few of the selects from about 15 frames i shot. the last image was taken the other day while i was at the laundry mat. two girls in their 20's rolled into the parking lot in a 58' chevy biscayne. it caught my interest because of their age. it's usually a guy in his 50s or 60s driving a car like that. then it got better. one of them hoped out opening the hood as the other slid into the passenger seat. the girl outside of the car proceeded to climb into the engine and take off the air filter to get at the carburetor. needless to say i left the laundry and headed out the door, but on my way out i remembered my camera battery was back at the house on the charger. shit. i did however have the film. i went over and offered, not help because they seemed to have it covered, but some tools. they declined and the three of us tried to figure out what the problem was. we couldn't figure it out so i gave them a ride to their grandmother's house where one of them had a truck. i went back to my laundry. about ten minutes later a large truck rolls into the parking lot and the girls hop out. one grabs a strap from the back of the truck and proceeds to hook the car to the truck to tow it. before they left i noticed them walking towards the laundry mat. they came in and gave me cheesecake for helping them out. i love the variety you can get on a roll of film due to the delay of processing. this was the first time i'd shot film since college. i shot film all the way through college for a reason and i had gotten away from that reason. i working on finding my way back

the after and further after.

my dad visited this past weekend and we endured a fishing marathon. this smallmouth bass, caught by my dad, was the largest fish of the weekend weighing in at 4.5 pounds. "i bet it'll still go three pounds without the head and guts," my dad said after slaughtering it on a railroad tie in my driveway. flies and a yellow jacket arrived imediately. it was great to have him in town. i really miss having family near by even if they do laugh at me when i break my tailbone. sorry for cusing you dad. i love you.

the birds and the bees.

get your mind out of the gutter.

baseball's future.

the girl in the first picture pretty much sums up my life thru high school. not that i felt like a girl trapped in a boy's world, just that i never really fit in. she later found some friends as you can see. all in all it was a fun day with kids with bats.

construction camp.

i was warned several times that if i shot pictures while they were welding i would not only destroy my camera, but my vision would be lost. a lady handed me a welding helmet since she saw i was going to shoot anyway. i guess she thought at least my vision could be salvaged even if i was going to throw away thousands of dollars worth of equipment. i humored her by trying to hold it in front of my face putting the camera up to the mask. after a few seconds of this she could see that despite the nice gesture i wasn't going to be able to shoot. i handed it back to her and said thanks, but i'd risk it. little did the seven or eight people who warned me know, i had shot people welding in the past and that business about it effecting your camera is about as legit as the old guy who tells you not to take his picture because it will break your camera. this picture was the result. thanks for red plastic hangy stuff. hopefully i don't go blind in my sleep like the lady said.

bel air.

often times when you hear the phrase, "i bet i got something you've never seen before" it's through drunken slurs and some redneck is reaching for his crotch. so when this very same phrase came out of the beaverton chief of police's mouth at his home just after 7:30 a.m. i was taken off guard. he led me toward the barn, and there covered in dust with junk piled all around was a 50s model chevy bel air police cruiser. i love old cars so it was a fun way to start the day. needless to say we didn't dig out the bel air for a 100+ mile an hour trip like my previous police adventure, but we did head to the local diner for breakfast with the regulars. top speed 20mph.

almost.

it had potential to be a good frame just didn't come together, but from far away the picture looks like it was taken on a driving range. just thought it was odd.

home and back again.

i went home this past weekend to get out of midland. sometimes the town gets to me so i have to hit the road. i hung out with some guys i hadn't seen in years. it's odd how life changes, i used to hang out with those guys every day and get into a lot of trouble, but you never knew what was going to happen. i think that's why i like taking pictures so much. anyway i think i'm the only person in the group photo without a felony record. upon returning to midland i found my passport waiting on me. finally i can visit far away lands and beautiful people. today i cut ryan's hair in my kitchen. inevitably the first time i cut someone's hair they ask me how many people's hair i've cut. my answer is usually the same. sit down, don't move, and don't ask questions. if you're lucky you won't get cut. truth is i've cut a lot of hair. some good, some not so good, but it's always an experience so if you're ever in the neighborhood and want the mop chopped and a good meal, ok maybe not the best meal, let me know. so if you've had a haircut by me and you are reading this now leave a comment of our encounter. who knows maybe someday, if the comments are good, i can start charging. just joking, they'll always be free.

mini pulitzer

today my assignment was to hang out with the officers of the year. after a four hour stent with a police officer, with the highlight coming at the tail end when he attempted to coral a stray dog, no pun intended, i switched to the sherrif sgt. during debriefing a call comes in for a pi accident. my guy says he'll take the call and we head for his car in no rush what so ever. i thought it rather odd how calmly said officer made his way to the car, made sure everything, cell phone, clipboard, gun, etc. were in their place before starting the car and logging on to the computer. you get the picture. little did i know said officer had intentions of making up time on the drive there. we did 85mph. down a busy road in town and once we hit the four lane road the accident was on it was nothing to pass cars in the turning lane with oncomming traffic a couple feet away doing 105mph. i couldn't believe how many people don't yield either. anyway we finally made it to the scene at which point one sherrif, who wanted to set up a portait with the officers of the year next to a sign in front of the station moments earlier, and who kept telling me what pictures to take, you know that guy, expert on everything, says hey man get a picture of the helicopter, take it now! take it now! at which point i said, "i'll even put it in front of the sun for you," and he follows with "man you'll probably get a mini pulitzer for that or something," i replied "probably not," and went on about my business. i think he sinced my sarcasm because he stopped giving me pointers after that. so my question is, where are the application and guidelines for the mini pulitzer?