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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Mission Beach, some old hot-rods, thoughts on prison, creepy carousal, and a pissed of lady.


Please click on the individual pictures to see them in full size. 
You already here, you may as well see the picture like it was meant to be seen.

So I'm driving down the street in the mission beach area and I see these
two cars just parked on the street. The neighborhood is a little hinkey
and I told myself as I got out of the car I was just gonna get a few quick snaps
 and jamm out. Unfortunately after about 8 pictures I realize the camera is set on full manuel
and the shots are looking like shit. I kick it over to appreture priority and then I'm in the zone.
 The details are talking to me and as 5 minutes slip into 10 and a few shots get into 20 plus
 I slide out of there without getting questioned or getting my 
ass kicked by some big bastards.

This shot was taken at the Marina and although the boats were
 cool the light just didn't seem
 to be working with.. I just wasn't feeling it. For me taking pictures is like baking
 a cake and one of the
key ingredients is my mood. Pretty pictures of boats just weren't doing it for me,
 and then I came across
this gate. It immediately took me back in time to when
 I was actually doing time in a Federal Prison.
(I was on D Block)
Even the color of the metal was the same. It made me think of how here in San Diego
 it separatesthe boat owners from the general public,
 the haves from the have nots, 
and when I was in it separated
the crooks from the public. I considered how Ironic it was that here people want 
on the other side of the gate and then all we wanted was to be on this side of the gate.
 I made a mental note not to park
my boat there when my ship comes in, and then I got a little sad and moved on.


I'm sharing ths one just because I thought the reflection off of the water was cool.


While I was out shooting today in the Mission beach area the fog just
wouldn't roll out. No tourists were in the area and it was mostly just me
the people waiting for tourists and the homeless old men and run away kids.


For me there has always been something a little creepy
about carousels. They are so pretty but I always think about how
it is a big machine under the glam and pretty animals and machines
don't care for kids. They will crush them or drag them along in a new york second
and as the kids scream the music just continues to play. I've also always
been very skeptical of carousel operators as they always look dirty and half stoned,
they look like they secretly hate kids, and just really couldn't care less.
I guess it just could be me.


I just thought these photos captured that feeling pretty well.



I posted this picture because there was something unusual about it. I'm not enough of
a photographer to tell you what it is or how I did it I was just surprised at how deep this
photo turned out.

What are you looking at? She asked with her face. In truth I barely even noticed her until
I looked at these photos at home on the monitor. 
When I take pictures sometimes it's as if I'm in 
some kind of trance. I'm the big fat guy looking thru the view finder and
 actually bumping into
people. I am the one that lines up, and frames out the shot, 
and just as I click a car drives by and I'm
like where the hell did that come from. Then I remember
 I'm shooting across the street.
If you don't know by now I'm a little nuts.

I just want to tell you all how much I appreciate your views and comments. It's so flattering
to know that people have looked at the work thru my eyes almost 800 times.

I suppose I'm an attention whore.. Hell if I looked better and I was a chick, I'd be publishing beaver shots
and upskirts.. Lucky for you I'm just a fat guy with a very nice 14mp digital camera.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Desert Reflections, and photos.

(As always please click on the photo to see it in it's actual size..)


I am a fan of trains. Old ones, and new ones. 
The whole train thing gives me wood.
I actually feel an excitement when I stand on train tracks. 
The thing is trains made
good sense then and they still make sense. 
In the opinion of this fat ass, bald, photo
bug, rails are a hugely underrated American resource.
 For me train-tracks and trains represent endless possibilities.




When I saw this shack it made me think of Hoboes and chili heated
 in a fire and eaten out of the can.
 It made me think of whiskers, and clothes with patches, and pissing on
a bush. It made me think of cheep wine and cold nights.



I took this picture at a flea market in Yuma Arizona. It just made me think of pain.
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Saturday, January 8, 2011

Ocean Beach, San Diego, California 9am in January..

I don't mean to brag but this is the best action shot I have ever taken.
This inspires me because I am becoming more and more convinced that for me to
be a good photographer I need to take lots of pictures and hope for the best.
This photo proves that even a fat bald guy with a digital camera can get lucky once in awhile.


The thing about mornings at Ocean Beach is that the paint looks a little more peeled,
the imperfections are a little more glaring, and it's as if the glamm, has slipped just a little.



The homeless man in the bathroom at the coffee shop washing his pits in the sink makes
it a little more difficult to believe in the voice of the mighty and powerful OZ, and it makes you
a little more apt to look behind the green curtain to see what's really going on.


It's not less beautiful, but more mature and seasoned, kind of like an
exotic dancer minus the pole and neon, 12 hours later in her trailer house
with a Salem, a tattered terry cloth robe, a chipped cup of Sanka.


The bright colors and neon are still there but they pale a little with the new morning sun.


I still love it and I love California, for me it proves the magic is real,
because at 330 in the afternoon, when this whore is painted up, and the bikinis, wet suits,
guitar players, cigarette bumms, and sun dresses are out in force it's 100% paradise.

(Please take a moment to click the photos so you can see them in full size.)

Greedy Eyes...


One of the things that I hear most of all regarding my photos is
 that they are too cluttered, too busy,
and that they distract the viewer. In lots of ways I agree with this, 
however I often ask myself what it is that I
am trying to demonstrate with my pictures. Is my goal to organize and define life? 
Is my goal to provide focusand to de-clutter peoples lives with my pictures? I suppose in a portrait this might be the goal of the photographer.



For me it's not the case. For me the magic in the photo is to actually capture more of the world then can possibly be contained in the single dimension box of the photograph. The goal of tis photographer is to get you to click the image and study it for a moment. I want to show you something you haven't see or at least haven't noticed.



For a moment think of my photos as if they are a surprise all you can eat buffet table that someone has set up in your dining room while you were watching the evening news. Feast on the orange and blue, gorge yourself on the lines and the details, and if this confuses and distracts you then unbutton the top button on your trousers, let your belt out, recline in your EZ chair and have a snooze. You deserve it.


After all the world is full of unicorns, butterflies, rainbows, and well defined portraits of grinning children, and carefully made up fashion models.
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Friday, January 7, 2011

Fun with effects...

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If you have to have a mailbox, why not a bulldozer?

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Monday, January 3, 2011

I just thought the colors and clouds were cool in this snap...

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Sharing raisins and morning TV

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