04 December 2007

when the rain taps at the window

"My gripe is not with the lovers of the truth but with the truth herself. What succor, what consolation is there in truth, compared to a story? What good is truth, at midnight, in the dark, when the wind is roaring like a bear in the chimney? When the lightning strikes shadows on the bedroom wall and the rain taps at the window with its long fingernails? No. When fear and cold make a statue of you in your bed, don't expect hard-boned and fleshless truth to come running to your aid. What you need are the plump comforts of a story. The soothing, rocking safety of a lie." -Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale


Here in Seattle, we heard quite a bit of rain tapping at the window... With flood warnings in effect I was able to take a half day off of work and spend the morning with my mom and dad.

Neruda

The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.
The night wind revolves in the sky.
To hear the immense night,
still more immense without her.
And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.
Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
The saddest lines about her.
-Pablo Neruda

28 November 2007

Perfection


In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away, when a body is stripped down to its nakedness. -Antione de St. Exupery, Wind, Sand and Stars

27 November 2007

Caught


I think my brother-in-law/room-mate explains it best on his website (www.caughtclothing.com) but there is something about being "caught" in a moment that I just love in the photographic medium. Its so very true and raw.

14 November 2007

"Soccer Moms"

"Soccer moms," Freddy said "spending all day driving around in shapeless vehicles that look like Flash Gordon's bread truck, and their children watch television in the back and ape superficial characters therein. This is the cause of deep unhappiness, because what they want is so different from what they have, even though they don't realize that this is so. They don't want their children to dress like circus clowns, speak like zombie chipmunks, and behave like programed machines. They want sons and daughters they can talk to; they want a struggle they can win but that they are not assured of winning; they want to know physical exhaustion; they want to be sunburned; they want to smell eucalyptus; they want to weep; they want to dance naked for their husbands; they want to feel wind, see the stars, swim in a river, slam the back door, and laugh uncontrollably with their children. That's what they want. They don't want the crap they have, the crap self promises, or the crap you would promise if you could figure out what to promise. They want to be free, to have dignity, to know honor and sacrifice. What else does anyone want?"
-Moofoomooach (or Freddy Finney from the book Freddy and Fredricka by Mark Helprin)

13 November 2007

Kirkland




My dear friend Jody asked me to take some photos of a home and some settings down in Kirkland for her website. She is beginning a career in Real Estate and I was only too happy to help. Kirkland is such a great city. Email me for Jody's contact info, she would love to help with any real estate needs. And I will be sure to inform everyone of her website once it is finished!

Engagement

It is official! My little sister is engaged to be married!


Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at eachother but in looking outward together in the same direction. There is no comradeship except through union in the same high effort. -Antione de Saint Exupery

01 November 2007

Starbucks Cups

I have to admit, the last quote I posted from some guy named Lyall was found on the side of a Starbucks cup. It is part of their "The Way I See It" quote cups. No, Starbucks cups are not the only things I read, and no, I do not know who Lyall Bush is or why they printed what he had to say on the side of their cup. I just thought it was a cute thought about childhood.
I have one other Starbucks cup quote for you all. This one is very appropriate...



"People don't read enough. And what reading we do is cursory, without absorbing the subtleties and nuances that lie deep within - Wow, you've stopped paying attention, haven't you? People can't even read a coffee cup without drifting off."
-David Shore, the creator and executive producer of the TV show House

Childhood

"Childhood is a strange country. It's a place you come from or go to - at least in your mind. For me it has an endless, spellbound something in it that feels remote. It's like a little sealed-vault country of cake breath and grass stains where what you do instead of work is spin until you're dizzy." -Lyall Bush

It takes a long time to become young. -Pablo Picasso

29 October 2007

Love


We are created by love, to live in love, for the sake of love.

-Gerald May

28 October 2007

A Whole Life




"I try to see the whole woman," Eddie said to Hannnah. "Of course I recognize that she's old, but there are photographs - or the equivalent of photographs in one's imagination of anyone's life. A whole life, I mean. I can picture her when she was much younger than I am - because there are always gestures and expressions that are ingrained, ageless. An old woman doesn't always see herself as an old woman, and neither do I. I try to see her whole life in her. There's something so moving about someone's whole life."
He stopped talking, not only because he'd embarrassed himself, but also because Hannah was crying, "No one will ever see me that way," Hannah said.
-John Irving, A Widow For One Year

Hurricane of Love

So over a month ago, I was entrusted with the job of photographing Bethany and Willie on their wedding day. I could not have asked for a better experience. I traveled to Montana where the wedding took place on the shores of Flathead Lake. The landscape was beautiful, the weather was beautiful, and the bride, groom, family and friends were all beautiful. I only hope that this is the beginning of a awesome career in the world of photography. You will see more images from their wedding in the postings to follow.







26 October 2007

Lost and Found

This painting, entitled "Tres Personajes", was found in a dumpster in Manhattan. It was created by a Mexican artist named Rufino Tamayo. It will be sold in an auction at Sotheby's for perhaps $1 million. It has made the news, what a great find! "Three People" was saved from being lost forever in a landfill. I wonder how many other people are out there, laying in a dumpster, waiting to be found and celebrated. How much more valuable are real people than this painting "Three People"? Just something to ponder.

25 October 2007

Happiness




If you want to be happy, be.
-Henry David Thoreau

24 October 2007

Quotations






Among other things, I collect quotes. I just wanted to warn you that you will see them in this blog.

Japanese Garden













I went to the Japanese Garden in search of something. I did not find what I was looking for and instead found this beautiful landscape.

Hawaii - The Big Island





Mom, Dad, Joshua and I went to Hawaii recently. I'd never been to The Big Island so the trip was full of fun experiences; volcanoes, sea turtles, horseback riding, etc. It was so nice to be in the sun with the weather in Seattle starting to turn to true fall. We visited my uncle Wayne which is always a pleasure with his fun nature and sense of humor.

Joshua and I at the Volcano National Park with a crater in the background. Most recent lava flow that we found was Sept. 1982. (I picked up a rock from it, because I was born just before.) We experienced the vastly different landscapes and went from what you see in this picture to dense humid jungle just a few miles further down the road.

Horses we met on the way to Ka Lae. Beautiful and somewhat desolate country. Hawaii has wild horses but I believe that someone owns these. I went horseback riding through a jungle valley in the north part of the island. The Big Island has the largest ranch in the United States, Parker Ranch. So cowboys, horses and cattle are a common sight.

Here is Joshua. This has got to be my favorite photo of him from the trip. (And you can see me and Dad in his reflective sunglasses!) He's such a great model for me. You can't tell from the photo, but he is standing on the southern most tip of the United States. A place called Ka Lae. This place was considered the edge of the world for the ancient people of Hawaii, they believed that this is where their souls would go to jump out into the afterlife. It was a very cool place. We drove for over 10 miles down a one lane dirt/gravel road through fields to come to this point where cliffs dropped to the bright blue ocean. The wind was strong and the sky was clear.


This is Howie. He is one of the many Sea Turtles that I met on my trip. We watched Howie and his friends play in the waves and then he decided to come up onto shore and watch us. Sea Turtles are such fascinating animals, its always a treat to meet one.

04 October 2007

This is my family





This is me

As you can see, I have figured out the photo thing. This is me, on the phone, at the Missula airport, in the middle of the night. I believe this is the most recent photo that was taken of me and it is an auto portrait. I guess this is the beginning... ;)

So umm... here it goes

I've just made a blog. (please hold your applause till the end) This should be a very educational experience for me and for everyone hopefully. Please, I encourage you to stay tuned for more tasty tidbits from yours truly. Next step, figuring out how to post my photos...