Thursday, January 28, 2010

Distracted from photography for a bit..

Since Sunday, I have been spending more time with my dog, Mingus. Since getting to Austin, I have kind of run off and left him behind at my friend's house. He's been a good sport about it, but I can tell when his patients is running thin. Nothing worse than a Blue Heeler who is starved for exercise.
Zilker Park is my friend. Always has been. I've been going to that park regularly since 1993, with Spek until he was 12, and now Mingus going on 5.

And then there is the restaurants. OMG.
I've said this before. If you cruise down S.First from Barton Springs to Ben White (which is about 4 miles), you drive past 40 Mexican joints, and most of them are Taco Stands! I have stood on the grounds of one stand, and can see 3 others from where I am! It's the most amazing thing. Beautiful.

I'm getting rain for the next couple days so it time to work on other things, but on Saturday I am hitting the black top with a scooter and a camera.. and it's time to do some taco shack shooting.

SIDE NOTES: AVOID AUSTIN IN JANUARY! Dammit, I'm getting Cedar Fever. I've been here for 7 days, and it's taking hold. My buddy, Ted, handed me 12 Zertec when I got here. I've been taking them too, but it's not enough. I've only got 5 more days in this town... LEAVE ME ALONE!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Mission Accomplished


After having breakfast tacos at Habanera’s, I posed the question, “Road Trip?”
Ted: “Road trip!  Enchanted Rock?”
Me: “San Antonio Missions?”
Ted nods: “Cameras”
Me: “yes”
Ted: “I need to shower”
Me: “Noon”
Ted: “My house”

That’s just how it works with Ted and I.   It was a really good time too.  We got there around 1pm, and started of at the Mission Concepcion, the first of at least 3 missions we wanted to check out on this “mission mission”. 

 

Concepcion had some construction going on, preventing us from access to the main church.  Still plenty of things to shoot, and the challenge of it was the fact that it was Saturday with lots of people on site.







 San Jose was next, and is the largest of the Missions as far as grounds in tact, living quarters in tact, and size of main structure.  This is my favorite site.  The arches and curves on the structure are truly amazing.  Luckily the clouds that hung over the area in the morning had almost burned up by noon, so there was some good wispy whites going on in my back grounds.


San Juan is the 3rd on the tour.  This structure is in crisis.   Both of the long walls were buckling with visible erosion cracks inside and out.  Ted commented that this is what happens in a drought around here.  There were a couple shots at this site I wanted to re-shoot from a visit 8 or 9 years ago, and could not because of repairs. 
The surprise of the trip was stumbling upon a sculpture site in a park.  The objects are large straw men and women working the field.  They were larger than life, and pretty cool looking.
All the images are on the website right now under: New Stuff 
Check ‘em out if you get a chance.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Hey, hit the highway...

I spent a day cleaning and packing the element.  This haul was going to be nothing but driving.  The goal: Drive from Canton, Ohio to somewhere at least an hour into Arkansas.  About 13 hours of driving in one day.  Get a room.  Sleep, and then make 6-7 hour drive to Dallas.  As I did.  Nothing exciting...  no photos... just driving.
Got to Dallas just fine on day 2.  Met up with my friends Matteo and Allison at the American Airlines Center, and got to see none other than Eddie Izzard do 2.5hours of stand up, improv, and mime acting.  He's one of my all time favorites, and it was fantastic to see him live.  Worth the long ass drive! 
After the show, I was exhausted and fatigued.    I knew how to get right to the highway, but the event planners rerouted traffic, and I had no idea where I was going.
I had to follow the heard. 
I don't know how, but the force must have been with me.  Eventually, I just ran into the highway I needed to be on, and was headed south to Austin.
It was going to be a 2.5 hour drive.  I was punch drunk at this point.  I was starting to realize that I should not be on the highway.  My head should be parallel with a pillow, and my body in a horizontal position.  Didn't want to spend the money on a hotel room, but there was just no way to be safe on the road for the final 1.5 hour of my drive.

I got a very cheap ass hotel.  With Mingus, it was $28.  They don't come much cheaper than that! 
The next morning, I finished the haul feeling rested and awake.

An hour later, I was at Maria's Taco Xpress!  The taco I had been waiting for was in my hand.  And as a friend described, I waved my Victory Taco with much vigor.    I had breakfast with an old friend, Teri, who I used to work with.  She's all about the music.  Country music, and fine fine fine at it.  We caught up on things, and touched breifly on the wedding that we were attending that night.

Bridgette and Jesse's wedding.  What a great time that was.  Located at the Wizard Academy, the chapel was beautiful, the ceremony at sunset, and the attending Whole Earth family which was exceptional to reconnect with .

It was a simple ceremoney that laced the over the top pomp and cercumstance, which I appreciate so much. 

The reception was at Jesse's brother's house, and that was a good time!  Very special hanging with some of the folks I had not seen in 5 years or more.  Good stuff.  Pit fire, music, outside in warm weather...  wonderful!

 9 Days left in Austin. 
This morning, the plan is....  breakfast tacos.  Meeting up with friends for breakfast again.  Good times..

Monday, January 18, 2010

Part 2

As far as selling my photography, things went better than expected.  Though some good contacts, I was able to get in on several good shows, and I now have leads for a few more for next fall. 
While visiting the family, I was able to complete my goal of starting a websites for myself, my family's business, and revamp the scooter site.  www.zootscootestes.com and www.fiddlestixbilliards.com are the fruits of my labor this winter.  It would have taken much longer if I didn't have the chance to work around the clock on the things.

And now my time is ending in Ohio.  The family has been great, and it's been a blast seeing old friends.  But now I am excited to get on the road, and head south to Dallas.  One evening there to see Eddie Izzard LIVE, and then off to Austin to see friends, tie up loose ends, and finally see The Residents perform at Stubb's BBQ, and a second night in Dallas.
Then, back to Colorado. 

Photos will be had along the way. 
Hey hit they highway...

2 Days till Highway Part 1.

Back in October, I packed up the apartment in Estes Park, and readied myself for the trip to Ohio.  There, I was going to be with family, build a website for my photography, and my folks' business.  I was going to get involved in the local art scenes, and hopefully get some vending gigs around the holidays to makes some desperately needed cash. 

A week before my departure day, I was headed out to town to get some things done.  Mingus was underfoot, as he always gets nervous when I start packing up things.  He wants to make sure he's not left behind!  I went to take a step out the door, and he bumps into the snow/ice windshield scraper that is propped up next to the door for easy access.  I see the scrapper falling as I am taking my first step out the door.  It hits the ground, and my foot plants itself on it, ankle rolls, and down I go.

As  I'm falling, I'm wondering if I'm going to hit my head on the cement.  I wonder if this is going to fuck up my back.  I'm wondering if Mingus knows what just happened.  Lastly, I wonder if this giant poof of a parka is going to cusion my fall.
I'm grounded, and in pain.  I got up, and limped on to the truck.
After a few hours of running errands and visiting friends, I get back to the house, and lay down.

It's when I attempt to get up, that things really suck.  The pain shot up my leg, and caught me in the eyes.  I fall back onto my ass on the bed.  I can't put any weight on it, and the next few days are spent keeping it wrapped, iced, and elevated.  I had a lot to do, but couldn't do any of it.  I wondered if I could drive this way.
Two days before my departure, I decided I was indeed finally good to drive, and finished up the packing business around the house and shop.
By the end of the day, my throat was scratchy.  "You have got to be kidding!"  I refuse to get sick!  Ah, I may refuse, but the body had no choice.  When I woke up the next day, it was clear that I was on the verge of sickness.  Little did I know...

They day of departure, I was sick as a dog.  My ass was a gieser, and there was absolutely NO WAY I could leave like this.  I couldn't go an hour or two with out the surprise ass attack.  I went to Safeway to try and buy some manufactured ass explosion remedy.  While browsing the selections, Old Faithful blew.  It was horrible.  I had to buy this stuff, but I had to get out of the store.  A speedy self check out and out the door I went.  Luckily there is always a towel in the truck.  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe taught me to always have my towel.

The following day, I decided to leave.  I didn't have anything left to lose.  Sick as a dog, I left.  The trip was uneventful, other than feeling like a week old zombie.    I didn't eat for like 4 days, and made it safely to Ohio.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Here we go...

Website is up, blog is ready..