hung up on the detail...

I posted an iPhone photo of this on IG a few months back. It was a wide-angle view of the room, compared to this closeup of the hangars. There is merit to both, but I mostly prefer the detail of closeup...

the moments matter...

In a matter of moments, things change from all smiles to taking medicine. I love having a camera with me at all times to catch these type of moments. It's not always about getting everyone to look at the camera. Sometimes, you just have to document what is going on. This is a style of photography that I want to master someday...

celebrating pyper...

Today is Pyper's birthday. So excited to celebrate 6 yrs of being around this little girl. Her expressions have been in so many of my pictures and I look forward to adding many many more over the coming years...

what really matters...

how can 'what I am to the people around me" make a difference. that's all that really matters...

missed memories...

Another image that was taken from a fairly close distance. I shoot mainly with the 50mm, so it seems even closer (with no distortion). So many images with so many expressions and I love them all. I have been looking at many unscanned negatives that I have taken over the last few months. Gosh, I take a lot of photos of Pyper and Allister. I guess maybe I am trying to make up for all the memories that I might have missed with Maci and Sadi. It's crazy to think that I only had one camera almost the entire time when Maci and Sadi were growing up. No wonder I missed capturing some of the memories...

who else but kids...

Who else, but kids, can you photograph outside in their PJs sucking their thumb and carrying a blanket with a stuffed animal. 

On another note, the BWXX film seems a bit grainy in this roll. The more I figure out about film developing, the more I realize that there is more to it. Plan on trying another Ilford developer (Ilfotech DD-X) soon to see if I can improve the grain...

a consuming part of my life...

A moment outside, in close, where I caught her staring at the lens. Imagine that this was captured on some plastic film with some emulsion (that has silver halide in it) using a box and some glass that funneled the light onto the film. I continually am amazed that I do this so often and take for granted that I have the tools and the material to make this happen over and over and over again. So the question was asked. Is photography an important part of your life? I think I can honestly answer that photography (and capturing moments just like this) consumes my life...

it's a matter of focus...

I've said it many times. My favorite photos are the ones where I get in close. Pyper was so focused on coloring that it didn't bother her one bit that I come in close to capture this memory. In reality, we were both pretty focused. Just on different things...

a reflection of sundance square...

A window reflection from Sundance Square in downtown Ft Worth captured earlier this year. So many Texas elements in this photo, including me and my Leica M6. It definitely has a Ft Worth vibe...

three things...

Taken over the summer when we were living at a friends farmhouse while we were waiting on our house to be finished. Such great memories. Looking through my film scans makes me realize three things. (1) I take too many pictures of Pyper. She is probably going to be emotionally scarred from this someday and have a fear of people with cameras. (2) I love pictures with grain more than ever before. I never thought I would prefer grain over sharpness. (3)  Most of my photos are taken with a horizontal perspective. I think that is just how my brain sees the world...

the passing of time...

A photo of Maci from all the way back in February of this year when Maci, Tyler, me and Sherri took Pyper and Allister to the Sports Park playground in Greenville. I am not for sure that there are many times that I show up to anything without a camera. I guess I am afraid of missing something special. Even though most of what I capture seems to be the ordinary (such as this). That being said, I am starting to realize that the ordinary seems to become special as time passes...

goodbyes are never easy...

A few weeks back, I flew in from Boston and Sadi was on her way back to college. We met for dinner in Arlington because I didn't get to see her when she came home for a few days. No matter if the time is short or if we get to spend a week together, goodbyes are never easy.  We are so proud of everything Sadi has accomplished, but we miss her nonetheless. I love the fact that I always have a camera with me (in this case, my Leica M6) so I can capture these special moments for permanent memories...

shootout...

A good film day today... I received the email with the link to some of my color film scans. Some of the film was taken quite some time ago. Here is a photo of Toby during one of my visits to Southern California during January of this year. We all ended up at Laguna Beach to try and catch some sunset photos. It was that typical photo of taking pictures of each other taking pictures (a shoot out of sorts). Better late than never on posting the photo...

reviewing the shot...

Looking through some of my old film pictures is always fun. Ran upon this one from last year at the fourth of July pre-fireworks show. I was shooting with my Leica M6 and Pyper was shooting with my Canon 6D. After watching Tyler and me shoot so much, she picks up many of our mannerisms. It is so neat to just sit back and watch her in action. So glad I caught this one on film...

christmas 2014 on film...

I continue to have the desire to keep film a part of my life. I have used instant film for the last three years, but I want to start using 35mm & 120mm film more often. My goal is to eventually use my Leica M6 camera to document all aspects of my life. I truly want to master this camera and a small selection of films.  Ilford Delta 3200 is one of those films.  It is very forgiving and super-flexible in all types of lighting and conditions.

 This year, I wanted to make sure and bring film back to document Christmas morning and the days after. I didn't use it as much as I would like, but after developing every roll I become more confident in using the camera and film. See the images above for a small selection of what I was able to capture...

lucky shot...

This is from an older roll of Kodak T-Max that was taken during a breakfast outing at Lucky's Cafe in Oak Lawn. Taken with my Leica M6 and 50mm Cron lens wide open. I love capturing these moments on film...

the future of film...

I love how Pyper enjoys playing with film cameras. I believe that when the time comes, it will be natural for her to use a manual film camera (or maybe even a large format camera). Between Tyler and me, she is surrounded by so many types of cameras and she tends to want to handle all of them. Here's to the future face of film...

walk the line...

Got quite a few rolls of film developed and scanned today. It was mostly taken over the summer. I love getting these little surprises like this. It was taken on the 4th of July prior to the fireworks show. It always makes me happy when I can catch unposed action using my manual focus Leica M6...

left behind...

Another image from our trip to Hawaii. Sadi stayed behind while Sherri, Dee & I went on to see the turtles. Came back to find her sleeping on the beach. No better opportunity for a photo...

Pete and Dee...

We just got back from our trip to Hawaii. Never really thought of going to Hawaii until Sherri was talking with my cousin Dee earlier in the year. Pete and Dee live in Hawaii and they invited us to come visit. They have invited us to visit many times before (in the many places that they have lived such as Paris and DC), but it never seemed to work out. It had been around 20 years since we had actually seen each other face to face. Nothing like a trip to Hawaii to catch up... I would have to say that it was one of the most relaxing and fun weeks that we have had on a vacation. Pete and Dee were gracious hosts and super tour guides. If you know me, then you know that I always take a few cameras with me on a vacation. For Hawaii, I had to pack light... I took photos with my Leica M6, my Canon 6D, my Polaroid 680SLR and my iPhone. These were both taken with my Leica M6 using Kodak Ektar 100 film. More to come, but I wanted to share these two photos first...