what lies ahead...

Definitely not my typical photo to post. I took this one with my Hasselblad CM camera over the weekend after we left a restaraunt here in Greenville. Lots of things going on in the life of my family right now that weighs heavily on my heart. I remember looking down the row of chairs and seeing how desolate it looked. It was cold and rainy and there was a mist in the air under the lights. Of course I ran to my vehicle and grabbed my camera to come back and take this shot. Sometimes photos are meant to be a reminder of how we were feeling at the time. This is one of those times...

Wilco...

Not bad for my first medium format film image of Wilco. Caught him sneaking out the door when I was outside taking a photo of Pyper. It was almost like he was posing for me. A little grainy and contrasty because I underexposed a bit...

ruby's cafe...

Had to fit in a self-reflection photo into my first roll of film that I put through my Hasselblad. This was taken in downtown Greenville outside of Ruby's Cafe. The depth of the image is what keeps me taking these reflection photos. Seeing into the cafe and the reflection of the buildings/stuff across the street makes for an intriguing image. Oh yeah, and by the way, I am in the photo too. Just proves that I was there with my Hasselblad...

everyday black and white...

Here are a couple of more Hasselblad shots from my first roll. Not the most creative shots, but definitely keepers. As crazy as it may seem, I bought the Hasselblad to take everyday black and white shots around the house so that I could develop them myself and I only had to shoot 12 shots before the roll was finished. Both of these photos were taken on Kodak Tri-X 400 film shot at ISO 400. The first one was taken outside on a cold/windy day last weekend. The shutter speed on the second one was 1/15 so I tried to keep it as steady as possible while I shot. It probably needed 1-2 more stops of light to bring in some of the detail. The Polaroid Big Shot camera got a little lost in the shadows...

adding to the mix...

Spent Saturday afternoon working on tearing down several pallets to use the wood on a wall in my eventual studio space & darkroom. All I can say is that tearing apart something that is built to stay together is not the easiest job. Didn't take long before I had to add some coffee and film to the mix...

shooting with a Hasselblad...

My first image that I scanned from my first roll of 120 film in my new-to-me Hasselblad 500 C/M.  After shooting the camera this weekend, I can definitely tell you that it is a keeper! This image is just one example of the quality of photos that this camera can produce. For the record, I love the sound of the Hasselblad when you press the shutter release to take a photo. 

The day was gloomy, but the film/lens combo still produced some great contrast. What a beautiful photo of Maci for my first post with this camera. There is nothing more rewarding to me than capturing superb images of my family and being able to share them...

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...

in process selfie...

Sadi and I spent some time walking around the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff over the Summer. After seeing the blue background, Sadi pulled out her cell phone and I pulled out my Leica M6. We both got photos, but my file is backed up with a negative...

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...

being there...

So much can be going on when you are taking photos, but the beauty of the picture is when you can remember being there.  I love the simple candid photos that document the day...

hook and ladder...

This was one of my first photos taken when I decided that I was going to start shooting 35mm film again.  I still had my very first Nikon FG-20 camera with me during this trip. It was taken several months ago after I had dinner with a friend, Francisco, in Sacramento, CA (Francisco actually gave me the film). It is Cinestill 500, which takes absolutely beautiful photos at night with mixed lighting. This is a great example of the colors that are rendered...

a moment like this...

I never seem to get enough opportunities to take photos of Sherri. So glad that I have the different cameras laying around the house that can be picked up and grab a moment like this...

a young pro(digy)...

Some may be a little nervous seeing a 3 1/2 yr old holding a camera that cost a bit of money. Me... Not nervous at all. I am way too proud to be nervous. I get all excited when I see Pyper taking pictures. The reality is that she has every opportunity to be so great at it. I love the look on her face when she takes a good photo and sees in on the screen. Her smile is a mile wide... and so is mine...

muted tones...

One of the keepers from an expired roll of Portra 400 film that was shot in Tyler's Yashica Mat-124G camera. Love the muted tones from expired roll film. So glad Sadi let me capture this one...

in the moment...

Got my scans back from Indie Film Lab today. Scrolling through them, this one definitely stuck out.  It absolutely captures the essence of raising kids in America. You take the time to do the little things with your kids to enrich both of your lives. It only adds to this photo that baseball is absolutely a favorite pastime that extends through all generations. Nothing posed about this moment. All parties, including me behind the camera, are 100% in the moment and enjoying it thoroughly...

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...

taking a break...

I am so belated in getting a lot of my photos out there. I have taken so many lately with all my various cameras, but I have started posting less.  I feel overwhelmed in that I want to get them all posted on my blogs. This is an image from our trip to Hawaii in May. We all were down in the Waikiki shopping area.  After all the walking, Sherri let everyone else go ahead and she found a shaded area to sit back and relax.  When I came walking up, it looked like a great 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...

my best friend...

Most of the time, my pictures on this blog are a way for me to document and bring awareness to the things that are important to me. That is why the majority of my photos involve portraits of people. That being said, the most important person to me that resides on this earth is my partner in this life, my companion/helper when I'm at my best and at my worst, easily someone that I proudly call my best friend. How lucky am I to get to call Sherri my wife and how lucky are we as a family to have her as the mother of our two girls.

Happy Mother's Day to my best friend...

pushing the limits

A photo of me taken indoors by the legendary Simon Ponder at the Gristmill in Gruene, TX during our lunch together. The photo was taken on my Leica M6 with a 50mm Cron lens. This roll was my first experiment with pushing Portra 400 film to ISO 800. Overall this made the photos grainier than I imagined it would be. They are still good photos, but nowhere near the detail of the Ektar 100 that I just processed before this. A great lesson in realistic expectations...