a taste of winter...

I seem to have taken several photos over the last couple of days of our first "real" taste of winter.  I was looking for a photo that portrayed a desolate/cold look.  This look is sometimes hard to do in a city environment.  These two photos seem to fit the bill.  It is always amazing how you can take such a simple subject and make a photo. Came upon this scene today while driving Sherri and  her twin sister around shopping.  I dropped them off and drove back behind the store and took these two pictures with my Leica. Really wanted to capture this scene using instant film.  Unfortunately the temperatures made it very difficult to use this type of film. Will see if I can salvage and post them later.

a mother and her daughter...

Probably one of my favorite things to photograph is family.  When I got my Leica M8 and now my Polaroid collection, I stopped taking mass quantities of pictures (relatively speaking folks).  Instead, I try and make the few photographs I take really count.  Using this method I miss alot of photographs, but how I absolutely enjoy the ones that I catch.  Saw these on my computer and noticed that I haven't posted them.  What a beautiful relationship: a mother and her daughter...

beautifully rendered...

Seems like I have had ALOT of opportunities lately to take pictures of Pyper.  No matter how many photos I have in my stack to edit or scan, I can't seem to quit taking more.  

Pyper and I spent a little time outside on Sunday playing in the leaves and running around. The two pictures are separated by about 60 seconds. In the first, she is almost terrified of the leaves. In the second all she can do is smile. Regardless of the look, the Leica M8 and 50mm Summicron rendered the images beautifully...   

longing for something...

Saw Pyper looking out the front door this morning when Sadi left. She stood there at the door for some time just staring outside. Maybe she was hoping that Sadi was actually going to come back, maybe she saw something else or maybe she just wanted to see what it looked like on the outside. I grabbed my camera because I knew exactly what I was seeing. I saw a little girl longing for something. Much like all of us, but in a way that was totally visible. All too often we long for things, but we keep it bottled up inside.  That is the beauty of the innocence of a child.  They can only wear their emotions/desires on the outside...

Pyper being candid...

Seems like I take alot of posed shots, but I absolutely love being able to catch a candid moment with my manual focus Leica. Pyper is hard to catch so I guess you could say that she gives me lots of practice. Took this one on Saturday while eating out at Chick-Fil-A. Pyper was joining in on the conversation...

One camera, one shot...

Specific instructions from Sadi while we were walking to the car - "one camera, one shot"...

I cheated just a little.  I only used one camera but I took two shots (this was my favorite).  I have to look at the positive side of this.  Her demands keep me on my toes with my Leica when I HAVE to nail the shot the first time using manual focus and manual settings.

look at those eyes...

A picture of Maci that I took the other night with the Canon 5D.  I changed it to a low contrast black & white photo in Aperture.  The picture already had a shallow depth of filed because it was taken with an 85mm lens at f/1.8.  Both of these put together bring out the eyes even more.  I really love closeup/offset perspective...

peace and bunnies...

Here are my first couple of photos from my newly purchased 5D Mark II.  These were taken during lunch today with Pyper.  Added some film grain using NIK Color Efex Pro.    

a lucky man...

Came home from the movie this evening and talked Sherri into taking a picture with me. As I have mentioned before, this is a difficult discussion at our house.  Sherri absolutely hates to have her picture taken.  I am becoming more persistent because, as the years go on, these photos have become more important to me.  As we get older, time seems to get away faster, and I want to make sure and have memories of us posted throughout this blog (and in frames around our house).  As I stare at this photo, I just think to myself "what a lucky man I am"!  

Can't wait to take the next one... :)

a hope we cannot explain...

When we were on our family vacation in California a few weeks ago, Sadi went down to the workout room every morning.  One of the mornings I noticed she was wearing this shirt and couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a picture.  Of course, she thought I was only taking a picture of her shirt.  I had specific orders not to get anything else in the picture.  Looking through the lens, I couldn't pass up getting her expression and overall demeanor/body language. What a deep, introspective shot...

So now on to the word "hope"...

hope - to have a feeling, chance, desire, expectation or wish to do something or to make something happen...

Without hope, our lives would be meaningless. We all have hopes that get us through the day (week, month or even year).  Hope is something that transcends all things.  Let me say it again...  Without hope, our lives would be meaningless.

I love this excert that photographer Robert Adams wrote and how he relates it to hope. "Of all the sacred places on the coast, none is more comforting than where rivers join the sea. By the river's disappearance we are reminded of life's passing, while by the ocean's beauty we accept it, in a hope we cannot explain."

We could all learn something from this.  Maybe by trying to focus a little less on the fleeting failures in our lives and focus a little more on the hope in our lives that eternally matter.

searching...

Sometimes my favorite photos are the un-posed photos where you just catch the moment. No pressure to catch that one specific look while they hold it for you. No "cheese" to get them to smile just right. No frustration when they will not do exactly as you want. Just a search for that moment when the open shutter meets a perfect memory...  

In this photo, Pyper was just strolling around in the back yard while I snapped a few pictures with my Leica M8.

I absolutely love the images that are rendered by the M8. The M-mount lenses just melt the background and make the focal point of the image pop out even more. Makes me realize that the only way that I will ever get rid of my M8 is when I can buy an M9.

the Land Rover...

Came home tonight and parked my Land Rover in the street for a minute.  When I was walking up the drive, I decided to go grab a camera and tripod to take a few pictures.  Remember, I will take pictures of anything.  My biggest problem is stopping at one...  I took one with the Leica M8, one with the Olympus EP2, one with the Polaroid 100 and one with the Polaroid 250.  Lots of pictures, different edits on the digital and different films on the analog...

in the studio with Maci and Tyler...

Took quite a few pictures this past weekend.  Makes for a great weekend!  I guilted Maci and Tyler into coming over on Sunday after lunch to let me take a few studio shots of them.  Mainly took Polaroids, that I will post later on my instant blog, but I took a few pictures with my trusted Olympus EP2.  Really would like to upgrade to the OM-D, but I keep getting winners with this one.  I only took six shots and three of them are below.

  Tyler always seems to start the shoots off by really posing and making faces.  He does this stuff and he knows that I will get the picture.  The great thing is that these are usually the ones that I want to post/print.  I really like this one because Maci was getting ready for the picture and of course she looks over and sees Tyler acting out. What a look, what a moment...

Here is a closer image where both of them have great expressions/smiles.  Square format rules!

Lastly, two different edits of a posed full-body photo.  The first one just has the minor adjustments to contrast/sharpening.  For the second one I added the Aperture vintage preset.  When I can't decide which one, I post them both...

two worlds...

Two worlds, just seconds and feet apart...  

Sitting across the table from Maci and Pyper yesterday.  Maci was reading and she looked up and smiled. Pyper had just pulled her bow out of her hair and threw it on the table and couldn't quite reach it.  I love the dynamics of family!  More than that, I love having a camera by my side to catch it all...

the not yet meets the already gone...

Was walking around in Deep Ellum on Saturday looking for murals and such to photograph.  Came upon this and couldn't resist taking a picture of it.  Up close, it is hard to make out the pictures.  When you step back and look, everything comes more into focus.  Got to thinking about this (because I was just walking around) and realized this is something that is required in our everyday life.  We are always at the intersection of where "the not yet" meets "the already gone".  Are we willing to step back from the busyness of life and let the things around us (that mean the most to us) come more into focus?  Or are we going to let life just be one big blur of meaningless activity...

two tylers...

Took this a while ago and wasn't really happy with the results. It was taken with the Olympus EP2 camera using studio lights.  Sometimes you need to let the image set on the computer and it comes back to you.  

The image that Tyler is holding is an Old Gen PX70 Color Shade image from Impossible that I took of him outside a few days prior to this portrait.  Not for sure if it is my best image ever, but after editing it in NIK Color Efex Pro it definitely has a neat look...

peeking over the fence...

Doesn't get any cuter than this? Don't know what she was looking at or if she could really see over but she kept trying...

a rare occurrence...

I hardly ever get the chance to take pictures of Sherri and Terri together. Neither of them like their picture being taken and they always seem to have an excuse why I shouldn't take it right now.  Plus when I do take pictures, Terri has the ability to ALWAYS blink exactly when the shutter is pressed.  So my original intent of taking this photo with my SX-70 on Impossible film was not exactly a good idea.  I now have taken around five instant photos of Terri, including today's photo, and her eyes are closed (or nearly closed) in all of them.  Oh well, this is what digital cameras were made to overcome.  I "settled" with an photo from my Leica...

carnival art...

Took a little time one morning, a few weeks ago, to stop by and get some pictures of the images/murals painted on some of the County Fair carnival props.  The carnival wasn't open at the time so of course one of the workers was bound to stop by and ask me what I was doing there.  Took the opportunity to start up a conversation that ended with "can I get a picture of you?"...  ...he happily obliged.  Afterwards he showed me several pictures/videos that he had taken of various carnival venues.  ...interesting...

All of the images below were taken with my Leica M8 and the 50mm Summicron lens.  

a visit to schaeffer's garment hotel...

Sometimes opportunities come along totally unexpected...  

Robert Schaeffer, the owner of Schaeffer's Garment Hotel, is the cousin of a co-worker of mine (John Hughes).  During one of my visits to LA, John and I stopped by so that he could say hi to his cousin.  I was absolutely amazed by the space that Robert had created.  He has vintage clothing, boots and belts.  He repairs jeans and fabricates/sells custom made denims.  On top of all of that (no pun intended) he has a custom hatter, Gunner Foxx, that operates out of the back of his shop.  After this visit I just couldn't quit talking with John about the shop.  I asked John to call Robert and ask if I could come back during my next visit and take some photos of the place.  A few weeks passed and I returned.  Robert was such a gracious host!  After I had taken a few instant and digital photos of the shop with my SX-70 and Leica, Robert introduced me to Gunner Fox.  They were both cordial enough to let me photograph Gunner in action.  One word:  AMAZING!  

If you're ever in LA around Sunset Blvd and N Gardner Street, make sure and stop by.  You will not be disappointed...

Hopefully I can get another opportunity some day to do this again.  I have thought about all of the things that I would do different.  So many details about the shop that I missed. 

That being said, below are my seven favorites from the Leica...

the piano...

some dogs have it good...

not so sure this is accurate...

about to start the fire...

watching it burn...

a unique way of putting out the fire...

mr. gunner foxx...

today's photos...

Been posting mostly my instant camera collection lately, but the Leica is always ready to take a great picture right out of the bag.  Love how it just seems to be an extension of my vision.  Matched with the Summicron 50mm Leica lens, the results are always stunning.  Unfortunately, I can only take a small part of the credit here.  The camera and the subjects make it easy...

expressions of pyper - photosets

One of my favorite things to do. Sit around, with my Leica in hand, watching Pyper play and capture her expressions.  To me, this will be priceless later on...

photoset #1

photoset #2