Just finished putting together a selection of photos from the past 20 years (by no means comprehensive). It was EXTREMELY difficult to choose. Some that I wanted to include, I couldn’t find and will add at a later date. Enjoy!
I haven’t experienced such an amazing snowfall since 1984! It started falling Friday night while we were entertaining my parents for dinner celebrating mom’s birthday. By the time the snow stopped 24 hours later, we had about 20 inches.
We had firewood chopped & stacked neatly by the door, a box of packets of hot cocoa, a warm blanket and good books to read.
During the day we slid down the driveway that is so steep it is only ever any good for sledding. It’s times like these that we love our driveway.
Now, if only the snow can last until Christmas… Or maybe we’ll get another snowfall! One can hope.
You know it's a blizzard when the stairs lose their definition.
When I arrived at the LAX rental car facility late on Saturday evening in early October, I was ready to get in the car, ride to my friend’s house and sleep. I was so tired in fact that when the borderline English speaking lady behind the counter asked if I knew that my license had expired, I thought she was asking if I minded driving a Lexus! (License + Expired—Lexus… ok I was really tired…) The net result was that I had no car for the week.
So… instead of having my own mode of transportation to flit from place to place taking pictures of all the marvels LA has to offer (beaches, Getty museum, etc.) I had to take a cab from the house where I was staying with the Lloyds to the Burbank Train station. I had to purchase a day pass (which thankfully covered metro as well). I had to ride the train to Union Station and pick up the Red Line Metro and take it to the Gold Line to the Pico station where I had to walk 3 blocks to the convention center.
All because DMV didn’t send me a notice about my license expiring.
“Why weren’t you aware that it was about to expire?”, you might well ask. There are two main reasons:
Well, I am back from L.A., and I made it to last weekend and decided to go to the DMV Saturday morning when they opened so there wouldn’t be a long line. Right. I think had I arrived an hour before the DMV opened I would have found people waiting in line as though it were the final installment of the Harry Potter movies.
Inside the lobby the patron is greeted by a lady behind a desk—the gatekeeper. I am sure that under normal circumstances she is a lovely woman. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, her husband probably bought her decaf coffee instead of the goods, because she was far from being the life and soul of the party. I stated my business and she handed me a ticket stub and pointed in the direction of the seats in a manner not unlike the Ghost of Christmas Future pointing for Scrooge.
Thankfully I had brought a good book—Her Fearful Symmetry, for the interested reader. When the automated voice-announcer called my number and told me the appropriate kiosk to approach I counted myself fortunate that it had only been about an hour.
The woman before me evidently drank her coffee from the same pot as the gatekeeper because she wasn’t much of an improvement from her colleague. She spoke in an even monotone, and I was thinking what a great poker player she would make when she asked me to stand in front of the camera to have my photo taken. I followed her directions and waited for the click. She paused and told me to remove my glasses. I did so. Then I smiled—a large dimpled one. She paused again and said, “Sir, please don’t smile.” Since the shiny happy people at the Warrenton Department of Motor Vehicles had well nigh sapped the remaining joy from my life it was not difficult to comply with her request. I gave her my best mug shot face. When she was done I asked her, “Tell me seriously: When people leave, do you ever laugh at some of the photos you have taken of them?” Totally deadpan, she responded, “Why would I laugh, sir?” Wow—tough crowd.
I left her presence feeling better and lighter of heart, the farther away I got, and counted my blessings, knowing that I wouldn’t have to go back for another five years…
This photo was selected as a finalist in the SCANVA 2009 Toast to Hope Photo Contest:
They say a picture can communicate a thousand words… Amateur and professional photographers took part in SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now) of Northern Virginia’s Bringing Children and Families into Focus Photo Contest this fall! Check out the wonderful photos submitted and how they communicate the importance of family for a child and the value of a nurturing childhood.
I love photos like this. As a designer I pay a lot of attention to how my designs will be perceived by the public in and out of their intended context. I also have an awareness of this in other people’s designs and love to highlight the lighter side of my findings.
Credit where credit is due: my wife brought this one to my attention when we were driving from Hadrian’s Wall in Northern England down to Cambridge to do some punting.
This diner sign reminded me of Crusty the Clown’s slogan (from the Simpsons): It’s not just good… it’s good enough!
Psa. 90:10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten;
In his Psalm Moses says that the number of years (on average) allotted to man is 70. Well, by GOD’s grace I have reached the half-way point.
When my dad was 35 I was seven (just between the ages of my children: six and nine). Dad had to rise before dawn to meet coworkers to ride in to work together. I remember him coming home brandishing band-aids on his fingers which had been the vicitms of some sheet metal mishap or other. I remember flannel shirts, steel-toed boots, working evenings in the back yard shed while listening to the radio, watching Friday night 3-D 8:PM movies where you needed special glasses from 7-eleven with one blue lens and one red, playing board games and making special snacks to eat together (funnel cake especially stands out in my taste buds’ memory). Reading together, gardening together, playing together on the floor…
What are my children going to remember about me when they are 35?
I have a dream job where I do what I love (graphic design) and have the best commute—20 steps from my bed to the coffee maker and 40 to my home office. Our family is blessed to be home together every day—Veronica homeschools them and we share three meals a day. For some families this would be a recipe for disaster, but I love it. Don’t misinderstand me—every day is not sunshine & Heath Bars, but we work through it.
Another thing: I have redefined “old” in my mind. In the past 2 years I have become a die-hard Charlie Chaplin fan, collecting films (which span his adult life) on DVD. He performed all of his stunts and was more active in his mid-50s than I was at 18. Seeing how active Chaplin was in those movies has reminded me that I can be as youthful as I choose regardless of age. Add to Chaplin the theses of Gail Sheehy’s Passages books (stop laughing—you probably had to Google her name to find out who she was) and you have a pretty good idea of where I stand at 35. Balanced. I don’t pine for the years gone by and I am not anxious about the future. I am content where I am, and I feel better now than I did in my mid-20s.
Ecclesiastes 5:19 When GOD gives any man possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.
Let’s see… so far we have gone to North Carolina in February; South Hill, VA for Camp with the kids in June; San Francisco for a friend’s wedding and my and Vero’s 13th anniversary & Yosemite National Park, CA in August. Now we have the following to look forward to: England & Wales in September; L.A., CA for the Adobe Max Conference in October. Are we exhausted yet?
My current dilemma is what to do about documenting the trips. Back in the film & print days you necessarily had a hard copy of your trip to display. Now we back everything up on DVD & External HD. There is always the en vogue digital photo frame, facebook and blog—but I find myself pining for an old fashioned photo album.
Calling all DC-area shutterbugs! We are about 2 weeks away from the 2nd annual Worldwide Photo Walk co-sponsored by Adobe and Scott Kelby.
For our location I have chosen Georgetown. Partly because I was born there and partly because that is where I met my beautiful wife.
We’ll meet outside the Lauinger Library at Georgetown University. Click here for specific direction information.
We’ll end at my favorite G’town eatery, Booeymongers. Currently The Georgetown Booeymonger, which also houses their main office, is celebrating its 30-year anniversary.
Click here to REGISTER for this FREE event.
Hope to see you there!
Our friend Noah from church brought by a couple of goats today for us to bottle feed for him for 6 weeks. Though they are not sheep (Zoe’s preferred farm animal) they will help her get a feel for what it is like owning a similar sized animal and whether she is up to the commitment long-term.
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