31 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.

Very Cherry

30 January, 2011

Intermission

Sometimes you need to take a break, get the wind back in your sails if you will. Also, find your hat.

Lost at Sea


There's a lot going on the world, and without a doubt sometimes we get lost. We get wrapped up in the tasks, in the struggle, in the drive to achieve, that sometimes we lose what makes us who we are. Maybe it's gone forever, maybe it's just being held onto by a good friend for when the storm passes and we stop trying to look at what's beyond the horizon and look at what's right in front of us. But what it comes down to, is not letting the wind define our course nor define what we become. That's why we use triangular sails and an over developed keel. Tack the wind my friends and find your way.

29 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.

Orange Crème

28 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.

Triple Berry Torte

27 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.

Black Forest Cake

26 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.

Cherry Cobbler

25 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.

Strawberry Mist

24 January, 2011

Interlude: Growing Up and "I Can't"

Is growing up a good thing?

What happened when you grew up? When did you realize that you said “I can’t” more than you said “I’ll try?” I remember being a kid and diving into things like drawing, coloring, sculpting, building, pretty much anything that made a mess or promised a 50/50 chance of losing an arm, I did it without hesitation. And if my dinosaur looked less like a triceratops and more like a Rorschach test, it didn’t matter. It was all kinds of awesome and I was damn proud of it.

As I got older, as I learned more, as others showed me what they could do; that’s when it happened. That’s when “I can’t” entered my vocabulary. That’s when I objectively looked at things that were far beyond my skill level, and realized that “I’m not good at it.” It’s a shame that it happened, because it undoubtedly led to the discarding of the many things made me smile as a kid and it certainly took away a great amount of pride and that feeling of accomplishment.

So, here we are today. There is a plethora of things that I don’t do well. Yes, it’s because I haven’t practiced it, haven’t been trained in it, haven’t truly made a passionate effort to do it. I can’t draw. I can’t paint. I can’t dance. I can’t ride my bike with no handlebars1.

And the only difference between now and then, is that then, it didn’t matter that I couldn’t do it well, I just did it. Now I have to think about it, weigh the embarrassment that may come with my lack of “skillz.” I don’t think about how much I might enjoy whatever it may be, and there’s the greatest tragedy. How many times have you not done something for those very reasons, because you’re afraid that you aren’t good enough? And the simplest thing is, that you’re never good at new things because they're new, they're unfamiliar. So instead ask yourself, “what can this teach me?”

So with that in mind, I did this the other day:



And as unprofessional, as unrefined as they are, I am damn proud of them. And best of all, I enjoyed making them. I enjoyed making the mess, I enjoyed seeing everything come together for the final product. And I enjoyed teaching myself something new, so that I can become better at in the future. And as an added bonus, I did not lose an arm in the process.

So I will draw, I will sculpt, I will color, I will paint and I will encourage you to try something new (or old), and enjoy yourself. You’ll undoubtedly surprise yourself. And as a side note, it still may take some convincing to get me to dance, but in the end, I will do it. And it will be all kinds of epic.

PS: The same goes for change. It happens, it's never going to stop happening. Get over it. Next time you see a major overhaul to your addicted social media site, quit making claims that you hate it, that you'll delete your account if they don't change it back. We all know you wont. You'll grudgingly use it until it gets changed again, at which point you'll tell everyone you hate it and that you'll quit if they don't change it back. There, now that I'm done with that soapbox, I'm going to fill it with clay, and paint, and maybe a crowbar. And most definitely a toy or two.

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.

Blackberry Pomegranate

23 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.

Strawberry Banana

22 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.

Boston Cream Pie

21 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.

Chocolate Mousse

20 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.


Strawberry Orange Sunrise

19 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.

Strawberry Kiwi

18 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.


Lemon Cream Pie

17 January, 2011

The Big Secret

What's the big secret? No big secret. Just love yogurt. You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy.


Key Lime Pie


Really, what is the Big Secret? I personally cannot do better than the Denver Film Society when they said "See with New Eyes" a couple of years ago. So that's the real secret, challenge yourself to see something great, even in the smallest things.

13 January, 2011

It's On Like Donkey Kong

Well, it seems the votes are in and the overall consensus is that photos should be seen, not heard. So to satiate the masses, I'll let you all in on the Big Secret, an experimental project, as the name implies is not in my usual repertoire, but was a great exercise and enjoyable and certainly fed my hunger. We'll start that up Monday, on the bright, as with the winter sun rising so late, I really need an excuse to get out of bed before the rooster crows. Yeah, we'll see how well that works out.

Reading Materials

This is a photo I did not take of two gentleman in bright blue winter coats sitting beside each other on the bus, an orange afternoon glow streaming in the window behind them; the elder intently gazing at a thick book in his hands, almost complete with only a few pages from its end; the younger intently staring at the sleek futuristic form of an eReader, a Kindle or maybe a Nook, gripped tightly in his hands...playing solitaire.

(For reference, and with respect to Unphotographable)

11 January, 2011

Disappointed...

I know, I've been a little down too. January is supposed to be all about photos, the challenge of creating something each day, of sharing them here, on this particular blog. Instead, when the shutter clicks, it's a mixed sigh of knowing that that day's shot is done, but also that no one will see it. January feels extra empty without photos even though I've actually been taking a ton of photos (digitally in addition to my Holga). I've even picked up a brand new used camera (which I haven't had a chance to shoot with yet, but I will soon enough).

I've been reluctant to post anything new, maybe it feels like I'd be taking away some of the magic of the upcoming Holga Days, or that it will reduce January from the all kinds of epic Photo a Day to just a regular, run of the mill month.

So the question becomes, do I post some stuff in the spaces in between? Do I let you in on the Big Secret project? Do you, gentle reader really want to know what's the Big Secret? Will knowing still keep you excited for Holga Days, which feels so far away? Or will its potential of unquantifiable epicness desensitize you to what was meant to thrill your senses in January?

If you feel so strongly one way or the other, make your voice heard, though I would recommend against signal flares or semaphores. There are more efficient, though maybe less effective means of communication.

01 January, 2011

Actually, There Is a Thing for That...

So to begin, yes, I know there is no photo, and yes, I know you were expecting the annual photo a day with the start of the new Julian calendar. It's coming, and I did take a picture today, you just can't see it yet. You see, I'm not done with the roll yet.

To take a step back, I'm sure you've heard the little slogan, "There's an App for that." Well, specifically, I've noticed a few apps for recreating things like plastic lenses, old film, even things like the light leaks found in an old plastic camera, like a Diana or a Holga.

Well, I got news for you, you tech savy hipster. There is a thing for that. It's called a plastic camera! It already has a plastic lens, it already uses film, and low and behold it already does weird things with the exposure. It is a physical thing! You can hold it!

So, because I haven't done it in a while, and against all of my better judgment, this year's Photo a Day will be by holga. And because I happen to be not made of money, I will take one photo a day with my Holga. Just one. And I will post it here, later.

What does this mean, exactly? Well, for starters, that means no photo a day will be posted until after every day has been developed, so later. Probably February. Also, this means that not every image will be a gem. Some may be completely over exposed, or so under exposed that the image will be black. The composition may be imperfect (as is often the case with old range finder cameras) and there may be scratches on the negative, light leaks, or just weird things that pop up when processing.

So now, the big question is, why? Cause I'm nuts. That's probably an acceptable answer, but the truth behind all of it, just ask yourself "How many photos do I take" and then ask yourself "Out of those, how many of them are any good?"

"One in a Thousand." In the age of digital, you can take a thousand pictures to get one good one because there's no real "cost" to it anymore. People don't take the time to see the shot they want in their head before they push the shutter. They just push and maybe they'll see something that works. And I guess that's fine, if you don't mind doing all the editing on the back end.

So what this is, it's about getting "One in One," about slowing down, about being as certain as I can be when I push the shutter.

So that's that. I assure you that I'm shooting. I mean I spent a half hour in the film cooler at Denver Pro Photo debating what film I should even use, so yeah, I'm shooting. I can't promise it will be perfect, but I can promise it will be real.