inverness/yesterday

Yesterday I was heading to a shoot in Inverness and I tell you, it was almost impossible to get there on time! I mean look at this! The fog was patchy and the light was dancing in absolutely gorgeous ways. I pulled over for this quick shot. It was all there was time for. Unspeakable beauty. And this really does not capture it fully...

Isa/Casa Brutus

My image of Isa in Williamsburg (super yummy food!!!) is in the new Casa Brutus (pg 13). My first time to appear in this lovely magazine. Of course I have zero idea what it says, but I love it anyway! This is the image they ran.

Miller House/Dwell Magazine

I was thinking the other day that around this time last year, I was heading to Columbus, Indiana to shoot the Miller House for Dwell. They just came out with a really nice, slightly expanded, version of the original story for their Best Homes in America special edition (on newsstands now!).

I love the rug in this shot designed for the Millers by Alexander Girard. All the symbols are specific to the Millers life, including a bank, their initials and even a Y for Yale, Irwin's alma mater.

words/grateful

Grateful is a word bandied about rather a lot this time of year for obvious reasons. And of course, Oprah (among others) has helped make gratitude a part of our everyday existence. All wonderful and valuable things.

But I also like to look at the word grateful as a reminder of how full of greatness each and every one of us are. Maybe it is feeling gratitude that unlocks our greatest selves. Just a thought. And a reminder. With all this black Friday consumerism whipping around, the greatest gift you can give your loved ones (and the world...and yourself!) is acknowledging and realizing your true greatness. And live life from that deep reservoir of fulfillment that this knowledge provides.

all things have moods/

at least that is how I see the world. This image illustrates that perfectly. I called this Sat On Shack for so long...but now I see it as a tired old guy with an extreme slump - weary from years of service as a little house.

Happy 11.22.11

It has to mean something great, don't you think?

seascape/

needs no comment, does it?

sunrise/pt.reyes station

I think one of the main benefits of sunrise shoots (besides the sunrise, of course), is the sounds of the waking earth. Yesterday the dew just clung on to every blade of grass and birds sang as the sun crept up. And directly over my head was the moon watching over the whole affair. It was quite an amazing morning. Have a wonderful weekend friends.

ocean beach/

Here we go...two days of sunrise shoots. an hour and a half away. Nothing like waking up at 3h30am! Whoohoo!!!

the brain/a mysterious beast

I have been thinking about when I shot this brain surgery years ago. It was still, to this day, one of the most interesting and amazing experiences of my life. But whereas then I was removed - an observer - now I see it from a second viewpoint. The brain is an incredibly mysterious beast and all of us are so beholden to our own. Without our brains, we are not even ourselves really. My stepfather was diagnosed with a brain tumor a few months ago and in this past week, I have watched him ebb and flow into himself and back out. Is it the radiation? Is it the tumor growing back? Is it the swelling on his brain that is causing the problems? All of these questions are for the doctors, but on a most basic level, every question is trying to find a way to bring David back to himself - to bring his tide back in. I have no answers to anything and no proper way to end this post. All this just keeps bringing up more and more questions for me about what makes us who we truly are.

hope/

11.11.11/a day to wonder

So much is said about this date today. 11/11/11.

Frankly, I love numbers, so I kind of love this day. But what I like most is wondering about it. Wonder is something that is integral to my life. I realize now, I have based my life on it somehow. Every project, every person I call up to shoot, everything I do in my personal work begins from wondering. Why did this person do this? What do designers live like? Why is this furniture designer more interesting to me than this other one? It all starts with my mind just wondering. and wandering. I hope you have time to do both of these today, this weekend and everyday.

And as for the whole 11/11/11 thing? It is pretty great but I kind of like number progressions too. I really enjoyed 9/10/11 this year. And I'm looking forward to 11/12/13. I wonder where I'll be then?

PS-this shot is a classic of mine. Probably my most collected image. The Wonder Bread factory in Memphis, TN as the sun was setting. It smelled absolutely ghastly! They were baking...

seascape/

What is there to say? I look at this and I feel calmer. I am one of those people that goes to the water when I need to clear my head, to figure out perplexing issues, you name it. All answers come to me and all feels right when I am sitting near a large body of water. Where do you go?

wanderlust/it has gripped me...

I was digging through a box of prints looking for an image I am working on and I ran across this bad boy. Damn I love this picture! I think every car should paint their tires to match their paint! It cracks me up!!!

But it also just ignites an intense wanderlust in me. I look at this and I see, hear and smell the River Road in Louisiana. The wet heat in the air, the cicadas singing and the endless fields that surrounded us, it fills my heart and head with great memories. I stopped so much we barely made it very far each day, but no matter. That is what road trips are for - experiencing the road and the country, one little piece at a time. And damn! This country has some damn good flavors! I need another road trip really soon...

off limits?/

Off Limits. I know for most people this would mean just what it says. But to me...well...it just makes me want to get in more. It's like saying something in there is soooo interesting.  Every photo student participates in a bit of B&E (breaking and entering) in their time. It is just how you have to do things when you start. There is no money to rent a location but you have to get the assignment finished. To be clear, I have never broken anything, but lord knows I have entered! I have quite a few stories of being where I should not be...the curiosity is sometimes just too much!

At the bunkers in the Marin Headlands, where I shot this, I was peering through those holes in the door. No entering though...it was locked up tight!

daily life/location scouting

A little more location scouting in the Marin Headlands on Friday yielded a bunch of images but this is my absolute favorite. I was giggling when I shot it...to me it looks like a big fluffy white toupee that has finally found a place to land! ha!

The clouds were so great on Friday. They all had personalities...

janezic/fall 2011

Thought I would share a couple of my shots of the Janezic Fall collection since it is in stores now. I'm living in this coat, btw...
Janezic is available at Dish in San Francisco. For more stores go to the Janezic website.

daily life/location scouting

I love location scouting. Yesterday it was the Headlands Center for the Arts. Just my cup of decaying tea...

roman and williams/

One last image from the offices of Roman and Williams. I love me a good bookshelf...this one in Stephen Alesch's office.

roman and williams/

The first time I visited the Roman and Williams offices, this is what I remembered most (and obsessed over...even had a dream about them once). These little blocks of the different kinds of woods in Robin's office, each labeled with it's type. Sometimes I have to laugh at myself for the things I fixate on, but I like to think that Robin gets it. It is obvious to me that she has a bit of a crush on these wood blocks too.