phottto

YAO #0037-0039

2010-02-26T15:06:00.003-05:00

Yao takes a jaunt around the local desert,, parking meter and fire department. You know, no biggie.

{ old Yao 1, old Yao 2, old Yao 3, old Yao 4, old Yao 5, old Yao 6 }

From the previous Yao post

Then the project was put on hiatus when I was doing the whole getting married / going on a honeymoon thing. Then school started back up. Blah blah excuses excuses blah.

Anyway. Instead of ditching the project all together, I'm just going to change the face of the project so that I can try to finish it. Instead of having a target goal of 365, I'm just going to take pictures of Yao. As many as I can. As often as I can. I'll still try to post something each weekend (read: check back each weekend).

I hope to make a book out of this project when it is finished... whenever that is? I figure it'll eventually run its course. I'm also through with the captions. Even with just the picture, I think you can still figure out what Yao is up to.

Enjoy.

B/W & COLOR

2010-01-04T14:19:00.002-05:00

I've been looking at the 2 versions of this image for a few days now, and I really can't figure out which one I like more.
It's amazing how the black/white image can really look strikingly different from the color one.

TAKE

2010-01-03T16:45:00.003-05:00

My recent gameboard during a vicious round of TAKE.

YAO #0033-0036

2010-01-03T16:28:00.004-05:00

Yao couldn't stay away from the snow: the holidays just bring out the best in him.

{ old Yao 1, old Yao 2, old Yao 3, old Yao 4, old Yao 5 }

**
From the previous Yao post
**

Yao is back. But there is a problem: I haven't been taking a picture everyday. In the original idea of this project, I was going to take a picture of Yao everyday for an entire year. The year's worth of Yao pictures would chronicle every aspect of his life-- both publicly and privately.

Then the project was put on hiatus when I was doing the whole getting married / going on a honeymoon thing. Then school started back up. Blah blah excuses excuses blah.

Anyway. Instead of ditching the project all together, I'm just going to change the face of the project so that I can try to finish it. Instead of having a target goal of 365, I'm just going to take pictures of Yao. As many as I can. As often as I can. I'll still try to post something each weekend (read: check back each weekend).

I hope to make a book out of this project when it is finished... whenever that is? I figure it'll eventually run its course. I'm also through with the captions. Even with just the picture, I think you can still figure out what Yao is up to.

Enjoy.

STEVE & RUTH.

2009-10-25T13:54:00.002-04:00

Yeah, they're pretty good looking.
{ July 2010! }

YAO #0024-0032

2009-10-03T10:51:00.006-04:00

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.

2009-08-26T11:11:00.019-04:00

The honeymoon.
July 22, 2009 - August 5, 2009.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Whistler & Blackcomb Mountains.
Malahat, Vancouver Island.
Victoria, Vancouver Island.
Saw Beautiful views (mountains, water).
Ate stunningly delicious food (all local, all seasonal).
Had the best travel companion (Ash).

We went. We roamed. We learned. We ate. We walked. We train'd. We gondola'd. We float-plane'd. We ferry'd. We ziplined. We tried too many new things. We saw family. We ate more.

{ our story }

--

HOME COOKED MEAL.

2009-08-26T10:46:00.005-04:00

I treated Ash to a 4 course meal the other night (plus bread), all prepared from Smitten Kitchen-- "Fearless cooking from a tiny kitchen in New York City." Ash found this site a little while back, and I love love love it. Her recipes are quite user-friendly and encouraging for budding cooks. She's by and far the BEST food blogger on the internet. Thank you, SK!

0. homemade french bread with olive oil & balsamic vinegar.

+

1. arugula salad with cilantro, pomegranate seeds, parmesan cheese, prosciutto, olive oil & balsamic vinegar.

+

2. mushroom/onion/cheese strudel.

+

3. grilled rib-eye steak with roasted carrots & avocado.

+

4. blueberry crumb cake.

_______________________________________________

yummy.

TIMEOUT

2009-07-06T15:19:00.002-04:00

•••••

I'll be taking a TIMEOUT for the Yao project while I get married and away on my honeymoon.
Yao will return in August!

•••••

YAO #0017-0023

2009-07-06T14:27:00.006-04:00

#017
• Yao can eat 16 gallons of guava frozen yogurt with blueberries from BerryLine and not even think twice about it-- with only 25 calories a serving, he's like what...

#018
• How strong is Yao? Just take a look for yourself (yes: that’s a light post).

#019
• It was a bit wet outside, so Yao took a spin in an industrial sized dryer to dry off-- go big or go home.

#020
• What really happened to Yao’s foot (the potentially season and/or career ending left foot injury).

#021
• Yao got his left foot casted up quite quickly, and also took some ibuprofen to dull the pain.

#022
• Yao likes to call collect: he’s too cheap to pay for calls himself.

#023
• With his injury, Yao has been able to spend more time with his pet pigs “Jowler” and “Trotter.”

READ MORE about the project.

JIM.

2009-06-29T12:56:00.004-04:00

Jim Nicherelt on Saturday.

YAO #0010-0016

2009-06-28T19:29:00.012-04:00

#010
• Yao has enough self-assurance to eat by himself.

#011
• Yao only eats all naturally raised beef to maintain a healthy, physically fit body. His favorite is from River Rock Farm.

#012
• It’s criminal to be both this good looking and be this good at basketball. It’s a class-C felony.

#013
• Yao is so silly-- always playing games.

#014
• Yao enjoys getting to know his community by asking the man with a van to help move things, taking guitar lessons, and taking yoga classes from a local teacher. Yao is the community at large.

#015
• Got some big shoes to fill? Yao can help.

#016
• Sometimes Yao just wants to blend into the background.

Read more about the project.

YAO #0003-0009

2009-06-22T15:24:00.010-04:00

#003
• Yao starts every morning with Maxwell House coffee: good to the last drop.

#004
• Yao and this V-6 engine having one thing in common: 766 horsepower.

#005
• Yao understands it’s about the journey and not the destination: he always stops to smell the flowers.

#006
• The environment is Yao’s top concern; recycling is his second; being awesome is his third concern.

#007
• Yao is an artist on and off the court.

#008
• While Yao takes a break from working out to watch the US Open at Bethpage Black, he realizes that he can throw a ball farther than any professional golfer can hit it.

#009
• Yao admires a self-portrait taken from an almost extinct Polaroid camera.

Read more about the project.

YAO #0001-0002

2009-06-14T16:34:00.009-04:00

#001
• Yao can’t stay away from cupcakes-- he’s got such a sweet tooth.

#002
• Yao gets a postcard from a friend in a land far, far away.

Read more about the project.

YAO

2009-06-12T13:27:00.012-04:00

the year of the YAO.
for the next 365 days, i will be snapping away at an 8" yao ming action figure.
one shot per day.
i'll try to post each weekend the set of 7.

to get us started, here are a few profile images of yao ming so you know what to expect in the coming year {these don't count toward the year}.

--

WASH DC

2009-04-04T12:19:00.004-04:00

washington dc's greatest hits.
in a day.
--

{ still on a break; check out my celtics blog }

BREAK

2009-01-19T13:44:00.005-05:00

i will be taking a short hiatus from phottto the blog.
it will be back soon, probably in a few weeks. maybe a month. maybe 2 months.
check back often, or just wait for the annoying email i will send you.

the reason? i haven't been shooting too much because my schedule is busy, and i don't want to shoot just because i feel like i should post something on the blog. this is the longest blog i've ever kept, and it has been mildly successful in terms of viewership. not a ton of course, but enough each day/week to keep me going for the last year and change.

if things aren't kept fresh for me, i will gladly take a seat and wait for the energy and excitement to come back. i am going to keep my camera with me of course, maybe do the occasional post here and there, but i am going to take a break from this blog.

--

i did just start another blog, and have some friends that will be contributing authors. it has gotten an unusually high number of this so far in its first 3 days of conception, which is great.

check it out: LOSCY, a Celtics Blog

we'll see you soon.

BEARD

2009-01-14T17:46:00.004-05:00

this is a great new poster that my friend michael made.
check out his blog about beards here { http://www.beardrevue.com } and then buy his new poster here { http://www.beardrevue.com/2008/01/beard-poster.html }.
--

VERSHIRE VERMONT

2009-01-10T22:40:00.003-05:00

i was lucky enough to the spend the last few days in vershire, vermont.
we took our 9th graders up for cool workshops and some outdoor ed.
it was cold, snowy, but 101% wonderful.
stay warm.
--

SOME OLDIES

2009-01-04T16:27:00.004-05:00

some oldies here.
happy new year, folks.
--

ABEL & LUCY

2008-12-27T20:35:00.005-05:00

while in maine, i was lucky to catch a visit with the LAJs.
they were celebrating the arrival of ABEL, the latest addition to the family.
big sister LUCY, as always, was the sweetest little gal to hang out with.

happy holidays, and happy new year.

--

ABEL.

& LUCY.

HOLIDAY CHEER

2008-12-20T16:35:00.007-05:00

christmas is around the corner. and so is the new year.

gifts and resolutions are on peoples' minds: what to give, what to change.
if you are looking for help with either of these upcoming events, read on, friend...

on the topic of gifts, how about giving a small donation to an organization that is trying to do good despite economic hardships? non-profits are being hit hard because of state budget cuts and because philanthropic giving is always tighter during recessions (or recession-like conditions for you skeptics). even if you think your small donation won't help, it certainly will. give what you can.
don't know what to support? here are some ideas...

LOCAL:
Raising a Reader, MA
Year Up, Boston
Mass. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
Beverly Bootstraps
WBUR (NPR Boston)

INTERNATIONAL:
The Global Playground
Sustainable Harvest International
Safe Passage
TunaHaki

and for the new year, a pragmatic resolution: inspire a child.
work with a child. help a child. make a child smile, laugh.

NOLA

2008-12-07T20:22:00.011-05:00

i just returned from a 4 day trip to NOLA (new orleans, louisiana). i was at a conference during that time, which was eye-opening enough, but being in this city only added to the euphoria of inspiration.

two things caught my eyes while in new orleans: 1) the mighty mississippi and the bridges that connect each side, and 2) the flavorful aesthetics of its architecture.

--

i have been teaching about hurricane katrina for the last two years. i use it as a domestic case study during our extensive unit on wealth and poverty. it is perhaps more eye-opening for me each time i teach it. katrina is not a blurb in class. it is not a 1 day lesson. it is not a 1 week affair. it spans months and is really a culmination of ideas that we strive to better understand throughout the year: race, demography, and class. the spirit of the unit is to get my kids to see two ideas: 1) wealth and poverty has everything to do with money, and 2) wealth and poverty has nothing to do with money.

i became slightly enamored with the city while doing research on the history of the city before teaching about new orleans and katrina for the first time. its historical richness cannot fill the largest library in the world, and its importance as an american city cannot be measured. the documentary, "when the levees broke" by spike lee, turned me on to teaching what happened on august 29, 2005 and more importantly, its aftermath.

{ there are only a handful of dates that i remember as a social studies teacher: november 11 1918, december 7 1941, august 6 + 9 1945, april 30 1975, november 9 1989, and august 29 2005. }

as fluffy as this may sound, august 29 2005 was a day that lifted back the veil that was cleverly covering what many of us in the united states of america had ignored: the truth about how many of americans live and how they are treated. the question of humanity was put to the test during those important months (and now years), and we didn't answer the call. learn more about new orleans. learn more about what happened after katrina hit. find what still needs to get done 3+ years later. but most of all, find out what people are doing now to help reBUILD NOLA. be inspired, and figure out what you can do to help.

see the movie:
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/whentheleveesbroke/

{ unfortunately, there are no images from the wards/parishes of new orleans that are still trying to recover from the gulf floods due to the breach of the levees; all images are from the east bank. there will be imagery from the wards/parishes soon. }

--

BIEN

2008-11-23T21:20:00.004-05:00

i had a good weekend.
it wasn't filled with shooting, but going back and looking at some older images that never really made the original cut.
like everything else in my life, i have a system of organizing my photos. when i go out and shoot (anything), i keep those groups of raw photos like i would a roll of film: although digitally. they get dated, filed, and kept on an external hard drive and burned to a DVD (kept out of my home in case something ever happens to my apartment). every now and then, i go back and look at some of the images that either didn't work at the time or that i didn't think were strong enough for anything.

i find that going back and looking at images with a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective is great. it feels different. a good different. it feels like i am trying to retrace my thoughts back to why 1) i shot this and 2) why did it get filed into the "box"?

these are 3 images that were taken months ago in my neighborhood. i shoot a lot around where i live because i feel like i have looked at everything, but when i venture out, i realize that things change. things crop up that weren't there once before, and new stories are created everywhere. it's fun to constantly re-explore, reassess, and re-learn what is around me.

where am i going with this? i don't know.

i am trying to pull together sets of images for some people that i have done work for, and also trying to stay afloat with teaching and grad school. there has been more reflecting and touching-up than shooting, but i am excited for this shift to change in the other direction in the coming weeks. richmond, new orleans, and maine are all on the agenda in the next month. with the holidays and some serious time off from school (where i work) and school (where i take classes), i look forward to picking up my favorite toy: the camera.

ps-- it is really, really cold here. i sometimes wonder how i have made it through 26 winters in new england.

NYC

2008-11-17T20:32:00.003-05:00

whoa. it's been a while.
i have some good ideas of things i want to shoot/post this weekend... but not until then.
here is one from NYC this past weekend.

i hope that you are bearing the cold.

#44

2008-11-05T09:46:00.012-05:00

upon the breaking news of cracking the 270 electoral votes mark, i scoured the internet in the interim before president elect obama (has a ring to it!) gave his victory speech.
i compiled news headlines from online media sources literally minutes after obama had gained enough electoral votes to become the 44th president of the united states of america. below is a slideshow (with music, so turn up the volume!) of the announcement.

there is so much good reading out there at this moment about the election and obama, but this one was passed on to me by my best friend (and fiance!), and i want to share it with you. i think it sums everything up quite well.

--

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

ELECTION DAY

2008-11-04T17:10:00.004-05:00

november 4th is finally here. i have been 0/2 in the last two elections. i'll take the last two disappointments in stride if you just give me this one.
i followed the sign, and voted.
civic duty for 2008: check.

(yes, that actually is my ballot. yes, i actually did quickly whip out my camera to take a photograph of my ballot. yes, it was exciting because i wasn't sure if i was supposed to do that. yes, it felt awesome.)

CHELSEA READS

2008-11-01T23:18:00.005-04:00

today was a good day.
i had the pleasure of being one of the 240+ people at the 3rd annual chelsea family literacy day at the chelsea public library. it was a local event that welcomed children and parents to a host of events ranging from painting to science experiments, and from mask-making to story-time. i met some amazing folks today that do so much to reach out to their communities, and on this particular day, to help show kids how much fun it can be to read.

i want to especially thank RAISING A READER, who brought me along to document this day. please, please visit the website above, learn more about this fantastic organization, and see if you can do anything to contribute. if you can't give a monetary donation, please call or email raising a reader to ask how else you can help.

SLATE

2008-10-29T15:11:00.004-04:00

this is why nathan heller, a copy writer from slate.com, is voting for barack obama:

"Liberals of a certain ilk—the kind who know the market price of organic chard—have a reputation for condescension. Liberals of this sort, their discontents suggest, believe that people vote Republican only because they don't know better. But the Republican Party has developed the worse habit of patronizing its own supporters.

Isn't it awfully condescending, after all, to assume your adherents will swallow alarmist claims already shot down (e.g., that Obama consorts with terrorists, will "raise your taxes")? Or that a multimillionaire whose upscale economic plan defies the laws of mathematics can presume to channel the "heartland"? Or that a guy who can barely hold his campaign together could seem a wise and disciplined leader? McCain says he's not Bush, whose disdain for the intelligence of the American public went from an insult to an actual destructive force. Maybe, but McCain's scorn and fear-mongering are still too close for comfort.

Obama's issues and party are mine. I don't believe he heralds a "new politics"; everything suggests he's calculating, ingratiating, and a deft networker. I happen to think these are useful qualities for leadership on the world stage. When cornered on an abstract issue (race, abortion), he responds in nuanced and evenhanded terms. This impulse feels new to political life. Or, at least, long-lost. At such moments, there's simply no comparison between him and McCain, an old soldier cowed by his party leadership, or Sarah Palin, a local pol who croons talking points in summer-stock diction. Obama doesn't seem like someone out to fool me."

read why others are voting for obama here:
http://www.slate.com/id/2203151/

ROWING

2008-10-19T17:28:00.005-04:00

we caught the very end of the annual head of the charles race in cambridge.
lots of rowing, lots of tents giving away free things, and lots of coldness. i don't know which i enjoyed more: the kashi station giving away hole grain goodies or the races...
it is perhaps too cold for october 19th weather.
see you next week.

MAINE

2008-10-14T20:56:00.007-04:00

i was back in maine this past weekend, and visited a childhood favorite: fort williams in cape elizabeth.
it's on the water, home to portland headlight, and the place where we used to play humongous games capture the flag in middle school.
it was a beautiful weekend in maine, and yes... it made me miss it even more.

i hope that you are all well. more to come this weekend.
--

SKATE

2008-10-05T17:06:00.003-04:00

a rarity: two posts on the same weekend.
i got to spend some time shooting some skateboarders today in a lot not too far from home. these guys were pretty badass, and i actually felt cooler just watching them do some tricks.

we'll see you again next weekend.

SMOLAK

2008-10-04T18:24:00.004-04:00

we spent most of the day at smolak farms in north andover. smolak farms was fairly crowded today (good weather, fall in new england, etc.), but it didn't prevent us from getting apples, apple cider, and apple cider donuts. the apple cider donuts are AMAZING. AMAZING. you should go there just to eat yourself sick from their donuts. AMAZING.

on the way home, we stopped for dinner at za. za is also ZAmazing, and en route to za my eyes were caught by a HUGE obama poster in a window of a campaign office. what made this image a bit more striking to look at is the way the telephone post in the reflection of the window resembles a cross. what does this mean? who knows.

slate.com has really helped me get through much of the inner turmoil caused by this election. check out some of my favorites from this past week:
:: the poetry of sarah palin
:: the sentences of sarah palin
:: mccain's next political stunt

more soon.

OBAMA (CONT.)

2008-09-27T15:20:00.015-04:00

i spent tuesday night at the middle east in cambridge with lots of folks at the barack-a-rama concert fundraiser. i heard some good music, met some nice/cool people, and of course, patrolled the room with my camera.

i documented some beautiful obama propaganda (propaganda in this sense being a good thing) in some curious places, and tried to capture some images of people with and interacting with the propaganda. i took the time to meet a mother and her daughter who started gobamagear.com, who makes catchy earrings with 100% of the proceeds going to obama's campaign. i met a business professor who was helping to organize local, grassroot events in and around cambridge. i met a charming family that took the evening to help people register to vote and sell obama paraphernalia at the event.

--

before you go, though, can we talk briefly about the first presidential debates?
things i found amusing and incredibly infuriating about john mccain:
he promised to veto every spending bill that came his way if in office, he thinks an immediate spending freeze should be put in place on everything except defense + veteran affairs + entitlement programs (WHOA), he moves like a robot, had no remarks to the comment he made a week ago about the economy being fundamentally strong, he wants to cut taxes which makes sense so the $700 billion rescue/bailout he supports can be funded by _______ (fill in the blank), that he thinks it's necessary to drill off-shore for oil but wants us to fight our dependency on oil, how he reminded us twice that he did not win ms. congeniality in the senate (yeah, no kidding: the age limit for winning ms. congeniality is 95, and you passed that 600 trillion years ago), how he used the word "explectation"... although i did find it cute the way he tried to say the iranian president's last name (ahmadinejad): ahmendanajakjsks-IM-AN_IDIOT-jaja.

if this was john mccain of 8 years ago, i wouldn't be thrilled but i wouldn't be so despondent about the possibility of him in office. but he's not. so here we are.

if you want a cherry on top of your sundae, watch below:

and this:

--

frustrations aside, i am happy and hopeful that the debates will reveal a bit more character in each of the candidates, and will help clear up who is better suited for the oval office come january 2009.
here are my 2 favorite blocks of debate from last night:

#1:

OBAMA: And so John likes -- John, you like to pretend like the war started in 2007. You talk about the surge. The war started in 2003, and at the time when the war started, you said it was going to be quick and easy. You said we knew where the weapons of mass destruction were. You were wrong. You said that we were going to be greeted as liberators. You were wrong. You said that there was no history of violence between Shia and Sunni. And you were wrong.

#2:

MCCAIN: How about a spending freeze on everything but defense, veteran affairs and entitlement programs.

LEHRER: Spending freeze?

MCCAIN: I think we ought to seriously consider with the exceptions the caring of veterans national defense and several other vital issues.

LEHRER: Would you go for that?

OBAMA: The problem with a spending freeze is you're using a hatchet where you need a scalpel. There are some programs that are very important that are under funded. I want to increase early childhood education and the notion that we should freeze that when there may be, for example, this Medicare subsidy doesn't make sense.

Let me tell you another place to look for some savings. We are currently spending $10 billion a month in Iraq when they have a $79 billion surplus. It seems to me that if we're going to be strong at home as well as strong abroad, that we have to look at bringing that war to a close.

--

below are some images.
game time is in 38 days (from 9.27.08).

OBAMA

2008-09-20T13:18:00.010-04:00

senior year in high school, my graduating peers and i voted on class superlatives to be published in the yearbook. i unfortunately won one of these superlatives. i would have been happy about best smile, best dressed, or best athlete-- the superficial stuff that every single 18 year old would want to pad their resume with to obtain fame. instead, i won class politician.

i was a little confused by all of this because i was only involved for 1 year in any type of student government-- the pilot year of a student senate type-thing. the only reasons i can see how/why my classmates would have voted for me in this category were: i was close friends with the class president, i was louder in discussions in history class, and i would know maybe 1 or 2 things happening in the news.

i ended up studying lots of government/IR/economics in college, and really enjoyed the battleground of political discourse with nut jobs with chips on their shoulders. this interest in politics finds its way into my classroom often through creating a safe place for discussions about issues that matter to my students.

politics and the political system in the US has been on my brain a lot recently, for hopefully obvious reasons. after much (much) deliberation, i decided to blend my current obsession of this year's election with my photographic exploration.

in the coming weeks leading up to the big day (tuesday november 4, 2008), i will be trying to document local events supporting barack obama. pausing to take a look at obama-supporters, you'll realize he draws in so many different people. a goal of this project is to show the excitement for this candidate through these different people. seeing people unite in countless local/grassroots efforts to support obama is contagiously motivating. another aim is for the imagery to teach us all that action can be taken in small increments, and by anyone with the courage to step forward.

there will be some images as previews here and there in the coming weeks, but look for the conclusion of this project sometime in the early winter (as well as my new website!)

if you have not registered to vote, go here to get the form you need.
if you want to learn more about barack obama and his plans for when he is in office, visit his site and download his blueprint for change.
if you want to be inspired, read this.

--

EVENT #1 :: LGBT PRIDE EVENT

SEPTEMBER

2008-09-13T11:40:00.006-04:00

september means warm ocean waters, crisp weather, and holding on for dear life to the last few days of summer. a few days on the cape with the students makes for a good way to start the year.

it was pretty picture-esque there.

enjoy.

A HOUSE

2008-09-07T10:47:00.006-04:00

there is a house a little on down the way from where i live. well, it's sort of a house.
the front framing of the house is somewhat in tact and still upright. the rest of the house is gone. completely gone. there are some loose beams, remaining concrete, and some small signs of how life used to exist here: trash scattered throughout, ladders/tools, and food scraps.

it is an eerie place to be, especially with the no trespassing sign that's auspiciously placed on the front gate. when standing in the "yard", you want there to be a fully recognizable house there because you can see the basement, and the foundations that divided up the different rooms. supposedly, the house was being torn down and somerville threw a fit saying it has some historical significance. the demolition apparently stopped before the entire house could be removed during the revelation of a mistake. what stands now is the front of a house and not much else. it has been this way since i have been in the neighborhood (1 year), and am guessing it has been like this for longer and will stay like this for some time.

i have shot this house a few times now, and here are some of the images.
--

BIKE

2008-08-31T14:50:00.006-04:00

i set off late this morning for a quick errand: buy a white light to attach to the front of my bike. with grad school classes this fall, i am going to be biking to class once a week in the evenings and will need this light to make myself more visible. i am looking forward to spending more time with beanie, my bike.

do you know the story of my bike? pull up a seat, friend.

i used to have a 5-speed murray bike. it was all gray with a splash of orange, and was small enough that it not only got me from point A to point B, but allowed me to do lots of trick on it as well (ride wheelies, ride no-handed, do endos, etc.). after a year with the bike, it was mysteriously stolen from my backyard during the start of summer going into my 7th grade year.

it was time for a new bike (and a lock!). i had my eyes set on an all-powerful 10-speed mountain bike. my dad took me to toys-r-us to get a 10-speed huffy black and orange mountain bike, but when we arrived home the bike didn't quite fit as well as we had hoped. it was too big. way too big. so we returned in. saddened, i started to see that returning what i thought was the bike of my dreams was actually a blessing in disguise. i caught sight of something a bit better: an LL bean approach. a 21-speed, rapid-fire shift mountain bike... that was offered in a 14.5 inch frame as opposed to the typical 16-inch frames back in the day. this was like sweet music to my short-self. it was a bit pricey at the time, but my parents sprung for it as a birthday-gift-for-the-next-15 years.

i learned how to mountain bike on beanie in middle school, i used it as my means of transportation to different playgrounds for pick-up games of basketball, it took me to friends' houses for sleepovers, and helped me get from one end of bowdoin's campus to the other. now, it helps me navigate throughout the city.

15 years later, the bike is still in tact. the bike has all of the same components, same tires, same brakes, same seat, same everything. it has never had a tune-up either (except when brian tightened the brakes for me). the bike is 100% o-natural and true to its original form. for the last few years, i thought it was the ideal bike for the city because if anything happened to it, it was ok because i had certainly gotten my money's worth out of it.

but then i read this article about how 45% more bikes have been stolen in somerville this year... and kind of freaked out. what if something did happen to this bike that i have had for the last 15 years?!?!?????? so i bought a kryptonite lock to go along with a cable lock to fight the bike thieves of cambridge/somerville.

for additional tips on locking up your bike, you can read this article from the globe that will give you some good tips.

by the way: the "birthday-gift-for-the-next-15 years" thing turned out to be right: i am on year number 15 with beanie.

(here is an image on my way home from the bike store).

enjoy.
--

and here is the beauty in its prime.

THEM

2008-08-20T20:22:00.004-04:00

this photo makes me laugh.
and smile.
both at the same time.

enjoy.

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

2008-08-18T12:22:00.008-04:00

i was back up in maine for a week of camping at acadia national park.
in case you were wondering, i heart acadia.

the images were already made as soon as i got there: every inch of landscape is a scene worthy of capturing... the problem is getting everything that is beautiful in a single frame. this was my fourth time at acadia, and am excited for number five.

enjoy.

PLUM ISLAND

2008-08-11T12:52:00.004-04:00

plum island, off of newburyport, is super cool! like, super duper cool! i suggest going to the wildlife refuge, where you can park your behind on the huge and beautiful beach, wander through some marshes and dunes, and make noises that sound like calls to birds.

enjoy.

CAMERAS AND ROCKBAND

2008-08-08T11:44:00.009-04:00

1. working the camera
2. getting worked by the camera.
3. rockband actually brings people together AND makes you look like a rock star at the same time. rock.

enjoy.

SHAKESPEARE SHAKEUP

2008-08-04T10:08:00.011-04:00

last night was fun. and somewhat risky. but not really. but overall, just really fun.

it was last showing of "as you like it" by shakespeare, performed on the boston common. with the final show came a great idea:
good friend jordan would set up his recent project/piece to show the entire audience of "as you like it"... just on their way out of the commons.

a mere 5 minute piece, a few thousand people would see jordan's show. for free. so in that evening, they would see a classic play and a modern performance art piece for the unbeatable price of $0. a bargain.

the setup for his show would be a little bit more extensive than just "dancing on the street" for people to witness, watch in awe, and clap. the setup required one important component: he needed electricity to power up his amp, DVD player, and LCD projector.

jordan began setting up, and his private entourage scoured the commons to solicit a little juice from nearby vendors. while this was happening, shakespeare was wrapping up. things were getting exciting, because jordan was about to pull off an impromptu renegade style show for thousands to see. long story short: the park rangers wouldn't let it fly.

bravo for the attempt, jordan.

jordan's hope was that people would see the show, thoroughly enjoy the experience (which they would!), and then set forth on his challenge: for each audience member to make it a goal to go see one show in the coming year to support fringe theatre. instead of going to see the dark knight for a second or third time, put the $20 toward a ticket that supports local artists that are creative, talented, and creative.

here is a teaser of the piece jordan almost showed on the commons.

enjoy.
--

ECUADOR THE TRIP

2008-07-14T15:45:00.010-04:00

in no particular order:

i saw volcanoes, ate pan de yuca, bear witness to quito's club soccer team winning its first south american club soccer championships, drank endless cups of guanabana juice, gorged on locros de papas, attended a 120-person family reunion where i knew about 7 people, got schooled in soccer by 9 year olds, stood concurrently in the northern and southern hemisphere, stood at 4200 meters above sea level for a 360-degree view of quito, lost my breath walking up the stairs, played a volleyball-like game in the park, bought too many handmade crafts/hats, met a pastor that wrote 3 dictionaries translating the indigenous langauge of quichua into spanish, met a pastor that wrote 3 dictionaries translating the indigenous langauge of quichua into spanish and asked me politely to "comment" on his writings (did i mention that my spanish is MISERABLE?), saw beautiful churches on every corner, learned how ecuadorian tribes decapitate their enemies and preserve their heads for years and years, stayed with the most welcoming family in cuenca, visited an amazing center for children with down syndrome, had delicious avocados with almost every meal, and tried to capture every moment possible.

below is a slideshow to give you an idea of what my experience was like, and what my eyes saw and felt.

{ if the slideshow takes a second to load, please be patient. you can pause the show, skip forward, go back, and rewatch it as many times as you wish by hovering your mouse over the images. }

enjoy.
--

ECUADOR THE PREVIEW

2008-07-13T18:36:00.007-04:00

i have been back for about a week from my travels in ecuador. i am just getting a chance to sit down with my images, go through them, reminisce, and start to pull it all together to make a story of the trip.
i spent the entire trip in quito and cuenca.

both cities were beautiful, friendly, and memorable. more about the trip in later writings.
i will be posting a slideshow later on this week with about 40-50 images from ecuador, but for now, here is a small preview.

enjoy.
--

JULY 4

2008-07-05T19:07:00.011-04:00

annnnnnnnnnnnnnd i am back.
from ecuador.

shortly after i returned, we had some dinner and watched the fireworks from the apartment. i actually had a very very clear view of the show from the kitchen, which was a pleasant surprising.
here are some images from the infamous boston fourth of july fireworks show-- all seen through the 75-300mm lens and from the comfort of my own pad. each image was a long exposure set anywhere between 15 and 30 seconds. oh, and one more thing: all of these images are straight from the camera-- not a single touching up on photoshop.

be sure to visit again in a few days for some ecuadorian images.
they should be fun to check out.

enjoy.
--

HERE NOW, GONE TOMORROW.

2008-06-21T19:57:00.007-04:00

so i will be gone on monday morning, off to a land far, far away.
actually, not that far away at all.
it is away, but not that far away. i am going to ecuador for a couple of weeks, and will be back soon. try not to miss me (or the phottto blog) too much.

when i make my triumphant return, you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be some hip images to look at.

until then, i leave you with one image from today's trip to stage fort park in gloucester, ma.

enjoy.
--

BAILEY ISLAND 1 & 2

2008-06-15T20:41:00.012-04:00

i am from maine.
i now live in massachusetts.
i love maine. i miss maine.
maine is beautiful. maine is quiet. maine is consciously slower than massachusetts.

i spent the weekend in maine visiting chris, shannon, and lucy.
i was on bailey island and this is what it looks like. right outside of their home.

enjoy.
--

--

oh.
and lucy was there.
here is a sneak preview... more coming later this week.

--

part 2.

more lucy. i really couldn't help myself. i usually have to self-edit for a long time in order to figure out which images to show. i don't want to overwhelm people with all of the images that i want to share.
this time, though, i want to overwhelm you. i want you to be overwhelmed by her cuteness.

enjoy.

and then of course, there was franny. hanging out. and pooping. outside.

LUCKY ME, LUCY YOU

2008-06-10T15:23:00.006-04:00

guess who i get to see on friday? and saturday? and sunday?
lucy. dear dear lucy. (and c+s, too)

i hope that you are staying cool despite the HEAT that has back-handed us in the face.

enjoy.
--

FIVE-SEVENTY-2

2008-05-31T19:56:00.007-04:00

some people write short stories... i find myself shooting short series of images with my camera. i don't really have long-term, driven, intensive photography projects. much of what i like about photography is what i see, shoot, and make from a particular time frame-- from an instance. i found my way to 572 boston ave in medford while riding my bike (a cool fact that i tell everyone i know: the mountain bike i have is in fact the same one that i have been riding since 7th grade-- all of the original parts and it's never had a tune up. bam.).

with my camera, i did a walk-around that lasted a long time, but nonetheless, came up with a cool series of images. it was eerie, quiet, and broken. i am sure 10 years from now it will look the same, as it probably did 10 years ago.

enjoy.
--

BACK FROM THE FUTURE

2008-05-26T19:46:00.008-04:00

lots and lots of things on my plate during the last 2 weeks. sorry that i haven't posted. am i really apologizing for this? maybe more like, "thank you for checking daily-- your dedication is appreciated."
and now i exhale.

(-- exhale --)

with the school year finishing, the work is piling up. we took a great time-out this past memorial day weekend and went to the 'mond in virginia. aside from going to a wedding, we checked out some cool places for our own wedding. here are some images from a few of the places that we visited.

enjoy.
--

LONG ONES

2008-05-11T13:00:00.009-04:00

here is a short series of long exposures in the dark. these were all taken within a 2 street radius from the apartment.
things at work are getting busy, with the school year ending soon... i am trying my best to still get out and shoot, and not letting other things slip in the way of photography.

although there is a large part of me (read: 99% of me) that is counting down the days until summer: no commitments, no schedule, and lots of whatever i want to do. how awesome does that sound? pretty awesome.

enjoy.
--

JTC NIAGRA

2008-04-21T09:04:00.006-04:00

1 car, 48 hours, 3 people, 1200 miles.
boston - niagra falls - boston.
lots of curb ball, and no day spas.

contributors of fun: 30% j.t., 30% c.o., 40% me.

enjoy.
--

HAPPINESS

2008-04-10T22:41:00.005-04:00

so this past weekend was a wonderful step in the next part of my life-- well, our lives, really.

alright ya’ll, here is the basic story:
there is this thing called letterboxing. it is an awesome activity that combines artistic abilities with really hip treasure hunting. people plant letterboxes that contain a thematic stamp and a logbook. they then leave directions and clues on how to find this letterbox for others to find. you then go online, look up letterboxes in different locals, and then go find them. when you find the letterbox, you bring your own personal stamp to stamp the letterbox logbook, and then take the letterbox stamp you just found and stamp your own book as a record of the letterboxes you have found.
confused? try reading this before you move on.

so i recently created a letterbox by carving out a stamp myself and made a logbook, planted it in cambridge, wrote a series of clues on how to find the letterbox, uploaded the clues onto the database at atlasquest.com, lured ashley into finding the letterbox, and then popped the question.

and now, we are engaged.
happiness.

enjoy.
--

the logbook and stamp.

the introductory note.

the engagement stamp.

the first page of the logbook where we placed our own stamps (ash: the leaf; me: the other).

the ring.

SAN DIEGO #FOUR

2008-03-29T10:14:00.009-04:00

we were in the desert all day: wildflowers, cacti, mountains, lizards, snakes, and dust. anza-borrego desert state park is huge, and steve's car was able to conquer most of it.

enjoy.

SAN DIEGO #THREE

2008-03-27T19:35:00.005-04:00

we had a long day walking around torrey pines state reserve in la jolla.
i am a man of little words this evening: torrey pines was beautiful, fun, and beautiful.

enjoy.
--

SAN DIEGO #TWO

2008-03-26T19:27:00.008-04:00

temecula valley, just over an hour north of san diego, is the home to a small set of vineyards and wineries. so we headed there with some crazy cravings for wine.
we started at 10:30am.
10:30am.
i'll leave it up to you to determine whether wine tastings during the time of a late breakfast or a really early lunch is good idea or not.

enjoy.
--

SAN DIEGO #ONE

2008-03-23T18:27:00.006-04:00

annnnnnnnnnnd i'm back.
after a red-eye flight last night/this morning, i am still a little out of it.
during various times this week, i'll post some images and tidbits about the short vacation to san diego.

in short: team steve-ruth rock and i was sad to leave.

here are some snaps from the first couple of days.
enjoy.
--

pre-soccer-game-steve

pre-soccer-game-ruth

beach-side

a walk after lunch

seals hanging out on the beach

some more post-lunch walk

no visit to SD is complete with a visit to the zoo

a monkey in the back-left

meerkats: as cute in real life as they look here

a sleeping leopard

a zebra's butt and face

some kind of guerilla

a silverback

a hippo

a baby panda

COLORES DE COPAN

2008-03-14T11:32:00.003-04:00

a few days ago, i posted about another book i was making through blurb.com.
here it is: colores de copan. it is ready to be purchased by YOU.

colores de copan

By tung trinh

Book Preview

see you after cali...

COLD WALKING #TWO

2008-03-14T10:42:00.007-04:00

here are some other images from yesterday's coldness and walking.
(see yesterday's post here).

i'll be in san diego for the next week, so i'll have plenty to share when i come back.

enjoy.

COLD WALKING #ONE

2008-03-13T18:36:00.007-04:00

i logged in about 7 miles worth of walking today.
it was cold and windy like the other day, but not as bad. my fingers were fairly frozen by the day's end, but i got my hands on some images that i really liked.

i think i am going to start another series of imagery about streets. what ends up on streets, how people use streets... we'll see.

here are some now, and there will be more tomorrow. so be sure to check in again, fool.

enjoy.

WALK WIND WII

2008-03-10T17:05:00.010-04:00

one my walk today, i had a strict itinerary. the forces of the winds almost held me back from doing all of these things:

get a cucumber, carrot, deodorant, and sudafed from the grocery store
drop the car off at arco auto service (the BEST place to get your car fixed around somerville)
get a new set of guitar strings (i have never changed guitar strings before, and whoa that was difficult for me-- took 2 tries! but the guitar sounds a lot better)
take lots of pictures (mostly for the public art project and other random ones)

all 4 things got checked off the light today, baby... i love being on vacation.
here are some images from today.

enjoy.

PS-- i am now a proud owner of a nintendo wii-- wahoo!

NATURAL MUSEUM OF HISTORY

2008-03-08T21:08:00.008-05:00

we spent saturday with our special friends phoebe (9) and ollie (6) at the natural museum of history (harvard).

we saw some crazy cool things... a beautiful photo exhibit by henry horenstein, nests and eggs galore, awesome arthropods, minerals minerals, dinosaur fossils, and big, scary animals. lots and lots of big, scary animals.

if you get the chance, check it out.

enjoy.

COLORES DE COPAN

2008-03-08T10:21:00.009-05:00

here is the layout for my new book courtesy of blurb.com. it is a product of a day-project from copan, honduras in august of 2007. for more on the story of the experience, go to my JPG site.

you can't order it yet, but it will be ready in about a week-- i'll post when it is ready to go.

anyway, here is what it will look like.
--

LOST/FOUND OF SCOTLAND

2008-03-04T19:48:00.007-05:00

continuing with the last post about my OLD crappy camera in college (polaroid 35mm), here are some of my scotland images that turned out ok. i actually just found these last night: i had found them when i moved a little while ago, and then lost them because i placed the images in a "safe place that i wouldn't forget about them"
i forgot about them.
but they have been found, scanned (crappily), and posted.
i spent 2 amazing weeks in scotland: 1 week touring the country in a wee-car and 1 week in edinburgh. i loved every second of it, and every place that we went. here are 4 of the images that actually made it out of that polaroid camera.

enjoy.
--

FILM GOES WRONG

2008-03-04T19:32:00.011-05:00

ALL WRONG.

in college, i had this fairly crappy piece of junk polaroid 35mm film camera that i bought at a yard sale. the camera looked like this-- it only cost me 25 cents.
seriously. 25 cents.
for some reason, every few images taken on the camera would turn out crazy. the film's negatives would randomly go bizerk, and i would get a crazy picture. you can guess how long that camera lasted me...?
it actually lasted me quite a long time: 3 years.
during those 3 years, this little 35mm camera accompanied me to some sweet locals: a 1 week binge in new york city and a 2 week stint in santa barbara.
i am setting this post up for two reasons:
1) i am heading back to cali fairly soon, and 2) the purpose for this visit is to hang out with my buddy-- lets call him "steve". "steve" was in new york city AND santa barbara with me. he also was the subject and victim of the old polaroid 35mm.
needless to say, i am quite happy with my current gear... although i sort of wish i still had the piece of junk camera.

enjoy.
--

OLDIES #TWO

2008-03-02T15:55:00.008-05:00

so is it laziness or a pleasant blast from the past?

enjoy.
--

OLDIES #ONE

2008-03-01T10:14:00.008-05:00

i'll leave it up to you to determine whether it is laziness or a blast from the past.
here are some oldies but goodies-- part 1.

enjoy.
--

LOVELY LUCY

2008-02-18T14:25:00.009-05:00

we spent this long weekend with chris, shannon, and of course, lucy.
lucy is wonderful in pretty much every way possible: she is 100% adorable, lovable, fun, smart, and did i mention adorable??

i had about 400 shots from this weekend, with about 390 of them including lucy. choosing JUST a handful to show you is absolutely impossible. so i am throwing out the "less is more" mantra just for this post.

... way too many.
enjoy.
--

JAPAN BOOK FEATURED

2008-02-14T17:55:00.015-05:00

i recently posted an entry talking about the book i just put together with my photos from japan. the wonderfully hip folks at blurb.com just placed my book on their "staff pick" list, which features books that they think YOU should check out. they have chosen about 550 books in their "staff picks" out of the 14,000 created/self-published books. r ead more about blurb.com here (absolutely awesome company).

you can follow this link, and scroll down: it is the 3rd book in the 2th row (at least for now-- it will move once they add more books to their featured list). you can download a preview of the book, but the quality is super low. if you are interested in purchasing the book through blurb.com, i will send you a link to show all of the images in the book (about 25 in all).
(subliminal message: buy the book as a gift for someone special in your life).

enjoy.
--

HONDURAS OTRA VEZ

2008-02-11T20:40:00.004-05:00

i have spent the last few days also retouching some of my photos from honduras (august 2007 with SHI). here are four that i like, and hope that you like too.

i am currently working on another short book from the same theme: while in copan, honduras, i captured some stunningly colorful images of the buildings on the street. the book will also be printed by blurb.com and will be available for purchase. more on that later, gator.

enjoy.
--

MY BOOK OF JAPAN

2008-02-10T19:39:00.004-05:00

i just created a book from my images of japan through blurb.com. for a limited time, you can buy it at retail price-- hardcover is 29.95 and softcover is $19.95. the price will be increasing soon so that i can make a profit on every book sold (gasp!); get it while you can! if you do choose to buy one, please email me (phottto@gmail.com) and let me know.

japan

By tung trinh (phottto)

Book Preview

OLD SCHOOL

2008-02-09T08:35:00.003-05:00

with all of the hype around the dominant boston celtics recently, i have been thinking back to the days of "old basketball", mainly through the 90s for me.
i used to be obsessed with basketball in elementary, middle, and high school. i sort of lost interest after many of my favorites retired, and still haven't been able to generate the drive today to keep watching.

anyway, i was thinking back to my favorite player, john stockton of the utah jazz, and wanted to share with you this sweeeeeeeeeet youtube video.

watch him handout 24 assists below.

well... while we are on youtube, check out one of my favorite commercials! great googly moogly!

5 / TEN

2008-02-08T22:57:00.003-05:00

doesn't it seem like this series of images from japan will never end? well the buck stops here!

these are the final 10 images.
i am getting ready to assemble them in a book with blurb.com, which you can actually purchase if you enjoy these images THAT much. i will send the link out soon once i get it together (next week's project), so be on the lookout.

there will be a nice weekend mini-project coming your way before weekend's end.
enjoy the crazy new england weather if you are in new england, and for those of you somewhere else... enjoy your normal weather.

off to get pizza.
--

FIVE / 10

2008-02-08T22:29:00.005-05:00

here are 5/10 of my final images from this japan series re-do.
--

+5 FOR THE NEW YEAR

2008-02-06T19:55:00.004-05:00

here are five more for you on this [chinese] new year's eve.
these are 5 of my final 15. 10 more coming soon.

がせい (happy [chinese] new year)
--

TOO MANY TO COUNT

2008-02-02T17:02:00.004-05:00

quick timeout before we even start--
i spent the morning at the griffin museum of photography in winchester. it is a lovely little place tucked away on a side street in a quaint town. they have 2 small galleries (one for emerging photographers) and one main gallery. the main gallery is currently featuring an exhibit by stephen wilkes.
wilkes spent five-years photographing parts of the historic ellis island in NY. these images are creepy, unsettling, and haunting, as wilkes tells a unique story about immigration that is told both through his words and photographs. wilkes found peculiar elements of ellis island to capture, particularly in the hospital wings. it is an interesting blend of almost photojournalism and fine art. i have been thinking about his imagery all day, and the themes that he hits so poignantly in his work: man v. nature, purgatory/crossroads, emptiness, the idea of permanency, and of course the feelings of hope and hopelessness. again, eerie. he captured it beautifully. if you are in the boston area, CHECK OUT THIS EXHIBIT. admissions to the museum is only $5, and the trip is worth much, much, much more than that. at the very least, check out wilkes' site.

--

there have been too many blog posts this week to count... phew! are you bored of japan yet? hopefully not. i think that we are starting to get to the cream of the crop, and hopefully in the next week or so i will have a completed japan series.
i am going to be making a book of my images from japan from blurb.com, and i can actually leave the book up for sale if you are interested... more on that later.
here are four more that are in shape enough for JV, but not yet ready for varsity (used this one already, i know...).

喰う

MOVING THE MOVEMENT

2008-01-31T20:24:00.003-05:00

so for some of you readers out there, hearing "moving the movement" should make you laugh, even pee in your pants. i'll leave it up to you if you to decide if that is funny enough to cause that kind of accident.

if you haven't read the previous 4 posts, do so now por favor! failing to do so will result in pure chaos and confusion. actually it won't, because like JK rowling does in all of her installments of harry potter, i'll give you a recap:

got a new computer and software
i have been revisiting my japan imagery to learn my way around these new programs
i am trying to learn how to do and say MORE with LESS images
this is another round of cuts resulting in all of the above

ok. so. there you have it.
i am going to make a neat little book out of these images, and i think many of these images will find their way in. but for now, i think the magic number is 12 images from my japan series that will complete this project./learning experience. 12 isn't much at all.

upward and onward. we'll see how close i can get to 12 or even 10, if i dare.

かんぱい

THEY WORK, JUST NOT HERE

2008-01-30T19:29:00.005-05:00

recently, i have been more conscious about how many images find their little way into a series of work. i tend to shoot a lot, put a lot in a series or virtual portfolio, and then get stuck with too many images. part of what i am working on is reducing the number of images that i am trying to work with, and thus making more of statement of purpose with less stuff.

i have been busy recently learning apple's aperture program, which has been an amazing tool to cull through lots of images and even better, edit my RAW files that i am shooting with. i also upgraded to photoshop CS2 from CS recently... i know, i am well behind the curve on that. CS3 will come eventually... but for now, i am very happy with aperture and CS2.

as previously posted, i am re-running through my japan images from march of 2007 to learn my way around these new programs. the images posted below work, but not here. not for what i want japan to look like in print. so these are some cuts that are good enough for the JV team, but not quite ready for the varsity team. more from the re-making of the japan series later on...

ohayo gozaimasu!
(good morning!)

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THRU THE GLASS

2008-01-27T15:11:00.004-05:00

back again from japan... well, from japan in march of 2007.
if you are just reading this, check out post #14 FIRST (the cliff notes version: last year i went to japan, came home with way too many images, i just got a new computer + some new software, i am re-doing some of my japan images, bada-bing-bada-boom, the images are now my posts).

here are some images from japan seen through glass, from buildings, subways, and especially trains.

oisheeeeeeee.
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JAP FOODS

2008-01-27T14:53:00.003-05:00

this is japan revisited.
during march 2007, i traveled to japan for about two weeks. in that time period, i went to tokyo, kyoto (the best place in the world), osaka, suzu city, noto peninsula, kanazawa, and then back to tokyo. it was an amazing trip with lots to do, see, and eat.

we had just as many adventures on the streets as we did in the restaurants. unfortunately, i don't have any pictures of some of the craziest things we ate, like squid-ink pizza or an ocean's full of raw fish.

after all was said and done, i didn't really want to leave...

here are some images of the foods that i encountered on my adventures. i am going to post some other images from japan as the days pass us by. i recently purchased my new computer and got some new software to make the editing process that much better. i am test-driving all of this software by redoing many of my images from japan... which are my new posts.
yum yum.
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THE BLUES

2008-01-20T14:08:00.003-05:00

today, i had a case of the blues.
not the kind of blues that you might be thinking of... oh no. i had a good case of the blues.

on a long walk in what felt like minus-fifty degrees, i saw interesting shades of blue. so with my camera, i started capturing all of the blueness around me. colors are a funny thing because they seem to mean different things to different people. what does blue mean to you?

even though it took some extra work today to handle the camera (read: my fingers were so cold and numb that i could barely bend/move them), i am happy with the stuff i got. during the walk, i was trying to think of ALL THINGS BLUE. in other words, what notable things have led to give extra meaning to the word BLUE.
here are some ideas (in no particular order):

any other suggestions?
enjoy my blues.
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DEFACING PROPERTY

2008-01-12T17:42:00.003-05:00

while walking around today in boston, i enjoyed seeing what was on walls-- some stuff was graffiti, others were just notices. the defaced property appealed to me much more.
it got me thinking of a few things:

why do people do it?
do the owners of the property care?
why isn't there more of it?

the last question seems to be sitting on my mind the most: why isn't there more graffiti, street art, etc.? i guess it is sort of like asking the question, "why isn't there more crime??" what's stopping people from lurking in the nighttime with their spray-paint tool-belts and be silent art assassins?

some of the best street art i have ever seen is the work of an artist named banksy. banks is a "british street artist with an international reputation". check out his work.

the following images are from copley area, chinatown, and the T.

INTERNET JUNKY & JUNO

2008-01-03T21:05:00.003-05:00

so i have been offline (partly by choice) for the last week. i think that i am a little internet junky. that is ok with me. i am more than just ok with being an internet dork, i actually embrace the dork. i think that i am just super curious, and what better way to find the answers to my curiosity than to use the internet? there is a reason it is called the world wide web! i feel connected to those that want to share their wealth of knowledge to those who are looking for that information.

listen: laugh all you want... you know you are an internet junky, too. google averages more than 200 million (that is 200,000,000) searches daily.
1) how many of those are your searches?
2) what on earth did people do before that?

ok, so the answer to number two could have a positive or negative spin. positive: people just thought about something, and then moved on without ever thinking twice of searching for the answer. negative: people used to talk to each other, and now they just type it, learn it, and leave it without sharing that with others. a few months ago (which probably amounts to more than a few months because i sometimes space out with time spans), i asked some friends what were their most searched subjects in google. the most popular answers: directions, product research (that sounds much dorkier than it should: more about something that they want to buy), and news. what are your MOST google'd things?

so i just saw the movie juno.
it was really, really, really awesome. it has all of the punchy, dry, and situational humor that one would enjoy. it is also a wonderful slice of commentary on the dynamics of different relationships, at all ages.
and the trailer is a great listen. "anyone else but you" by the moldy peaches is my fave on the soundtrack. check that out, too.
here is the trailer (see it soon):

be well.

07 WEDDINGS

2007-12-27T10:47:00.004-05:00

in july of 2007, i went back to do some freelance shooting with the summer program that i used to work at, explo. i still think that it is one of the coolest places ever, and if you look around the site for a few minutes... you will certainly see why!

back to the point. as i started exploring more of this kind of commercial work, eric laurits of :e: asked if i would be interested in joining him for a wedding he had in waterville, maine in august-- i could watch, assist, and shoot too. of course i said yes, because i had a slight interest in learning what it would be like to shoot a wedding. eric hooked me up: i got to shoot alongside him for the weekend of festivities, and it was an incredible learning experience... and lots more fun than i thought it was going to be. i am uber grateful for eric asking me to join him, and have been a second shooter for him for 5 weddings now.

shooting weddings are tough. now, i am not a professional photographer and i wouldn't call myself a wedding photographer, either (yet, at least?). i am still exploring this side of photography, and happy to be in this fun place of learning. but yeah, weddings are tough. besides the obvious stuff like you seem to only have one chance at so many important moments (prep, the walk, the ring exchange, the kiss, the walk, the dance, the cutting of the cake, etc.), but you have to problem solve constantly to get the shot: what's up with the lighting, the structures, who are all of the important family/friends, what's happening next, etc. on the other hand, they are also really fun to be at. people are happy, there is dancing, there is laughing, lots of people taking pictures, talking, eating good food... what isn't cool about that?

there is a wedding that i am shooting with eric next weekend, and in thinking about that, i wanted to post some of my favorite shots that i took from the past 5 weddings with eric (there isn't any rhyme or reason in the order of things, really).
enjoy, ya'll.
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MAINE-LY THE SAME

2007-12-26T15:17:00.003-05:00

maine is where i am from, and maine is where it's at.
i really do love maine. put aside all of those stereotypical maine things (like lobsters, accents, maple syrup, ll bean, rednecks, trees, pine cones, loons, moose, and hunting), and it is still one of the loveliest places i know. there is space, it is quiet, and it is slow.

so let's start the story where it needs to be started: friday night, we went to see "the eight: the reindeer monologues" in boston. the show was produced by one of my closest friends, jordan H, and was spectacular. check it out!
on our way home, i noticed that the side-view mirror on the driver-side of my car was hit, which didn't really allow me to drive home as planned on saturday. that will get fixed on friday...

ok. so my first day back in south portland, i immediately put on my old sweatpants, snacked on all of the delicious food around me, and vegged out on the couch in front of bad TV. i am a fast-flipper on the remote, so i wasn't really watching... just scanning. QUESTION: how many of you out there call the remote "flicker", or "channel changer"? if you do, what's wrong with you?
anyway, i got a little chilly, and went into my old closet to see if any of my clothes were still at bay. nothing was there... except an old flannel shirt. score! i put it on, and realized that it was a little bigger than it should have been, especially because this was a shirt from high school.

then i realized. oh yes. this shirt was purchased during "that phase". "that phase" was a strictly delusional couple of years in high school when i thought i was still growing, and being the optimist that i was back then, i bought clothes thinking i was going to "grow into them". you know, the thing you do when you are like 7, and you actually are continually growing... not when you are 17 and pretty much fully grown. i got a good laugh out of it.

it also hit me that as soon i come home for the holidays, it is all the same again. the favorite foods, old PJs, old routines, old room, old high school friends, old family friends, everything. all of the sameness is comforting, but also unsettling. i like the feeling that while almost everything about my teaching life and home life seem to be changing chaotically all of the time, there is a strong sense of safety at home. BUT, at the same time, it makes me itchy to not quite settle in like that. i think that in general, i don't like how so many things at home are static. i think that has more to do with my personality and the way that i am wired than anything else.

one thing that did change at home, though, is the drawer that my parents keep the silverware in. for some reason, still unbeknownst to me, my mom moved the silverware from the furthest draw in the right to the one in the middle... after several visits home, i still can't get it right. i can still see at times that my dad reaches for the wrong drawer, too.

maybe i do like change, but when it happens in a place that usually doesn't change, i need to do a better job of adapting. so then that brings me back... do i really like change, or just the idea of it?

hm.

here are just a few shots from being home.
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SUNDAY SNOWS

2007-12-16T13:50:00.003-05:00

old man winter and mother nature have been getting along quite well recently. in the last couple of days, we have had lots of snow up in these parts-- maybe 20-25 inches.

on thursday afternoon, i left school at about 2:45pm. it took me 30 minutes to get down the road to hop on the highway, which i knew was a bad sign. apparently, my plan to leave early was foiled by the other 93284903284093284902384390284374983724897489327483947398 people and their mothers who were leaving at the same time. i had advanced a whopping 7 miles in about 1 hour and 43 minutes. i thought i was finally in the clear when i was able to travel at a steady speed of about 30 mph. cars were sliding around, lanes were ignored, and people were cautious. being the experienced maine winter driver that i am, i hit 45 mph comfortably, and was excited that the worst had passed.

i am such an idiot. shortly after, i was stuck in traffic with many, many, many cars. it took me roughly another 1 hour and 30 minutes to move 8 more miles. 2/3 of the trip was complete at this point; 1/3 left to go.

it took another 1 hour and 36 minutes to make it home. when i finally got home, i had to drive around a little bit looking for a parking spot (props to conor for finding me a spot behind his car-- yay conor!). after all was said and done, i walked into my apartment at about 7:40pm; 5 hours total, door-to-door. not great, but not bad considering it took a neighbor 9 hours to get home...

we all can use frustrating times as learning moments: i'll spend the night near school next time around and not bother coming home.

fast forward to today, sunday december 16th.

we got slammed with more snow, sleet, and freezing rain.
after shoveling car after car after car to ensure we are not trapped tomorrow morning (that's 3 cars for those of you keeping score), we headed out to the backyard where all of the snow has not been touched.

there were snowballs, fall-backs, snow angels, diving catches, and bicycle kicks all around.

stay warm, ya'll.
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COLORES DE COPAN

2007-12-05T22:51:00.008-05:00

i recently posted the following on the ROCKIN site, JPG.

check out the photo essay and imagery.
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On the western side of Honduras and close to the border of Guatemala is the city of Copán. Internationally known as one of the homes to Mayan ruins, it attracts a plethora of tourists each year. Throughout the center of the city, vendors set up on the fly on small crooked streets, with the backdrop of buildings thrusting against each other. Extremely talented local artists display their craft with tradition and beauty: jewelry, paintings, hammocks, clothing, and other Copán-classics are displayed with flare and gusto. If you don't speak Spanish, that is okay in Copán, as they have adapted well because of the intense influx of tourists in recent years.

While on a trip during August '07 volunteering with Sustainable Harvest International (helping to promote sustainable farming and helping boost local economies throughout Central America), we stopped for a day in Copán. I passed up a horseback ride tour of surrounding locals (including waterfalls and a coffee farm...) to take an independent, self-guided tour of the winding streets of Copán. The colors immediately struck me: buildings, apartments, markets, and the goods themselves. Everything was bright, which appropriately accommodated the bright, optimistic spark of the beautiful Hondurans. I made it a day-project to capture some of the most arrestingly stunning colors all around me. At some points, when standing in the middle of a long street, it was almost sensory overload... stimuli overdose... a rainbow gone awry... or even crayola on crack.

Some colors had legs to stand on their own; others used each other like a cheap toy to accentuate their tone. The city flowed nicely, as if it was a self-contained system of harmony. It was a gorgeous walk in a gorgeous city, in an even more gorgeous country.

see more at jpg.

LOVING LUCY

2007-12-02T12:18:00.003-05:00

the other week, steve was in town and we met up with the laj family in NH for dinner. it was actually the first time steve was going to meet lucy, so that was great. i didn't really care about that moment though, because flatbread pizza company is quite possibly one of the most wonderful establishments in the history of the universe... i was just happy about the food (kidding! sort of...).

it is strange how quickly babies grow in such a short amount of time. what is even stranger? babies aren't born with kneecaps (patellas), as they develop them between 12-18 months (ish). isn't that strange??!? i think so. babies also drool-- way too much.

i hope that we can all be real for a moment: some babies are cute, others are not. many of the babies in our world outgrow their cuteness once they get older, and others do not. i can say very safely that lucy was cute when she was tiny, and still is at the tender age of 1+ years-old. i don't foresee lucy losing her touch on being the most adorable baby on this side of the mississippi any time too soon.

enjoy the gem.
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SMALL DELAY

2007-11-10T11:27:00.004-05:00

who: me
when: sunday, 10/28/07, mid-afternoon
where: central square, cambridge, ma
what: meeting jessie for lunch

ok. the stage is set.

i took the T to central from davis, and arrived a wee-bit early. luckily, i had my camera and walked around the center of central square snapping away. once we got together for lunch (at ABP because we literally had like 30 minutes before i had to take off), we caught up on each other’s lives before jessie took off for NYC. jessie paid for lunch this time because i picked up last time– isn’t she sweet? i got italian wedding soup with a little baguette on the side. it was de-lish.

when our lunch reunion concluded, i hugged her, and made a mad dash to the T because i was running a little late. on my way TO central, i caught the train JUST as it was about to leave. i felt lucky to have caught it right away. when i ran down the stairs to the platform at the central square station, the train’s doors were open and i ran in to find a prime seat. once i caught my breath, sat down, took my winter hat off (it was cold), and looked around… people were looking around too, and the doors weren’t closing. about 2 minutes pass. the conductor gets on the horn and announces in his befuddled voice, “sorry folks, there will be a small delay… there seems to be a small fire on the track.” as heads turned, including mine, i caught site of 7 (i counted!) fire-fighters running toward the front of the train and get down onto the track. as people made their way out to see what was happening, i made my way back up the street. on my way, i was hit was the good old smell of smoke… i started to run.

small delay?!? more fire trucks came, and more fire-fighters followed. i cut my loss of $1.70 on public transportation and walked almost the entire way home. i caught a bus for the last leg of the trek home. at least that was free because of my transfer pass from the subway to the bus.

i took my street camera (canon dig. rebel XT) and the fantastic plastic (ef 50mm f/1.8). here are some shots from the weekend.

OPENING PITCH

2007-11-10T11:26:00.004-05:00

so here we go.
i have started 2 other blogs without much success, and contributed to another one rather infrequently. at this point in my life, i am a D- blog student. i will be better with this one, though… i promise.

this blog has a purpose: to show how my life is lived through photography. i need this passionately-driven theme for this at-times volatile ship (me!), which i hope to keep afloat for as long as possible (blogs!).

i won’t even attempt to set a schedule for how regularly i will update this blog, but i am going to try my best to do it weekly. usually i have a camera of some sort on me, so there should be lots to write about. after all, a life behind a camera is a fun life.

thank you for checking it out, and check back often (subscribe to me!).
be well.

LINKS

2007-11-02T14:48:00.005-04:00

ABOUT

2007-11-01T14:46:00.001-04:00

the first camera i ever snapped a picture with was my father’s canon av-1, circa late-80s. i remember taking a picture of our car when i was very young. from that point on, i just actually kept growing up… without a camera.

in college, i took a non-credit photography course using my father’s canon av-1. the course was amazing, particularly learning how to make our own prints. it was amazing to simply drop this blank piece of paper into a bin of chemicals and have an image appear. our teacher stressed the importance of finding comfort in our own style, and i keep those words in the back of my head still to this day.

i now shoot digitally, have since left film behind (not that it was all too familiar anyways), and also the canon av-1. even though the camera doesn’t work anymore, it sits on my bookcase as a reminder of photography and my father. it is still my favorite camera in my collection.

what do i love about photography? i love seeing the world through a lens. i love documenting all of my amazing travel adventures. i love sharing slices of life with those around me. i love capturing the small moments. i love sifting through everything that is happening, and finding a story that could have been lost.