Homeless v.1 :: Polaroid

When I came back to Dallas in November I found that many of the promising leads for work I had actually led nowhere. After a couple weeks I began to get worried. I knew that I had to find something to fill my time or I would end up defeated and depressed. My friend Brandon had an assignment to cover a church parking lot who offered it's space to homeless people for sleep. The city has recently made it difficult for the homeless. No longer can they find a corner and fall asleep. Now they have to hide. I went with him.

Not surprisingly we were met very kindly by the community on the lot and I managed to meet a few people. I went back a few days later to talk to the guys I met. I decided to spend a night on the street with them. I wasn't looking for a project. Just something legitimate to fill my time. I was hoping to get a broader perspective on how the homeless in Dallas live.

My contacts were two older men in their 50s. Johnie was small and unassuming. He didn't speak much. He would rather listen...and he never passed judgment. He was well groomed, well mannered, and sober. Skeet was tall and very assuming. Like Johnie, he was well groomed (although he sported an nice 3 week beard.) He too was well mannered, sober, and extremely intelligent. He was fluent in five languages. Neither man drank or partook in drugs. They did smoke cigarettes. It was surprising to see these men on the streets. They appeared quite capable and from what I saw they were just down on their luck. A cliché. Lost their jobs and no one wanted to hire a man in his 40s.

I began seeing the men every day or so. This went on for a month and a half. I always carried my camera. I never felt like I got deep enough into their lives though. Much of our time together was spent sitting and talking. Not much action. I kept waiting for more.

Around the holidays I got my Polaroid Land Camera. I figured that despite the lack of action, I could at least take some portraits. In fact, most of the portraits were not of Johnie or Skeet, but of other people I met on the street.

These are the Polaroids from those days. Johnie and Skeet are in the first picture.

Cheese and Cookies

Some photos are Cheese to the max. You like them but you know you shouldn't. It's not that they are bad...necessarily. I mean, they can be creative. Usually the Cheese had gone bad though. It smells like last year's fashion. Or sometimes last decade's. It isn't until two decades later that they become cool again. I find myself thrust into the Cheese situation on occasion. I have to take the picture. I also have to shoot the Cookies.

A Cookie photo has been noted as being boring, simple, and manufactured. One of 100. Again, not a bad situation...necessarily. You can count on a Cookie. Often the Cookie is a necessary sister to Cheese. They play off each other's qualities. Alone...either can be just plain bad. An eye sore.

Together they might almost form a union.

Then again...they might not. In that case, you can always reflect on Cheese and Cookies to remember what to do better.

Political Polaroid

Polaroid has announced that it will no longer be making instant film. That means no more polaroids. That is sad. Fuji still makes it...but not for much longer I suspect.

I just got a land camera. Built in 1967, it still works perfect. It gives me the artistic feeling of working with film and the instant gratification I have come to expect by working with digital. It is perfect. It even smells funky and gross (artsy of course.)

I will be sad to see it go.

Until then, I will be buying as much of it as I can, shooting as much as I can, and posting as much as I can.

Politics and Such

Texas, it turns out, has become a linchpin in the race to become the Democratic nominee for president.

I have been planning to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver next August. Both to get mixed in with the hype and just to get back to the mountains. I wasn't expecting to see the excitement so soon.

Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to shoot the political craziness for a publication. I have gone to shoot it just for fun. Yeah, I know. How can that be fun? Maybe it is just the energy of being around people who really have hope and faith that their candidate can create change for them. I am too bitter for that. I just don't think either Clinton or Obama will be able to undo what has been done... and blame can't just be placed on the most recent clown that that held office. The problems facing the United States today are a result of 200 years of bad politics, not eight.

So...while I am hesitant to get too excited over the next election, it is refreshing to see a real sense of urgency and willingness to participate from the public. Both candidates represent a change in appearance. That is good. It is obviously time to move beyond electing the same old white man for president. I just wonder how different either of the Democrats are from that same old school political mentality. Hillary boasts experience...experience in the same system that she claims to change. I don't buy it. For some reason, though I am drawn to her. People say she is scary. I think I like that a little. Obama really seems to give hope and bring people together. For that I think he could be great. He boasts his ability to create change from his experience with grassroots organizations. I wonder how much this experience can transmit the hope to the rest of the world. I like both...but I am skeptical of both as well.

A Little Art, A little Cowboy

I finally made it to Ft. Worth, Texas. I drove all the way from Dallas. An entire hour.

I have heard great things about Ft. Worth. I'd like to start making it to some smaller Texas towns and Ft. Worth almost feels like one. I can sense the true Western images I have grown to expect. I just can't see them. They must be in the next town over.

Our first stop was the modern art museum in town. It was pretty nice. The building had a very cozy feel that helped make the art more creative. Or maybe it was the coffee I had first. The museum is small, but the quantity was really not the point. The point was leaving town...for a little time at least. There is a cool art exhibit currently showing. An animation made from watercolor paintings, stop-action figures, and sculptures. It was made by Joshua Mosley.

After the museum we made it to the stock yards. Simply a lame excuse exploit the once small Western city that I still hope to see. There was even a guy painted like an Indian. He put hand prints on his horse as cave paintings. Could he have been more offensive? If I had tried to get a picture I surely would have been charged a tourist fee. No thanks.

We then had a quick burger. The bun fell apart! Bad buns will ruin the best of meals. The least I expected from the stock yards was a good burger. It was OK though. Good fries. Good atmosphere. If wasn't for that bun...grrr.

Museum...Fake Indian...Bad Bun...Oh, and a candy store. That was fun too.

Starbucks - Station J

Station J.

J is number ten of 212 Starbucks serving burned coffee in Dallas city limits.

J finds its home in Uptown. Next to the Paul Frank Store and Banana Republic. J is conveniently located next to a beautiful new row of model homes perfect for todays graduates of Southern Methodist University and tomorrows CEOs of Pfizer.

I love coffee & I hate Starbucks. Local coffee shops either don't survive or simply don't exist in Dallas. It may be the obsession with driving & malls. It could be the fast-paced lack of community.

I complain...but I go. Maybe my bitter attitude toward corporate coffee finds a perfect mate with the bitter over cooked coffee I am served. I still get to stare and watch. People seem to have fun here. Smiling like perfectly directed models in an ad campaign. Can I suggest ignorance? Perhaps they just haven't tasted real coffee at a real coffee shop. They just don't know any better.

It could be that I embody the elite arrogance that keep people from adopting local coffee shops. A hint of intellect. A smidgen of taste. A sliver of sophistication. Thats what I want out of my coffee. You can keep your double-soy-carmel-pumpkin-latte. I'll just stick to my medium burned coffee. Two milks. Two sugars.

The Final Goodbye

I revisited some negatives from my grandmothers funeral a couple months ago.

They were eerie...both in spirit and quality. They had the foggy visual effect made possible by the Holga camera they were shot on. Somehow that foggy idea perfectly reflects the funeral and the events that surrounded her burial. The weekend was not rainy, but may as well have been. Not because of the events taking place, but because of the hasty and muggy reactions of the present family. It wasn't sorrow as much as an uncomfortable urgent desire to finish the funeral and move on.

These emotions aren't so much reflected in the following photographs. Probably because I more or less wanted to just move on from the whole ordeal myself.

Regardless, my grandma was finally laid to rest next to her husband and second child, Larry, after many pain filled years leading up to a painless final departure.

The Interview

I hate covering an assignment when there is a video team present. For some reason they feel their time is more valuable than the photographer's. Maybe it is because they have a "team" shooting. Really, they just get in my way. And of course they redo each shot ten or fifteen times.

I must say though, a good interview usually results in good lighting. Kye R. Lee at The Dallas Morning News has mastered the ability to get good lighting out of an interview.

But really, what is a photographer to do while the interview is going and the real action is three hours away?

I shoot. Then I watch. Then I shoot again.

The "Almost Portrait"

Often I take portraits. Not so often I get a good one. I think my execution has gotten much better...but there is always room for improvement and I still have a lot of improving to do. I have recently spent time looking for new techniques. No doubt new techniques means new equipment. I am looking to build my own pretty soon. Hopefully I will get some good results in the end which will inspire new directions for my portfolio. Recent inspirations have been Michael Rubenstein, Bob Croslin, and Brigitte Lacombe.

In the mean time, I am having fun getting the "Almost Portrait." These are the pictures that look OK. Not great, but OK. Often these photos rely on too heavily on technique and completely miss connection with the subject, leave readers bored, and lack emotion. Sometimes there is simply bad execution and poor direction.

Regardless, they are photos I like but wish were better. That is why you will find them on my blog and not in my portfolio.

I Likes v.2