I picked Matthew up from work yesterday and this is what was waiting for me.



And yes, we went out to eat with him looking like this.

Spring has sprung (and other cornyness)

If you know me you know that I have an addiction to Dr Pepper. But I recently discovered the joy that is Izze.


I haven't had caffeine in two days and my head won't let me forget it. The last time I tried to give up Dr Pepper I made until 5pm. I have no intention of giving the sauce up for good, but at least I'm being (somewhat) healthy. And the carbonation in the Izze burns like crazy which is the thing that I love about soda the most.

Here's some more old photos for you viewing enjoyment...

Photo a day, shmoto a day. Yeah, it's not gonna happen.

The timing of things is funny. Recently I've been having camera problems. My camera doesn't recognize my better lens, so I'm using a lens off my parent's old camera. It hasn't had a lens cap on it for years and is pretty banged up. Minolta, my camera brand went out of business recently so it's pointless for me to invest any more money into this set-up. I'm in the market for a new camera, probably a Canon, which I'm hoping to get in the next couple of month, finances allowing. I've felt like I've been caught in a cycle of not being able to take on photography jobs because my camera's dying, but not being able to get a better setup because I'm not shooting anything to make money. And having a good camera will change everything. Every photo will turn out perfect, and I will all of a sudden develop amazing new artistic abilities and perspective. All because of an expensive piece of machinery.

We rent movies through Netflix, which allows you to set up a queue of what you want to see. Usually I reorganize the list to whatever we want to see that week, but this last time I forgot to check and it sent me Born into Brotherls. I didn't realize that Born into Brothels was about photography. All I really knew is that it was a documentary. Turns out it's about a photographer who gave the children in Calcutta's red light district cameras and photography lessons and documents the changes in their lives as a result. The photos are amazing. You could spend tens of thousands of dollars on equiptment and waste years of your life in school learning the correct process of taking a photo and still not be able to capture anywhere near the life and emotion of their photos. All on simple, focus free, point & shoot 35mm cameras that probably cost $10 each.

Sooo... It appears that God wanted me to watch this movie today and once again be reminded of what I already know. The camera doesn't matter. The technical technique doesn't matter. I personally don't take pictures because I know how to. I take pictures because I don't know how to and I love the results that I stumble on. It seems the more adverse the circumstances the happier I am with my results. I think that most of the time it's God nudging me to hit the shutter and He takes care of rearranging the lighting and composition to work in that instant.

ps. Jon & Hiedi, don't worry, I'm still gonna get that new camera and try my hardest to make your pictures great. I won't be shooting your wedding with my camera phone out of some new artistic principle.


Some of my favorites that I've stumbled on over the years

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Taken with a simple point & shoot digital camera with only available lighting. I'm pretty sure I didn't even use the viewfinder.

I didn't know I took this until I had it on my computer. Something about it sums up the whole of traveling in a foreign country to me.


Last frame on the film, out the window of the taxi as I was leaving NYC

4/8

Someone famous' property

4/7

4/6

Pancakes & Brownies with Ice Cream at Pizza Huts in Germany

april 4

I do miss California at times

Belly

Like it or not the Lawrence family will be making quite a few appearances here. They've always been willing models. Gabriel is now out of Anna's belly, though I've yet to see the proof myself.

Mmmm...

Wedding Cake. Plain and Simple

He's not drunk

Joey & Family are in the process of moving to Seattle. They won't be there when I visit SoCal. It's a weird thought.