Two weeks ago I shot a single roll of film on a Saturday. On Sunday, I developed it in my kitchen. This is my first experience developing film by hand, and I absolutely loved it. Can’t wait to do much, much more of this.
Photography
Two Weeks
Two weeks ago, my grandfather passed away at ninety-six. It’s been something of a whirlwind couple of weeks. I did the only thing I ever know to do. I took lots of pictures.
Death feels like such an exotic thing sometimes, but then suddenly you’re going through someone’s possessions with a simple purpose: they don’t need anything anymore. We will all be buried in our nicest set of clothes, and everything else will disperse into the world.
Tulsa State Fair, 2007
Going through old film photos. Sadly I can’t remember what film this was, but I definitely shot it with an Olympus OM-10. Given how outstandingly grainy this is, I’m going to guess it was some cheap Fuji 400.
Tucumcari, New Mexico
Tucumcari, New Mexico
April 2017
Can’t wait to go back and spend a little more time in one of the most photogenic towns I’ve ever seen. I’m working on a larger piece collecting photos and thoughts from my trip to New Mexico last year; it was transformative and I have a lot more to say about it.
Dallas, Summer 2017
I attended the Rally Against White Supremacy in Dallas in August of 2017. Security was a top concern, given the events of Charlottesville, VA exactly one week prior, and the Dallas Police Shooting the previous summer.
I originally took my camera to document great protest signs but was struck by this scene of a black police officer standing guard at the rally’s perimeter.
Mineral Wells, Texas
Post Office, Mineral Wells, Texas.
November 2017.
The Rock Bed
From my series of photos documenting where I grew up.
Home
My parents are moving away from the house I grew up in, so I’m working extra hard to document it before the ink dries. This will be an ongoing series.
Food Photography on Location
Lately I’ve had the pleasure of shooting some local restaurant fare here in the Dallas area. I’ve always loved shooting food (probably because I just love food) and it presents some really interesting challenges. Every dish offers something different, and often the most delicious dishes are challenging to photograph in an attractive and appetizing way.
It’s also more than just photography — being sent on assignment with food means you get to play art director and food stylist as well. I carry a pair of tweezers and a small knife to ensure nothing’s out of place, and use a napkin to take care of any stray sauces or smudges on the plate. A little spritz bottle of water can help liven up greens and sliced fruit to make them glisten.
With food you’re also presented with a lot of variables, like what kind of lighting to expect. I try to set up shop next to a window but that’s just not always possible. Utilizing the restaurant’s ambient lighting can help bring a bit of the atmosphere into the food in ways that using a flash just can’t capture.
Sometimes trying to get food to look perfect gets in the way of making it look good; comfort food, for example, sometimes just needs to look how it looks. It can be a little messy.
The preceding images were shot for Favor. You can see more of my editorial photography here.
Lately
- My latest piece, “The Unexpected Joy of the Mismatch” went live on the delightful Cause a Frockus blog. Always so fun to start writing and realize how everything is connected.
- My audio vignette about my little spot on a hill outside Tulsa was Cowbird’s Story of the Day last Saturday. So honored that people love hearing me tell stories.
- I moved to Dallas. I think maybe I’m bad at updating this blog.
- Launched the Podcast — episode two is currently in the works.
- [update] I made a Tiny Letter. Sign up?
∗ ∗ ∗
What have you been up to? Let’s talk about it.