MatthewLeeDyer

California to Ohio: A Road Trip: Part One

2011-10-04T13:15:00.001-04:00

About a year ago I was presented with the opportunity to accompany my friend Andy on his last Cross Country road trip completing his move from LasAngles to Chicago. Andy has lived in California for the past eight years and I've been able to visit him on multiple occasions, each trip bringing about its own unique adventure. So with the thought of an epic week with one of the best people I know, paired with the fact that I've always wanted to make such trip, I agreed quite speedily.
The Planning took some back and forth and I imagine that most of it was pretty ambitious, but we hacked out a plan to follow the southern route, camping at a few spots and staying with a friend in Oklahoma before heading back up north to Columbus, Ohio.

I choose a early flight out to land at Burbank, Ca. around 11am. So the night before the flight, knowing it was going to be a long 36 hours or so I grabbed some Waffle House and loaded up on the coffee. Special thanks to Jeff Rigsby for hauling me to the air port at an ungodly hour.

Andy picked me up directly form the airport and with a quick stop at a local Trader Joe's a Baja Fresh and an In and Out Burger we headed away from the city. The plan that first day was to head straight toward the Grand Canyon, neither of us had been there before, camp and then get up at the crack of dawn to watch the sun rise over the rim.

As the sun came down on that first day we stopped right off the highway and watched the sun go down. Camp was set up in the dark, amazing considering that neither of us had set this tent up before and had to do it blind. We stayed up that night just talking and catching up, both excited about the prospect of what was in store for the next day. I think we only got about 4 hours of sleep.

Still dark outside we tore down our camp, much cursing ensued, and made the last 30 or so miles left to the Grand Canyon. We didn't know what we were inshore for. Our day at the canyon was the defining moment of the trip.

7.17.2009 Highbanks Metro Parks

2011-09-29T06:40:00.003-04:00

I've been doing a lot of Photo organizing lately and came across these gems from a couple of years ago. I remember just wanting to go and take some great pictures of the river -- I'm very fond of rivers -- with my new Fisheye Lens. This is what I came up with and I hope that they bring back good feelings from the summer of 2009 like they did for me.

Small: Cat-Eyed-Lizard-Bat

2009-06-21T17:36:00.000-04:00

Long time no post. . . right, I get it, I'm bad at this. I've been doing a lot of work lately and just haven't taken the time to post any of it. Instead of going too big too fast and burning myself out before I can even begin, I'm starting small in more ways than one . . . pun . . . get it? This was my birthday present from my wife this year, and yes, I know its a Dragon. But when she asked me what to name it, I came up with Cat-Eyed-Lizard-Bat. I like it. I hope you like it too - let me know what you think!

Tabitha: A Warm and Cozy Sweater

2009-01-17T15:37:00.000-05:00

To say the least its cold outside. I don't know if this is true or not but someone told me that its colder in Ohio right now than it is in Alaska! I don't like the idea of that. But what I do like the idea of is the chance it gives me to take pictures of Tabitha bundled up in one of her many sweaters, this one is full of personality. As always I hope you enjoy it, stay warm and wear sweaters!

Trains: Graffiti

2009-01-14T10:44:00.000-05:00

What a horrible person I am for not getting around to this post earlier (or any post for that matter). I kept driving by these train tracks where I saw some stationary cars, covered with graffiti. Meaning to go for the last two weeks I've been putting it off until today. Which happens to be one of the coldest days this winter . . . seven degrees! I intended to get a lot more shots, but this was all my poorly insulated fingers could bear. That just means that I'll have to go back soon to better explore this open art gallery in the suburbs, for now enjoy these three from my first - freezing- visit.

Rubber Ducks: Bath Time!

2008-12-01T23:42:00.000-05:00

What is a series of Rubber Duck Photo-Documentary without shots of them doing what they're made to do- Taking Baths! This was a really fun shoot for me and the Troupe and I hope you enjoy it too!

The Troupe hanging out in the bath waiting checking out the soap after its been used.

Same shot just another angle, what I like it that the lighting is slightly different and shows some of the hurdles I was dealing with in getting the light to work just right. I'm happy with the results over all.

Just another shot of the ducks and the soap.

Time for the close up just before its time to get out of their oh so enjoyable bath.

Rubber Ducks: Book Worms

2008-11-29T11:19:00.001-05:00

Man does it seem to get busy in the fall! While I haven't been posting much in the last month I have been doing a lot of shooting especially with the ducks here. Hopefully I can do some catching up and start to post all of them. As for this photo above. . . After a long day of rearranging and reorganizing the study and the living room I came across the troupe sitting here in front of a few books written by two of my favorite authors. This caught my eye. So I got out all of the lighting equipment (at 2 in the morning) and started to take some pictures. Tabitha eventually came in and asked what I was doing and when I told her she shook her head and said something about me being nuts. But hey, you have to take it- Inspiration- when you get it . . . right?

Bike Ride: Columbus Downtown

2008-10-15T15:41:00.001-04:00

The weather has been so nice the last week, it reminded me of a ride that a friend and I took last year around this time. Like I said the weather was beautiful, we rode around the downtown area, where we found some interesting places to take some pictures. I'm not sure if we were supposed to be trekking through these places but it was still cool to explore. Here are a few of the photos from that day.

Situated near the railroad tracks that run north from downtown sat this silo that --by the looks of it houses a few homeless people from time to time. I feel this is appropriate for today, being Blog Action Day focusing on Poverty. I don't really know how my photo's or blog can help the homeless in our city and world but I want to at least try. So this is me urging you, as well as myself, to find ways to help those around you that are less fortunate. The next two shots are from this same location.

An old fuse box that tell of the age of this silo. These was a lot of beautiful rustic textures throughout the place but the lighting and lack of faster lens prevented us form capturing it.

Lastly here is a chair that was carefully resting next to a fire barrel that was recently used. Its a completely different perspective to view homelessness where it lives instead of through the people that are living it. It hit me in a new way, the struggles that homeless people go through.

Further down the bike path, going south form Downtown, we saw a collection of old buildings that looked like the kind I like to rummage through and take pictures of. This is the main building in the complex.

This is the rafters of the aforementioned building. Again there was a lot more to take pictures of, but the lack of light and equipment was a real problem . I'd like to go back re shoot this site someday and do it right . . . we'll see.

We found that this is n old utilities building that is currently being used for random storage. Thanks to the setting sun coming in through the west facing windows I was able to capture an eerie shot of these giant wire spools waiting to be recommissioned.

Just some random work station long out of use and in some serious disrepair.
Lastly, I love what random pieces of junk you find in these ruined urban spaces. This example of a large--life size--rocking horse. Whats it doing at an old utilities building?

This was a good thing and tells more of what I'm interested in doing with photography. I'm intrigued by the home's and lives of the poor and homeless in this city, how I can explore it and tell its story I don't yet know, but I'll continue to try. I also seem to be drawn to the for gotten places that surround this and every city of size. What are these places and why aren't they used anymore, though its nice to take pictures of them and their dilapidation, it seems like such a waste. Lastly I'm a big fan of exploration and doing it on two wheels. Whenever I can I try to get out and see what I can find on my bike. I hope to show/share more of these interests and passions with you soon. Thanks for looking.

Ale81 ( A Late One)

2008-10-08T18:26:00.000-04:00

I had another post ready for today but have decided to postpone it in order to present a photo of my favorite beverage . . . Ale81! This is a beverage that is only made in Kentucky. Only lately has it become available outside of Kentucky, but still nowhere near Columbus, Ohio . . . until recently. Tabitha and I were in the grocery the other day picking up the essentials and we walked through the soda isle (this is rare because we don't drink or buy soda) and sitting gloriously stacked on a shelf in front of us was Ale81. I was so excited I almost dropped the basket full of groceries! (We bought two six packs.) What does Ale81 taste like? Heaven.

Rubber Ducks: Huddle

2008-10-06T14:59:00.000-04:00

Alright, this is the last one of the troupe on the plain white back ground, at least for now. It's time to get them out into the world around them. This is them discussing where they would like to go next. . . Hint: where do all Rubber Ducks like to spend their time ?

Rubber Ducks: Photo Shoot

2008-10-03T15:43:00.000-04:00

I was toying around with some new lighting configurations the other day in my studio (spare bedroom). Naturally, I had the Ducks stand in for me. I like what I got and am sharing it with you. . ."You" being the supposed millions of people out there anxiously awaiting glamour shots of Rubber Ducks to magically appear online.

Rubber Ducks: Troupe

2008-10-01T14:43:00.000-04:00

I had so much fun shooting Speed Duck a few weeks ago that I thought I'd give the ducks another go. I remember that when I was painting I had a thing for painting Rubber Ducks. I found these stored away with some of my old painting supplies. Different medium, same obsession. Oh well. . . I think its safe to say that we'll be seeing a lot more of this Little Yellow Troupe.

Small: Perfume Bottle

2008-09-30T09:53:00.000-04:00

Somethings are worth holding onto. This tiny perfume bottle belonged to my great grandmother. Its very old and very unique. My mother has had it for as long as I remember. Its one of those antique things that's become out of fashion in our modern world, i.e. perfume bottles, cigarette cases, time pieces. Now everything is new and disposable. . .overly manufactured and defiantly lower quality. I guess that I find it interesting that we hold onto small collectible things throughout our lives, but at the same time we are so wasteful with so many everyday things. How much waste would we eliminate if we still reused things like this perfume bottle, or even our shopping bags? Its just something that's been on my mind. . .and maybe it should be on yours too.

Sunny: Cat in the Sun

2008-09-26T11:19:00.000-04:00

I know that Cats and Rainbows and Flowers are a "no-no" when it comes to photographic standards, but I just don’t care. Why is it that people--and by people I mean “serious” photographers--think that for a photograph to be meaningful it has to depict conflict, tragedy or something altogether artsy and serious. I feel that good photos are good photos and that if I happen to be at my in-laws' house and they happen to have an extremely beautiful and expressive cat than I should by all means take pictures of it. That’s the case with this batch of images. Mock me if you want, but I stand by my belief and in doing so, I throw my hat in with Tony Mendoza.

On another note, if you like what you see -- cats, rubber roosters, ducks and the occasional documented story-- you should subscribe to my blog, or at least leave me comments on what you see. Let me know what you think of the Images, or the Writing, or even me as a Person. It just helps me, as an artist, to get feedback as well as to know that someone out there is looking at what I'm doing.

Up Close

2008-09-18T14:47:00.000-04:00

I was able to acquire a new lens a few weeks ago - a Sigma 20-70mm f/2.8 macro - and I couldn't wait to try it out. I love the close-ups I can get with its very short focusing distance. Anyway, here are a few pictures that I was able to get while visiting my parents' house. Nothing fancy and no bigger idea to go along with these images. I just like them and wanted to share.

Remember those helicopters that fall off the trees in the fall? (They fall from Big-Leaf Maple trees) Well my parents have these clogging their gutters all year round. I just pointed my camera in their general direction and took about twenty shots. I like this one the best.

I think this is such a cool image. I don't think I'll tell you what it is. Better to leave the mystery to some things. Right?

Just an extremely close shot of an Aloe plant. There are a lot of Aloe plants at my parents place and I've always like to take pictures of them. I've also always liked to break off sections and squeeze out the insides. Don't worry though, no plants had to suffer my cruelty that day.

Small: Speed Duck

2008-09-17T12:06:00.000-04:00

Everyone knows the rubber duck, the favorite bath toy of your youth. I found this at a good friend's house a few weeks ago (sorry for the ridiculously long blogging hiatus). They call it Speed Duck, they found it at some shoppe that sells a large variety of custom made rubber ducks. . . Awesome! He -my friend- is into racing and keeps this with him when he rallies (that's a type of race where a bunch of people in cars race around the woods and other such places and try not to wreck). Yeah, I don't really get it either. This is his good luck charm, which I guess works because he hasn't wrecked yet.

Tabitha: My Beautiful and Silly Wife

2008-08-22T16:51:00.000-04:00

Tabitha, my wife, is amazing! She's a great support to me in all of the things that I do in life. Recently, she had her thirtieth birthday, so I wanted to let everyone know how wonderful she is and just how much I love her!

See, I told you she is beautiful . . .

And Silly . . .

And Fierce . . .

She makes me Laugh . . .

Tabby is my Homeboy!

Apples: Organic vs. Non-Organic

2008-06-18T18:37:00.000-04:00

I was working the other morning in the produce section putting away some apples, when I noticed the major difference between some of the apples that are organic and others that are non-organic. Both of the apples are Gala apples but they look nothing alike. The apple sitting on the left is organic,while the right one is non-organic. I'd be inclined to say that the non-organic apple looks more like a Red Delicious than a Gala. Anyway, I thought they both looked nice and I'd like to practice food photography a little more-- this seemed like a good starting point.

Small: Toy Raptor

2008-06-17T18:10:00.000-04:00

My Mother-in-Law Heidi has this thing for Noah’s Ark. She has at least three different models displayed through out the house. Her favorite Ark sits atop the entertainment center. It’s a large handmade wooden model that’s about 2feet long. There is a walkway leading up to the bridge of the Ark that hand-carved, wooden animals are walking up in pairs. For a long time, when Tabitha and I were dating I would go over and move her animals around putting monkeys with lions and giraffes with hippos and whatnot. Sometimes she’d notice, others she’d be completely oblivious. When she did though, she would get mad and yell at me for it-- and if you knew how much I like to mess with my mother-in-law, then you’d know that I got a huge kick out of it. Once, when walking through Target, Tabitha and I came across these wonderful hand painted toys buy a German company called Schleich (they still make Smurf toys…Awesome). Anyway, they make a full line of dinosaurs that happen to be the right size for this Noah’s Ark set …do you see where I’m going with this? We bought this Raptor and put it up with the other animals, right on top of the walkway next to Noah, looking like it was about to pounce. We waited in excitement for Heidi to notice. Days, then weeks went by…nothing. Finally, when we were visiting a few weeks later, she was dusting the Ark right in front of us and we thought, “This is it, she’s going to notice, flip out and it’ll be great!” . . . Nothing! She dusted right over it! Tabitha, her father and I were all flabbergasted! When we finally pointed it out to her she was aghast and embarrassed at her obliviousness which made it all the funnier. We all laughed until we cried. The Raptor has been stalking that man ever since.

Small: Striped Rock

2008-06-04T14:23:00.000-04:00

One thing that I, and many other people I know like to collect is rocks. It seems that whenever I go on a trip, or spend some time outdoors I usually find a rock to pick up and keep with me for the day. Eventually, when I come home the rock has come along for the journey. I have a place for my stray rocks, a jar, that over time becomes full and is joined by another jar to put more rocks in. There is not rhyme or reason to the type, or size of rock I bring home. It mostly depends on how it feels in my hand when I carry it ( no one wants to lug around a huge, heavy bolder like rock with them all day while walking in the woods). I have no aspirations of dabbling in geology, or to try and identify the rocks I have. If someone were to come to my house to tell me about the rocks I have, I could honestly say that I wouldn't care. I just gather rocks. Sometimes I'll go through them to see if there is any lasting memory of the time we shared together. There hardly ever is. That is, except for this one that you see here. This particular rock comes all the way from Colorado. I picked it up while I was hiking there two years ago. I found it on the third of seven days and it stayed with me the rest of the time. When I brought it home we bought a special square shelf to display it on, and that it where it now lives.

Small: Black, Hot Wheels Van

2008-05-07T20:00:00.000-04:00

I found this today. It was after a run on the Olentangy Bike Trail. It was sitting on a picnic table near the beginning of the trail. Now, before you judge me, I did the honest thing and waited awhile before I absconded this child's toy. Up 'til this point I've been focusing on my own small belongings- but the point all along has been to look at small objects as a whole. To do that, I need to look elsewhere. Luckily, this one found me. Hot Wheels are a toy of legend-- something that almost everyone has owned or at least heard of in their lifetime. The thing about Hot Wheels, though, is that at one time or another they are almost always guaranteed to get lost (Speaking from personal experience). We mourn them for a moment -- then either replace them or move on to one of the many others that we have and never give them a second thought. That is, until you're about to turn 28 and you find one after a good run; come home, take a picture of it and throw it onto your blog. What did happen to all of my Hot Wheels?

Small: Old Keys

2008-04-25T16:58:00.001-04:00

Who's keys are these anyway, and how did they end up in my house hanging on a hook for the last year? This is yet another item in the house that is there for no apparent reason. The funny thing is, that they've been hanging right inside our door where we hang up our coats (right in front of my face). I pass by them a few times everyday and I've never given them a second glance. Then the other day I was putting up a track jacket and I accidentally knocked them off there little hook and they fell to the floor and on to my foot. Thats when I asked mt wife about them. She told me they belonged to some deceased relative or other. All I k now for sure is that know that I've seen them I like them hanging where they are.

California: Day two

2008-04-20T16:00:00.000-04:00

For day two of our adventure, we had decided to rent a car and head up the coast on the famous Rt. 1. The last time I was out in Cali. this was the main thing that I did- the only difference being that I was alone. This time I had someone who knew the landscape a little better. After acquiring the car, a newer-model red Chevrolet Capri, our goal was to make it up to Pismo Beach by lunchtime to eat some Clam Chowder at Splash Cafe. The day was beautiful, except for the fact that it was raining lightly off and on. We made it up to Pismo Beach around 1pm, where we stood out in the rain and waited in line to order our chowder. This place was busy! When we finally sat down, I was able to experience some of the best food to ever come from the sea and to be served in a bread bowl . . . . Ever.

The rain had broken a little by the time we finished eating and we strolled the beaches at Pismo. Most of the people had left when the rain came so we had most of the beach to ourselves. There wasn’t much to do so we didn’t stay long, but I was able to find some small objects to photograph while we were there. This particular rock stood out because of its odd placement in the whole landscape. Carefully placed with no foot prints around to give away who left it there.

From Pismo we headed farther north for a couple of hours until it was starting to get darker. At this point we pulled off the highway and started to look for a place to eat dinner. That’s when we noticed a small dirt road leading up a steep hill off the main road we were on. We decided to give it a chance. It lead us to a small parking lot with walking trails leading off in various directions. We stuck close to the coast, which was a steep drop off to the ocean, and walked along the edge. We found a few large mounds of rock that had been carved away over time to climb.

While I was sitting on a mound of rock, the sun started to set behind Andy, who was sitting on another mound across from me. I took this quick shot of him enjoying the sunset- it’s one of my favorites from the whole trip.

After the sun had sunk below the horizon line we made a mad dash down to the ocean to enjoy this wonderful place a little longer (before we had to head back home for the night). In a cove by the ocean we found these strange anemones that seemed to have a slight glow to them in the last light of the day.

By the time this last photograph was taken, we were remembering our stomachs and feeling the need to grab some food before heading back home for the night. And that’s exactly what we did. On the way back to Glendale, Andy and I listened to some great music and had a major “life” discussion- the kind that we often have when we’re together.

The next day we planned on heading out to see the Redwoods, something I’ve always wanted to see but haven’t had the chance to. This trip would be no different. I would miss them yet again, except this time it was completely out of my hands. At the time of my visit, the latest bouts of wildfires were demolishing Southern California. All of the forests were shut down in case the fire was spread in their direction. The rangers and park service employees were also pulled to those areas in need of the help…in short- no Redwoods. After discussing what to do we decided on the desert- Joshua Tree National Park. I wasn’t all that thrilled to be heading to the desert. I’d never been there and thought it’d be a bit boring with all the sand and rocks and lack of wildlife. I was obviously about to be proven wrong.

California: Day One

2008-04-12T18:23:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, when I get the chance to go on a trip or adventure, I don’t always get the immediate opportunity to reflect on the experience. I find that I’ll put it on the back burner and it is some time before I am able to sit down and sort through all that might have happened. My trip to California late last year is one such occurrence. Recently, though, the whole thing came back to me as I saw a copy of the Columbus Dispatch. Tabitha and I were walking into a diner to grab a quick bite to eat and we happened to walk by a newspaper stand. The headline read “Skybus Folds”. My first thought was not knowing how I’d be able to get back out to California again (without the aid of such affordable airfare). We bought the paper and while we were eating our wonderfully greasy burgers with fries, we talked about my trip out there and how much I wish I could experience it again. Since then, I have been thinking non-stop of the post that I intended to complete upon my return.

My friend Andy called me sometime in early October 2007. He had the idea that he could fly me out to California and back for a quick weekend later that month because Skybus tickets were still very cheap for those dates. I quickly checked my calendar and agreed. I hadn’t been out to see Andy since before I got married and it was high time for me to spend some much needed time in the sun. By the time we got off the phone, it was decided that I would fly out on a Friday into Burbank, California and come back the following Monday. The amazing thing is that all of this was accomplished for under $150, all thanks to Skybus.

The flight out was non-eventful and before 11am “West Coast Time”, I was getting off the plane and into the car with Andy. The flight had no food service and by this time I was very hungry. We parked the car back at his house in Glendale, I threw my junk inside (except for my camera) and we headed off to a small breakfast diner down the street. We pigged out on bacon and eggs, waffles, toast and hash browns. Nothing makes me hungry like being 30,000 feet off the ground for four hours. After breakfast we took a stroll around his neighborhood. We also went to his local Trader Joe’s (they’re everywhere out there) so we could stock up on provisions for the rest of the weekend.

On the way back to his house, we walked by a building that I failed to notice the first time. On the side of that building was a distressed painting of an American flag. It’s very reminiscent of a Jasper Johns painting of the same subject. It struck me because of the very patriotic statement it makes – it blends in so well with its environment . . . you could almost think of it as a subliminal message.

For the rest of the day, we drove around L.A. and I was shown all of the different movie studios that Andy has worked in, through various jobs that he’s had in the last few years. On this particular part of the trip I kept my camera in my bag most of the time. One, because it was getting late and I was feeling the jet lag take over. Two, because I was afraid of looking like a dopey tourist with my camera attached to my face the whole time. (Sorry, no Star Sightings in this post thank you very much.)

Cookie Art

2008-04-11T14:43:00.000-04:00

Just a random picture taken while at work the other day. Someone had taken the stuffing from three Joe Joe's and combined them into one. After they'd taken a bite, they shoved it in my face saying, " Look, triple stuffing!" Luckily, I had my camera on me to capture this little piece of culinary art work before it was lost forever.

Small: Rubber Rooster

2008-04-05T10:16:00.000-04:00

"How long has this been here?!?" That's what I asked my wife when she said I should photograph it for the next "Small" posting.
This very tiny rubber-made rooster is displayed in our kitchen, atop a rustic painting of another rooster that holds oven mitts and the like from its frame. Measuring in at only 7/8", it's easy to see how it might elude anyone for quite some time before being noticed.

Small: Wooden Japanese Doll

2008-03-26T17:21:00.001-04:00

It seems that, no matter how hard we try, little things always start accumulating around us. The compulsion to collect things appears to be an innate quality of being human. Some people see this instinct and are purposeful about the things that they gather…stamps, beanie babies, coins, baseball cards, animals. There doesn’t seem to be a limit to the tiny things that clutter our homes and take up our time. Here is an attempt to examine the small things in our lives. I’m not saying that this need to collect and surround ourselves with “things” is bad or good. I just simply want to explore.

It's only fitting that I should start with some of the needless, tiny collectibles that are in my own life. This doll was given to my wife and me as a wedding gift, bought by some friends in Japan while they were teaching there. I think it is meant for good luck, but to tell the truth, I have no real idea. It sits in our living room on a shelf where it looks very pretty, and blends in with the rest of the room nicely.

Memorial Day 3: A Whole Lot of Family

2007-07-30T12:54:00.001-04:00

It's safe to say that I've been absent over the last month and for that I am sorry. But here I am to catch up and to add to the list of things I've been doing with my camera lately.

Back to Memorial day for a moment, though. After all of the fun with the trampoline, the three of us (Tabitha, Corey, and myself) noticed that all of my little cousins were drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. This seemed like a good time to capture the rest of the family, so we quickly grabbed the camera and headed over to check it all out. There were so many good pictures from this event that it was hard to choose. I think these are the best -I hope that you agree.

This is Hailey. She's the youngest of the bunch and she's amazing! Here she's drawing a giant rainbow, one of the things that she likes the most-well that and dinosaurs and stars and howling at the moon and bonfires and, well, just about everything else in the world that she comes across. Like I said, she's amazing!

The rainbow was also drawn by many others in the group- I think I found 5 in total. This one was drawn by Bailey, my niece. She's spunky, that one. She is like me growing up- all attitude and fire. The only difference is that she has the same body make up as my brother Damien. Poor girl.

Alyssa is one of the oldest now, she's a teenager all of the sudden. It was hilarious when she stood up to look at her drawing- she had chalk all over her legs and the back of her shorts . . . absolutely covered. We all started to giggle behind her but she just shrugged and went back to scrutinizing her work of art.

Jennifer is the true artist of the group. This girl is so very talented. She seemed to take up a third of the area that was being drawn on. Then when she was done she walked around helping everyone else with their drawings.

Kinzie is all attitude. This is actually somewhat of a pleasant look. Most other times she's putting her hand up to the camera or just trying to knock it right out of my hands. She's great.

Kendra is Kinzie's older sister. Now we start to see where the attitude comes from. I think I caught her off guard here. She's pure tomboy. Earlier we played a game of basketball with her and a couple of the other kids- she totally took charge and dominated.

Tristan wasn't really interested in drawing on the concrete, she was much more like the butterfly- fluttering around to see what everyone else was up to. Whenever the camera strayed too close to her, she stopped whatever she was doing and posed for us. She is a twin. Her brother Jaden is very much like her, only, he really wanted to drive in the golf cart with us, when really there wasn't any more room for him. It didn't matter- as you can see we got no peace from him until we obliged him in his request. Persistent- just like his father, my cousin Bill....

See what I mean.

Colby, or as I like to refer to him... Colby-Tron. This little guy is a machine. But I like that here he is showing his softer, more delicate side by posing for me with a pink butterfly net. Shortly after this he was down at the pond trying to catch Bluegill so that he could do Lord knows what to them.

When the girls saw that the Trampoline was open they decided to jump at the chance to have some fun. Jump . . . get it? (Okay, it's corny, I know.) You've met three of these girls, but the one that's on the far right is Jasmine. When she was really little she was my "Bib Buddy". That's because we were both wearing bibs (overalls) to a family get-together. We both agree that maybe bibs are a poor choice of wardrobe and have since agreed to just be buddies.

Lastly, this is my Mother. I can't really write something about the family and not include her. She's the one that continues to tell me that I can do anything and that I'm good at whatever it is I am doing. She's just a great lady in my life and I'm more than honored to be her son.

This was an amazing memorial day trip, glad to be with friends and family, as well as to be surrounded by so many beautiful things. I hope that all of you have time to appreciate the wonderful places and people in your life. take the time to remember and thank them.

Memorial Day: Three Friends and a Trampoline

2007-06-18T15:41:00.000-04:00

As I said before, Corey came with Tabitha and I up to my parents' house for a Memorial Day cookout. Corey's a photographer as well, so there were lots of pictures being taken by all three of us. Here are some good ones of just us.

This is Corey. And this is how he is usually seen, behind a camera. It seemed like an appropriate picture to start with.

Tabitha, my wife, being the funny, beautiful, and wonderful woman that she is.

Tabitha took this picture while we were trying to catch a fish. Fishing at the Dyer house is pretty lame, though. The fish are addicted to bread and swarm to it when it's dropped in the water. From there it's easy.

Tabitha had never been fishing before. This is me showing her how easy it can be. She did later catch a fish, which she unhooked all by herself (very impressive if you know her). She was extremely proud of her victory at the pond that day.

I have no idea what they were talking about,I just liked looking up at them and seeing the amazing sky behind them.

Lastly, we have a group of pictures where we're all jumping on the trampoline. We must have taken 100 or more because we were having so much fun. We got some really good action shots of each one of us. I might post some more later. There is another one of Corey where he wanted to look like he was sky diving . . . he ended up looking like he was falling from a building to his death and was bracing for impact. (He's so graceful.)

Tabitha is a little bit afraid of the Trampoline. But she did really well in this one -- letting go a little bit and just jumping . I like it.

And lastly, this is one of my favorites that was taken of me. I think Tabitha took it, I'm not sure. I love the trampoline and will most likely show off on it as much as possible, but this one is just fun. And that was the whole point of the day. It was amazing, because we weren't worried about time, or what we had to do later on. It felt as though we experienced a whole week of vacation in just one day. I can only hope that I can continue to model my life after that day and just take it all in.

Memorial Day: Stop on the way Home

2007-06-15T15:36:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the hiatus. I've been taking a lot of pictures lately, and now I want to share them with you. First is a trip that we (Tabitha, Corey and I) took up to my parents' house for Memorial Day. This is the first of three posts for just this trip! We had fun and took tons of pictures. The first stop was at one of my favorite places to photograph. It's right on the way to my family's house. This house was devastated by a fire years ago. Since then its just sat there, rotting away. Surrounding the house are a few barns in various stages of disrepair. This was probably my fifth stop at this spot, and I think I was able to capture some of the contrasting beauty of this place nicely. Here are a few examples of that I was able to get . . .

.

This is the opening to one of the barns. Most of these are just packed full of junk that's literally spilling out of them.

A broken window toward the back of the house. The most fire damage is more toward the front.

This barn is totally caved in, though you can walk through it and see that it was used for housing livestock at one time.

Another barn, further away from the main house. Most likely it held grain for the livestock.

Heading back to the main part is a side view of the most intact building on the property, though the inside is trashed, the out side is still pretty solid. Only a few windows on the front are broken, and someone even came and put a new door on the other side. Weird.

Looking through one of the windows of the house we see the mess. Not only that, but the feeling of loss and sorrow that comes from the whole house. I sometimes think about the teddy bear and the child that it once belonged to.

Lastly are some of the flowers that are now over taking the place. I think the flowers are wonderful and it gives me hope after thinking about the loss and sadness of this place, but really it reminds me again of how deserted it is.

I'll take the time to dig through my old pictures of this place and post some. They are quite interesting, and I keep wanting to go back to this place and see what's happening to it. The way that it's decaying gives it a new life in some way . . . one that I want to document and share with all of you.

Hocking Hills Wedding

2007-05-24T10:18:00.002-04:00

This May I was asked to shoot the wedding of my good friends Trevor and Julie. It was an amazing outdoor ceremony, and I was able to get some pretty good shots of the day's festivities. Enjoy them.

This is who I am

2007-05-21T18:19:00.001-04:00

Adventure: Trains

2007-05-21T16:43:00.001-04:00

From time to time I like to take a drive in my car just to see what I can see. I call these little outings Adventures. It's a great way for me to unwind and just have fun with a camera and a friend. On this particular adventure, my friend Corey and I discovered some old trains.