I don’t normally think much about photos of myself, but my friend Tom took this one while we were touring the cement factory and I actually sort of like it for a change. Thanks, Tom!
Archive for November, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving! I have a lot to be thankful for this year, especially the fact that all of my clients have been absolutely great to work with!
We’re in Louisville, Kentucky to celebrate Thanksgiving with Aimee’s family (her sister’s husband is from the area). When we landed in Louisville last night, we were headed to the baggage claim when Ethne spotted a little girl wearing the same dress. They just stood there and kind of stared for a while.
Yesterday afternoon, I shot a backyard barbecue at a small horse ranch in Canutillo, just outside El Paso. I’m not often hired to shoot informal family events like this one, but I’m always happy to help out where I can. The owner of the ranch was recently diagnosed with brain cancer and has refused treatment. He’s spending time with his friends and family across the country.
Anyway, as I watched the family interact, I spent a lot of time admiring this man and his attitude. Even in this rough and uncertain time, he was upbeat and positive. He joked and laughed with his siblings and cousins. He ran the grill and made sure that everyone had plenty to eat and more than enough to drink.
I thought about all the time I spent stressing out about the smallest things. I thought about all the time I waste away from my family and friends. And I’ve determined to do my best to live my life with the same joy and attitude that he has in these hard times.
In September of last year, Aimee and I moved into our first home. We were excited. It had been a long, painful, annoying process. We signed a contract on a new home in a small (and cheap) subdivision on the west side of El Paso. It took the builder over a year to get it finished, even though we had been told it would only take about three months to have it built. We had to hound the builder to make sure that we got everything we wanted (and paid for) and we were treated like dirt by his office staff.
When we moved in, things did not get any better, except that we no longer had to mooch off my family for a place to live. Getting the builder’s rep to come out to the house for repairs was a major chore. To this day, we still don’t have the gates that were supposed to be installed between the back yard and the front.
But we had our home. We were raising our child and things were good. But then we started to notice a little crack in the drywall in our bedroom. So we called the builder. After a few calls, we spoke to someone in his office. They sent the foreman out. He said that it was normal. The change of seasons. And that we should wait a full year to have him repair them.
So we waited. And the crack got worse. Much worse. New cracks started to appear all over the house. Doors became hard to close. We started to think that there might be a problem. We got a re-inspection of the house done just after the exterior doors became really difficult to latch closed.
We have “structural damage due to foundational shifting”. The inspector said that the foundation is simultaneously sinking and twisting.
We have a lawyer and we’re moving out this weekend. We’re hoping for our money back. And to never have to deal with something like this again.
A couple weeks ago, I went with some friends to an old abandoned cement factory in El Paso, Texas. I just finished doing the post-production on the photos from the trip and have all my selects up on flickr now.
This was my second visit to the factory this year (the image above is actually from our first trip there), and I will definitely go back. It’s a huge place, and there’s a lot of exploring to be done.
Have a look at the rest of the photos on flickr by clicking here.
p.s. flickr is the place where I post all the images I make for my own entertainment and my general love of photography.
We had a great time in Austin last weekend shooting Kevin and Traci’s wedding at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd and their reception at the Barton Creek Country Club (talk about great locations!). I love shooting in Austin because it gives me a chance to visit Jim and his fiancée Megan. Plus, it’s the capital of Texas. Is there a better city in the world?…
But we really did have a a lot of fun working with Kevin & Traci. We shot Traci’s brother’s wedding last April in Austin (at the Vintage Villas on Lake Travis, another great place to shoot!), and their family is just so warm and welcoming.
Alright, enough with the words. Here’s the photography (watch out for the most unique groom’s cake ever):
