Admiral's Club - John Wayne Airport, Jan. 2009I'm going through sheets of negatives in an attempt to get to a darkroom and print some contact sheets.  I really miss the ability to see all of my images at once.  I've tried to scan the sheets and make a digital contact sheet, but the results have been pretty pathetic, and I don't think I'd care for them much anyway.

For Christmas I received the Jim Marshall: Proof book which really was the push that's driving this a bit.  Dan Milnor is providing some inspiration as well.  But January has been busy and I haven't made it to the darkroom yet.

As I've been gathering up the negatives I came across this image from last year.  I didn't scan it at the time I scanned the other inauguration images but it's grown on me.  It's another reason I want to print up contact sheets.  I really want to review images from a couple of years ago.  Have I improved? Are there images there I didn't notice and has the passing time made them more appealing?  I don't know but I'd like to.  So it's off to the darkroom in the next couple of weeks and see what I see.

In Remembrance - Larene A. Pace, February 19, 1928 ~ June 22, 2009Happy 2010! This has been a great year but it was also bittersweet. I’ve been fortunate enough to be surrounded by a wonderful family and great friends.  We’ve gotten through some of the toughest times this year together and will continue to do so.

I traveled over 150,000 miles and was able to visit China, Japan and the United Kingdom. I met a lot of interesting people along the way and I had a chance to photograph some of them. I think I made some of my favorite images this year, and I was fortunate enough to have met several photographers that have been helpful in making my images better and I’m grateful.  I'm hopeful this will show in my images in the coming year.

Going into 2010 I remain optimistic about the world we live in and where it’s going. I’ve got a great wife and daughter, a loving family back in Kentucky as well as here in California. For all of you, for my friends and acquaintances, I wish you a Happy New Year.

Venice Beach, December, 2009I'm not much of a street image maker. It's not my forte and I usually find these images lacking interest.  I'm much more interested in the people included in the images and the story behind them. For me, the image with words is much more compelling, but the image has to stop me first. Once it does I want to know the story. And to do that the photographer must be engaged in some way.  

It's difficult for me to engage and that usually shows in images where I attempt any type of street shooting. This was an image made after I had stopped and spoken with this gentleman. He had two dogs with him but I had only noticed the one he had on a leash. I had missed this dog, tucked into his shirt to keep warm, until we started talking to one another.

What drew me to the guy was his dog who would stop when approached, roll over on his back, and start wagging his tail with such energy his entire body moved sideways over the ground. He was known as "The Love Dog" and this was this guys shtick. Quiet funny actually.

But as we talked I noticed the other dog and wanted to get an image of the obvious connection. Just as I was framing it up, the cop car pulled in behind him.  I thought it would ruin the image but I made it anyway as more people were approaching "The Love Dog" and my time was rapidly closing with the two of them. 

I like this image because of what I did and how I got out of my comfort zone. The conversation with this gentleman was fun as well and provides the story, at least for me, behind the image. Wether its' good or not I'll leave up to others to decide.  But I do think it will prompt me to try this more often.  I need something close to home to document. Who knows, maybe I can turn something like this into a body of work over a period of time.  We'll see, but the journey will be much more enjoyable now that the hardest first step is out of the way.