Building

The talented team at Fosforus is putting the final touches on Wilmax Construction’s new site.  Pay a visit sometime.

Beauty

There was a line in the film American Beauty where that videographer guy said something like, “There’s just so much beauty in the world, sometimes I think I can’t take it.”  I remember instantly identifying with that.  Maybe all photographers are like that.  They probably have to be.  Imagine flipping it around, and all you see through the lens is horror and negativity and pain and sadness.  Sure would make for a tough job in the visual arts.

At this point in my life, I cannot donate money to charity.  I simply don’t have enough.  And with two small children and a full-time job, I can’t be a volunteer.  But Chris Maher at Fosforus introduced me to Meals on Wheels and More a couple of years ago, and I’ve been their photographer, free of charge, ever since.  Anytime they need me, they can have me, for whatever they want.  It’s not much of an offering from me, but I am doing something that directly afftects their bottom line.  If they paid a photographer even $10/year, that’d be a couple of meals someone wouldn’t get.

The funny part is that all the people there at MOWAM are very grateful for my pro bono work, but it’s me who wins here.  The satisfaction I get from doing this for them is beyond overwhelming.  But when I was looking over the latest round of shots, I thought about the kindness of the people there.  The staff and the volunteers.  These people are helping people who need help, right now.  Their compassion is real.  They can’t hide it. I can see their soul right there on their faces.

Dan Pruett (at top left) recently gave me a tour of their new facility they’re building, and it’s incredible.  Incredible that they need that much room.  But they do.  Sarah Andrews (there at the top right of the grid) said that they’ll be delivering their 1,000,000th meal this September, and as she articulated, “it’s amazing, yes, but it’s amazing there’s that much need.”

One point I should make here is directed at the people you see there in that grid.  Almost all of them walked into my little portable studio I set up in the foyer and said something about how awful they looked or asked me about airbrushing.  For what it’s worth, I didn’t retouch these shots in any way.  Photoshop doesn’t have a tool to remove compassion.  You are all the most beautiful people I’ve ever photographed.

Wilmax Construction…the outtakes

UT’s newest hitchin’ post

You Longhorns will be pleased to know about the wedding services at the AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center, right there in the shadow of the tower.

Jess Klein

I promised you a shot of Jess Klein from the Ben Mallott show the other night at Flipnotics.  Here.  We’re even.

Fosforus

Fovtoms

Here’s the best way to watch golf on televsion, especially when it’s on ABC.  What moronic producer thought Curtis Strange would have even the slightest chance against my mute button?  If you’re curious about the title of this post, that’s how many PGA Tour wins Stewart Cink has had, according to Strange.

Club DeVille

Jason Lewis, the frontman for Loose Leaves, asked me to go to Club DeVille last night and shoot a few for his CD release party.  Very talented guys there.  You might recognize the guy on the far right (Ryan Young).  He and Jason and Taylor Vieger (who was there last night, also) were the guys in the first installment of Tuning Fork down at Fosforus.  Great show last night, and a great venue.  Big thanks to the guy there at the door who let me go up on on the roof for a few shots.  Shhh….there might be a lawyer listening.

Ben Mallott

Went to Flipnotics last night to see Ben Mallott (pronounced muh lot’, not “mallet,” the pronunciation I’ve been carelessly and ignorantly throwing around).  I’m astounded that so few people were there.  I don’t offer recommendations lightly, so listen to me when I say that you Austin music fans are missing out on something very special.  I could be wrong here, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ben standing up there on live television with a Grammy in his hand.  I could go on and on about him, and to call him a blend of John Prine, Ray LaMontagne and Joe Cocker would be an insult to his talent.  He’s got his own style.  Go see him.  Are you listening?  Go see him.

I also discovered another incredible talent in Jess Klein.  She came on right after Ben.  Wish I could’ve stayed for Kalu James.  Next time, Kalu.

Name that hole

Eight ways to Sunday

On my recent visit up to Hodyon to shoot that auxiliary power unit, I learned that I had to shoot some other stuff.  Stuff that would normally be attached to the unit.  This one here was definitely the toughest part, the fan.  I shot this thing every way possible, including without removing it from the rolling cart it was bolted to.

So you want to be a rock star…

You know what?  So do I.  But for all the wrong reasons.  I want to be a songwriter or a singer or a guitarist, but only for the money.  Lots of you want it for the fame or the lifestyle.  But some do it for the love of music, and those are the ones with a chance.  A very, very small chance.  And then there are the musicians who love music AND have played gigs in crappy dives AND have performed for free so many times they’re sick of it AND know their way around a sound booth AND put in hour after hour of mixing and recording AND get their stuff professionally produced.  And, they’re genuine, they nice people, and they have real jobs and lives because they know the odds they’re up against.  Those are the guys who have a real chance.  Those up there in that shot.  That’s a few guys from the Ryan Young Band, and I can’t predict whether or not you’ll download their new album from iTunes or pick it up at Waterloo by the hundreds/thousands/millions, but if musicians were priced like stocks, I’d buy this one.  Right now.  Maybe because I’m on the inside, and I know how talented these guys are and how hard they’re working to make stuff happen for themselves.  They are NOT sitting around in a smoky den waiting for MTV to call.  After all, as Calvin Coolidge (you kids will need to Google him) said, “…nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.”

X-ray camera

The good people over at Design&Rhetoric asked me to go up to Hodyon and shoot one of their auxliary power units, inside and out, so I figured it’d be a good time to break out my new toy, a diesel-powered 141-megapixel X-ray digital body that shoots 25,000 frames/second.  The best part is that it fits in my shirt pocket.

Truth and deception

I like the truth, mostly.  Especially in a photograph.  But there are times when the truth gets in the way of the sale, without being deceptive.  Mike Nolen at Falconhead Golf Club asked me to come out and shoot the newly landscaped 17th hole, which you see here.  The best shot seemed to be from up on the hill left of the tee, but from up there, you get a good view of Lake Travis High School back there behind the trees.  You don’t see it from the tee.  But you also don’t see the surface of the green from the tee, which makes it a visually intimidating shot.

The point here is that while the top photo isn’t completely truthful, it shows the landscape better because the viewer isn’t distracted by something else.  I wonder which one you like better.  I know which one I do.

AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center

Just wrapped up a big shoot over at the AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center.  It was great to work with Keith Purcell and Ann Marie Francese, the marketing team there.  Terrific people, and a terrific place.  If you live in Austin and don’t know about this place, go over to the UT Tower and look for it.  Have lunch there.  Chef Josh Watkins is an incredible guy and talented creative culinary expert.  I shot him, too.  Stay tuned for a couple of shots of him.