Winter Funk

Ever have those? I didn't used to, but it seems this winter has hit me pretty hard. Not sick, at least not physically, but just in a pretty bad funk for the last few months. Many things have suffered, not the least of which was my photography, and through that, my blog. Now, Spring is here, and I intend to get on with my life.

To that end, I've started doing all sorts of things which have, for the past season, been all but entirely foreign to me. I'm getting up early, not because I have to but because I want to; getting out to shoot more often; and others. So, over the next few posts, and the next few days/weeks, I'm going to attempt to get everyone who follows this caught up on what I've been doing.

This first post is just a primer to let you know that there's about to be a HUGE amount of material posted here, starting with the first snow of the winter. More on that, and the rest of my life over the past few months, in the following posts.

Your Most Recent Work is Always Your Best Work

At least, if you're still steadily climbing the learning curve, it is.

Been out and about shooting the past few days, and I figured I should share my new work with the Blogosphere. Included here are two trips down Bardstown Road, and a journey through Cave Hill Cemetery, both here in Louisville. So, without further ado, some photographs!

To start, Cave Hill Cemetery;

"Untitled" Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, KY. November, 2010.

I have this bad habit...

...of not posting for a couple weeks, and then posting two or three of these things in one day. For the sake of consistency, here's another post for your reading enjoyment.

So, Hallowe'en has come and gone. But wait, no obligatory photos of the children in their All Hallow's Eve regalia? None of the quintessential images of their joy-filled faces out trick-or-treating? Hate to be the bearer of bad news here, but no. Not a one. I felt like being involved this year, and that can be kinda tough when you've got a lens stuck in front of your face (not impossible, of course, just more difficult). Plus, remembering lessons learned from last year, I knew the candy haul was gonna be hefty, and decided I needed both hands free to carry various forms of sugar (as I shoot with a handstrap, which effectively removes one of my hands from the 'useful' category).

But, one thing I did take photos of was my costume. Gypsy and I had a brainstorming session to try to determine what I was gonna wear. We were looking through some of my older crocheted projects, hats mostly, while I was wearing the t-shirt she got me for Christmas (it has a little mushroom guy on it, and it says "I'm a fun guy!"), and we figured I should make a hat that makes me look like a mushroom. I hemmed and hawed at the idea a bit (it'd be quite an undertaking to make something so large), and finally conceded that it'd be a great costume.

Portraiture, attempt No. 1

We had a couple of days off this week, and not a whole lot to do. So, seeing as I just started my little business over at Thumbtack.com, Gypsy and I thought we'd go out and do a little impromptu portrait work. We started up at this place I like to call The Grotto on Eastern Parkway, then headed up to the Falls of the Ohio (it's actual name), where we shot for a bit on the exposed fossil beds. I'm keeping the text to a minimum for this post, so here, enjoy some photos!

Just Some Stuff

Just above this one is a post about my first excursion into the world of portrait photography. While Gypsy and I were out shooting, I of course couldn't resist taking photos of the other interesting things we came across. Again, as in the one above, I'll keep the text short. Enjoy!

"Mirror, Mirror." The Grotto on Eastern Parkway. Louisville, KY. October, 2010.

A Little Street

Just a few images I thought I'd share with my limited readership.

"Smoker" Downtown Louisville. October, 2010.

Oot and aboot

"Shorty'z Smokes" Downtown Louisville. October, 2010.

(That title's not nationalist against Canadians, I promise. I just like how it sounds in my head.)

Woke up this morning, and after the kids got on the bus, bound for another day of 'learning,' I was trying to figure out what I was gonna do for the day. I have a bunch of photos I need to work on from the wedding Gypsy and I went to shoot a couple weeks ago (what I'm doing while I have down time, as we're not getting paid for it...), but it wasn't something I was particularly looking forward to.

Then, outta the blue, my brother calls. I knew he was supposed to start his jury duty today, so I was a little surprised to hear from him, though I figured it meant he'd gotten out of it. He had, and was downtown and not wanting to go all the way home just yet, so he wanted to see what I was up to. I, of course, was more than happy to go out and shoot.

Thumbtack.com

So, I was contacted by this web service called Thumbtack. It's a place for people to go and post their businesses. I was contacted by Heather Madison, the Community Manager, and she invited me to set up a page, and advertise my 'business.'

Now, as you all know, I'm not a professional photog. I consider myself to be leaps and bounds better than I was a couple years ago. I've developed my 'style' quite a bit, and I think my photographic eye has gotten more refined (I hope everyone agrees; if not, please lemme know why...), but I in no way consider myself to be pro. But, I thought, 'What the hey? Might as well check it out.' So, I googled the company, as well as Heather, to see if they were legit, as I've been burned before, posting on craigslist and whatnot. Turns out, though they're still fairly small, they have some big names behind them as investors. So, seeming legit, I signed up (yay! it's free).

So, come check out my site on www.thumbtack.com. If you're from Louisville, or the greater Kentuckiana area, hit me up for some work, if it sounds like I'd fit your bill.

Harvest Homecoming

So, in at a record-setting breakneck pace, I'm back for my second post of the day (I promise this won't happen often; I'm faaaar too lazy for all that noise). I'll keep it fairly short, though, I promise. A couple weeks ago, Gypsy and I went to this festival called the Harvest Homecoming. It's one of those 'booths along the road' type deals, and it's a pretty big deal up there in Indiana, with hundreds of thousands (according to the website, anyway) showing up over the couple of weekends it goes on. 

And now, without further ado, here are some photos:

"Player" New Albany, IN. October, 2010.

 Just a dude, playin' his guitar for the masses.

Some of What I've Been Up to

"YEEEAAAAAAHHH!!!" Louisville, KY. October, 2010.

It's been a while since I've posted here. It seems to be how things go for me, with very few exceptions; I find something new and interesting, and I get all excited about it. I stick with it for a while, in this case posting regularly with exciting, new content. Then, invariably, it dies down. Now, mind you, I haven't had nearly the amount of time, nor (to be 100% truthful here) nearly the amount of drive, to get out and shoot, and hence, have had nothing new to post here.