This is one of my longtime college roommates and friend, Andy Bain. Of course, now he’s a grownup and likes to be called Andrew. Even his fiancee calls him that.

We’re moving in just a few hours, about 5 miles up the road. But it’s a bigger house, and I’ll actually have a pretty sweet darkroom setup on the second floor. I’m just not looking forward to moving the drymount press and 3 enlargers up the stairs. Andy and I moved them downstairs the other night and it just about wore us out.

At the sliding glass door to Joe’s enclosed back patio.

This was Joe’s last day of work at the Texas House of Representatives. He had worked there for 25 years; as long as I’ve been alive. I didn’t have to be at work until 10:30am that morning, so I drove up to the Capitol knowing it would be my last real chance to shoot Joe in the place he knew as his well as his own home.

My time there that morning was quite enjoyable, even knowing what the afternoon would hold. When Joe left for the day, I’m told he didn’t even realize he wouldn’t be coming back to work after the New Year.

Over the next few days, Joe went out with his mother on errands and the like during the day. One morning, she had to leave him at home, and like a prisoner given the keys to his cell, Joe slipped out and went back to work. Apparently his ride provided by Capitol Metro hadn’t been canceled yet.

The party, people telling him goodbye, the comments about him enjoying retirement; none of it really registered. When Joe’s mother came to pick him up at lunch time, he finally realized the reality of his retirement. I’m glad I didn’t have to be there to see it.

Oh, I know you missed me. Sorry, but I hadn’t had a chance to scan anything for awhile, and since I’m shooting very little digital, I had to go out and buy a scanner. Granted, it was as payment for a photo shoot I did for some friends, but being able to update this web site is a much desired benefit.

So you’ll be seeing a few more images of Joe now. These are actually scans of slides of prints that I made for my first graduate school application of this year. The paper is Ilford Glossy Warmtone, but this is a Photoshopped version anyway, so it’s not 100% accurate to the tone.