August is my step-grandfather… my step-father’s dad. Remember the old war film reels they used to show when you’d go to a feature film? Well, I don’t have a first-hand knowledge either, but most of us know about them. Anyway, he was one of the guys that shot those.

We talked a little about film (Kodakchrome, specifically) during the shoot, and he was the first person to know that I was shooting him with a 4×5. I thought that in and of itself was pretty impressive. I only wish we could’ve chatted a little bit longer, but it was Christmas and there was plenty going on to distract.

Just under three months prior to this shoot, the very patio we were sitting on looked like this. Things had come quite a ways in Orange since then.

Sorin is the proprietor of Eurotech in Austin, which is a camera repair shop. To my knowledge, he’s the only employee, and he does great work. Funny thing is, he really doesn’t have much interest in photography itself… I guess it’s the tinkering that he enjoys. He had begun making bellows the last time I visited him, so I asked him to hold it during the photo.

I’m going to see him tomorrow, as the 135mm lens on my new(ish) enlarger decided to start spitting out aperture blades. And lucky me, Fotofest is less than two weeks away. This is why it’s fortunate that I have, count them, TWO large format enlargers.

Oh, and for those of you who think I probably spend way too much money on photography, I’ll have you know that I spent less than $600 on supplies, $84 on film processing and less than $500 on equipment during 2005. Well, that is, if you don’t count the dry mount press… which would have been $400. Still, it’s a wonder I produced any new images at all with a budget like that. =)

This was taken during my recent trip to Odessa (and Midland). It’s my Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Thornton, at her new home in Midland. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to shoot a portrait with daylight, so a flood light and reflectors had to do.

This is another image of my friend, Andy.

This is my friend Odis. Odis and I were tuba players in high school, and though I was militantly seriously about band (I was a music major later on, after all) Odis always kept things light. He was actually a music major for awhile in college as well. Now he’s a rural postal worker, and he plans to go back to school so he can move up in the USPS. This was taken out at his uncle’s barn. Odis is awesome.

This was taken a couple of months ago. For those of you up North, this is an example of our winter clothing. I think this was shot in December. The little guy on the left is my brother, Carter, who turned 8 in January. His two friends, Ryan and Jarvis, live down the street. They’re all good kids… and quite patient, I might add.

BTW, is anyone here an incredible writer? There’s a grant I’d like to pursue, and I’d need a writer to pair with to be eligible. You probably know what I’m talking about if you’re a great writer and you like photography. But maybe not. Let me know.

Yes, it’s yours truly… taken with the assistance of my friend, Andy. His portrait will be up in the next few days. I’m on the fence on this one. The composition doesn’t really work all that well for me, I don’t think. I’d like your feedback. And of course, the subject is, well, questionable, of course.

And if you’re curious, this was taken on the balcony/deck off our second story master suite. Because we have some bikes hanging below the deck, we needed a way to keep rain from soaking them. So yes, that’s a shower curtain nailed down to the deck. Yes, I grew up in a redneck-rich region, so in a way I could be considered one myself. It was my idea, after all.

But the idea for the deck was the idea of the previous owner. They put the door in and the deck, but failed to anchor the deck or support it properly. So when we moved in, a crew had to come out and make sure it was up to code, which included installing a new door.

I don’t usually post links to other photographers or photoblogs, but the portraiture of Judith Joy Ross is gorgeous.

I’ve been gearing up for a few things coming up in the near future. The first is graduate school applications. Two more are due on Wednesday, so I’ve been finishing up my portfolio in the darkroom, which is why this has finally been printed. As a matter of fact, I’ll have a pretty good set of new images to post over the next several days.

The second thing is FotoFest 2006 in Houston. I will be taking part in The Meeting Place, which is essentially a giant portfolio review that cost me a ton of money to take part in. So I have to have a stellar portfolio ready, and I’m glad I have a few more weeks. Even so, I’ll probably still attend the event with a “works in progress” type portfolio.

This is my friend Nathan. His brother Casey and I are best friends, and I’ve known both of them for quite awhile. As a matter of fact, I was the first student they met when they transfered to Orange in junior high. I was an office assistant, so I showed them around the school. Now Nathan is an elementary school teacher in Pflugerville, and he seems to love it. Casey has said he has quite a knack for it.

It’s the drive-in outside of Midland. I took some pictures of this with my Graflex 6×9 in B&W, so I hope they turn out better.

This is one of only a few images I’ll be posting from this past weekend. I took a road trip to the area where I was born… a place I haven’t even visited in about 13 years.

I was born in Odessa, Texas, which is very much in West Texas… the desert, for most of you. It had an oil-driven economy, and that’s why my family was there. My dad was transferred to Nigeria (in Africa) in 1988, and it was at that point that my mom, brother and I moved to my parents’ home town or Orange, where I spent the rest of my youth.

I stayed in Midland during this trip, with my kindergarten teacher and her husband. But I drove the 20 miles over to Odessa a couple of times to see the place I had so many memories of. I took many pictures, but they were mostly digital. This particular one was shot in RAW mode, so I at least had that in mind for certain shots I figured I would post here. More information about my trip will be posted soon at CrazyWalker.