people in my neighborhoods

these are some of the people in my neighborhoods... renting dvd's, bowling, and relaxing on a porch swing. we seem to get involved in the most numerous number of activities ever know to man (or any other species for that matter.) in talking about this project to a recent house guest, i spoke of how it is close to unfortunate that this project is not funded... thus, these subjects are simply people that i happen to run across in my regular daily comings and goings. that often amounts to a regimented series of routes that i travel... one daughter to pre-school, maybe a stop by a coffee shop, to a clients house to paint walls, trim, and ceilings, or to the studio to paint canvases, then back to the pre-school to pick up the daughter, and back home. if i don't catch someone on this well traveled path, i meander on to a random route to hunt and capture the portrait of the day. so, the people that populate this project are possibly not the most diverse group... i am lacking in the realm of "business suit" folks, teenagers, ethnicity, and the elderly. i could work harder to seek out these groups, but, i work plenty hard already, and, there is something about keeping it as simple as using the people that i naturally cross paths with during the day that i desire. this project was not originally intended for the general public to view... it was for my own personal growth as a photographer and human being. so, when the blog began, and you became the audience, i started to investigate how this project would look from an outsider's perspective, and not just mine. i have tried to maintain some allegiance to the original idea while also organically shifting the concept as i learned more about the bigger picture. that being said, this fine looking trio represents those that i have naturally crossed paths with, and those who i have hunted. this is the last post of the year... not the best year, not the worst. i look forward with much anticipation to the coming days and months. happy new year to you and yours.

don't say "cheese"... say "cookie"

so, some of you may know that as an artist/painter ( www.danecarder.com ) i utilize civil war era photographs as a starting point for my paintings. it is a peculiar niche that i have found, and aside from the fact that they do not sell extremely well (yet), the experience with the work has been wonderful. if you didn't know, there is a large subculture of folks that do reenactments of the battles and other events surrounding the war; it is also quite peculiar. for several years, i have wanted to photograph a reenactment to use as source material for my work. i finally followed through with that desire when there was a reenactment at fort negley, about a quarter of a mile from my studio. it was just about all that i expected, and i will do it again soon. i am now within days of beginning the first round of work based on the photographs that i took, and i am as eager as i could be... itchy and twitchy, actually. this particular woman was part of an encampment that was one of the first scenes that i saw upon entering the reenactment. she was posed and poised perfectly for my project, and she was quite willing. she shared with me that she is not supposed to smile for pictures, and i thought that was proper... what else is in the details?... you would likely never guess, but, nicely hidden in her left hand is an oatmeal raisin cookie. deeeeelicious, whether your from the north or south.

friend since i was five

i have known this young man for about 33 of my 38 years... and, oddly enough, it is his birthday today. these photos were taken at our alma mater's homecoming this past fall... our 20th reunion was held the next night. it is a bit mind-warping to consider the duration of our friendship... mainly because i now have a daughter in kindergarten (which is when i first met this friend,) and to consider the fact that in 33 years she may still be connected to emily, or lula, or catherine is beyond the reach of my present moment's thoughts. so, i won't think about that. at the time of these photos, the sun was setting, and a storm was blowing in, so, i scurried to find a willing alumni to coerce into this type of photo shoot, and this fellow student was up for the task... though he was a slight bit stumped about how to "pose." it worked out well for me as i shot pictures while he sort of casually squirmed and quipped and laughed for the duration (three minutes) of the shoot. the colors are sort of mystical, as is the inclusion of the bounce house's blue horse. happy birthday old friend.

green is not just a color

(if you haven't noticed, posting here has really slowed to a crippled pace, and i hope that that will change soon... i miss sharing these wonderful people with the rest of you wonderful people.)

i have painted a lot of interiors over the last ten years, and in those years, i have amassed quite a collection of "leftover" paint... and until recently, it was stored at my studio. thanks to this local artist who uses house paint to create works of art, i have been set free of approximately fifty gallons of unnecessary paint... and he has been gifted with a jackpot truckload of necessary material. i originally came into contact with this budding artist at an opening of his paintings at a downtown gallery. i noted that he was using house paint to create interesting works... maybe, he pours the paint onto a "nonstick" surface, and then cuts it into desired shapes/strips, and then stacks and molds many layers to create a variety of effects with the malleable material. so, i approached him, introduced myself, and i told him that i had just resolved to get rid of a ton of house paint, one way or another; he was very interested. not long afterwards, he got in touch with me, and he told me about a documentary project that someone had asked him to be a part of that was following different ways to be "green," or something like that. because of his use of "leftover" paint, that would usually end up in a landfill, he was asked to be part of the film... and because he would be collecting my extra paint, i was asked to be included in his story. the day that he picked it up was a little bit odd because there was a small amount of "acting," which i was not expecting or accustomed to doing. i have no idea when or if the documentary will air, but i do know that he and i contributed to "greening the planet"... with more colors than green.

dog kisses

this unsuspecting gentleman was a bit confused when my two daughters and i stopped him and his dog as they casually strolled through a park near our house. we were on our way home for the evening, and i was in that place again where i knew that i was not going to want to get back out once i settled in, so, i was needing his portrait bad. i don't think that in his entire life had a stranger stopped him in the middle of his day to take his portrait, so, as one might imagine, he really didn't know how to respond to my random request. luckily for him, and i guess me too, he had his beloved dog friend with him, and that created the perfect distraction from the slight discomfort within the situation at hand. he eventually seemed to grasp the idea that my daughters and i were not up to some perverse prank, and he smiled freely... the kisses from his sidekick surely set him at ease.

don't try this at home

i felt a little bit sorry for this "stylists" client, but, my self-serving interests won out to get these photos and contribute to this project. the stylist did not seem to be affected at all... i don't know how the client felt the next day (about the hairdo,) but i did ask for her consent before i began snapping away at the scene, so my side of the street is clean. ( my posts here have dwindled to a slower than crawling pace, so i must apologize to the gazillions of you who have been left wondering the empty blogosphere, wandering where to find an updated post on a portrait of the day project... ) ????

texessee

the connection between texas and tennessee is big... it works in a mysterious way. the $10,000 question: is this gentleman a texan or tennessean?

gambling with hearts (and diamonds)

to the few of you who regularly keep up with this little blog, i apologize for being absent for a while. i had a large art show to tend to, and then a wonderful thanksgiving holiday... and evidently, keeping up with this blog did not make it to the top of the priority list. i have still been shooting a portrait a day, and it is still adding a little extra to every twenty-four hours. so... this happy woman here is gambling; she is newly engaged. life itself is somewhat of a gamble, and getting married sure throws some odds on the table, with much to win, and thus, much to lose. men and women of all kinds are both lifted to great heights and dumped into great depths because of the opening up of the heart to another. it is one of life's greatest dramas played out in homes across the land... knowing other's stories has made my heart sing and bleed. i am often amazed at how well rounded this experience can be, and, thankfully, my gamble has paid great dividends. i hope that love continues to win in this woman's life, and that fear is discarded.