Winter Sky

These photos are a few weeks old, as you can tell from the snow on the ground (although it’s snowing — kind of substantially — right now, and it IS almost April).

I liked the sky, the juxtaposition of the cottony clouds and lavender sky.

Or is that periwinkle?

I liked the moon, which added a different hue, altogether.

And I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a scene where the lighting near the ground was so warm at the same time the sky looked so cool.

I catch these kind of scenes somewhat regularly, as I’m walking the dog after she eats her dinner. If you were there, my request for Lucy to “be a good girl and go poopy,” delivered in a more baby-talk voice that I’d want you to know I’m capable of producing, would ruin the scene.

This is one of the (very) few things I’ll miss about living here.

Chris, David, Michael Working Out

A gym after hours and three models makes for an interesting evening, and some decent photography. You’ll recognize two of these models from quite a few of my previous shoots, the third I hadn’t met before. (Thanks, Curt, for sending him to me.)

There are more photos from this set on my website, under the Couples + Groups link.

William, in Drifters and Wanderers

A jogger through the park; I find him against a brick wall behind the park’s inn.

See the second photo of the set, which is not safe for work, on both of my websites.

Never Mind

There was a cute college boy with his mother at the restaurant where I was picking up my lunch. He had brown hair, the color of Godiva, a square jaw, and hazel eyes. He was sitting at a table, his chair pushed back and his arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing an English rugby football union t-shirt, cargo shorts, and unlaced running shoes that he kept slipping his right foot in and out of.

He was cute enough that I wanted to give him a business card, because he’d be a perfect model. As I was fishing in my pocket for my business card holder, he said this to his mother.

“Did you know that there’s a state law that prevents restaurants from giving out packets of salt and pepper?”

“Why?” His mother asked.

“Because we live in a country that’s socialist,” the boy loudly said. “Communist, actually.”

And suddenly, I slid my business card back into its holder and turned away.

There are some amounts of dumb-assery that no amount of cute can overcome.

RIP, Elizabeth Taylor

‎“The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.” – Elizabeth Taylor

This still photo below, from 1958, is from my favorite Liz Taylor movie (and one of my favorite movies, period). I love everything about it, the lighting is perfect, the tone is rich, the mood is at the same time soothing yet uncomfortable. I’d like to find a way to recreate this photo, without “copying” it, of course.

This photo of Elizabeth, from 1964, is by one of my favorite photographers and one of my first mentors, Richard Avedon.

May she rest in peace.

And I’m stealing this from Jay’s Facebook wall, but it’s an excellent idea: “Because Elizabeth Taylor was one of the first people to stand up for those with HIV/AIDS, why not give some money to amfAR today?”

http://www.amfar.org/

I think that would be an excellent tribute.

Patrick and Harry

I have a soft spot in my heart for Patrick, not only because he’s always been one of the nicest models I’ve worked with, or because I find his smile to be one of the most charming things I’ve ever seen, but back a few years ago when I was just exploring photography — when no one had heard of me and before I was even that good; when it seemed just as likely that I was using my camera simply to get hot guys naked rather than to learn an art form — Patrick was one of the first people to agree to pose for me. And for that, I’ll be forever grateful.

I’ve worked with him several times over the years, and when he asked me to take a few photos of him and his partner, Harry, there was no way I was going to say no.

And for the record, Harry, in person, is just as adorable as Patrick.

I have a few more photos of them both on my website. And I have a few more photos of the two of them to post; I just need to decide which gallery/website they fit best.

Routine

In the mornings, as I make my way from the bed to the bathroom to get started for the day, Oliver slinks into the bathroom just as I am about to close the door. This has always been our quality time together. As the other two cats are more concerned about when they’re going to get their breakfast, Oliver sneaks away to be with me.

He’s affectionate in the morning; he rubs against my legs and purrs and if I bend over to pet him, he reaches up towards me face with a paw and gently touches my forehead.

The other morning, I broke our routine and picked him up. Oliver is particular about who he deigns worthy of even touching him, but no one besides Jay or me is allowed to hold him; anyone else would suffer the sounds of greatly displeased caterwauling as a thinly veiled threat that one’s face may not be attached for much longer. But I held Oliver and he continued to purr, sinking like dead weight into my arms.

When I was done, I placed him on the half wall that hides our toilet from the rest of the bathroom. This put Oliver at direct eye level with himself in the mirror opposite the room, and I watched as he studied himself. His expression changed, becoming more serious, and he looked hard at himself and I realized that I was watching him have an intense moment of self-awareness. If he could speak, it would be at this moment when Oliver would have turned and looked at me and said, “I am a cat, and I am yellow.”

Wind Farm

A few weeks ago we were driving home from Chicago and I had to make a slight detour to pick up some photo equipment from somebody, and the route to his house took us right through the big wind farm, close to sunset, when the sky was half sunny and half rainy. I got some good photos from the backseat.

I haven’t posted these on my website yet, but I need to.

Other Photographers: An American Soldier in Afghanistan

I was perusing Facebook one day and clicked on the profile of a guy who wants to pose for me someday, who’s currently serving in the Army and stationed in Afghanistan. I clicked on the profile of one of his friends, I have to admit, because I was intrigued to see a person named “Najib” serving in the U.S. Army, and who’s currently in Afghanistan.

What I also found is that Najib enjoys photography. And while his photos do have a bit of a snapshoty feel to them, I also find them to be an interesting and honest look at a soldier’s daily life in Afghanistan. And so I asked Najib if I could feature him here; obviously, he said yes.

If you like this set, you can see more, after the jump.

All photos in this post are the property of Najib Samad.

Moose, in Drifters and Wanderers

As a portrait, this might be one of my favorites that I’ve ever taken. I really love this shot.

But it’s part of the Drifter series, too. So to see the other, not safe for work photo, click on my site.