Thanks for the Memories

Thanks for the Memories
August 24, 2007

It’s fairly easy to make Tucumcari, New Mexico look post-apocalyptic. Doesn’t take much. You’ve just got to wait for that one car to pass by.

This is where my dad lives. In fact, my dad’s job is economic development. It sorta works, though. It’s like being given a clean slate.

I like visiting him in Tucumcari. Life really is just slower there. It’s nice to go to bed at 9, wake up at 6 and feel completely rested. There’s also some gems to eat at. It reminds me a lot of Raton, of course. I have no idea what the story is for this specific restaurant, but I know it’s been like that since my dad moved there.

Tucumcari’s the sort of place you can’t stay long in. It’s an overnight stay at max. But it’ll be a pleasant overnight.

(Taken with Nikon S1. Levels, colors and contrast are auto’d in p-shop.)

Mohammed the Great

Mohammed the Great
August 8, 2007

I gave my mom official ownership of my cat when I went to college. But he was always delighted to see me when I came home. Mohammed was a special creature. He never learned to meow, he would only squeak. When my dad purchased him, he assumed little cats had little tails. Mohammed was missing about two thirds of his tail, which he would wag with joy whenever he was pleased. Basically he had the best life ever. And he made mine pretty awesome too.

Once again, no flash. Taken in my momma’s house. I cropped out an overhead lamp. I think it makes it look even more peaceful. Mom’s in the right side of the picture. I think she liked that kitty a bit.

(Taken with a Nikon S1. No photochop.)

The Green West

The Green West
June 29, 2007

I came back home after hanging out in Oklahoma for a while. I almost moved for good that trip; I looked at moving in with Chelsey way back then. But it was good I came home. I spent most of my time just hiding, trying to get my head on straight. I slept in late, swam in Kyle's pool almost every day and ate a lot of burritos. That was the good life.

The fire in the Golden West is still a sore spot for me. It's simple as to why, I just miss it. I can hang out with all of the same people who worked there but it'll never be the same. But mostly I'm sad that it's still an empty hole, in every sense of the word.

I've got a million pictures of that place and it's surreal to look at them. This one is probably my favorite, but it's hard for me to pick. I've realized just how much I hate using a flash. I'd much rather set the camera on a flat surface and leave the shutter open forever. Patience, friends. The green is from an Alien IPA beer sign that hung directly above the taps. My camera was sitting on the bar, right at the end. That was favorite post when I wasn't working.

(Taken with a Nikon S1. It was Kyle's camera that he bought from Aaron then gave to me after I broke the screen on my birthday present camera.)

America's Past Time.

America's Past Time.
June 20, 2007

While I was staying in Oklahoma, me and Matt went to go see the Rangers play the Cubs in Arlington. At the time, it was the first professional sporting event I'd ever been to, which seems silly now, after all the Thunder games I've racked up. I can't even tell you who won.

But it was quite enchanting. The sunset was amazing that night. Between that, the baseball and a few beers, I refer to it as the first time I actually had fun in Texas.

(Taken with a Nikon Coolpix L3. Balanced on probably the seat in front of me.)

Prints.

Prints.
June 8, 2007

Already losing motivation, blegh. The last 10 or so blogs were back-blogged (as if you couldn't tell. Here's a list of things I don't do: 1. Wake up earlier than needed to blog.) and I finally ran out of them. So I'm trying to keep myself up and at least make it 40 days. Really, how hard can it be? #whitegirlproblems

So, the next ten or so images are from one specific year: that of my age of 22. I was fresh out of college. May of 2007 was the last time I intended to pay rent anywhere for a significant amount of time. My goal was to live as minimally as possible. My official address was with my mom, but I spent a significant amount of time at Kyles' and bouncing between friends houses. I also drove quite a bit, including all the way to Quebec. (that year has been blogged about a lot over here.) It was probably the most crucial year I've got so far. I always ask people lately if they learned about themselves whenever they do things. I learned a whole lot about myself that year.

This photo was taken at the Denver Art Museum on their sculpture garden. Denver was a stop on a mini-trip I took; through Raton, Denver, Kansas and Oklahoma. I stayed with one of my best friends from high school, Sarah Wright, who's actually an amazing photographer. What I like the most about it are the hand prints and how the wall, which I think was copper, actually looks like flesh. The light was just about perfect for making that wall look like that.

(Taken with Nikon Coolpix L3. Sad story about that camera: It was a Christmas present from Kyle and I cracked the screen the day before I took this, on my birthday. I got pretty lucky on most of my Denver photos, since I couldn't really see what I was actually taking photos of. No photoshopping.)

The Panhandle I

The Panhandle.
April 10, 2010

I've got this love affair with the Texas Panhandle. It's painful and violent. Sort of like that Eminem song? I like the way it lies. It's just nothing for miles and the pockets of civilization within it are so ignorant that it makes me scream. But I'm still completely enchanted with it.

My grandma lives in Pampa, Texas which is sort of the capital of the Panhandle. My uncle's there too and it's where my dad grew up. I spent a lot of holidays there as a kid. My family loves it there. They are "upstanding members" of the Pampa community. I dunno, maybe a little piece of it is wedged into my DNA, the same way I love New Jersey so much I can't stand it.

This is taken on US-70, about 40 miles south of Pampa. Nothingness for miles. Not even power lines or cows.

(Taken with a Nikon D-80, 18-135mm AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens. Exposure 1/320, Aperture f/9.0. Color balance in the sky is photoshopped. I'm obsessed with skies looking as blue as possible, even if they weren't that blue on that day.)

Angels in California.

Angels in California
November 13, 2010

When I ran off to take pictures of the palm trees next to the LACMA in LA, one of Ashley's friends said, "All the tourists are so fascinated with the palm trees!" Why yes! Same deal as magnolia trees. It's new, it's exotic and it's iconic. Do you think I give a shit about photographing hot air balloons? Shoot me in the face first.

Joel has some of my favorite tattoos in the world. Not nessacerily the craftsmanship (which they're lovely, no hate) but just something about the placement and how simple they are on him. He just wears them well, if that makes any sense. I guess if I knew him before he had them, they might seem weird but when I met Joel, they were already there and I can't imagine his arms without them.

This picture reminds me of my friend Jex's photography. She'll walk up to people who have tattoos she likes and asks if she can photograph them. It's sort of a thing, if you run into Jex, she will take your picture. I wish I could be so bold about it. Photography's always been such a private thing for me. I think I miss out on a lot because of it.

Privacy is probably why I like this photo so much. It's almost like a secret. I just snapped this one by chance, but I think it might be MY image of California. The palm tree, the bright sky, Joel (really Ashley is more California but they'll be permanently associated with LA for me) and his angel tattoos. It's the City of Angels after all.

(Taken with a Nikon D-80, 18-135mm AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens. Exposure 1/250, Aperture f/8.0, No Photoshop.)

Crude Oil.

Crude Oil
November 13, 2010

When I went to Los Angeles, I really wanted to give it a chance. I've never really enjoyed being there, I've always been more of an East-Coast lady. But the best lady I know, miss Ashley Anderson, loves her city quite intensely. And that's good enough for me.

I was torn about what to do and where to go. We decided on the tar pits, as Ashley and Joel hadn't been there either. It really is an awesome little piece of LA. It's this place from the past that's literally bubbling up into the most progressive and futuristic of cities. Sort of a testament to the planet; you can build whatever the fuck you want but it's still gonna do whatever it wants to do.

They've got this one pit that they dug up a juvenile mastodon that they left intact so visitors could see the process and how it's still an active archeology site. Oil was still bubbling up from the ground and this photo is the reflection of a light hanging in the site. I stood there for a good 20 minutes taking pictures because I thought they looked so surreal.

It's a lot like what I said about Albuquerque and how hard it is to take pictures of; capturing a little slice of LA.

(Taken with a Nikon D-80, 18-135mm AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens. Exposure 1/15, Aperture f/5.3, No Photoshop. I was using the railing as a makeshift tripod. I took probably 200 photos trying to get it right.)

Stick Food.

Stick Food
September 25, 2009

The State Fair is my favorite time to take pictures, as I think it is for a lot of people. You can't imagine the people watching, the sort of folk who only come out twice a year (the state fair and Christmas shopping at the mall), and pile that on top of livestock, the worst/best food America has to offer, flashy lights, screaming children and big ass pumpkins. Put me on that list, keep me on it, never remove me. It's a complete sensory overload.

Kenneth's family used to sell ribbon flowers at the fair (right next to the South American flute players) which meant he spent a lot of days surrounded by a lot of madness. When he moved in, he took me with him. Good times at the ribbon flower cart; me and Kyle Anaya would run all over the park and take pictures.

This particular picture is from the Oklahoma State Fair last year.

(Taken with a Nikon D-80, 18-135mm AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens. Exposure 1/6, Aperture f/5.6. Reds and greens are color balanced.)

The Puppy Has a Home, but Needs a Name.

The Puppy Has a Home, but Needs a Name.
August 5, 2009

Crap, dudes. How cute was my puppy? I've seen a lot of pups in my day and they're all stupid cute (week old sharpei's are nothing but rolls of fur and love) but this puppy seriously takes it. I've never seen a cuter puppy. I fully acknowledge that I'm biased, but I'm not the only one. Gertie made people melt when they saw her. The toughest people in the world into piles of goo and baby-talk. The dog has special powers.

The pup came to us via twitter. Chelsey's friend and tattoo artist Ashley owns a shop in the Plaza District of OKC and the owner of a gallery across the street from her shop had found a litter of puppies in their alley. Someone just dropped off Gertie and her 6 siblings at the baby-age of 8 weeks. The lady who found them got their first round of shots donated and by the time we got to the shop, all the puppies except Gertie, the runt, and one of her brothers had been adopted. It was just pure love at first sight. She was a little sleeping angel.

Who later went on to become a destructamatron of a barking machine. But that's not the point.

Chelsey and I had the hardest time naming her. We went through everything we could. We knew we wanted her to have an Oklahoma-related name, as she was a native. We finally came around to Oklahoma the Musical and the character, Gertie Cummings. It fit her perfectly. This picture is from the first night we had her and one of the ones I sort of had forgotten about. Oh, those brown eyes.

(Taken with a Nikon D-80, 18-135mm AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens. Exposure 1/60, Aperture f/4. No Photoshop. Built in flash used. Pretty sure the camera was balancing on the bench when I took it.)