Tomales Bay

Fall spring.

Spent the whole day traveling through Marin and Sonoma counties. Oysters in Tomales Bay and lunch at Cowgirl in Point Reyes Station. It was one of those California October days that felt like spring -- I just don't question my confusion anymore, I enjoy it.

For Fear the Hearts of Men Are Failing

Shot a punk/folk band today.

Water, melon

She got the last slice of watermelon. Should she eat it fast, and face the future, or make it last, avoiding the inevitable? What made the decision difficult were the details -- the watery taste and subtle smell of summer fruit, the cool water pooling at her feet every five seconds, the end-of-day heat on her neck, and of course, her age.

And understanding.

She loves to love the love that loves to love.

Visit San Miguel

"It is already written...today will be one to remember."

Nine Twelve

"It is already written, that today will be one to remember."

Victoria

"Where the postcards were distinct and discrete, neatly self-contained, the town in front of him now had that vague fluid familiarity he associated with dreams. He was vividly present but he wasn't connected to anything or anybody there, and never would be. Any second, he thought, he would wake up." -- Stewart O'Nan

Flamingo in San Diego

I'm heading down the coast, a little road trip to San Diego, where I have a print in the Art of Photography show -- big opening night party Saturday. Details here: http://www.artofphotographyshow.com

Conclusion

You think you have no options, then one day you realize it was just thinking.

Jemmy Joe: clawhammer busker

I shot Jemmy Joe at the Berkeley Farmers' Market, and he gave me a cd. I listened to his music and was, at the time, reading a book by Annie Proulx called "Fine Just the Way It Is". This quote is from the book, and for me describes Jemmy Joe's art.

"...Archie McLaverty had a singing voice that once heard was never forgotten. It was a straight, hard voice, the words falling out halfway between a shout and a song. Sad and flat and without ornamentation, it expressed things felt but unsayable."

Note to self

Eight thousand days ago.

The Lightning in the Bottle Thing

It can be difficult to use the unconscious creative process to generate a successful career. If we have success, or get significant acclaim, with certain images along the way we're naturally inclined to think that those "kind" of images must be repeated. This is where the right side and left side of the brain begin the struggle that can knock us right out of the air. Once fear of failure to repeat success kicks in you'd better intubate the creative body, call Dr. House. Lingering on the fuzzy flow of "best images ever made" is as productive as talking out loud to a dead uncle. If you've made excellent images, ones that were extremely satisfying to you at that time, you'll probably continue to create with the same satisfaction. Once the mechanics of running your business are in place, then it's important to work independently of others' opinions, good or bad, or as is usually the case, indifferent. Taking this risk is scary, but thrilling -- that's what we want, right? However, it's guaranteed that if you dwell on the past, fear the future and start drinking gin at 9am, your greatest success will absolutely be behind you.

Words for the vacuum

Life on the planet

They say when the fishing is bad, tie flies. These promos, one for commercial and the other for editorial, are going out over the next few days. We're fishing for food, no catch and release.