Caroline ~co-starring The Wonder Twins

More photos from our recent family trip. This time I took Caroline out along with The Wonder Twins (Wilkins , light hair ; and Jacks, dark hair). We had a great morning playing and exploring.

In the middle of our adventure Caroline looked at me and asked, "Can you make a movie with these images?"

"Well. Sort of," I replied.

"Good. We're ready to be famous. That way we can start our band."

By the time the trip was over, they had cheerfully and unanimously named their new band "The Rockers". And this was to be not only the images that made them famous, but also the ones to be used for their album cover.

"It's more efficient that way." That's how Wilkins put it.

Alas, it was not meant to be. By the end of the day the band was no more.

"I can't take this Hollywood lifestyle, " bemoaned Jacks. He, of course, was all set to be the quiet, moody art-eest that was so aloof his fans would just HAVE to know more.

"I'm quitting the band."

Caroline overheard. "Well, if Jacks is out, then I am, too."

I turned to Wilkins. "So, are you done as well?"

Wilkins is the showman. He was all set to be David Lee Roth to Jacks' Kurt Cobain. (Caroline would be a mixture of Cher, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, and Liza Minelli) My sister had told the three all about Elvis only hours before. Wilkins was smitten to the point that we had already ordered him the classic Vegas jump suit that was The King's trademark.

He curled his lip and snarled at me, cocked his hip and mumbled in his best Elvis impersonation.

"Uhhh, that's right, baby. The King has left the building. Uhhhhh, thank ya. Uhhhhh thank ya very muuuch."


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Tomorrow: niece Lila -- Dancing Queen

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peace, love, harmony, and sequined jump suits with the collar flipped up

(all of which make me smile)

~wj

Caroline ~a study

Jamie and I spent a little time with our nieces and nephews recently. I was excited about the three or four days we would be with them, because I really wanted to try a few things photographically and they always make great subjects. I wanted to go beyond just making "pretty pictures" and did my best to push myself to not only create photos of the kids, but to create feeling as well.

I dunno. I just have such a curiosity about the vulnerabilities of all humans. We're born innocent. We say what we mean. We mean what we say. We're not afraid to show our emotions. Then somewhere along the way --slowly -- but often quite certainly, we begin to build walls. Rather than admitting our fears, our worries, our ignorances -- we craft a life we think is correct. Often hiding to others the vulnerabilities we all feel in one way or another. We don't always know we're doing it, and I don't mean to imply this is bad -- or good -- it just is what it is. And I am fascinated by it.

If we are lucky, we recognize the boundaries we've built in our lives. We recognize them early enough that we are able to do something about them. I doubt we ever truly overcome them, but I do think we can whittle them to the point that we reclaim some of that innocence that we were blessed to have when we entered this world. But it's not easy. And just as it takes time to build them, it takes even longer to tear them down.

So while spending a little time with my nieces and nephews this week, I decided I would take the opportunity to use them as models. These images are an exploration. An exploration of life. Of childhood. And of my own feelings and curiosities. Children are truly a wonder, and we adults could all do ourselves a service if we tried to be more like them.



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Now, on a technical note. I've had a few questions from other photographers about how these images were created. They were all photographed with a Nikon D200 and deliberately underexposed a stop or two so that they would be a little more grainy and film-like. But the key ingredient, technically speaking, is the Lensbaby. Well, that and not being afraid of a little (or a lot) of blur. The images were then processed in Lightroom using some custom presets, and a few were textured a bit in Photoshop to finalize the effect I was looking for. If you have any questions about how they were created feel free to post them here or email me directly. I'll answer as best I can.

Take care and continue to explore.

~wj

"Locals" show at Southside Gallery

Just a reminder that the Southside Gallery in Oxford is holding a group show for the month of June. I've got a few prints from my New Orleans series in it. If you get a chance to stop by while you're in Oxford, please do. Tell 'em I sent you!

Here's a little write up from their website.

If you make it by, shoot me an email or give me a call. I haven't seen the show yet and I'm really curious to know how everything looks.

~wj

Airport Rollercoaster

Somtimes the simplest things garner the most excitement.

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Posted via iPhone after hearing The Wonder Twins shout "This is better
than Disney!" for the whole tram to hear.

~wj

The Wonder Twins

Jamie and I will be playing mom and dad to our twin nephews Jacks (L) and
Wilkins(R) for the next five days. It's kinda like looking after the
Tazmanian Devil -- times two!

If you haven't heard from us in two or three days, please call the
authorities! We're gonna have our hands full.

------------------------------------------------
Posted via iPhone, as I wonder whether or not it is safe to fall asleep.

~wj

Name This Photo ~the backstory

The video above will give you an idea of how Jamie and I spent our ninth anniversary. That's not us in the video (thank goodness), but it is the same stage where we participated, and that event was one of the challenges we "enjoyed".

It started with a business trip to Los Angeles. We both had some work out there, and originally had planned to come home just as soon as we were done. At the last minute we decided to stick around for one more day and spend it together. It was our only day without work obligations. We rented a car. We bought sunscreen. We had so many options but only one day to complete them. After kicking around lots of fine culture ideas -- museums, theater, art galleries -- we finally settled on a choice. High culture lost. Pop culture won. We went to Universal Studios.

We did the typical things. Toured the backlot. Rode the new Simpsons ride. Watched the Shrek 3-D movie. In general we were having a pleasant enough time and feeling like teenagers again. While eating lunch we heard an announcement over the PA that casting calls for the Fear Factor -Live! show would begin in fifteen minutes.

"Let's do it," Jamie said to me through a wide-eyed smile.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. C'mon. It'll be fun"

"I dunno about the food part, Jamie. I don't think I can do that."

"Sure you can. C'mon. It'll be an adventure."

"OK. But we make a pinkie promise. Either they pick us both or they pick neither of us. Deal?"

"Deal."

We were picked. Me, Jamie, and four guys from California. It wasn't as tough as we thought it would be. There were six slots available. Six of us showed up. That's it. So we all were in. Who says Hollywood is tough to crack?

I won't go into the minutiae of the show. Those details are much better when Jamie and I act them out. But I can tell you this. It involved hanging from thirty feet in the air, reaching into a tank full of live eels, maneuvering across a spinning floor, struggling with American Gladiator-style opponents, flying around the stage tethered only to a very thin cable, an inverted bicycle-thingie, electricity (LOTS of electricity), and, of course, a smoothie. Ahhh, the smoothie.

No need to offend you with what was in the smoothie. I'm sure you've probably got some idea. Multiply that thought by a hundred. I still can taste it. Uggh.

But the worst part? Well, there's two things actually.

The first are those awful spandex outfits. I think I would have preferred to be naked. You know the dream where you walk into a room, then become horrified because you realize everyone is dressed and you're as nude as the day you were born? I have that dream several times a year. I lived it last week. I need therapy now.

And the second? This requires a short story from the show.

At the start of the show they had us lined up backstage. Our only instruction was to run out on stage "and show some energy. We've got a packed house of a little over two thousand." OK. Now I'm nervous. And naked.

We run out on stage. Five guys and Jamie. Four of them from California with family and friends rooting them on. Jamie is the only girl. And then me. And all I can think is, "just don't embarrass yourself." Too late. The spandex sold me out on that one.

The hosts start on Jamie's end with the introductory interviews. One of the California guys is first.

"Give it up for Mike everybody!" The host is working the crowd.

Mike gets a few cheers. Not overwhelming but certainly respectable. He says something, but I don't really remember what it was because all I could do was think about how ridiculous I must be looking. Next is Jamie.

I figured since she was the only female the crowd would pull for her. Boy did they ever.

"And how about a hand for Jamie," shouts the host.

Eruption. Yells. Whistles. Thunderous ovation. Two thousand people stand and cheer as if Jamie just hit the game winning homerun in Game 7 of the World Series. She was quite charming, and I was glad to see her finally get a chance to use her theater degree in Hollywood. I was very proud of her.

The other contestants are introduced, and while none received the ovation that Jamie got, they all had nice little fan clubs in the audience. I was happy for them as well.

Finally the judge came to me. "Be humble and witty and charming. Be humble and witty and charming. Be humble and witty and charming," I whispered to myself. I was definitely nervous and my mind was racing. Or perhaps the tight pants had just cut off circulation to my brain.

"And how about a big cheer for Jamie's husband Will !!!!!"

Here comes my moment. My time to shine. I'm going to be discovered now and my life will change forever!

I lift my head and step forward.

Crickets. Nada. Nothing. SILENCE. In a room full of people -- have I mentioned it was over two thousand? -- not a single person cheered for me. They did not clap. They did not whistle. They did not yell. They did nothing. I brought the show to a screeching halt before it ever really began. It was now quite obvious that I wasn't as witty and charming as I thought. But I couldn't quit, so I mumbled something stupid and got off the stage as quickly as I could.

Not only was I naked. I was insignificant. At least to this crowd. As I climbed the stairs to get to my platform where the first event would take place, I began repeating my mantra, "It's never as good as it seems. It's never as bad as it seems." Moments later the platform fell out from beneath me and I was left dangling from a bar, thirty feet in the air, with no choice but to hold on. I didn't know how long I could do it, or how the people beside me would fare. Only time would sort that out.

I guess it was an odd little metaphor for what had just happened, and for what was about to happen. Crazy stuff shows up in life, and it's usually not the way we expect it. Especially when we try things we're not accustomed to doing. We're cheered, revered, ridiculed, ignored -- often all in one day. But we keep moving forward. So that's what I did.

Oh, and the significance of the photo? That's me and Christian. We made it to the finals.

He won, and I was happy for him. Yeah, it would've been nice to win. It would've been nice to thumb my nose at that crowd, show them that I could succeed even without their affection. But who really cares. Nobody there would've remembered anything about that show the next day. Nor would they care. And the prize wasn't really that great anyway. But deep down, I knew I didn't quit, and that I did the best I could.

I got much more out of this adventure with my wife than potential victory on a live version of a show that is no longer on the air. I had a fun time with my best friend on our anniversary, and now I've -- we've -- got a pretty cool story to share at parties.

If you've read this far, thank you. I wish you the best. I hope you got a little chuckle out of this.

Now, go try something scary, then come back and tell me all about it!


~wj

We have a Winner !

well, two actually.

Susan Solo and Ruth Rackley (how's that for alliteration) both submitted the correct answer about the same time, so I decided to declare them both the winner. I'll post more later when I have time, but for now, the photo below should give you an idea of what the answer is (if you haven't already read their comments)

Final Clue . . . .

OK. My "Name This Photo" Contest will probably end sometime tomorrow. You can see the photo and rules by scrolling below, or by clicking HERE.

So, here are a few more clues.

1. It is not skydiving.

2. It involves a TV show.

3. It was a contest.

4. We needed mouthwash.

And that's about it. Guess away!

~wj

A clue to help with the contest

While I take a quick break from editing photos, I thought I'd provide a little clue to the contest below.

This, of course, does not count as the "next post" (see rules below), so feel free to continue guessing.

And now your clue -- or riddle

an unexpected life event
a nervous climb, but quick descent
my love, we thought, we'd make a team
but then the laughs, perhaps a scream
so unity we lost too fast
'twas not to be, 'twas not to last
our struggles through our common fears
we'd pondered much throughout the years
such strength, such guile, and bravery
but still a taste unsavory
to reunite, we found our way
to chuckle at our sudden day

Anymore guesses?

Good luck !

~wj

Name This Photo ~contest

OK. That's me on the left. Christian is the guy on the right.

If you can guess the significance of this photo, I will reward you with a $20 iTunes gift certificate!

Here are the rules.

1. You have to post your answer here
2. You have to at least be relatively close to the answer. I don't expect anyone to get it exactly right, but I do at least expect you to be somewhere near the ballpark.
3. Only answers posted before I make my next blog post are eligible. Sometimes I post several times a week. Sometimes I take a little more time. What I'm saying is, I'm not sure when my next post will be.
4. Sorry, family. You're not eligible because I've already told all of you about it. Please don't ruin it for the others. You can post, just don't reveal the secret.
5. And along those lines, I've already told many of you non-family members. So y'all are out for now as well. Maybe next time.

So, if you meet this criteria, guess away. I'm anxious t hear what y'all have to say. Just know, that there are some hints already in this post.


Take care.

~wj