Day 20 : Memorial Day Dad

Taken: May 30, 2010
Camera: Sony a350
Biloxi VA Cemetery

Perform, then, this one act of remembrance before this Day passes - Remember there is an army of defense and advance that never dies and never surrenders, but is increasingly recruited from the eternal sources of the American spirit and from the generations of American youth. ~W.J. Cameron

These heroes are dead. They died for liberty - they died for us. They are at rest. They sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines. They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest. Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace. In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death. I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead: cheers for the living; tears for the dead. ~Robert G. Ingersoll

Thank you.

Day 19 : BP

Taken: May 30, 2010
Camera: Kodak M381
Biloxi, MS

This one caught me by surprise. I was driving down Pass Rd. on my way home from the bookstore when I saw it. Mom and I looked at each other. Grinned. Then I turned around. We had to know what it said and it was a prime opportunity to take a shot. This is the first BP message I have seen locally. I am sure that it will not be the last.

Day 18 : Stairs to Nowhere

Taken: September 1, 2005
Camera: disposable b/w, I think
Biloxi, MS

Three days after Hurricane Katrina, we finally got out of our neighborhood, in which we had been trapped due to all the down power poles. I had to get to the south side of the bay to check on my grandfather's house. He had evacuated to Ellisville, MS and couldn't get back. On the way there, we drove down to a neighborhood near the beach and walked the rest of the way. This had once been an apartment complex that sat right on HWY 90 overlooking the beach. Many places along the road had collapsed due to the storm surge. As far as the eye could see was nothing but destruction. It was then, truly then, that it finally hit that home was never going to be the same again. It also inspires hope. The people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast all got to work as soon as the storm was over to start the rebuilding process. Everyone who could would lend a hand to their neighbors and friends who were in need.

Day 17 : Fleeing Gustav

Taken: August 30, 2008
Camera: Fujifilm Finepix s5800
D'Iberville, MS

In honor of June 1st being the start of Hurricane Season, I thought I would post some shots from the past.
This was taken during the evacuations for Gustav. This is I-10 East. These are Louisiana folks and probably some Mississippi folks heading to Florida for the storm. At this point, if you hadn't already left, you weren't going to get anywhere. The traffic wasn't moving. I was taking pictures and people were honking and waving at me.

Day 16 : What's Left

Taken: March 9, 2008
Camera: Fujifilm Finepix s5800
Biloxi, MS

This is one of the many piers left in shambles after The Storm (aka Hurricane Katrina). Some of the piers have been rebuilt, but it is far more common, still, to see just the pilings lined up along the shore. And before you sit back and wonder why the water isn't blue...that would be because it isn't. The Mississippi Sound has barrier islands which keep much of the silt trapped. It is a good thing because that is part of the reason for our large crops of seafood.

Day 15 : Untitled

Taken: April 2005
Camera: Minolta Maxxum 3xi
Mesa Verde, CO

I can't remember the exact date this was taken, but I know it was sometime around April, because that was when I had the film developed and scanned into my computer. Yes, a scanner. Gasp. That was before they started dishing out disks with the pictures at Wally World. This shot was taken on the way up to Mesa Verde (http://www.mesaverde.com/). The wild fires that run rampant during the hotter summer months caused much of the landscape to be barren and charred black. This tree is just one example of that. On this trip, I was in charge of the black and white shots and my grandfather was taking all the color shots. So, yes, this was indeed shot on black and white film. Old school.

Day 14 : Makeshift Lover - Pam

Taken: August 9, 2009
Camera: Fujifilm Finepix s5800
Ocean Springs, MS

Pam is the bassist for the local punk band Makeshift Lover. She and I met because I was going to a lot of the shows. Justin, the drummer, and Drew, the guitarist and vocalist, were my neighbors when I moved into my first apartment. I watched them practice all the time, now I get to watch them with a real audience. This show was at Government Street Grocery, which is not a grocery store, it is a restaurant and bar. It is well-known locally for having some of the best live performances around. This shot was one of the best I took of Pam that night. The bright colors of the bar mixed with the lovely colors that makeup Pam herself just made this a vibrant piece. And as a shameless plug, you can find them on both Facebook and Myspace. :)

Day 13 : Casting for the Stars

Taken: September 27, 2009
Camera: Fujifilm Finepix s5800
Gulfport, MS

Out on the pier in Gulfport, there are lots of folks who like to take the opportunity to fish. The evening I took this, there were probably 20+ people on the long pier trying their luck. John, Jess, and myself went out to catch the cool breeze and watch the sunset. I had my camera with me, as per usual, and proceeded to snapping tons of shots. I was on a roll. Besides, I was doing my last big shoot with the Fujifilm because I was mainly wasting time before going to pick up my new SLR. Nothing beats walking out on the pier, smelling the salty humid air, and watching the sunset with close friends. I feel the most at home when I am near the water.

Day 12 : Rue Carondelet

Taken: December 14, 2009
Camera: Sony DSC-W180
New Orleans, LA

A small group of us spent a few days in New Orleans when this was taken. We were celebrating my and my friend, Ryan's, birthdays. We are only 6 days apart, so we planned this trip together. We wanted to go to museums, and do all of the touristy things that did not center around getting drunk on Bourbon St. (Not to say that didn't happen.) We were walking from our hotel down to the World War II museum. I didn't use my camera to take this because I only had my SLR with me and didn't want to get targeted by anyone on our way. I borrowed my friend's camera and took shots during the long walk. This building was one of the things I could not pass by without taking a shot of it. The colors! The textures! Oh MY! So I stood in the street with a death wish while I carefully angled this shot to remove the unwanted elements and to make the image more interesting.

Day 11 : Yellowing Edges

Taken: October 4, 2008
Camera: Fujifilm Finepix s5800
Bogalusa, LA

I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a car show present at a church celebration my family attended. Our family, way back, gave the church the land that they are still currently using. It is right across the street from where my great-grandparents used to live. While my family was catching up with cousins and with people they have known for ages, I wandered around outside to get some pictures of the beautiful cars they had on display; probably 25 total, maybe less. I loved the angle of this one, and if you look closely at the bumper, you will see me. :) I didn't bother trying to clone myself out. I liked the effect of the reflection.

Day 10 : Where Memories Congregate

Taken: March 16, 2008
Camera: Fujifilm Finepix s5800
Biloxi, MS

This is the Hurricane Katrina Memorial located in the Biloxi Town Green. One of those ultimate makeover shows came and rebuilt the Town Green after the storm. This is the memorial that they built while they were working. It is comprised of pieces of debris left by Katrina. This is only a small portion of the memorial. (Go here to see more of it: http://www.gulf-coast.com/Attractions/KatrinaMemorialBiloxi.html) This particular part of the memorial caught my attention due to the very personal feel of it. These were things that belonged to people. These were memories. These were special. It reminds me of walking around my neighborhood after the storm passed, seeing all of the destruction. Homes and belongings just scattered in the streets and yards of their neighbors who had barely fared better. It also inspires me, because even after all of the destruction, we were able to rebuild and get back on our feet. Gulf Coast folk are strong-willed.

Day 9 : A Touch of Pink

Taken: February 16, 2010
Camera: Sony a350
Biloxi, MS

This was taken during Mardi Gras. I was walking along the parade route, as is tradition, and I stumbled upon a friend of mine known as Jesus (his real name is Trevor, but there is a striking resemblance). We chatted for a bit before he and his daughter headed further down the route, at a much greater pace since I kept stopping to take pictures. I couldn't help but sneak this picture of him in his boots and pink kilt, because, well, who could resist? It really does take a man to have an I-Don't-Give-A-Shit personality to be able to pull off wearing a hot pink kilt, not to mention all of his other pink accessories. Minimal editing and crop.

Day 8 : The Sound of Dust

Taken: December 9, 2007
Camera: Fujifilm Finepix s5800
Biloxi, MS

This is the record player that was once in my grandfather's (Ullendorf) house. It now sits in my old bedroom at my mother's house until I find a place big enough. I was sitting around, not long after Grandpa gave me the Fujifilm camera, desperate to figure out all of the things I could do with it. After all, it was my very first digital camera. So I went in search of things to take shots of. The record player just spoke to me. I got several shots of it, but this is one of my favorites. I was trying to play with the Macro setting on the camera and had to get in very, very close for the shot to come out. I was particularly trying to get the dust and any other proof of age. There are no texture filters used, this is what I took. Slight editing to improve contrast, and of course, cropping. All in all, this shot makes me nostalgic.

Day 7 : Prancing Pacaderm

Taken: April 12, 2007
Camera: Minolta Maxxum 3xi
New Orleans, LA

Once upon a time, I was in a class where the instructor wanted us to do a primate observation for a paper. This, of course, meant a road trip to Audubon Zoo during Spring Break. I know, like I needed an excuse to go to New Orleans. ;) Anyways, a small group of us went and we managed to get to the zoo just in time to catch the Elephant Show! Which, without a doubt, I was going to stay for. For those of you who may not know, I am a nut for elephants. (puns, yay!) So, during the show, they were showing all kinds of different stances that the elephants were taught. I particularly liked this shot due to the angle and the pose of the elephant. I altered the saturation levels to make it black and white to accentuate the texture of her skin. After the show, of course, the trainers walked her down into a little area where we could touch her. Yes, I got to touch an elephant! :D I have a picture of me being overly excited about it somewhere.

Day 6 : Junkyard Blues

Taken: January 10, 2008
Camera: Fujifilm Finepix s5800
Gulfport, MS

I found this lovely rust bucket as a new addition to the junk yard on this particular trip. She had just been dropped off and had not been trucked to her new home in the yard with the others of her kind. I have always been fond of this image and it was one of the few I even bothered to edit from my excursion, due to the lovely textures it offered. I spent several hours out in the junk yard. DJ was looking for parts for his car and Camryn tagged along. We were there until we realized that it was starting to get dark. We waited to hear the siren that is the warning that they will be locking up. It never went off. So, when it got too dark to really look for any more parts, we headed to the front. We'd been locked in. After calling the cops, they called the owner, the owner called an employee that was still on property to let us out. We were locked in for maybe 20 mins after we got to the front. It was an adventure.

Day 5 : Thumbs Up

Taken: May 15, 2010
Camera: Sony a350
Hattiesburg, MS

Yesterday, my friend, Maxine, graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi. I sat out in the stadium for four hours. (Yes, the sunburn is quite fierce.) The speaker was Rudy Giuliani. I was so pleased that I got to hear someone as impressive as that. I don't even remember speakers for the other graduations I have attended. Anyways, so this is the shot I got of her after she crossed the stage and was walking back to her seat. She knew where we were sitting, so I was able to get this. Very minimal editing and of course, I added a lovely textured background. I love this shot because it really illustrates Maxine's personality. Who wants those stiff, grownup graduation pictures when you can have this?! :)

Day 4 : Coffee Can

Taken: October 10, 2009
Camera: Sony a350
Biloxi, MS

This shot was taken at the Edgewater Mall venue during Cruisin' the Coast. It was a very difficult shot to capture for the simple fact that everyone was fascinated by the Folger's coffee can that was prominently displayed as a key part of the engine. While at car shows, I work diligently to ensure that the target vehicle is the only one in the frame. This enables me to get great angles which highlight the colors, lines, and make of many of the automobiles. This particular shot was one of my favorites from the entire week.

Day 3 : Abandoned Haunts

Taken: March 16, 2008
Camera: Fujifilm Finepix s5800
Biloxi, MS

When I took this, it was a complete surprise. Pleasant, but a surprise none-the-less. I had decided to take a picture or two under the Popp's Ferry Bridge. There were a few piers, the sun on the water, the usual. Then, as I turned around to walk back to my car, BAM! There it was. The sun was perfect. Spanish Moss. An old pier. I couldn't believe that this treasure had gone unnoticed. When people think of the deep south and our waterways, this is what I think they should see. This is the kind of thing that reminds me that this is home.

Day 2 : Lovelace Drugs

Taken: March 15, 2008
Ocean Springs, MS

Lovelace Drugs is located in downtown Ocean Springs. Located on Washington Ave. this is a very well-known landmark. The street is lined with little shops and places to dine. You can park and then walk up and down the block. The old fashioned style of the shop has always inspired me. One of these days, I am going to go back down there during Cruisin' the Coast to get a shot of it with a classic car in front. I might even make that shot sepia-toned. This shot I wanted to keep black and white to show the detail of the textures, especially with the bricks and the tree.

Day 1 : Camryn

Taken: May 8, 2010
Biloxi, MS

This is one of my favorite shots from the prom photos that I took for Camryn and his date, Kaci. Camryn is a Junior at Biloxi High, plays football, runs track, and loves to make people laugh. Sounds like a personal ad, I know. He was so funny while I was taking the pictures of him. He could hear the shutter, so he changed poses for every shot. This was a shot of him actually smiling. He started laughing at himself because he was being silly. It worked out quite well. He and Kaci didn't get pictures at the prom because they did not want to pay for overpriced, low quality shots. I have heard that their friends are jealous of the pictures I took of them. That makes me very proud. I captured a special moment in time for my cousin.