picture truths

The Backyard at Night

2012-01-23T20:13:00.001-08:00

The Backyard

2012-01-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

The Sculptures

2012-01-19T09:36:00.001-08:00

The French Quarter Crash Pad

2012-01-07T21:22:00.000-08:00

Me

2011-12-28T12:19:00.001-08:00

The Truck Farm

2011-12-28T12:17:00.001-08:00

Fog

2011-12-28T11:57:00.001-08:00

Nick in 35mm

2011-12-28T11:55:00.001-08:00

House Next Door

2011-12-28T11:50:00.001-08:00

Daniel in 35mm

2011-12-28T11:44:00.000-08:00

Desire Street

2011-12-28T11:43:00.001-08:00

Tiny House

2011-12-28T11:42:00.001-08:00

Daneeta and the Monsters

2011-12-28T11:41:00.001-08:00

The Gas Station

2011-12-28T11:39:00.001-08:00

The Corner Shop

2011-12-28T11:35:00.000-08:00

Pap's

2011-12-28T11:34:00.001-08:00

NOLA 35mm

2011-12-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

Chalmatia at Night

2011-12-22T08:10:00.000-08:00

The Monkey and the Pool

2011-12-22T08:07:00.000-08:00

NOLA at Night

2011-12-19T12:49:00.002-08:00

Dead End Night

2011-12-19T12:49:00.001-08:00

Canal at Night

2011-12-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

Santa

2011-12-19T12:37:00.000-08:00

House by the Tracks

2011-12-19T12:35:00.000-08:00

Old New Orleans Rum

2011-12-19T12:34:00.001-08:00

Celebration Distillation

2011-12-19T12:29:00.001-08:00

Christmas

2011-12-16T09:42:00.000-08:00

Last Nite

2011-12-16T09:40:00.000-08:00

Saints Boy

2011-12-16T09:36:00.001-08:00

Monkey Boy

2011-12-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

Winter Pool

2011-12-10T20:34:00.000-08:00

Winter

2011-12-10T20:33:00.000-08:00

Occupy NOLA

2011-12-06T19:13:00.001-08:00

We're here for just two minutes before we're asked to explain ourselves. A man comes fast up to us, wearing a mask and flanked by two other men wearing masks. We decide to stand our ground. This is public land. We have a right to be here too.

This is Occupy New Orleans, and there is a different feel here than the other Occupy Movement groups we have encountered. The guy with the mask tells me they have to be careful, he and his group. They are anarchists, and, while I respect and share some of their philosophy, the mask is throwing me off. And, there's just too much testosterone flying around. I ask him if he will take his mask off so I can see his face. He waives off his friends and takes the mask off. But he will not let Patrick photograph him without it.

There is a lot of fear in this man about the government. He has to protect the women and children in his sub compound from aggressors within the government. He has come from Austin, and he says he does not understand how things work in this city. Who does?

Finally he calms down enough to talk, and I give him my card.

Someone is attempting to start a box garden here. There is a medical tent and polite suggestions about how to use the toilet. But, we don't see a lot of people out and about. Later, the police go in early in the morning and clear everyone out. You can protest, but you can't live here. I sort of feel like anyone should be able to live on public land, but it can get messy and dangerous. Not everyone can play nice.

Nickabob in B&W 35mm

2011-12-06T19:12:00.001-08:00

To see him in real life, Nick's not much to look at. A normal boy, almost. From the pharmaceuticals, he's a skinny little thing, and there are ticks that he may never get rid of. Pulling out his eyebrows. Sudden bursts of hilarity or anger. Trouble distinguishing between dreams and reality. Really, really crappy penmanship.

But, the camera loves Nick. I tell him "You are handsome enough to be a model." I say: "My first grade teacher branded me retarded. Said I'd never read beyond the 6th grade level. Spellcheck has made me the writer I am today," I tell him.

He is slowly...stealthily becoming one of our muses. And, this is not an easy life for anyone. Stand there, hold that, don't talk, keep still.

Get one picture. Get one perfect picture before he changes direction.

Occupy London in B&W

2011-12-06T19:10:00.001-08:00

Running, rushing, running to meet Ed at St. Paul's, we turn the corner and are standing in the middle of Occupy London. This is the first Occupy we are seeing in person. The media are calling them the "anti-capitalist protesters."

There is a place of worship here and a kitchen. There are children and dogs. I saw an actual piano. For a little while, these people will occupy in order to create their own society where the laws are posted on a signs for everyone to see. Where war is not the answer.

I think: A More Perfect Union.

But, it will never last. Already the occupied country is growing weary of these usurpers. Soon, they will send in the police.

English Breakfast

2011-12-06T19:03:00.000-08:00

D and Gavin

2011-12-06T18:56:00.001-08:00

D and Antonio

2011-12-06T18:54:00.001-08:00

D in the Tube

2011-12-06T18:48:00.001-08:00

The Rowells

2011-12-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

Daneeta's Old Neighbourhood

2011-12-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

Night on Desire

2011-12-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

Sunday Night Football

2011-12-06T18:33:00.000-08:00

Daisy

2011-12-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

Balcony

2011-12-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

NOLA at Night

2011-11-27T11:24:00.001-08:00

Back in NOLA

2011-11-27T11:23:00.001-08:00

Occupy London

2011-11-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

Down the Street

2011-11-27T11:03:00.000-08:00

Architectural Rescue

2011-11-27T10:47:00.000-08:00

Council House

2011-11-12T14:15:00.000-08:00

On this trip to London, Patrick's become obsessed with council flats.
His eye is, at first, attracted to the lines.

We pass by these buildings everyday walking from The Flying Dutchman
to the bus stop. At night we hear parents cooking, arguments, TVs and
Laughter. Sometimes we pass the tenants along the way.

I love a small enclave in South London. And, making ourselves at home.
I look for the shop that sells the sunflower seeds. Patrick reads the
menus of restaurants. Last night we had Chinese. This morning English
Breakfast with real African style coffee.

South London

2011-11-12T14:09:00.000-08:00

The Flying Dutchman

2011-11-12T14:05:00.000-08:00

Highgate

2011-11-06T03:36:00.001-08:00

Bonfire Night

2011-11-06T03:31:00.000-08:00

Clapham Common

2011-10-27T08:40:00.000-07:00

This was the place where some years ago we blew up Barbies with illegal firecrackers. It was François, Patrick and me. It was seven in the morning, and our hearts were pounding like it happened when we were kids. By seven fifteen, the experiment was over. Fizzled out and not spectacular at all. I have a shitty video somewhere taken on my mobile. A puff of smoke. Some small noise and François saying: "Oh, shit." By seven twenty, we were in a café sipping teas. We were adults again.

Now on the Common, Patrick and I follow François to the children's playground. He has married and has a house and a child and some proper income. He no longer blows things up. But when I remind him about it, he says, "yes, it was there. It was spectacular." If I ever find it again on Youtube or some hard drive, I will delete that video. The memory is something that you do not fuck with. Because François actually convinces me that the noise and the smoke had the police chasing us through the Common, and we escaped by ducking into a café to drink teas filled with as much sugar as we wanted. We were kids again.

The South Bank

2011-10-27T08:37:00.001-07:00

Back in London

2011-10-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

Back in New Orleans

2011-10-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Flying Home

2011-10-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

Vintage Hippies in Stanley

2011-10-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

We're on a corporate job in Stanley and have just come down from the
hill where we've been shooting moose. I mean filming moose. Heading
back to the car, we run smack into a load of senior citizens holding
signs touting peace. People are honking, and I think they are being
rude until I see the sign: "Honk for Peace."

The group is out here every Wednesday with the signs and the smiles.
"Every Wednesday since 9/11," says a grey haired ponytailed one. But,
they've been in favor of peace since, well, the sixties. These are
real vintage hippies.

A kindergarten teacher holds a sign that says "Free Hugs." In the
classroom, she gently preaches peace like an evangelical. She has it
in her heart that if she can plant the idea early enough into their
heads, it will stick, take root and overcome everything. Like Japanese
Kuzu. I hope she is right.

Another man asks if we are photo-journalists, and I tell him that
right now we are working for the man. But we sometimes take pictures.
And we sometimes document with words. He asks us to tell everyone
about peace. He says if we don't embrace it now, there will be nothing
left, and we will truly be witnesses to the end of days.

His friend puts his arm around his shoulders. "That's heavy, man. Too
heavy." They laugh and go back to holding up the signs for peace, and
people honk, and we finish our job for the man.

Free Hugs

2011-10-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

The Stanley Hotel

2011-10-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

Colorado at Night

2011-10-14T10:25:00.001-07:00

The Rock

2011-10-14T10:23:00.001-07:00

Sky

2011-10-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Red Rocks at Dusk

2011-10-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

Red Rocks

2011-10-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

Timber the Wolf

2011-10-14T10:11:00.001-07:00

I never expected to meet a real live wolf. But here I am: looking into
his bright blue eyes inching closer to present my hand for him to
smell. Am I worthy?

I have to remind myself that he is a wolf or else I'll be on him,
burying my face into his fabulous coat and breathing deeply the scent
of dog. But, he is not a dog. He is a wild thing.

Rocky Mountains

2011-10-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

Bayou Sauvage

2011-09-27T11:40:00.001-07:00

Catching a Fish

2011-09-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

G Fishing

2011-09-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

Nick Fishing

2011-09-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

Daniel Fishing

2011-09-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

D&D at Night

2011-09-22T17:51:00.001-07:00

Peacock Graffiti

2011-09-22T17:43:00.000-07:00

Nickabob at Night

2011-09-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Jump Rope at Night

2011-09-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

Jump Rope

2011-09-07T15:23:00.000-07:00

Lasso

2011-09-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

Chris and Kevin

2011-09-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

Dancing

2011-09-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

D in the Superdome

2011-09-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

Touchdown

2011-09-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

Vilma Fan

2011-09-04T10:48:00.000-07:00

Defend New Orleans

2011-09-04T08:36:00.001-07:00

Leaving the Superdome

2011-09-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

Nola from the Hilton

2011-09-03T11:35:00.001-07:00

Cemetery at Night

2011-09-03T11:24:00.001-07:00

Cemetery

2011-09-03T11:09:00.000-07:00

Chin Imperial

2011-08-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

TV on the Neighbors Lawn

2011-08-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

Killing Barbie

2011-08-13T17:50:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I fool myself into believing that we can actually change the course of a person's life just by turning over the camera. Just by yelling "action!"

By the time we make it out to the old K-mart parking lot Down the Road, Merissa has already had her share of hard knocks. And, now, she has disappeared out of our lives. More kicks and scuffles will twist her into something that we may not recognize when next we meet.

OR: this day of cutting up Barbie in the rain when she gets to wear fairy wings and a crown could be something she holds onto. It could be something that lifts her up above the reality of her brutal existence. It could be something that propels her to escape and to change that destiny of a dirty cruel life. She will look back and shout "That was it! That was the moment"

It is, of course, all my fantasy.

Hula Hoop in Village Square

2011-08-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

Lion Fairy

2011-08-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

Destiny on Bourbon Street

2011-08-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

Back on Burgundy Street

2011-08-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

Floating

2011-08-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

Water Gun

2011-08-03T20:17:00.001-07:00