Xmas portrait xtravaganza

I was generously gifted with some new glass for Christmas...and was lucky to have many willing (or completely unaware) subjects to try it out on. Happy holidays!

holy eighties batman

1988: when my mom still picked my wardrobe and cut my hair...yikes!

You'll shoot your eye out!

"Did I hit it? Did I hit it!?!"

Elizabeth, Andrew, and Jeremy celebrate the second amendment at our family's lake house.  We hang soda cans from tree branches and annihilate them for target practice.  Just some of the things the cousins do for entertainment in the country.

Lake House

 

Brief Hiatus

So I am finally getting my foot fixed tomorrow morning, which means I will be laid up for about 3 weeks on painkillers or hobbling around on crutches.  This is good news for my eventual Brooklyn relocation, but not so good news for my blog, which should see an utter lack of updates for the next month or so (or at least until I am mobile enough to go out and shoot).  Peace!

something's fishy

finally developed some shots from the fish-eye camera...the first two are of central park during my june nyc trip, the rest are from my houston hiatus

Ghost Town

                                                                                   

A month after Ike and I finally get to go shoot in Galveston for a few hours (thanks mom!).  There is still debris everywhere, a moldy smell in the air, and people in hazmat gear cleaning out buildings all over the island.  Many G-town landmarks have been reduced to rubble or lone pilings on the beach (like the Balinese room pictured in the first and fourth shots).  Mangel's near the Strand was mangled, and there is literally a refrigerator graveyard, containing hundreds of flooded appliances. To say the smell was foul is a gross understatement.  Oh, and I saw more boats on the freeway and in yards than in the actual water, which, funny enough, was the prettiest I'd seen it in a long time.

House of Amos

Some more work on hunger in Houston...House of Amos is a local non-profit organization that provides a food pantry, ESL classes, and immunizations for those in need.  These images are from the group's weekly food fair, during which families in need (many with young children) receive free groceries and classes on how to provide for their families with minimal income.

The Houston Food Bank requires participants to provide their household information before they can receive foodstuffs from HOA.

Diana's birthday

My beloved aunt celebrated her 50th this weekend...

End Hunger Houston

Volunteers prepare a pallet of "weekly meal packs," boxes containing five complete meals and beverages that EHH provides for shut-ins and other Houstonians in need of food.

Naomi Brown (center) and Raye Fischel (right) crack jokes as they load up boxes in the EHH warehouse.  Brown and Fischel are employees of local oil company Apache Corporation and volunteer at EHH once a month with some of their coworkers. 

Erica Thomas, also with Apache Corp, frees frozen chicken breasts to be included in one of the meals the volunteers prepare that day.  The Apache volunteers boxed over 1200 meals during their 3-hour shift.

Members of the University of Houston's National Merit Scholars organization participate in their first community service project at EHH.

EHH uses both prepackaged and fresh foods for their meal programs.

Mark, a resident at Houston's Star of Hope Mission, rests for a minute between meal preparations in EHH's kitchen.  Star of Hope is a Christian-based organization that helps and houses some of  Houston's homeless men, women, and children.  The mission advocates job training and community service for its members.

Audrey Rose

When you say goodbye I say hello

Patrick Pahls (center) came to visit from Fort Bragg, NC.  A Specialist in the U.S. Army, he is set to redeploy to Iraq in November for his second tour.

Everyone was happy to see him, especially his mom.

"I will Judo chop you..."

 

It was also his brother Mikey's (center) birthday.

Riders on the storm

Storm's over, I broke curfew and went to Sugar Land to a friend's who has power, these shots are day of / day after Ike hit.  We lost power for good at 2:30 am.  My brother watched South Park on his ipod to pass the time, I did crosswords by candle light.  Even with only a camp stove to cook on, my dad still managed a fabulous dinner of cheese tortellini and garlic bread.  My dad's house suffered no damage, but my mom was not so lucky.  Her house in Galveston flooded before the rain even started, with my stepdad riding out the storm trapped in the attic.  He made it out fine, but the cars, the house, and everything in it are gone.  More pictures to follow as soon as roads are cleared and I can actually get out and shoot.

Houston, we have a problem...

It seems my bike accident a year ago is the gift that keeps on giving.  My big toe, formerly just fractured, is now officially FUBAR.  And, according to the orthopedist, the corrective surgery needed is no walk in the park either and involves some serious recovery time...yeah...so, barring divine intervention during my next round of X-rays, my lofty aspirations for a Brooklyn relocation will probably be put on hold for at least a few months...motherfucker.