beautifulchaos

I’ve been thinking about this police officer I photographed in Pikeville, KY this year. A couple of years ago I noticed him officer leaving a small diner called the Happy Day Cafe. I grabbed my camera and snapped this shot:

There was something interesting about this guy. I take all kinds of candid people shots but this guy was on my mind more than the others. This year when I returned I was wandering around the park when I found myself wondering about the officer. As soon as I turned around he was there… holding his grand daughter. He came up and started talking to me. We shared a few laughs and some stories before I took a picture of him holding his granddaughter. It was clear that she was his source of joy. I left with something very warm. I’m sure I’ll see him the next time I’m in the area.

Here’s the pic of him and his granddaughter…

I was talking to a friend earlier this month. She doesn’t want kids because all the work involved. After seeing the look in this mans eyes when he looked at his granddaughter I knew that all the work was worth it.

My flight was late getting into Louisville. Everything was closed except the places I didn’t want to go. So… I took some pictures of the city. Well… This first picture ain’t from Kentucky… It’s one of the last I took in San Fransisco.

Louisville seemed a proud place. While traversing the terminal on my way out of the airport there played a recorded greeting from the mayor. He seemed so excited to welcome me to the 16th largest city in the United States. His voice faded into a campy jingle that was supposed to be some sort of Louisville theme song. I remember thinking that the song sounded more like a mattress commercial than a city anthem.

Louisville… I rented a car and was out of the area in a matter of a couple of hours. Next stop: Lexington! It’s a much smaller city, but in my opinion, much more fun. Actually the place is quite the paradox. It has no city limits, so technically, it’s not a city at all. It’s governed by the county. Another interesting fact about Lexington: it is the largest “city” in the world without access to water. Ever larger city has a river, lake, port, or something… At least this is what the locals tell me and nobody in Kentucky lies.

Well… I was on my way to Lexington… it was late; close to 3AM. I had to stop for the night. So, I got off and found a hotel.

After a horrible turn of events, my Kraken is gone.

I was returning a shopping cart while in a K-Mart parking lot. My eyes were only off him for a second, but he is gone. I fear he has been abducted by a dangerous minority. A few witnesses reported seeing him  take  candy from a man in a blue Mercury Cougar. Police have resealed this sketch:

Please forward any information. The Kraken is 160 feet tall and weighs over 40 tons. He should barely fit into a Mercury Cougar. He should respond to the name “Murder Squid” or “Veronica”… Keep your eyes peeled! Save my Kraken!

/ward

Sadly there were no Ewok sightings. I am quite sure this is where they live.

Today was an interesting one. Steve and I started the day in San Fransisco then headed north into the woods. His driving was diliberately convoluted to give me the impression spontanaety. He, in fact, had pre-planned the locations he would show me.  

We traveled through several hippy villiages. These places were mostly self contained and self sufficient. I felt as though we were driving through the late 1960’s. They didn’t seem to like tourists with cameras much. I took pictures anyway. They were only displeased enough to give me nasty looks. None spoke to me.

After this we traveled into a redwood forest. I was focusing my camera on a particularly impressive tree when I heard some interesting chatter. A man, much resembling a southern baptist minister (however you picture them in your mind) was showing his wife where his friend had spotted a sasquatch. I listened as his soft sothern accent jumped from exciting detail to exciting detail. She ghasped in both belief and disbelief. Quite a paradox. I believed him. It’s hard not to believe someone with a southern accent. They sound so genuine and honest. Perhaps that is why I buy used cars from men in cowboy hats…

Anyway, enjoy the few pictures. I’ll post more later!

So… those are the pics from the most scenic day in CA… Drop me a comment.

/ward

so… look at these…

The homeless fellow called himself Lee. He was an interesting guy with an interesting story. He was more than happy to pose for a shot.

And… last one… I was in Canada… and wondering ‘aboot’. these guys were just standing there… I asked tweety bird what was up with all the crazy costumes and he said, “What costumes, what are you talking aboot?”

So now I want to move to canada… because grown men dress as tweety bird for no reason.

change… things fade… people move apart… something sweet no longer makes sense… something new… beautifully melancholy. reasons why fade… a quest for completion has been stifled… remembering the happiest days and the yearnings… the love and the care… the excitement… where is complete love… love blind to faults… perfect love?

It’s there. We need not question, only accept.

and another thing… Nintendo 64!!!!!!!!!

This is gonna be short… Some people have asked about the “funky black and white images”… well… they’re infrared images that have been converted to black and white. Here is a normal black and white of a boring tree:

Now… I just desaturated the image… After this I screwed an infrared filter onto my lens. This filter blocks out almost all of the natural light so only the infrared spectrum is visible. You have to set the camera before putting the filter because our human eyes can’t see through it. After this you let it soak up some light for a few seconds (in this case 8 seconds at an aperture of F11). Here’s what we get:

After a simple black and white conversion you get this:

In my opinion, the infrared is a much more compelling image… then again I’m weird… maybe I just like it because it looks like the trees on my home planet. If you care… and wanna know more, ask a question.
/Ward

Do I play the Zither, or does the Zither play me?

some cultures call it a clariothelvangle

When I was younger (yesterday), I pondered the universe and our existence. I believe I have solved all of the mysteries.

In the beginning there was the Zither. It’s euphonious melodies created the mountains and the sky. It carved the rivers from the stone.

I will master the Zither and create a new universe. A universe where Autobot and Decepticon walk hand in hand, where G-I Joe and Cobra embrace… a universe without the perils of rap music.

Where were you that day… where were you?

dancing with your mastiff I presume…

Some things to consider:

Your grandfather knows the world is hateful… that’s why he always throws coat hangers at you.

I awoke startled in the middle of the night. I thought I heard pigs screaming… Turns out it was only a land shark attacking my house trained horse.

So I was in the convenience store the other day and this dude came in and started shooting everyone. He killed the clerk and everyone in the store. I dashed for cover in the chip aisle and that’s when I noticed it… my fly was down. I was SOOOOO embarrassed!

For the last six years I’ve been working on a tricky conundrum. A little addendum if you will… How many licks does it take to get to the middle of a mid-sized family sports utility vehicle?

Gordon used to get so angry when his afro got stuck in the screen door he’d throw his carmel apple at the cat.

I woke up this morning and there was a grey whale sitting in my drive way… I was pretty freaked out… then it opened it’s bristly mouth and said, “just kidding.” Boy, did I have a good laugh.

It’s like that day we all sat down and tried to eat the furnace…. except this time it’s for real!

I love baseball but I can’t figure out how to french kiss it…

Can you french kiss an adjective?

Nobody really owns a trundle bed… It’s a russian conspiracy.

I kind of own a trundle bed.

I got home today to see that my one and only mastiff had been stolen and replaced with a super classified, top secret, russian spy robot dog! I named him dan.

I think they’re on to my trundle bed.

I got stopped today for a traffic infraction. Apparently it’s illegal to drive with a horse in the front seat.

I fell up two flights of stairs on the way to work this morning…

Alright.. now tell me about your experiences with Russian spy robots.

the last pic of me and the mountain lion I loved so dearly.

While walking through my king sized van one day I noticed something awry; My one and only mountain lion was missing. I found this to be somewhat troubling. You see the mountain lion lived in a cage that hung from the ceiling of my tumbleweed shaped abode.

Distressed as I was, I stole out into the bleak of night in search of my mountain lion. While traversing the murky quagmire that lay between the village and I, I lost my footing and fell into a hole.

While the hole was not deep, the walls were steep and slippery. Luckily there was a elevator made of guava.

The elevator returned me promptly to the path and I resumed my search. I looked high and I looked higher… but I never found my mountain lion. So… I decided instead to eat yellow cake.

and another thing… 

this snack cake wants to rape you… 

You can get two for a dollar… but one is 89 cents. The mathematics of this equation confuses me… They must be dividing by the reciprocal of the tangent of 5… and I really do think that means something in the math world…But really, I want one freaking apple pie, not two.. and I want it for half of the price of two… but no… it’s only 11 cents more to get that second one… so you have to get it… it’s like there’s some invisible midget putting things into your shopping cart. You don’t have a choice. It’s un-American.Now, you have to eat them both… but you’re like, “I only want to eat one…” Well tough shoe-horns pal! Do you really think that you aren’t going to eat the other one? you poor misguided soul… Cause you eat the first one… and you’re like “mmm… that’s tasty in a not very good kinda way!”… then you’re like, maybe the filling in the second one is gonna taste like an army of deliciousness… and you eat it… why god why….

end.