yummmm, cats!

A friend's wife who works for the Audubon Society in Connecticut, recently visited a falconer. During the course of her visit, the falconer told her about the time he was contacted (picture a distraught, but resolute neighbor on the phone) due to an alarming number of missing house cats. Obviously the falconer's raptors were the cause of the rapidly declining population. Upon further investigation however, the Falconer discovered that a Caribbean gentleman had moved into the area concurrent with the cat disappearances. It turns out he was catching and eating the felines -- apparently a common food item back home. (Not that there's anything WRONG with that . . . !) Upon negotiation, the falconer was able to convince the new resident to only catch feral cats and leave the beloved house pets alone.

how to kill a rattler . . .

OK, OK. I know this is not a photo of a rattler. I just don't have one in my personal archives. The following text involves the desert however, and let's face it, scorpions live in the desert. So please, read on.

A life-long friend of mine (let's call her . . . "Celeste," as there will undoubtedly be other stories forthcoming) recently moved to the desert environs of Arizona (close to the bustling metropolis of Kingman), a la a post-apocalyptic setting for a Stephen King novel. She and her husband are fulfilling their dream of building a "green" home nestled in the heart of nature. She has reported killing a number of rattlesnakes just ten feet outside of her house.

How, we wondered did she go about killing these snakes? Did she use a hoe or a shovel?

No, she responded. This is not the methodology of a novice Rattlesnake killer; she simply shoots them with her shotgun. My friend, Celeste, she is a delicate creature.

design - phillip johnson redux

It occurs to me that the close-up of the Phillip Johnson building in my previous photo does not give due homage to the famed architect. Pulling back, you can see both of his high-rise buildings in all of their glory.

design

Close-up of a Phillip Johnson building in Houston.
The black building in the background is also his.

links, connections, images

Photography plays a major role in my life, which is amusing since I only shoot intermittently at best. I do find that there are times when inspiration overwhelms me however. Often, these moments yield some of my better work. If I go too long between shoots, I get a little depressed. Recently, I had my own show at Phillips Gallery, here in Salt Lake City. I challenged myself to produce an entirely new body of work rather then rely upon past work. The experience taught me that creativity could be summoned under the pressure of a deadline. Since this is not how I usually work, it was a good exercise for me.

Below are a couple of links of photographer's websites who have provided inspiration:

http://www.ericogden.com/
http://www.cuttingphoto.com/

Eric Ogden's work is exquisite in its moodiness. His color palette and the wonderful settings for his portraits evoke the past.

Ann Cutting has long been one of my favorite photographers. She introduced me to the concept of utilizing a toy camera to capture the "feeling" of a moment, versus a technically perfect image. She continues her conceptual explorations by layering multiple images upon each other to create dream-like settings.

I'll post other links from time to time.

design (continued)

The SR-71 Blackbird. Capable of traveling from L.A. to N.Y.C. in 23 minutes.

design

I've decided to highlight images of items that I think exemplify good design on an intermittent basis. This first image is a classic.