the year in pictures [2015]

year eleven for the [year in pictures] post.

in the past, i'd have to dig through files on my computer to gather my favorite photos from the last year, now i can simply open up instagram. scrolling through my feed, it was easy to see this year had a defining theme.  thumbing through photos of babies, marriages and engagements, this was a year of [growing up]. i realize that's a very vague theme to some up a year, but it is true. more than any previous year, i saw the people in my life make choices and go through events which added maturity  to their life story, myself included.

instagram had a feature this year where it grouped your best nine photos of the year, however that feature was based only on likes and comments. it didn't take into account the sentiment or personal feeling behind the photograph.

please enjoy ten images i personally chose because of what they meant to me and show this year was all about [growing up].

the_spicy_pickle_3.28.15

maybe not the best photo to start off a year of [growing up] as this photograph shows the time i had my girlfriend try an incredibly hot pickle, but i'll explain. my girlfriend and i have very different tastes in most everything.  a phrase we always say to each other when trying something new is "open mind" which is exactly what i said before she sampled the pickle.  remembering to keep an open mind seems to me a very [grown up] attitude, which is why i included this picture. well, that and it still cracks me up. by the way, she wasn't a fan.

 whale_of_a_good_time_5.25.15

memorial day found my girlfriend and i traveling to tulsa for a long weekend.  we enjoyed craft beer, wine, museums and incredible food. we also stopped to visit the blue whale, a route 66 icon. originally a playground and rest stop for the kids of cross country travelers, it now sits as a relic of a time long gone by.  she knows i love visiting places like this and we had a wonderful time checking it out.  what really made this trip memorable though, is that it affirmed a very [grown up] decision i had brewing in my head.

containment_6.26.15

i love my city and one of the ways i try to give back to my community is being an active member of our local aia.  to make that organization more apart of the community i wanted our group to host an art show for the monthly art gallery crawl, but i wanted to do something different, something never before seen here. through a lot of donations, a lot of peoples help and hard work, and through the creativity of friends and countless strangers, we did.  in june we hosted a "pop-up" gallery, a shipping container filled with over 500 napkin sketches. by far one of the greatest things i ever helped organized.  planning an event like that and caring about the community you live in made me feel very [grown up].

the_future_is_now_7.3.15

back to the future is my all time favorite movie and 2015 is a very big year in the movies trilogy. as most of you know, it's the year marty travels into the future. a small town near wichita hosted a "back to the future" celebration last summer and there was no way i was going to miss it. i ended up having a great time. when i was eight years old i remember wondering what life would be like in 2015 when i was all [grown up].  little did i know then, ironically, i'd be attending a "back to the future" festival.

 lobstah_roll_8.1.15

i think this is the most "norman rockwell-esque" photo i've ever taken.  as a mid-westerner this scene is so typically new england to me, it makes me smile. this photograph gets included because this is the weekend i asked my girlfriends parents for their "blessing" to ask their daughter to marry me. the second most [grown-up] question i would ask in 2015.

day_at_the_beach_8.30.15

as an architect, i had to visit "the national building museum" this summer while in washington d.c. it's a fantastic space and i had the chance to view "the beach".  an installation which allowed [grown-ups] to act like kids having fun in a gigantic ball pit. this was also a wonderful trip spent attending a wedding with my girlfriend. a trip which helped me decide the setting for an event later in the year.

 popping_up_9.25.15

this summer wichita took a vacant and unsightly lot in downtown and turned it into a pop-up park. in the grand scheme of large cities, this is nothing new, but for our little mid-western town it was a very original idea.  with food trucks, seating, artwork and outdoor games, it seems to be filling a "hole" in our cities urban fabric by creating a dynamic community space for the more and more people living and working downtown.  one small way i feel this city is [growing up].

above_the_crowd_10.3.15

a staple in my yearly schedule is attending the austin city limits festival.  i go to great lengths to make sure this weekend is blocked out every october so i can attend.  i wouldn't miss it for the world. however this year was the first time my concert going friends entertained the idea of doing something else next year. are we [growing up] or simply getting to old for the three day festival in the texas sun? who knows. that being said, this shot does a great job of capturing the feel of the festival and i'm glad i got to experience it for another year.

 point_of_engagement_12.10.15

this is outside the willard hotel in washington d.c. the spot where i asked the most [grown up] question of my life. from this spot forward i knew my life would be different.  from this spot forward i no longer thought about "me" but rather "us." from this spot forward i knew i'd have someone there with me all the time, to laugh with, to cry with, to share good times and bad.  this spot changed everything in my life and i couldn't be happier about it. 

off_to_the_future_12.27.15

in a year full of [growing up] it seems appropriate to end with this photo from my friends december wedding.  he and i [grew up] together and i was absolutely thrilled to be a part of this moment in his life. we both did a lot of [growing up] the later part of 2015 and i'm glad we were there to talk about it with each other. i love this photograph because there's such a feeling of happiness and pure joy as he and his new wife head into the future. a perfect way to feel as we enter into a new and exciting year.

austin city [limit]?

this was year [eight] for my annual pilgrimage to austin to attend the austin city limits festival. more importantly this was the eighth year to enjoy a weekend catching up with some amazing friends.

as always the weekend was filled with good music, great food and wonderful conversation.  some highlights of this year include a discovery of a great east austin bar, the yellow jacket social club, after typing in "hip bar" into the yelp app.  this year also found me meeting up with a great architect, who is more of a mentor than he probably realizes.  a guy who became a friend while i was a student on my architectural internship 10 years ago.  i also added yet another "decemberists" concert to my list, as well as a performance from leon bridges. an artist who evokes otis redding and sam cooke. a fantastic musician i hope to see again.  also tacos...lots and lots of tacos!

as good of a time as we always have, for the first time we discussed the possibility of trying something else out.  we all love the music, but at the root of the weekend is the fact it's three friends making a commitment to stay in touch.  we've done acl, maybe it's time to move on.  who knows if i'll be writing about acl in 2016, but i can guarantee, i will for sure be writing about a wonderful adventure between three friends. hopefully it will include music...and tacos.

it gets harder and harder to capture new and fresh images of the festival each year, but i hope you enjoy this years batch.

the year in pictures [2014]

year ten for the [year in pictures] post.

without a doubt this was a year of traveling, and the pictures at the top of my list represent that. not only did i travel a lot this year but it was to new and exciting places i had never seen. it can't be denied traveling always gives you a unique perspective on your own little world. new sights, sounds and smells open your mind just that much more.  a favorite quote of mine is from st.a augustine who said, " the world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page."

i hope you enjoy a few of the [pages] i added to my book this year.

lincoln_memorial_3.22.14

in march, i was lucky enough to travel to washington d.c for an aia conference. the city was nothing like i imagined.  it was actually beautiful.  they layout, the scale and the buildings worked in perfect harmony and i found myself walking up and down the mall in total awe. my favorite spot, one that can be found on many [pages] of history, was the lincoln memorial. such an iconic place that is incredibly built and and beautifully designed.

selfie_steps_3.22.14

as i walked up the steps of the lincoln memorial i saw this group of people taking a group selfie, and i had to snap a quick picture. a place that's been the backdrop to amazing moments in history provided one more for an activity so definitive of my generation.

bachelor_weekend_6.21.14 

my friends bachelor party weekend at the lake. three days of fishing, meat, beer, world cup soccer, beer, corn on the cob, beer and a group of guys being guys.  it was amazing. i was glad to share this [page] with so many good friends.

the_city_girl_and_the_goat_7.27.14

my girlfriend is without a doubt a [city girl]. she knows more about chanel than sheep. so when she was offered a chance to be in a goat milking contest i told her she had to do it.  i of course was manly interested more in the photo possibilities than any competition. she did not disappoint. like the trooper she is she handled it with stride, especially after the goats handler helped out.

lighthouse_7.27.14

this summer i attended a wedding in long island with my girlfriend. being from kansas i find lighthouses fascinating, so the day after the wedding we traveled two hours to the montauk point lighthouse. it was more of a pain to get  there than we had planned but it really was worth it. this photo reminds me of the whole, fabulous trip.  a whole chapter of [pages].

covering_the_vines_9.22.14

this summer also found my girlfriend and i traveling to local kansas winery's. not only did we enjoy the wine, but the traveling and tasting allowed us to spend quality time together during our all too short weekends. this shot was taken while enjoying a bottle on the patio of grace hill winery. it turns out [pages] are much better with wine.

brooklyn_wedding_9.26.14

one of my best friends got married in brooklyn. it was beautiful.  everything about the wedding and reception reflected the couple and their love for each other, and i was so thankful to be a part of their [page].

festival_fun_10.5.14

it's getting harder and harder to find unique pictures of the austin city limits festival, but this photo taken the last day seems to capture the care free atmosphere that keeps bringing me back year after year.

 life_after_death_12.8.14

savannah is a hauntingly beautiful city and i was smitten with this city seconds after strolling through its spanish moss cover squares. as many tourists do i found myself at the gates of one of the cities cemeteries.  walking through the beautiful grounds i discovered tombstones tacked to the wall.  after help from my tour guide siri, i learned any tombstone which had been damaged, broken or misplaced over the years was placed on the wall; a wonderful way to honor the [pages] of past lives. this haunting but beautiful scene seems to perfectly capture my feelings on the city.

lincolns_gift_12.8.14

i started this year with a picture of the lincoln memorial and oddly enough end on [lincoln’s gift]. during the last stages of the civil war, savannah was in the path of general sherman’s destructive “march to the sea”, but upon reaching the city, found it so incredibly beautiful, he decided not to destroy it.  the city was saved and presented as a christmas gift to president lincoln in 1864, adding to the city’s history and charm. i found savannah beautiful as well, and was happy to have it, along with the many other places i saw this year, become a [page] in my book.

acl - seven year [niche]

after seven years of attending the austin city limits festival i find it's getting harder to photograph new sights; which isn't such a bad thing.

with my iphone spending more time in my pocket than in hand, i found myself spending more time engaged in great conversation with my friends and focusing more on the music than the perfect shot.

some music highlights:

friday

-lake street dive
-chvrches
-j toddy walston and the business
-st. vincent
-childish gambino
-outkast

saturday

-interpol
-icona pop
-iggy azalea
-lana del rey
-major laser
-eminem
-skrillex

sunday

-cults
-fitz and the tantrums
-jenny lewis
-spoon
-chromeo
-pearl jam


other than music the days were filled with vegan smoothies, aztecs mocha's from juan pelota's and amazing dinners at night.

can't wait to do it again for year eight!

[city] love in the time of [young professionals]

young professional organizations are wonderful community groups springing up all over the country.  they’re usually started by local city chambers for a several reasons. first of all, many of the older chamber members, baby boomers, are retiring at a large rate and they need to replace them with new members. starting a young professional organization is a wonderful way to attract younger membership and get them exposed to the chamber.  also having a "yp" group in place is a great asset to have when you’re trying to attract large businesses to your city. these groups also take on service projects which benefit cities in many ways.  wichita has its own young professionals group filled with great people who are passionate about making wichita a better place.  these groups are usually made up of highly educated people who have landed good jobs.  it’s not hard to see why cities, when talking about the future, always mention how important it is to attract this demographic.  highly educated people with disposable income are very attractive as far as city economics are concerned

but what about highly talented people with little income?

there seems to be less attention paid to how important artists, musicians, creatives, freelancers and entrepreneurs are to a city.  a group of people who don’t normally consider themselves “professionals” or lack the free time or money to participate in such a group. this is a huge oversight on a cities part.

in his book “for the love of cities” peter kageyama writes about a lecture he attended where he heard pier giorgio di cicco speak. during his speech, di cicco said,

“arts and culture are what make a city fall in love with itself.’ 

reflecting on this quote gives you a wonderful perspective when visiting other cities. what makes new orleans great? is it the "young professionals" or rather the jazz artists, diverse culture and eclectic cuisine. what about austin with its “keep austin weird” slogan? the tag line for the city is meant to reflect its culture of accepting unique and artistic expression. young people are flocking to nashville because the city is filled with musicians trying to make it. local shops and dive bars are constantly filled with wonderful music. san fransisco has always been a meca for all types of artists and denver's craft beer is world renown.  portland has such a collection of artistic, creative and unique people it spawned the tv show, portlandia.

artists, creatives, freelancers and entrepreneurs are the common factor making these cities unique. young professionals give a city substance, artists give a city its flavor.

young professionals can do a great job populating a city and greasing the economic gears, but as i read and hear about where this group of millennials want to live, it seems they’re attracted to unique and interesting cities; places artists and other creatives have worked hard to make that way.

both groups are important to city development. however living in wichita, a city currently reviving it's downtown, it seems they are increasingly focused on the "young professional" aspect. if they're shopping for a unique city, they need to wheel their "idea cart" out the suit and stiletto aisles and head all the way back to the art supplies and musical instruments.  there they'll find the “unprofessionals.” those individuals brewing coffee in the morning and pouring beer at night. those individuals thriving on artistic expression and creative endeavors with little payment.  they’re the ones who are going to make a city unique. they’re the ones who will make a city attractive and a place worth moving to.  they’re the ones who will make a city “loveable.”  a quality hard to measure economically...but easy to feel emotionally.