the year in pictures [2007]

year three for [the year in pictures] post.

looking back, i don't believe there is anything more i can say about my feelings on photography, that i haven't already said, instead, my thoughts tonight are more on creating this post.

this process, i've generated for myself, of going back through labeled folders, and finding ten photos representing the year, is very therapeutic. what events sculpted 2007? what lessons this year, became structure, helping support new ideas? what teachings have allowed me to continue to grow as a person? what feelings and emotions, became immersed on digital film? what memories are now held only in my mind?

looking back at this [pictorial cliff note] version of my life, i think this was a year of finding niches. it's almost like, life is a huge peg board, and your goal is to find where your individual shape fits in. now, i'm not sure if i've found the perfect fit yet, but trying out different niches, tends to lead to a few stories, and couple interesting photos.

in_the_details_3.29.07



not artistic at all, but this is the first project i helped complete since starting my job. this was taken during a site inspection. i noticed the stucco joints didn't line up at the corner! after pointing this out, i went back and looked at the drawings. sure enough they had built it exactly the way i had drawn it.

oops, my bad.

my saving grace was the placement of the downspout. i'm also hoping the landscaping does rather well, and grows fast.

this is now a huge inside joke in our office....




friday_night_light_4.27.07



the last friday on every month, wichita hosts [final friday's]. a night where all the galleries open up for public viewing. by far one of the best things downtown wichita has going for it. this picture was taken as my friends and i cross-crossed around old town looking at art.




retro_toys_5.5.07



this was taken during a weekend trip to austin texas to visit a friend. the whole city had this amazing vibe. urban...hip...vintage...country.... very unique. this photo was taken while perusing the vintage thrift stores, and i thought it did a great job of capturing all of that, on just a few shelves.




reflection_on_graduation_5.11.07




i have no idea when my little sister will seem grown up to me...maybe never....




coffee_break_7.5.07



i took a few days off of work this summer, and traveled with some friends to chicago. it was a relaxing way to spend a few days off. what did i do from my break from work you may ask? drink coffee and look at architecture!

also, about a half an hour after this photo was taken i had a celebrity run in. i got to chat with mike jorgenson from the band wilco. and when i say "chat" i really mean, i said, "hey, i love the new album", to which he said, "thanks".




lights_camera_wait_8.10.07



i somehow squeaked into being an extra in a movie that was filming here in wichita. it was two ten hours days of shooting, to which i got in front of the camera for 15 seconds. my biggest claim to fame was being promoted to "cashier number 2". we'll see if i make the cut.

by far the best outcome of the whole event was meeting and staying in touch with a number of new people. the man in the lower right of the photo, new keeps me up-dated, via e-mail, on any local, "film-like" activity taking place in wichita, which is very enjoyable.




madeline_8.24.07



i spent most of this summer looking for a vintage bike to fix up and start riding. an ad in the local paper, was brought to my attention, and i went during my lunch break to check it out. i came back to the office wheeling in a 1963 schwinn. my coworkers thought i was crazy, but what's new. i bought a new pair of white walls and cleaned the chrome. at times, it's my most reliable ride.




wild_hogs_8.30.07



alright, so a big reason for the bike, was so that i could join a vintage bike club that cruises wichita on thursday nights. i had seen a couple guys riding around and asked what they were doing. after getting my ride....well....rideable, i cruised down and joined them one thursday. i wasn't sure if there would be some sort of initiation i had to go through, but apparently just a love of bikes gets you in. i rode with them the rest of summer and into the fall, getting tips, and even a few original parts to swap out my "non-factory" parts with.




leaf_red_leaf_11.2.07



i added this photo, because i believe autumn to be the most beautiful season in kansas. i'm also really happy with the colors and composition. i'm not going to mention that this was part of an on-line project assigned by the wichita flikr group that meets the first saturday of every month of which i attend....




completed_11.20.07


i added this photo, because this project consumed most of my working life in 2007. this was my first try at project managing, well, at least i think it was, they might have fixed my mistakes after i went home each night....

anyway, it's not going to win any awards by any means, but i'm very proud of it. some things came together very nicely on it, and if you happen to take a walk around it, you can rest assure all the stucco joints line up.

let it [lounge], let it [lounge], let it [lounge]

wishing everyone that might stop by this page, a happy holiday season, and a wonderful new year!

God, rest ye [busy] gentlemen

last saturday, wichita got covered in a snow storm, one of the larger ones we've had in recent years.  anyway, i awoke saturday morning with a very large to-do list i had made for the weekend before christmas, but upon looking outside, and realizing that i couldn't see across the street, i decided that i might have to wait a few hours before venturing out.

after lunch, and feeling a little claustrophobic in my apartment, i went down to the parking lot to start my day, but the three snow-stuck cars in the street convinced me to head back up-stairs.  

grumble, grumble, grumble..........

after heading back to my apartment, i decided that i would beat this storm, i didn't need my car, i'd just walk everyplace i needed to go! ha!  so i bundled up like randy parker, ralphie's little brother from "a christmas story" and headed downstairs.  i made it about two blocks before i realized this was a bad idea as well.  

i threw in the frozen towel.

so i decided to make the most of a day inside. so i made a pot of coffee, grabbed a blanket and sat down to watch my favorite christmas movie, and although that was really the only thing i accomplished that day, it was very satisfying.

almost all of wichita was shut down.  restaurants and stores closed, roads were un-drivable, and it appeared that most people decided to stay home.  looking back, i think it was a gift from the big guy upstairs.  the days leading up to christmas can be so incredibly busy, and usually for the wrong reasons.  i think this was a way for him to say, let's all take a little break and slow things down. 

i'm hoping that most people out there spent a little more time inside with the people they loved, and a little less time getting frustrated over a parking spot.

but alas, it's time to end this post, so i can go and do my last minute christmas shopping.

"remember the night we broke the windows in this old house? this is what i wished for"  -mary

ad[astra]per[aspera]

last thursday i headed out on a spontaneous adventure...well, spontaneous...yes, the adventure part is questionable.

i heard about a little thing called the geminid meteor shower, which was supposedly taking place that night. i quickly clicked over to wikipedia where i read that the geminids reach their peak dec. 12th through the 14th, and with a new moon currently in the skies, this annual event would have perfect viewing weather.

side note: i had no idea meteor showers were annual? anyone else.......hmmmmm, the stuff you don't learn in architecture school.

the best viewing time for this astrological show, would be between the hours of midnight and 2 a.m. not really having anything scheduled during that time, i decided to head out. thinking this would be a great time to try out some night photography, i loaded up a thermos full of coffee, put on my long johns, two coats, gloves, grabbed the tripod and headed north, out of town.

i drove until the lights of wichita disappeared, and then turned onto a dirt road. as i set up the tripod i could see the metors already streaking across the night sky! perfect! i angled my camera 45 degrees away from the star of castor which is in the constellation gemini, internet knowledge gained an hour before my trek, and set a long shutter speed.

i took several pictures, some of which as a metor went by. this would be great! what an event to capture on film!. as it was very dark, and viewing a picture on a tiny screen of the night sky doesn't show very well, i would just have to wait until i got home to view my captures.

getting back home about 2:30 i uploaded the pictures, and double clicked! scrolling through the photos, i realized, not a single one had even the faintest hint of a comet. putting them in the little digital trash can on my desktop, i went to bed, disappointed.

i almost hate to admit, but it took me a couple of days to realize i had still seen an amazing show. i just hadn't captured it on film. i had the memory, and it was still amazing.

what is it about seeing a "shooting star" that remains just as magical as it did when you were a young....

i guess some memories just aren't meant to be on film....


but as i like to say, "when the world gives you lemons, use photoshop".

so to make this blog entry slightly more interesting, i've added some pictures i saved from the trash and photoshoped for your delight.

the constellation orion:


in this one, you can almost see the constellations: click to enlarge.


close up of orion's belt: this one is tightly cropped, and the contrast adjusted heavily, but that's all....a little creepy.

classics[restored][discovered]

last friday i woke up and checked the local paper, for any interesting news. sure enough, right on the front page, i found something worth reading.

the wichita orpheum was unavailing it's newly renovated lobby friday night, along with a free showing of "the philadelphia story".

according to the article, the lobby hadn't seen this level of glamor since it was opened in 1922 as a vaudeville venue for the city. as an architect, i thought it only appropriate that i check out the latest renovation of this great theatre. as a jimmy stewart fan, i thought in only appropriate to check out "the philadelphia story", and being a little bit of a cheap skate, i thought it appropriate to enjoy the free movie and 25 cent popcorn.

i emailed some friends, and before lunch, had a small group ready to partake. i warned them to dress warm as we were going to experience it all as they did in 1922. we all meet at my apartment, and proceeded down to the new restaurant and bakery that just opened up on douglas ave. we ordered ordered "black and white" cookies, and coffee to help keep us warm during the downtown trek.

i was pumped! how exciting! how urban! how nostalgic! this had to be the hottest thing going on in wichita that night!

as i turned the corner at first and broadway, what to my wandering eyes should appear? but the above 65 crowd bundled up, standing near.

i'm telling you...they're hip.

the sidewalk was packed with people, anxiously awaiting to get in. at six thirty they opened the doors and let everyone enjoy the new lobby. the restoration was beautiful. obviously i had no idea what it had once looked like, unlike a some of the others standing near me, but it gave the atmosphere of craft and grandeur, which isn't experienced much in this day of age. as if the lobby wasn't exciting enough, none of my friends, including me, had ever seen "the philadelphia story". we took our seats, the lights dimmed and the movie started. now, i'm not sure it if was just the atmosphere or the crowd, but the movie was incredibly entertaining, providing laughs the whole way through. but with jimmy stewart, cary grant, and katharine hepburn, how could you go wrong? everyone else in the group felt the same way, as we discussed how much we enjoyed it, the whole walk back.

so here's to classics's. be they renovated or newly discovered!