Forcing the eye...

I've found there's nothing better to get my creative juices flowing than to give myself an assignment. (Well, excepting a paying commission, but I'm not getting many of those these days...) My current assignment is an offshoot of the beautiful spring weather here in the Southeast, I've been shooting pictures through my sunroof on my afternoon commute (and occasional morning commutes, when I'm awake enough to attempt it).



It's been fun, because I'm forcing myself to look up more at stoplights and in traffic.



In many cases I'm seeing my town differently, even after living here for a full decade.



Another benefit is having to compose quickly and minimally. A single object against a monotone field, can be surprisingly interesting, and the intersection of lines and objects can break up the monotony of the wild blue yonder.



The full set can be seen here.

On bad days made good.

Today, I am breaking my normal tone of not selling things to mention the following news item:

That this dvd may finally stand a snowball's chance in hell of seeing the light of day makes everything just a little brighter.

Consider the Object: The chore coat

A forgotten American icon, the chore coat was sported by everyone from workers:
Courtesy the LIFE magazine archive.
...to celebrities:
Courtesy the the Selvage Yard.

And for good reason, basic clothing with smart design, made of tough denim with collars and cuffs made double or triple thickness would wear forever. Lined pockets with rounded corners made for easily accessible storage. Roomy sleeves with gusseted seams would fit over everything from a t-shirt to a wool sweater.

Today, the chore coat languishes in the shadow of its younger brother, the denim jacket, but it can still be found in the catalog of such stalwarts of the work wear world as Carhartt and Dickies. A version has even been made to fit the demands of firefighters. And in the realm of boutique Japanese brands, the coat is finding a new generation of adherents.

I've been trying to track down a vintage example of this coat for day-to-day wear. In spite of the cachet of vintage denim, you can find these on ebay for 20-40 dollars. However, when this deadstock 60's coat came up, I had to pull the trigger. Even this pristine example ended up on my doorstep for less than $50. This is one great coat, and even the comment I got while wearing it to the grocery store late at night ("Where did you do time?") hasn't put me off of it quite yet.

Luna Moth

Sometimes the world seems absolutely wrong and horrible, but then it usually only takes a small bit of wonder to get me to come back around.

I had toyed with capturing and preserving this moth, but while I was playing out the ethical dilemma in my head, it flew away into the night, solving the quandary for me.

Spring sky.

Sunroof composition

Ill winds blow no warmth...

A mesmerizing pattern created by pollen in a rain puddle.

Based on my time in the Southeastern US I think I have a pretty good idea what an alien invasion will actually look like. It won't be the awesome explosions of a summer blockbuster, nor the insidious invasion of pod people who look like us but harbor a secret killer. I'm sure it will look like the annual pollen storms that blanket my fair state every year in March and April. For one to two weeks, depending on rain or lack thereof, we are blanketed by yellow dust that creeps everywhere. It seeps inside, despite closed windows or doors. It billows across roads in sheets, like powdery snow. While it's here, none but the uninitiated try to fight it, one might as well rail against the tides. Car washes sit vacant, as the dust will only stick to any remaining water after you wash it off. Brooms and vacuums idle in closets as their wheezing and pushing only encourage the dust to move around more. It covers everything and everyone. We live with our invader in our homes, in our offices, in our bodies.

Finally the rains come, and the invader looses its grip and retreats down drains and lies in the mud at the bottom of ditches. We have a day or two of sugar frosted puddles and then the invasion is over. We wash our cars and sweep our porches and go back to our daily life.