Day 31 11/18/08- Love

These are my cross country racing flats from college. These are shoes which I will never wear again.

I spend most of my days telling people to find what they love and explore the possibilities, yet I spend little time with one of my oldest loves.

I first remember running in 2nd grade. I would Challenge other 8 year old's to races at recess, I do not remember who won, but I do remember running laps by myself when no one would accept my challenge.

I ran in high school because I thought I was good at it and I enjoyed it. In college I became a student of running and fell in love with it. I also learned I was not as good as a thought.

In the last 12 years I have fallen out of practice. Finding excuses and priorities that push running further and further from me, but every once and a while I get a good run in. It is during these runs I cannot imagine my life without running. I cannot believe 30 minutes of sleep or t.v. is better than a run, then two weeks go by and no run. These are shoes are I will never wear again.

Through this "31 visions" journey I fell behind, learned I like to take pictures of the back of people's heads, and found myself post at night and too tired to tell long stories. While I posted multiple pictures in one day, all the pictures were taken on the title dates, except the last. It was a picture I took last fall, but it fit the story.

It was a good journey, one I will continue and revisit.

Day 30 11/17/08- The quiet place

Around the corner from our house is a cul-de-sac. At the end are some bushes up against a fence. We call this place, "the quiet place". We walk there often just to sit and explore. It is no wider then a hallway and no longer then a household kitchen, but to a child it is a world of adventure. Constant fear of monsters and being so far from home are regular topics of discussion. While I notice the trash and the houses, my kids are fixed on the trees, pine cones, and secret spots.

I wonder how off are my childhood memories of the "big tree" behind my grandparents place, or the wild adventures in jungles of Redalnds.

How alone was I really?

Does it even matter?

Day 29 11/16/08 long trail home

Going on a walk, saw a nice view. I guess it is just a snap shot.

Day 28 11/15/08- Be like you

Smaller siblings want to be like their larger counter parts. They want to wear the others clothing, sit like them, and walk like them. It is very cute. I find it hard to believe that they will ever lose touch or stop talking... I better go call my brother.

Day 27 11/14/08- Jaws

I feel forced to come up with a story. I thought of the picture so I went outside and took it. No reason no story, just an image in my head put to digital memory.

Day 26 11/13/08- Purpose and Meaning

Purpose and meaning is often found in the simplest and most pure of tasks.

Day 25 11/11/08- Let's Take a Walk

How do explain how you love someone? Holding their hand and going for a walk seems to do the trick.

Day 24 11/10/08- Rest

With a camera phone, not safe, but I couldn't resist the shot.

Day 23 11/9/08- Idea

I have an idea, but I forgot why it was important.

Day 22 11/8/08- Faces

I know these people. These people know me. But not really. 6 weeks together and a few emails is enough to know someone, but not really. I look forward to hearing about their successes and will cry about their failures, but may never see some of them again.

Day 21 11/7/08- Deck

The more I play with my camera the more I realize I need to read the manual.

Day 20 11/6/08- Path

Living in the desert I miss fall, so traveling east in November is always nice.

Day 19- 11/5/08- Traveling

I hate to fly. Not out of fear of death, or hassles by the airline, but the waiting. Rushing to be early to get through security, then waiting. Standing in line to get on the plane to wait.

Day 18 11/4/08- Excellent Daddy

My daughter gave me this bracelet. She walked up to me and said, "This is your medal for being an excellent daddy." That is enough for me to never take it off. It keeps me centered on what is important and valuable to me. It reminds me of what which I need to do, and that which I want to do.

Day 17 11/3/08- Big Red Ball to the Head

Yeah that's what I feel like, but I am not laughing as much as this guy.

Day 16 11/2/08- Daughters Gift

My daughter in all adorableness picks flowers and brings them inside as gifts. She insists that they get put into water so they do not die and she will replace them if they do.

Besides just appreciating a kind gift from my daughter, these flowers always cause me to slow down and smell the roses. Cliche` I know, but so true. Racing from appointment to activity to project it is easy to forget why we work so hard. I do it so I can appreciate the beauty found in Gods earth and in the love we have for each other. If we move too fast, we can miss all that we work for.

Day 15 11/1/08

When you want to get organized you make a list, this one happens to be a grocery list.

I am not an organized person. I try to be, but I am not. I get distracted, I get busy with other things, but my real problem is I adapt to messes I create. This allows me to continue to be disorganized and survive.

Day 14 10/31/08- Halloween

Halloween.. good times.

I find myself "playing" with the camera again. When I got my first SLR Film camera I was playing with the F-stop, shutter speed and what ever else I could find. When I went digital that all went away. Even with the digital SLR where the options are all available, I just kept shooting on the auto setting, but through this project I am back to playing. It feels good.

The picture is a long shutter exposure of a trick-or-treater. The shutter was open for so long the actual subjects left the frame, but their spirits remained.

Day 13 10/30/08- Lost Cat

I have lost many animals in my life; lizards, dogs, and mostly cats.

Growing up we always had at least two cats. During that time we had 4 litters of kittens, that I can remember, some were as small as one, some were as big as nine. Good times. Now as a family man I find it hard to believe that my parents had the patience to give us the experience of kittens (and puppies) in the house.

These cats were all outside cats, never a liter box, until the coyotes moved into the backyard, teaching me about life span outside of civilization. So when my indoor cat escaped last Sunday and did not return by Monday morning I assumed the worst. But still up went the fliers and as they say, we will keep hope alive.

Day 12 10/29/08- Go to the Light

Still shooting from the hip, but it is hard to keep up with a 4 year old on a bike and take pictures.

I have a noticed thought this journey that most of my pictures our of my kids. Now this was not the intention. In fact when I started I thought it would get me to take pictures of something other than my kids, but I cannot stop being around them. So this picture I am trying to find new an interesting ways to photograph them.

I really like the light effect, but I think the lines male the picture. The parallels of the side walk and street; then the parallel shadows.

Day 11 10/28/08- Story Time 2

I have an interest in out of focus pictures. I used the action setting in low light to achieve this shot and the blurriness just seems to do more then the brightness of the auto flash.

Day 10 10/27/08- Go Crazy

Some days you just need to run around and say blababababaab!

Day 9 10/26/08- My Nemesis

The power of the red pen. It can ruin weekends, take away driving privileges and even end a romance.

I love my job. It is unique, it is empowering, it is full of freedom. As a high school teacher at a small charter school with links to Montessori, to only am I able to focus on learning not information, I am also able to take on responsibilities which I have no business doing. I call that adventure.

However, no matter how great my job is, no matter what amazing things I do, I can never escape grading. Grading is an important part of schooling. It can and most of the time is a clear assessment of a student's learning, but for the teacher it can be shining sign of failure.
Weeks on a project, daily discussion of expectations, a step by step rubric, multiple drafts, and still students find a away to fail. I can say I did all that I could, and it was in their hands, but the thought that I some how am at fault, and if I had done something different they would've passed, will always be there.

Day 8 10/25/08- Hand of a Warrior

After 2 tours in Vietnam as a gunner, two bronze stars, a marriage to a childhood friend, two careers, and four daughters who are five years apart, what has this hand not accomplished?

With only two years of life, what will this young hand do?

While cliche`, old meeting young is always powerful to me. It is the possibilities versus the reality. Photographs tell a story, but they are never complete. Images that portray beauty ignore the evil of this world, while pictures capturing evil, ignore the gentle spirit within us all.

Day 7 10/24/08- Story Time

While I have many pictures similar to this, I noticed a rooted family trait in this one, the deep set Greek eyes of her grandmother, father and great aunt.

I have discovered through this journey that so much of my life is me moving. Rarely do I act as an observer of what is going on around me, I always seem to find myself in mid-action when I think of or notice a good shot. Even with this picture I was walking to the couch to read bedtime stories and shooting from the hip to be sure I at least took a picture today.

I will have to find I way to step back and shoot even when doing. Any suggestions?

Day 6 10/23/08 The Piano

I got the light by shielding the auto flash with my fingers. My favorite part is Dora the Explora' peeking out in the background.

Day 5 10/22/08- Shoes

I have a problem, I cannot get rid of my shoes. each pair is a race, a vacation, a wedding, or just a good old time. They pile up in my closet, I trip on them, I wear them no matter how tattered, just as an excuse to keep them. I have racing spikes from my days as a track runner that I haven't used in 11 years and will most likely never use again. But it is the most likely that keeps me around.

My missionary of a cousin has been to be looking into the word hope recently and it got me thinking about my shoes. Not only do they represent events of the past, but they are a hope for the future. I cannot get rid of those spikes, because I hope to run a track race again. I cannot throw out those loafers, because I hope to recover the feeling of comfort they once gave me. It is only when a pair of shoes has failed me that I can throw them away, and I do it without mercy. If they wear out to early, give me a blister, or are not the walking on clouds experience I expect, into the trash they go. As it is with all things that are hope, if they deliver on their promise then they are cherished forever, if they fail us they are forgotten.

Athlete who win the gold get commercials, shoe deals and a place in the hall of fame. Politicians who satisfy the peoples demands get re-elected, high paying speaking engagements and their own library. My shoes that helped me run fast, look good, and be comfortable get to stay in my closest.

Day 4 10/21/08 Settling

I started this blog with hopes of satisfying my need for creative expression, but I have found myself running from task to task (with enjoyment), but not taking time to notice anything around me.

Tonight I went for a walk trying to find a subject. I found an empty street, my feet and this tree. I was "shooting from the hip" a style of photograph I learned from my grandfather. With his automatic camera he would use up a roll of film in a matter of minutes; pointing the camera in various directions, at all sorts of subject matter, taking shot after shot. Many people found this to be annoying or wasteful since every one of these pictures would get developed, and were not very flattering. I found these from the hip pictures to truly capture an event or moment in time. No set up, no canned expression, just what was.

My grandfather had boxes and boxes of these pictures. Most of them showing the top of a person's head, the corner of a sign, or seemingly nothing at all, but I would sit for hours looking at picture after picture. In the age of digital photography the boxes of strange pictures of nothing are gone, but I still see the value and style.

While the tree picture is settling, I am starting to see what is meant by "it is about the journey".

Day 3 10/20/08- Simplicity

I have always found joy in the simply things. Color, contrast, and worn wood catch my simply eye.

Day 2: Vision of Patience

Patience is often hard to come by and it is often missed.

I am not a fan of Disney. It has taken the idea of commercialism and driven it into the ground in search of oil. From the movies of bad morals, life saving magic and actions without consequence, to the self indulging Magic Kingdoms that miss no opportunity to convince you that a special memory just occurred and you better not forget it, so buy this key chain.

In the middle of all this, is a teenage girl who is willing to sit for 45 minutes only to be awkwardly hugged by kids and adults, sometimes having to coax scared little girls in to posing for a picture they will not remember. Yes this is their job, but to do it time and time again, child after child, special moment after special moment, and not break character, not give up, over and over again is more than a job.

After being hugged for a good 2 minutes by my two year old, this "Belle" sat and talked to my daughter trying to get her to pose with her, even though it was a lost cause. She did not stop, even with a line building behind us and me telling her it was o.k. for her to stop.

This minor hiccup came after a 5 minute conversation with a unintelligible teenager with down-syndrome who would not stop holding her hand and looking into her eyes.

Patience, its the new way to high five.

Day1 10/18/08- A Boy and his Truck

Toys have always fascinated me. They represent an enjoyment that is lost the more we become concerned with life.

This is Joseph. He received this truck from his grandparents on his sister birthday; he enjoyed it so much he took it to bed with him. I am not sure what he sees when he plays with it, but it must be captivating. The simple answer is he sees himself as a firefighter using all the tools, climbing the ladder and driving the truck. That is how his older sister with the better language skills played with it. She told the story out loud as the narrator and protagonist; the truck drove to the tree where the kitten was stuck, it raised its' ladder and firefighter Maya saved the day.

But for Joseph, the truck often does not move and there appears to be no story. Maybe he is learning. He knows through his experience that these trucks are of great importance to people. His parents point them out, they make loud noises, and have flashing lights; so maybe he is just trying to figure them out and the toy lets him do that.

It is the internet for kids.