TMink

Prayers for Kim

2007-05-04T19:13:00.000-04:00

This is my father and mother in law holding on eof our then infants. It looks a bit like Thomas, but it is difficult for me to distinguish them in these old photos.

Mary snugles with her little brother.

Those were the days! Late night feedings and poopy diapers but we could leve them on the floor and they would stay put!

The third and the fourth. Having no fun. No fun at all.

still more camping

2007-04-15T20:19:00.000-04:00

Mary practices clicking her heels.

Peter discovers that his bat can double as a sword, and he thanks it.

Nice close up of Thomas.

Peter coyly poses.

Lauren is visited by a cold butterfly of happiness.

More camping

2007-04-03T22:09:00.000-04:00

Before the fall. We knew it was coming, and I am glad I got this one of her relatively dry.

All four getting dressed for the morning. Mary was a big help.

A nice, quiet shot of Thomas. It happens.

There was lots of casting practice, and lots of lines up in trees as well.

You cannot keep Lauren out of the sand. We do not try.

First camping trip

2007-03-28T00:32:00.000-04:00

This tent seemed huge, till we all got in it! Mary and her friend slept in a two person tent to give us room in this one. The children were a little nervous the first night about some owls we heard, but they did OK.

Mary hugs Peter while Noel looks on.

Peter chows. Food was a major concern as these three can be PICKY eaters. But for the most part, everyone did fine.

OK, this fish is tiny, but the children enjoyed it all the same.

Lauren poses or gets an attitude, I forget which. The bikes were a lot of fun for the little ones.

Set the way back machine for 2002 Sherman

2007-02-16T19:47:00.000-05:00

Lauren worries about getting her temperature taken.

Tiny Thomas waking up. Notice the size of the hand compared to the size of the infant.

My mother feeding Peter. He was our big baby at 3 lbs.

This photo can give you an idea of how tiny they were. I do not often post these photos for many reasons: It is hard for me to tell who is who, and that is a little embarassing; It seems like two ages ago, and so many of the photos I threw away when I edited them. See, I did not know that I needed to save a large, unedited copy. So for many of these early photos, there will never be alarge print. And it is my fault. And I hate thinking about it.

recent edits

2007-02-15T14:00:00.000-05:00

It takes me more time to edit photos of the children than it does to take them. So I have a backlog of editing to do. These are some recent edits, I think they are from May. This is a nice, soft photo of Lauren.
From a color, digital original. I like Thomas' intense look in this one.

Brothers.

A not at all soft photo of Lauren. I like this one a lot, there is a demented quality to it!

more from the birthday

2007-02-11T23:34:00.000-05:00

Peter looks in pain, I find that strangely comical as he gazes at his cake.

A wonderful picture of longing.

Sensory deprivation.

Hear no evil.

More from the park

2007-01-27T17:50:00.000-05:00

Well, yeah, I did sit them there, but if you think I could pose them effectively, you don't have triplets.

It looks as if I overdid the burning in around his head. Really, the leaves and shadows are that dark!
If ya get a pic that just doesn't work in color, try it in black and white. With the contrast jumped up a bit, I like this one in mono.

Guilty. I made them hold hands. But, they didn't mind a bit.

Christmas

2007-01-17T00:12:00.000-05:00

Our youngest children's best friend, Lettie.

I adore photos of my children like this one. Their personality shines, or somethings, right through.

The older boys Sunday School class. The last shepherd on the right, looking tired, is our son Peter, who turned out to be quite the camera hog.

Wise indeed.

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year. God Bless you!

More Thanks

2006-12-14T23:53:00.000-05:00

Mary squeezes a burp from her sister's diaphram. Lauren, we have learned, can burb at will. Ad nauseum. Ours, not hers. We are so proud.

What a pose! Worthy of a statue. Peter, the intrepid battery cable guy.

The gang (Emily included) go on an expotition.

Thomas doing magic tricks. Again.

Thankfull

2006-11-29T14:16:00.000-05:00

Busy children need a bath, and Emily (left) and Mary helped. BIG tub, took about an hour to fill and had a tide.

A taste of the view. More to follow when the film is developed and scanned. We were so happy and surprised at how nice the cabin was and the wonderful view and weather. We were blessed.

Lauren was thankful for all the big girls to be with. Her sister Mary, cousin Emily, Cousin Mallory, Cousin Kandace. Lots of big girls to watch and play with.

Peter was thankful for the cabin. He ran back to the porch, checked out the view, and exclaimed "Daddy, we can see the world!"

Thomas had a party

2006-11-16T01:08:00.000-05:00

The party was for his second birthday. A little early to be hitting the bottle, but ya gotta start sometime.
This pic was entered to be the first, but Beta thought otherwise. I hate editors who think they know better than you.
Ellie was a bit nervous when we arrived.
Now how is that for an outfit? Shades of Sandra Dey.

More Party Fun

2006-11-16T01:02:00.000-05:00

Lauren demonstrates her icing licking technique.
Thomas bites bubbles, much to Mary's amusement.
A peak from the birthday boy.

Lauren demonstrates amazing optimism about her ability to jump rope.

Rolling Down the Hills

2006-11-16T00:58:00.000-05:00

The party ended for me with the chldren rolling down the hill behind our friend's house. Peter did a great job!
That is Phoebe with her ubiqutous (at least for that day) sunglasses.

Mary rolled down like a champ as well.

Mud Fun

2006-11-08T18:11:00.000-05:00

My wife Becky asked if I would keep the triplets quiet so she could take a nap. I said sure, and wondered how I would keep them quiet. Since it had just rained, we went to play in the mud. Peter was a bit cautious, and wanted to search for life in the ooze.

Lauren wanted to see how it felt on her. She used to do this with her mashed potatoes.

Mary showed them how a big girl makes a big splash.

And Thomas got really dirty!

More from the Farm

2006-10-25T15:01:00.000-04:00

The whole crew.

Thomas

Lauren

Thomas again

Pumpkin patch

2006-10-25T05:37:00.000-04:00

Thomas found a nice one.

Lauren fell asleep on the ride over. She was a bit suspicious when this was taken.

The son of Mary's teacher. We printed out an 8x10 for him as a gift. Automatic A baby.

Happy Birthday to the Triplets

2006-10-21T23:46:00.000-04:00

A super present for a super son.

Mary catches rockets.

Four years old, and having a party. What a long, strange trip its been.

Our friends had fun too

2006-10-21T23:44:00.000-04:00

Emma Grace and Halley share a laugh over lunch.

Church friends.

Chris and Thomas.

More birthday

2006-10-21T17:15:00.000-04:00

Mary and friend Phoebe take a rest.

Mary's first emo pic. I am so proud. But she needs to learn to avoid looking at the camera for these.

Lauren, exhausted from her most recent tour.

Peter ready to clean up the mess and repair the damage.

More Gymtasticks fun

2006-10-12T23:53:00.000-04:00

Fun at Gymtasticks

2006-10-12T23:47:00.000-04:00

Thomas jumps with characteristic abandon.

Lauren stikes a pose midair.

Peter was having more fun than the picture infers.

Visit to the park

2006-10-07T21:35:00.000-04:00

The leaves are just starting to turn. See the tiny fish?

Not as posed.

Posed. Guilty. Trying to pay homage to "The Walk to Paradise Garden."

Peter was waxing eloquent about something.

Thomas being coy. The pose was his idea, and a right good un too.

Some more misc pics

2006-10-01T23:31:00.000-04:00

Lauren and her cousin Emily.

Peter, a great pic but serious circles under his eyes.

Mary in a sepia pic from an aquarium.

Sisters.

Fun with headbands

2006-10-01T23:28:00.000-04:00

A more serious moment.

Sometimes the headband is just a little too tight.

Thomas waits for Lauren to guve him a turn.

More from 4th

2006-09-20T23:12:00.000-04:00

Mary hugs her father.

Beautiful color and light. Posed, but dynamic as almost all the pics of the trips are.

Here Lauren plays with leaves floating down this crack in the rock. I thought about pshopping out the feet, but her focus seems more emphasized with the implied bustle around her.

More from throwing rocks with dad

2006-09-15T20:34:00.000-04:00

Peter in a dramatic pose.

Here is Aaron stepping into the sunset.

Along with throwing rocks, the boys found some nice sticks. Thomas (above) was Moses while Peter was Aaron.

And some more

2006-09-13T00:43:00.000-04:00

The boys practice being silly.

Lauren on the floor with a giggle.

Sorry for no recent posts

2006-09-13T00:38:00.000-04:00

Thomas was happy to see that this rock looked like a heart. He wanted to give it to his mommy.

Sometimes making a living interferes with my blogging. Sorry. Really! These pics are from some time with just me and the boys (NRBQ anyone?) when Mom and Lauren went power shopping. We went to a nearby creek and threw rocks.

Set Your Way Back Machine for 2003

2006-08-25T10:09:00.000-04:00

No ornaments were harmed during the making of this photo. OK it is a little cheesy and slightly taking advantage of their dimunitive stature, but if you are honest with youself, you would have taken this picture too. Am I right?

We spent a lot of time this way, holding, stroking, cooing at them through the glass.

One of the first group photos. Mom was still in her hospital gown.

Home and happy. Looking at these photos now brings an interesting mix of nostalgia, disbelief, and incredulity. While I KNOW these were our little birdlike children, it is difficult to accept that our bouncing, vibrant triplets were once such fragile little beings.

Photos from trip to Chattanooga in 05

2006-08-15T20:21:00.000-04:00

Chattanooga Aquarium resident.

Peter stares at shark: Shark stares at dinner.

This one turned out nicely.

Thomas looks out the hotel window.

From the butterfly garden.

more from then

2006-08-05T01:28:00.000-04:00

Becky took these in our Church playground on late evening.

She took a LOT of pictures, so I will be editing them for the next few posts. Thank goodness there were so many good pictures among the 250 or so taken!

days past

2006-08-04T00:11:00.000-04:00

Peter

2006-08-03T00:45:00.000-04:00

A special picture, Peter was just out of a body cast after breaking his left thigh. He had a tiny walker, but was just getting used to it on this trip. So we carried him a lot. Here his mom carries him to the car as Peter directs and I take the pic.

lauren thinks she is in trouble

2006-08-01T00:05:00.000-04:00

throwing rocks

2006-07-31T00:56:00.000-04:00

lauren wades

2006-07-31T00:55:00.000-04:00

lauren sits

2006-07-31T00:51:00.000-04:00

lauren swings

2006-07-22T20:55:00.000-04:00

checking the brakes

2006-07-22T20:53:00.000-04:00

trikes at sunset

2006-07-22T20:52:00.000-04:00

resting

2006-07-20T22:03:00.000-04:00

4th of July

2006-07-20T22:02:00.000-04:00

mary in flight

2006-07-20T21:59:00.000-04:00

Mary swings

2006-07-16T23:46:00.000-04:00

Thomas swings on 4th

2006-07-16T23:45:00.000-04:00

Sunset trike riding

2006-07-16T23:44:00.000-04:00

Lauren sings to her trike.

Peter imitates a gnome

2006-07-12T23:25:00.000-04:00

Thomas points

2006-07-12T23:24:00.000-04:00

Lauren at the park

2006-07-12T23:21:00.000-04:00

This is a pensive shot of our daughter Lauren that my wife shot at the park.

Thomas

2006-07-07T20:37:00.000-04:00

big bounce

2006-07-07T20:36:00.000-04:00

the original lion

2006-07-07T01:25:00.000-04:00

Brave enough to be the first, cautious enough to paint the hand, Thomas discusses the artwork with his brother.

the boys

2006-07-07T01:22:00.000-04:00

At first Thomas preferred to have his hand painted. But after Peter had a lion on his face, Thomas cried and got himself another lion on his face like his brother. These boys love each other.

June evening at the zoo

2006-07-07T01:08:00.000-04:00

This was a rather amazing event. The fertility clinic that blessed us with our triplets throws a yearly party in which they rent the zoo and host a dinner and more. The doctors fan out, and spend over an hour greeting and spending time with every person, couple, or whatever and their miracles. Like so many popes, only closer and more useful. Not to say that the doctors behaved badly, they were the height of graciousness. And they were loved and thanked. And blessed I wager. Twins were passe, Triplet families greeted one another and compared notes, and there were copious rumours of Quad sightings. A diverse crowd, white, black, Arab, Mexican, straight, not, all there. There to celebrate that they wanted children, but could not conceive, until. Until whatever miracle the doctors performed. I reasoned that our triplets had biosibs in the crowd, and I looked for them. Easier said than done.

Honestly, our little kids were cranky and I was grumpy myself until I spent a second thanking our Doctor and God. Things improved after that. I will post several pics from that evening.

Easter

2006-07-07T01:06:00.000-04:00

Front yard dyed egg hunt.

Moved

2006-06-29T12:43:00.000-04:00

So I have moved the more serious photos over to www.tmink.fotix.net. Please check it out, they look great. I am going to keep this blog for more family type photos. I have no idea if anyone but my wife will look at them, but that does not really bother me! People are checking out the other blog, and I appreciate that. So this is to serve as a notice of change and an invitation to follow to my new digs! So to start things off, here is a nice family pic.

Moving!

2006-06-08T12:56:00.000-04:00

Well, initial postings and comments generated at www.tmink.fotix.net have been very positive. Fotix.net is pretty spotty in terms of quality, but I have found some very good sites there and through my blog there. Let me recommend http://jeremycharles.com for one. Great people and subtle abstract work too. Also, my new favorite photographer is at http://www.lackingmystery.fotix.net/. Do NOT let the silly first pic distract you. I think this photographer is fresh and interesting. Take the time to check our the site and comment on how cool you think the images are.

Posting here will be very light, because I have moved. Come along!

Moving?

2006-06-07T10:15:00.000-04:00

Perhaps. While Blogger does a lot of things right, and I appreciate their service, I think my new site may be better for photos. Please check it out. http://www.tmink.fotix.net/

Sorry for light posting

2006-06-06T12:42:00.000-04:00

I have been working hard to finish a multitude of pics from beach trip. It needs to get done, and I have limited patience for it, so I do it often a little at a time.

But this is an interesting pic of an arrow crab on a sponge. I love how some macro underwater pics look alien. Given that it is sorta point and shoot, this one turned out nicely. Good composition, and the talent was cooperative enough.

Jackson Square, Nawlins

2006-06-03T21:44:00.000-04:00

A nice old pic of Jackson Square. I think the fountain is gone. The car is old, but the church and square are classic.

Wow, this is post 101

2006-06-02T10:11:00.000-04:00

Wow, 101 posts. How cool is that? Way cool! Dog and cat pics work, mainly because folks have such intense relationships with dogs and cats. But this one is good on its own I believe.

Dad in the snow

2006-06-02T00:44:00.000-04:00

Early 1950s, Argosy camera, Kodachrome slide. Getting the snow right has proved beyond my meager Photoshop ability. SO I will stick with what you see. Dad grew up in North Central Louisiana, he did not see much snow. The hat gives this a 1940s feel. I love this image of my father.

Sunflower

2006-06-01T12:55:00.000-04:00

I like the composition of this one. It works for me that part of the flower is occluded by the leaf. Good color and exposure as well, the busy out of focus background is good as well. And isn't yellow a nice happy color?

nice package

2006-05-31T12:18:00.000-04:00

The pic is from Jamaica, Negril specifically. This is the scene off the cliffs, not all the way up to Rick's cafe, but at the undeveloped part which probably does not exists anymore. The part that was undeveloped in 1981.

The nice package is some full frame slide mounts and some cleaning fluid that I ordered from Light Impressions. The full frame mounts are really honest full frame, you see the whole image as opposed to these Kodak mounts which round the edges. So for my new scans I will pop the transparency, clean it good, then place it in the full frame mount. More work but cleaner original and no more rounded edges. I hate cropping out the edges and losing some of the image. I am stingy with those pixels!

It was so fun to learn how to scan the magic lantern slides, not I can scan some of my larger format negatives and transparancies. While the 2 and 1/4 negs are not that great, some of my 6 x 4.5 negs are rather nice. So new stuff abounds.

fun addition

2006-05-30T23:15:00.000-04:00

OK, obviously I did not take this one. I would guess it is late 1800s early 1900s. It is from a set of magic lantern slides that I have. The man in the pic is wearing a bowler hat. The detail on these is amazing, as is the dirt! This is a direct scan, no clean up. An amazing part of history. I will share these as I learn how to clean them safely. I have had these since I was 17, it is wonderful to begin to be able to see them!

Travel Pic

2006-05-30T12:13:00.000-04:00

From Israel in 1972. Dad let me have one of the cameras and I took this one. Isn't that pipe distracting? Need to photoshop that one out. Old Ektachrome slides just don't hold their color like Kodachromes, and this one is a bit washed out. But it fits the scene. Kind of a "you had to be there" pic, but the girls and the lamb are evocative, and that is what I like in pics.

cousin Scott

2006-05-28T04:12:00.000-04:00

Nice black and white of my cousin Scott. He was in his riding gear and rode some for my children, who loved it. This is a black and white film negative that I scanned. The lens was an old nikon 135 f4 that I bought for about $40. The lens has NO depth of field! It is a hoot to use and needs lots of light. At the same time, it is a nice sharp lens, great for isolating the foreground from the background.

Pumpkins

2006-05-27T12:58:00.000-04:00

Hmmm, I hit a wrong button and posted this pic in the wrong place. Oh well. I really enjoy pumpkin pics. There is a sensual quality about them, their color and texture, that I enjoy. And we all know the color pumpkin. This pic is nice because it has lots of pumpkiness without a single whole pumpkin. I like that. The edges are nicely activated as well.

good morning

2006-05-27T09:49:00.000-04:00

It is a good morning. I had a fun evening with my cigar smoking buddies last night. One of the high points of the evening was getting turned on to toddadams.net (sp? real url to follow.) Todd, one of said cigarsmokingbuddies, has this website where he shares his wonderful travel pictures. He gets lots of hits and sells some too. It was, as I told him, an inspiration! So the clock is ticking on blogger, but no hard feelings. Blogger has been a great way to get my feet wet and get in some practice. Todd's amazing looking site and the low costs associated with it have inspired me to move forward with my own little endeavor. So thanks Todd!

Oh yeah, this pic is actually an evening pic taken in the Wind River range in Wyoming. Or is it Montana? Well, it was when I was on a NOLS course and took the extra ounces of my camera and a couple of rolls of Agfa slide film. Low ASA, nice gold color, good grain structure. It was a great film. 1978 I would guess.

early surprise

2006-05-26T10:52:00.000-04:00

These types of pics I refer to as Warholian in that I tend to mess with the sense of scale and context, like a grand painting of a soup can. Instead of popular culture figures or consumer merchandise, I tend to do it with nature elements. The idea is to decontextualize the content so that it becomes more structural and form based than what it is a picture OF. In that way it is like some of Mondrian's work which was about balance and color and tension instead of subject. Now it is difficult to remove the subject matter that much when you are using nature, often water, but this is the idea. Here, it is unusual in that this pic has those elements in 1978 or 77, long before I was exposed to the concepts. The pic is TOO close, and I really like that. It is a nice surprise that the style was percolating before I had the grounds to steep. Kinda.

Also, I am thinking of renaming the blog "More Pictures of Water" since I am obviously preoccupied with the substance.

cool pic for a hot day

2006-05-26T09:59:00.000-04:00

Ya know, it is perfectly acceptable to ignore the rambling and just enjoy the pics. I should do a textless version for those allergic to the banal. But anyway, taken on a college trip to Crested Butte, Montana. Great trip, lots of fun memories. Tis was my first experience with cross country skiing which I loved. Here is Jimmy Grogan taking his turn at breaking trail. There is a lonely and determined quality to the pic, different to the actual high hilarity of the moment.

Classic

2006-05-25T16:56:00.000-04:00

Well, it WAS taken in 1978 or so, but I meant this one is classic scenic. Something I do not seem to do all that often. Lake Louise, easy to tell because of the water color. A favorite image of mine for almost 30 years!

interesting comparison

2006-05-23T11:28:00.000-04:00

As I was getting ready to upload the balloon pic I noticed that the leaf pic was almost the same. They are both about color, tone, and roundish shapes. Both kinda pastels too. I appreciate the leaf pic in that the colors are not too loud, and yet it is a fall pic. I think I will eventually photoshop out the cyctic fibrosis content of the balloons, but for now I like the tension they create between the joy of the balloons and the tragedy of the disease.

boy in motion

2006-05-22T20:28:00.000-04:00

Good one. Well I like em all don't I? But, this one has a great sense of motion without there being any motion. The crooked composition helps. And the blue swash behind him. It makes my wife dizzy, but I really like it.

flowers

2006-05-22T20:25:00.000-04:00

Nice and sharp! I really like the texture and glossy sheen of this one. And it is a digipic, which is unusual in that many of them do not have the quality. I used an old fashioned glass lens, and it shows.

discards

2006-05-22T12:40:00.000-04:00

Discards at a glass foactory. Handblown stuff, somewhere in Mexico. Nice light and colors, and I was glad that I could rescue the discards in some way before they were melted down.

Tedious edit

2006-05-21T12:59:00.000-04:00

This one was scanned from a print and had more smutz on it than you would believe. So I took the 30 minutes to clean it up. I am printing it right now to see what I have left. At the res you can see it, no spots should remain.

Why do the tedious work? Well, I love this pic. It is from late 70s. Three friends sitting ona rock in the fog. It is not that the background is too hot, it was a high key fog. The rock is 60 feet over the lake. Aside from the spotting I messed a bit with the contrast and tones.

I like the composition, but it looks like a set piece rather than a found arrangement. The composition is more central than I would usually use, but I was a teenager when I took it, all is forgiven. The girls were nice folks, church friends. Each more lovely than you can see in the photo. I am warming it up quite a bit for the print. Not quite seppia, but certainly warm. Thanks to the Epson 2400, a fine printing machine!

Not your average flower pic

2006-05-20T12:59:00.000-04:00

I like this one as it is unusual. Two dried rose buds forgotten on the sill. Great light too.

answer to a problem

2006-05-19T10:25:00.000-04:00

It is fun to take pics at zoos, but difficult to get pics that do not look zooey. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with that, but I prefer shots that look wild to those that look zooey. I posted about this before with a pic of an alligator. Scroll a bit, you will find it. So for this pic I just got in close to hide the domestic living arrangement of the tortoise.

more from the beach

2006-05-18T16:41:00.000-04:00

While it is from the beach it is not a beach shot per se. Nice symmertry, good color, and a little mystery. I like that. I also like that the child is in an interesting context.

pastoral

2006-05-18T09:46:00.000-04:00

I have another pic of flowers on the barb wire. This one is so nice and calm.

The question.

2006-05-17T11:40:00.000-04:00

As I have mentioned before, I have some aspirations for commercial uses of my images. And as I have mentioned, I am a father. So I have snaps. Wearing both hats, it is an interesting question to separate the commercial from the loved. This one is both for me. The picture is evocative enough that it could be mersh while a lovely picture and remembrance of this particular visit the family took to this place. The commercial part wants to replace the top right corner of grass with pasted garden to make the image a little more coherent. But this works for me as a little girl lost pic. In reality, she was likely peeing and standing still so as to accomplish that. Thanks goodness she cannot read so that she will not resent me for years for posting it!

Friends are the best

2006-05-16T11:16:00.000-04:00

Models that is. Nothing like real people for a real pic. "Hey Bill, close your eyes and lean your head back OK?" "Like this?" "Yep, that was it, thanks pal."

Caleb

2006-05-15T16:05:00.000-04:00

This is the other pic from the gonzo tubing trip.

old school

2006-05-14T01:23:00.000-04:00

Some black and white. The negatives scan quicker, but are harder to deal with because they are always harder to touch up. Great light in the top one huh? The middle pic is wonderfully grainy, and the last one goes from hard white to deep black without looking too contrasty. And just what is that loast one a pic of?!?!? I think it was a disintegrated mattress hanging on a rusted black wheel. Who knows. Hope you like em.

Busy at work

2006-05-12T11:35:00.000-04:00

I tend to favor off center composition, but some things just lend themselves to the straight and narrow. Putting this one in the middle, well, lower middle, gives it a kind of Warholian importance. Man, I would love to have this one as a big print, 2x3 feet or so. Apart from the colors, the plug has an anthropomorphic quality that I dig.

history lessons

2006-05-09T14:36:00.000-04:00

I have the family slide archive and am looking through it for gems. To save myself from bitter disappointment I am now using a loop. Without it I think all the slides are in focus. Bad assumption. So I will load them up and start to scan them and find that all 4 Ihad loaded were out of focus. Sigh. It really is sad for me to think I have the images and then see that I do not. And what do I do? Throw them away? Well, no.

SO I pre-edit them now. I also may have found one of my first photos. It is a square slide, as tall as 35mm. I have a VAGUE memory of dad quieting my desire to take pics by getting me a little plastic camera to use on a trip to Williamsburg. I have at least one of the photos. Nothing to write home about, but an interesting curiosity at least!

Then I have the photos from my trip to Allaugh, France with Teen Missions. I was physically abused on that trip, starved to be specific. The slides are 110 kodachromes. Tiny little things! But they are Kodachrome. They are too small to scope with the loop. Well, more accurately, my eyes at 46 are too old to scope them! I am half considering putting them on a blog in sequential order. At the same time, that feels kind of borderline. (Psychology leakage alert. Substitute "attention seeking.") But I may post some, only here I will not coment any more about the abuse. There is a time and a place, and this is NOT the place. This is my happy place! But enough talk, let me post a pic.

Nice pic. But I prefer the one with the butterfly.

Two from the vaults

2006-05-08T13:04:00.000-04:00

Astute counters may notice three pics, but the two important ones for this discussion are not photographs. TM-INK has multiple meanings: It refers to my slow evolving dream to sell my fairly extensive body of older and sporadic more recent work, it refers to the work of my father who was also TM, and it refers to the artistic output of The Monroes, the final TM. OK, most of the stuff is mine. It is good to be the blogger.

But here are two wonderful items from the family. First, one of my father's small paintings. It is the second that I have shared here. The original is not nearly as dark as the scan, but I am living with that as I like it better dark. Dad had amazing small muscle contorl, he was a gifted and accomplished surgeon. And boy, could he tell the paintbrush where to go! His teachers were always on him to loosen up, but in my heart I wanted him to stay who he was as a painter. The difficulty dad had was in knowing what to paint. He did not have a great sense of design in his painting. He did wonderful and amazing sculptures and wrought iron, but in flat terms he had to grow to know what to paint. And this is all his, from the work to the conceptualization. They would get better, but this one is dandy!

The second work is a self-portrait by my eldest daughter Mary. I do not know where she gets her talent for drawing as it did not come from her parents as far as we can tell. I take photos due to my inability to write cursive, much less draw. But Mary does not have my dysgraphia. This self-portrait was used as the cover of the school bulletin for her lower school art show. She was 10 when she drew it. I am amazed and thrilled with her talent. More will follow.

The pic of her is wonderful, but it is just to show the artist. The supplied photo makes Mary look a little chunky, which she is not. Not that I would mind, I love her as she is. But it is funny that this photo makes her look fuller and heavy when she is a bit on the thin side. I offer it, taken just a little later than the self-portrait, as both a proud father and curator of the TM artwork. Enjoy.

What I've been working on lately

2006-05-07T10:48:00.000-04:00

Hmmm, all scenics of a sort. Only one is panoramic in intent, and I like em all. Well, I would, I am showing them right? The daisys work by sheer number and the dazzeling white. There is SOME texture there in the 100 meg original scan, our mileage will vary here in compression land.

The middle pic is of an Alabama dawn on a lake. I have printed out one try on watercolor paper, and it did not work. I think it will need glossy to get the color and shimmer right. If you do NOT get the color right on these color fields type photos, you do not get the pic right. They are about design and color for me. Well, they are also about the innefable quality of God's light, how He could have left us in darkness or in black and white like our animal friends, but He gave us color. He gave us so much. Thanks!

The last one is a friend walking away in the dusk. I took this one with my Nikonos. Somehow, I thought it would be a good idea to tube down a river with a keg in one of the tubes and interesting other travelers in small baggies with my camera. This is one of the two useable pics. Oh youth. Well, I will show the other later. This is the end of the trip and there is a certain psychic exaustion and liberation.

empty glass

2006-05-04T17:57:00.000-04:00

With appologies to Pete Townsend, this was an empty drink glass taken at a lakeside bar in New Orleans. Looks like a salt rimmed margherita. I do not think it was the first such libation, probably not the last either. I like the image, that it is empty, the condensation, I enjoy this image a bunch. Makes me thirsty!

a favorite

2006-05-04T09:09:00.000-04:00

I knew I would love this photo as I was taking it. I still remember the event, it was the early 80s, when I was taking so many photos a week. I have several versions, this is perhaps the best. As the moth would move the background pattern would change, the wings shift, but this one works. No need to comment on what it means is there?

Thoughts on the blog

2006-05-03T09:49:00.000-04:00

I was looking at the pics and felt happy and acomplished. I like the diversity of the work as well as the consistency within that. I like the beauty of my scapes and nature shots. They tend to be a little static, but I appreciate that. And it is how I see and I accept that. The people are good too. I was concerned that with so much of the subject matter being my family the blog would be lightweight. Well, I don't think it is, and nobody else is posting otherwise! Well, OK, the only post I got was spam and one I posted myself, but still. So I feel satisfied and invigorated. There is more work to come. I have so many slides and negatives! And I continue to produce work. So this is a satisfied post. I am happy with the amount of pics I am sharing. I am eager for more people to take a peek and leave a comment. But I believe that will come!

more new scans

2006-05-03T09:43:00.000-04:00

Well, not this one. This is an old scan. Old pic too, I would guess early 80s. Nice evocative image though! I moved the scanner from one puter to the other. Now my Everquest machine is free from the scanner, and I can scan while I play or print. Cool. I have scanned four new pics, three family and two scenics. OK, five new pics. You may see two, even three. The scenics are good, intense colors. Not like this one which is fairly monochromatic and blue. But the blue works with the subject matter. For me this pic is about couplehood, the companionship and the isolation of a couple. Nobody but them can make it work. And it is about me looking at them, cause all the pics are about that in at least an implied level. And about you looking at them too.

our little addict

2006-05-02T22:11:00.000-04:00

OK, it is just a joke. But look at that, she is clutching her icecream close to her chest, she has that contented, far off look in her eyes, she is a mess, and she would take off your arm if you tried to get hold of it. The family pics that work for me are usually just family as talent. I mean the ones that I blog, not the ones I cherish at home. This one is great because it is a bit twisted and looks a little like it came out of the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Twisted. I wrote that already.

good morning

2006-05-02T11:02:00.000-04:00

This is a nice morning shot. Good light and nice colors, muted purples and blues, I like it. Perhaps I overdid it with bringing out the coast line. What do you think? (Talking to myself again.) Well, at least when you discover this blog, there will be LOTS of photos to browse. And I enjoy it, it is a fun hobby even if it is a private one.

great colors

2006-05-01T15:58:00.000-04:00

I love this one, great, saturated colors. Nice pose too! My wife really likes it. I love the feet off the ground. It is not critically sharp due to the motion, but it still works. I made a 12x18 of it on the Epson and it rocks.

OK, there you go

2006-04-28T17:55:00.000-04:00

She hates this pic because she does not like her smile. I think it is right on.

nice digital pic

2006-04-28T17:52:00.000-04:00

One of the first nice digital pics I took. Waiting for a wedding rehearsal to get going. I was the only one on time. Fine flower, but what makes it for me is the sexond flower out of focus in the background. THis is also one of the first I took with a prime lens instead of the plastic cheapie zoom that came with the d50.

Sorry about light posting

2006-04-28T17:50:00.000-04:00

So here is my son as a little angel to make up for it. I have been waiting for court. They pay me too much money to sit around until I can be not at all very helpful. Very boring and unsatisfying. So while I wait for the pizza man, I will post.