Christmas Eve

An old Cajan/German tradition in St. James Parish is to hold bonfires on the levees Christmas Eve.

Apparently the miles of bonfires (some over 40 ft. tall) are to help Santa find his way to the bayous.

I visited with my housemate Chuck, his Aunt Evie, and Uncle Charlie (pictured below.)

Smart Skin

Descours 2010: part architecture exhibit, part art installation series, part scavenger hunt. Fourteen installations

were hidden around New Orleans this past week. I had the privilege of visiting some of the sites with friends

and a few days later, was randomly hired to photograph each site.

The site entitled "Intense Correlations" created by Gernot Riether (pictured below) was one of my favorites.

Crosses & Pews

Religion/spirituality: topics that have been working their way into many of my conversations as of late. It seems

that what I've been photographing isn't shying away either.

Top: Karen came to visit for Halloween weekend and we spent an afternoon walking through cemeteries near City Park.

Bottom: I photographed Kaatalyst, a spoken work poet in Jackson Ave Evangelical Church while scouting locations for

a short film he will be starring in. He explained that he gets nervous in churches. After scoping out the place for a bit,

it was agreed upon that the location was perfect. He seemed at ease.

Urban Exploration

Spent Sunday morning wandering through an abandoned power plant with Trevor

Freret Street Fight Night

People gather in a shopping center parking lot once a month for an event that includes a Lady Gaga

impersonator in drag, 20 kegs of beer, a huge pot of gumbo, and some pretty intense boxing matches.

Against the advice of many, I decided to attend the fight night the evening after my bike accident.

I didn't work the lighting the way i really wanted to but figured I might as well post a couple of my favorites.

Afternoon Light

Willoughby

sitting on the stoop

Summertime and the livin's easy

photos taken with the Minolta X700

Scenes from Jackson Ave

When I direct people to my house I just tell them it's the one with the dying plant in front

Travis, a roommate, let me photograph him as he waited for cold medicine to kick in

Our backyard is a bit of an overgrown jungle filled with rusting odds 'n ends

Murray made pasta with peanut sauce in the kitchen after the Gogol Bordello concert

Creatures

Sorry for being a stranger to the blog world. I promise more photos from my life in NOLA soon.

Until then, here are a few images taken a couple weeks ago from an excursion with Emily & Renee to

Barataria Preserve in Jean Lafitte National Park.

Treasure Island

I should be packing. I'm leaving in a hour and my car is patiently waiting to be filled.

Instead I'm going through old expired slide film a Brooks student gave me last summer and blogging about an island in San Francisco.

I'm about to have a two day drive down to New Orleans with my sister and mother.

Emily and I just completed a lecture directed at our mother that during a road trip you need to relinquish control in order to be stress free. A great attitude to keep in mind during times of transition.

I'm so excited to be on the road again.

Emily & Renee

Home is where the heart is

101st Post!

Photos taken with an Argus

Dreamin'

Rick Flynn

I wasn't scared about life or death but then I got married and that thought slowly deteriorated. Then my wife got pregnant and that

thought deteriorated a little bit more. But then my daughter was born and I want to spend every minute of every day with her," Rick Flynn

explains. Flynn spends time with his 15-month-old daughter, Arianna, in their home in Lansing. Flynn, 27, enlisted in 2002 and was deployed

to Afghanistan for seven months. Recently he was diagnosed with PTSD and receives compensation from the government.

Sam

giggling between two light leaks

taken with my Minolta X700

Buff Cake

for Whitney's bachelorette party

Daisy

Karen at Big Bone Lick State Park in Kentucky

Photo taken with an old disposable point & shoot I found at my mom's.

More belated SADA love

"I'm saving my strength," apparel and textile design senior Amy Dust said. Dust looks up at her friend apparel and textile

design senior Kristen Paczynski before the High Heel Marathon Sunday morning in East Lansing. The marathon spanned a block

of M.A.C. Avenue and cost runners $15 to participate in and receive a T-shirt. Proceeds from the event went to The Path of

Pink for breast cancer awareness.

Nap / Eye Contact

An extra from backstage the SADA Fashion Show

Familiar Fashion

Apparel and textile design junior James Pina puts together a dress for the 2010 SADA Fashion Show, March 28 in the

Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture Building.

Biochemistry and biotechnology senior Masturah Che Abdullah helps to tie a songket skirt before a rehearsal for

Malaysian Culture Night 2010, March 18 in Hannah Community Center.

Crooked Whiskers

New Orleans

I know it's a bit belated, but I wish to post some favorites from my story on a disaster relief alternative spring break group.

If you wish to see the whole multimedia version of the story click here

Draymond Green

"He's a warrior, just a warrior. He just grits his teeth and doesn't care about all the flash and dash. He is the perfect Spartan. He's just a blue-collared workhorse and I'm going to ride him like a jackass. He's tougher than nails and winning matters to him. It really does,"

Tom Izzo, men's basketball head coach said regarding Green