The following photos are part of a photo essay I assembled for publication in the Independent Weekly’s annual Summer Guide. Some images were made last week, some are from years past, but all of them evoke a sense of summer in my [...]]]> Street Party, Mebane | Maria Brubeck, Outer Banks

The following photos are part of a photo essay I assembled for publication in the Independent Weekly’s annual Summer Guide. Some images were made last week, some are from years past, but all of them evoke a sense of summer in my mind.  Grab a cold drink and enjoy.

Pepper Harvest, Greensboro | Quick Storm, Topsail Island

Mago & Watermelon Sno Cone, Pelican’s, Durham | Street Pool, Clarksdale

Trudy, Lil’ Farm, Orange County | Bottle Rocket, Olney

Sazerac, Raleigh | SAF Party, Center for Documentary Studies, Durham

Hammock by the Eno, Hillsborough | After The Storm, Charlottesville

View the complete photo essay (11 images total) at the INDY Photo Archives.

If you really love one, you can always order a print.

This Friday we will open our month-long exhibit Beyond The Deadlines at Flanders Gallery in Raleigh — an incredible space to see all 33 photos from the collaboration between JML and myself, made possible with the generous support of the Independent Weekly. [...]]]> Fingerprint Dust, Duke Lacrosse House Bathroom, Durham, N.C., 2008

This Friday we will open our month-long exhibit Beyond The Deadlines at Flanders Gallery in Raleigh — an incredible space to see all 33 photos from the collaboration between JML and myself, made possible with the generous support of the Independent Weekly. We’re honored to exhibit in this gallery and hope to see all of you out there (MORE INFO).

While we’re at it,  take a spin through the INDY Photography Archive, where you can search through over 13,000 photos published and unpublished within the folds of our humble and feisty publication. You can also purchase prints and share images across The Internets.

“Okay. Damn. Let me check to see if it’s working right.”

“Well I think it looks okay. It does look a little blurry though. Hold on.”

“Yeah. That was quite a fall. Could I file a claim [...]]]>

“Okay. Damn. Let me check to see if it’s working right.”

“Well I think it looks okay. It does look a little blurry though. Hold on.”

“Yeah. That was quite a fall. Could I file a claim in case there’s something damaged internally?”

“Sure.”

“Great. How do I do that?”

(heavy sigh) “Go over there and wait for my supervisor.”

“What happened? Is everything okay?”

“My camera took a spill.”

“What?”

“Yeah. I’ll have to tell you later. Gotta tell the supervisor first.”

–

Several months later I sent my camera off to Canon to have them check things out. There were a few things that needed to be adjusted and repaired on the inside. We’ll see how things go with the TSA for a reimbursement.

The fine folks at Canon did tell me that my camera’s shot count is 893,984 — not bad for 3 years of use.

Today the people of North Carolina will decide to support or oppose

a constitutional amendent to further limit the rights of people to freely love other people.

You have no excuse to sit this one out.

Go now if you can, before early [...]]]>

Today the people of North Carolina will decide to support or oppose

a constitutional amendent to further limit the rights of people to freely love other people.

You have no excuse to sit this one out.

Go now if you can, before early voting ends on May 5th — bring your photo ID to register and vote same day.

The main vote will take place on Tuesday, May 8th

Speak Up  or  Shut Up

I didn’t plan to spend my Sunday afternoon at the dog show. The soccer game I was assigned to shoot was canceled and I remembered that there was an event at the nearby NC State Fairgrounds called India Fest. Being partial to the smell of curry and the wild [...]]]>

I didn’t plan to spend my Sunday afternoon at the dog show. The soccer game I was assigned to shoot was canceled and I remembered that there was an event at the nearby NC State Fairgrounds called India Fest. Being partial to the smell of curry and the wild colors found in saris, I headed over there. Then I saw a woman in a purple coat walking her dog, a dog  with huge black, well, dreadlocks? I had never seen such a dog. Turns out it was the last day of the big regional American Kennel Club dog show. Without giving another thought to Bollywood, I headed next door for the final hours of the show.

The first thing I noticed was the smell. All manner of dogs had been running around an enclosed exhibition center for five days, so accidents were inevitable. But even with an attentive staff of scrappers and scrubbers, the odor of dog poop was prevalent enough to make you wonder if the trash cans should be taken outside. It took a minute to square the objectionable odor with the sight of well-dressed dog owners running everywhere. Time was running out though. It was the final round of the final day of the show so I made no attempt to clear my being backstage with anyone of authority. In most cases bounding about with a nice camera and a note pad goes without question. This was no acception. With my only reference to such an event being the hilarious Christopher Guest film Best In Show, I went to work.

This is Matt Trexler, a few pieces into a boat-load of sushi that he has 40 minutes to finish if he wants a free meal. The 40 piece Super Sushi Challenge was dreamed up by the folks at Kanki Japanese House of Steaks and Sushi to celebrate, you guessed it, [...]]]>

This is Matt Trexler, a few pieces into a boat-load of sushi that he has 40 minutes to finish if he wants a free meal. The 40 piece Super Sushi Challenge was dreamed up by the folks at Kanki Japanese House of Steaks and Sushi to celebrate, you guessed it, 40 years of business. Mr. Trexler was quite confident in his ability to consume all the sushi laid out before him, including the wasabi. His girlfriend, Arielle, decided to celebrate her birthday by cheering him on. “Oh yeah, he’s got this,” siad Arielle after watching the manager start the timer. “He’s eaten the 4 1/2 lb. burrito at Bandido’s, so this should be easy.”

Having documented the start of Mr. Trexler’s challenge I circulated through the restaurant to meet more fine Americans taking on the glutinous challenge. There were several groups college students, a trash-talking father and son with a visibly embarrassed mother and a group of oncologists from Duke Hospital. By the time I came back to the bar Mr. Trexler was gone, a clear violation of the rules set forth in a four page contract and waiver each contestant had to sign. Arielle looked upset and turned away from the pile of napkins covering the half-finished boat. “Yeah, he’s not going to finish that,” said Arielle, possibly re-thinking her birthday outing. There was a slight funk in the air and I then noticed that napkins were doing more than signaling defeat; they were covering up a very bad scene.

Based on casual observations of the remaining challengers, there seemed to be a success rate of 40 percent, with many folks overcoming their physical discomfort with shrewd economic reasoning in order to avoid paying the $40 cost of failure. Some might prefer to call that courage. Either way, the scene left me reflecting on the world’s greatest invention, a process which turns air into bread and now supports nearly half of all the life on our planet.

It’s called the Harber-Bosch system and it’s a complex chemical process wich produces synthetic nitrogen fertilizer from air, a discovery detailed in fascinating book The Alchemy of Air. In the early part of the 20th century it looked as if the planet would not be able to produce enough food to feed a population of 1.75 billion people. Now we have just passed the 7 billion mark and we are dealing with an obesity epidemic. There is still hunger in the world to be sure, but mostly because of conflict and failed public policy. Interestingly enough, the same invention also led to rise of the Nazis and fueled the arms race. It’s a story worth learning. In the meanwhile, let’s see how our other contestants faired.

Incredibly loud and incredibly intense blues-prog are two apt descriptors used  describe the music of Caltrop in this week’s Independent Weekly. It’s true that I pounded on the front door of their practice space for some time before giving up and [...]]]> Caltrop: John Crouch, Sam Taylor, Murat Dirlik and Adam Nolton

Incredibly loud and incredibly intense blues-prog are two apt descriptors used  describe the music of Caltrop in this week’s Independent Weekly. It’s true that I pounded on the front door of their practice space for some time before giving up and walking around the backside to see if there was another way in. Even through two walls, the music was really loud, but still amazingly nuanced and enjoyable. They’re about to release their second LP, which carries one of the best titles I’ve heard in a while, Ten Million Years and Eight Minutes, on the local label Holidays for Quince. Pick up a solid pair of earplugs and check ‘em out if you’re in the area. Better yet, buy the album, open the windows and give your neighbor another reason to dash off a long and convoluted diatribe about the decline of common decency and respect on the neighborhood listserv.  They might even put it in ALL CAPS.

It could of been the free doughnut holes talking, but sound was divine. Voices climbed and blended with one another high above thanks to the superpub resonance of the wood floor and the vaulted wood ceiling. It’s a good thing that I travel with a nice audio recorder for such occasions, [...]]]>

It could of been the free doughnut holes talking, but sound was divine. Voices climbed and blended with one another high above thanks to the superpub resonance of the wood floor and the vaulted wood ceiling. It’s a good thing that I travel with a nice audio recorder for such occasions, knowing full well that photos alone could not tell the story of the annual Sacred Harp gathering at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh.

Here’s a sample of three numbers from the day so you can get a sense of the scene.

Sacred Harp Convention

The following words are by Independent Weekly reporter Bob Geary,

Fa-So-La, with the occasional Mi: The relationship of these four notes, and the shapes assigned to each one, are the basis for shape-note singing, as I learned last weekend at the North Carolina Sacred Harp Convention in Raleigh.

Think Julie Andrews and “Doe, a deer, a female deer,” but not exactly. The Von Trapps were accompanied by dad on the guitar; shape-note singing is a cappella. And where Maria taught the kids to sing using a seven-note system with examples that weren’t religious, traditional shape-note singing employs just the four notes. There’s no “Doe,” “Ray” or “Tea.” (But there is a potluck luncheon, so you can BYO jam and bread.) And all the words are directed to God.

If it sounds simple enough, it is, though sight-reading shape notes isn’t a whole lot easier than sight-reading ordinary music. The idea of the circle, triangle, square and diamond is that if you know how Fa (the triangle) is supposed to sound after someone sets the pitch for you, you’ll know how the next note up (So, the circle) and the next note (La, the square) ought to sound. Mi, the rarest note, is a diamond. Then it’s back to Fa-So-La.

I think I got that right. In any case, here’s the key thing to know about shape-note singing: You don’t have to know anything. Just listen, catch the tune and use your shower voice when you can.

Read More

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich begins his 14-year prison term today. In typical “Hot Rod” style, Blagojevich held a press conference on the steps of his North-Side Chicago home yesterday to soak up the spotlight for a few more minutes instead of quietly exiting [...]]]> Gov. Blagojevich, DuQuoin State Fair, 2003

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich begins his 14-year prison term today. In typical “Hot Rod” style, Blagojevich held a press conference on the steps of his North-Side Chicago home yesterday to soak up the spotlight for a few more minutes instead of quietly exiting the stage. As reported in the New York Times, most Illinois residents are more than ready for the big-haired long-winded-talker to retire to the quiet confines of the low-security federal prison near Littleton, Colorado. For his family, however, the sense of loss is more palpable.

Though it’s no different for millions of other families torn apart by long prison terms, there is a measurable degree of empathy for the family, especially his two school-age daughters, who have been and will continue to be deeply affected by the actions of their short-sighted and notoriously greedy father.

Gov. Blagojevich, Annie and Patti, DuQuoin State Fair, 2003

In the summer of 2003 I was interning at the State Journal-Register in Springfield, Illinois, working on a photo essay about the state’s other State Fair, in the Southern Illinois town of DuQuoin. One morning I was invited to a stately house in the middle of the fair grounds to photograph the newly-elected Governor as he bid adieu to the host family there. I thought about this photo of his youngest daughter Annie after seeing a picture of her now from his prison departure press conference. Then I thought about those infamous tapes of Rod wheeling and dealing his “f’in golden opportunity,” the recently vacated Senate seat of President Obama.

Some folks just can’t resist the temptation. They’ve got to get their hands on that golden syrup, despite the consequences.