In the Mangroves

I walked here everyday. There is a long bridge that winds over the water through the mangroves. The water is filled with turtles, tadpoles, frogs, fish, and birds of all kinds. The cranes are particularly majestic with their long necks, and there were whole trees filled with those big bold white birds. The trees are dense and they seem to grow right before you just eating up the sunshine and stretching out their leaves. Everything is just green, so green, the most beautifully brilliant green. If you close your eyes you can imagine the low hum of the bullfrogs, the deep smell of the richness of the earth, the warmth of the sun shining down through all those leaves, and you are there.

Was it all a Dream?

the beautiful green earth below

the best ocean

the greatest trees

the old man and the sea

the water

naps under palm canopies

happiness

bungalows

in a mirror

My dad and I travelled twelve hours through buses and airplanes and more buses before finally reaching a beautiful place where the waters meet the land of the Dominican Republic. Having escaped the doldrums of Pennsylvania in the winter time we were happy and light, the whole place seemed radiant, joyous, alive. The air smells different and the ocean heals you. We ate fresh fruit and cheeseburgers under the palm frond canopies. I fed colorful birds. I learned to breath air from a tank on my back in the turquoise water. I worshiped the sun all day long and took cool showers at night.

The Dominicans are a wonderful and happy people. Their country is beautiful, their cities are colorful, and their food is from heaven or somewhere even better maybe. This trip reminded me of how much I love this part of the world, I love speaking (sloppy) spanish, eating the freshest fish, and lazing in the sun. It was so nice there and when we landed in Pennsylvania and saw the snow we wondered if it had all been a dream.

And so, I think this will be my last winter here. More photos soon.

A weekend with Dani.

Dani and I grew up showing horses together and we both moved to Philadelphia after high school. Dani moved to Brooklyn after college and has a really cool job in Manhattan. I think we're good friends because we are both prematurely old... Old like grandmother old. We were born grandmothers. Anyway  I headed up to Brooklyn last weekend to shoot some things for Dani's new Asos shop and we had a lot of fun. We went to her regular spot, Tavern, which is a fun bar in Chinatown where the bartenders take their shirts off and drag you into photo booths to take silly pictures. (Example after the jump.)

September I'll Remember

These are the rest of the photos I liked from the rolls I recently had processed. I have some good ideas in mind I'm going to try to find time to shoot tomorrow. I've been pretty busy (and sick!) this week so haven't gotten a chance to shoot like I would like to. 

I've been digging the rain today - working a little - listening to old White Stripes stuff. Aerials are going well, and I'm actually taking a class on the pole too. It's all a lot of fun - really satisfies my urge to climb things. Hopefully I'll have some photos of that soon.

Way Beyond the Sun

I just got three rolls of film processed from the time I spent visiting my Dad. These are the ones I like best from the first roll. I was lucky to grow up in a very beautiful place out in the middle of nowhere. There is a man-made lake right down the street where I go all the time because it's so nice. The road the house is on actually runs right into the lake, because they had to flood over it. It's all protected land and I see all sorts of neat birds (like the hawk in the photo above.) Tomorrow I'm going to class at the circus school and I'm really excited! The trains out there actually work out perfectly I shouldn't have to wait too long to come back. I've been going easy on my arms lately.. I'm a little worried that I'll feel weak/tired, but I needed the rest and hopefully it will be a good thing.

My love don't care about time.

Here are some glimpses of life lately: A walk in the woods, my dad's plants, Loretta lazing in the sun, bikes rides on the river trail, and lone visits to the art museum where I walk around for hours filling my eyes with beautiful old things. My favorite thing about the museum is that they have the largest collection of Marcel Duchamp's works on the planet. I've been in that room a million times and every time I go I want to stay for hours. The piece above is called The Bride Striped Bare by her Bachelors, and my favorite piece is, of course, Given: 1. The Waterfall, 2. The Illuminating Gas, which you view through two little peep holes in a dark room. Fantastic.

Over the hills and far away.

Over the fourth of July Jim and I were both able to take a week off from work (in Jim's case work and school) to spend a day at the beach and pay my hometown a visit. We got to hang out with my dad a lot, take walks in the woods, and laze around on a boat for a week. It was a much needed escape from the city.