I'm a sucker for anything cheesy and creative, so I had to stop when I saw someone in floaties, an inner tube, and a "fishing pole" collecting donations. When I first walked by, he kindly and energetically reached his tip jar out to a group of girls and said, "Whoa, that's a good cast!"

Turns out his name is Adam and he's originally from Utah. Given the heavy downpour today, he chose appropriate attire. Thankfully the rain stopped long enough to shoot a picture.

Seen during Boulder's weekly summer Bands on the Bricks concert July 9th.

Bayard was sitting by the Boulder Post Office the other day and we started talking after he saw my Mamiya film camera. He told me he used to shoot film when he was younger and said he'd be interested in seeing how the film portraits compare to the digital ones. I took a few photos with my digital camera, then with film. I haven't gotten the film developed yet, but I'm looking forward to another conversation with him when I do.

I suppose I've been gravitating towards photographing musicians lately. Some sing about love. Some sing about pain. Some sing just to sing. The individuals in this photograph were singing Christian hymns today and talking about their faith between songs.

Regardless of how I feel about the content of a particular song, I seem to generally be able to find a connection with the people creating the music. The passion of musicianship seems to rise above even controversial topics like religion. While I didn't get a chance to talk to these people (I think they're a family group), it was pretty easy to tell that they invest a lot of time and emotion into their beliefs and their music. And for that, I can find gratitude.

When I introduced myself and asked his name, he told me he goes by "The High Plains Drifter." A friend of his came up and started talking to him shortly after I took the photo but another friend, Bayard, told me that he is a veteran and has quite a few interesting stories. I generally see him with his feathered cap near the Boulder Post Office, so I'm looking forward to talking to him more at a later date about his past.

Seen today on Pearl. It can be such a powerful experience to watch people interact with their instruments.

Days like today make me wish I had a more sizable income to share with amazingly talented artists like the ones in this photograph. This group is called the Coyote String Band, and they were playing at the Pearl Street Mall today. They sang and played their folky, soulful music with an intoxicating passion and I couldn't help but stay and listen for a while. I gave some money before I took the picture, but after a few minutes I decided I needed to buy a CD as well (which I never do). 

These guys made my day and served as today's reminder of how powerful music can be. Check them out on Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/coyotestringband

Boulder Creek Festival

I walked out of my apartment Saturday to a massive festival happening a couple blocks away. Turns out it's the Boulder Creek Festival and it has been a great spot for music, food, and people watching for the Memorial Day weekend. Here's a few snaps from strolling the festival.

This guy was energetically dancing to the live music.

A dose of selfish honesty for everyone on this Friday: part of the reason I enjoy photographing homeless people so much is that I often feel like I’m helping individuals by providing a listening ear. It feels good to know that maybe, just perhaps, I helped brighten someone’s day. In a community where people have often been conditioned through various circumstances to feel insignificant, it's nice to be able to remind individuals that they are significant and that their stories matter.

Late yesterday, a cloudy, rainy evening in Boulder, I experienced something I hadn’t before while approaching strangers for portraits. The woman pictured below is a fixture here in downtown Boulder. She sings and hits a rubber-headed drum with loosely gripped drumsticks on one of the street corners of the Pearl Street Mall. She also appears to be extremely mentally impaired. First reactions to her loud, screechy, off-pitched singing and wild appearance are often laughter. I’ll admit that was my reaction as well. But it doesn’t take long to realize this isn’t a joke for her.

When I approached her, she smiled and allowed me with welcoming gestures to take a few photographs, but was unable to articulate any sort of response to my questions. Her only words involved – with a blank look in her eyes – repeatedly offering me some small apples that she had for sale. I'm not sure she knows her own name. To say that this encounter was disturbing would be an understatement.

Maybe it’s because it hits so close to home. Maybe it's the way people so predictably avoided walking near her and exchanged uncomfortable glances with others passing by. Or perhaps it’s because for the first time, I had to walk away without having any idea what I could do to help this woman. Regardless, I thought this was an experience worth sharing.

Film: Hiking at Rocky Mountain National Park

I took my $10 Nikon film camera up in the mountains the other day for a hike with friends from Boulder. It's been a couple years since I've shot with this thing, but it never fails to produce completely unpredictable (and fun, I think) results. I wasn't planning for snowy trails, so I definitely had my frozen boots off as soon as I reached the parking lot afterwards to see if I could regain feeling in my toes (as you can see below, Georg did the same).
Despite the snowy trails, losing the trail a few miles up the mountain, a blizzard coming in during our hike, and being pretty sure that the two German guys (pictured) died trying to reach the summit ahead of myself and the two girls, I'd say it was a pretty solid hike.

Kelsey

Some days just seem like they were meant to be in black and white. This past Monday, my last day in Dallas before heading up to Colorado, was certainly one of them. I got to spend some of the rainy day shooting some photos of Kelsey at her South Dallas apartment. Kelsey has an incredible eye for fashion and design and is also super crafty at taking ordinary things and making them awesome. And she collects vintage chairs. 
Here's a few low-light photos from then, including Kelsey's first ever medium format photo. All shot with digital except for the square photo, which was shot with pushed Fuji 160S, converted to black and white.

Film: Beth

Life in Boulder is good. I'm two days in and already loving it. Among the many perks of being here is the camera shop within walking distance of my place that processes and scans 120 film within an hour. I'm used to waiting a week for film processing, so this is huge for me. It probably also means I'll be shooting quite a bit more film in the coming months.
So, in celebration of having an awesome new home in a great city, here's a photo of Beth that I shot with my Mamiya last week in Fort Worth that I particularly liked.
Info: Fuji 160S, pushed 2 stops. 80mm f/2.8, 1/125

Andrea's Senior Portraits

Here's a preview of a film shoot with Beth this past Tuesday – this one was shot with my digital. Can't wait to get the film back. She was an awesome (and very patient) model as I struggled through getting back in touch with my clunky Mamiya medium format camera.

Megan's Senior Portraits

Atlanta

My most recent destination was Atlanta. I went out to visit my sister and her husband this past weekend. As many of you know, one of my favorite things to do is simply explore a new area and find people to talk to and photograph. There was no shortage of interesting people in metropolitan Atlanta. Here's a few of my favorites from the weekend. As always, I hope you enjoy!

Seen near Centennial Olympic Park.

Five Points Kiss

Bill and Erica at the Atlanta Food Park.

Haunting Confederate graves at Oakland Cemetery.

Mozzie, Erica and Bill's puppy.

I saw this woman from a distance at Inman Park. She was making jewelry out of recycled and found materials.

She had one of the kindest faces I've ever seen. I had to get through a crowd of rowdy homeless people to approach her but I really wanted the shot. She took off before I could get her name but I really love this one.

Steve, the first tattoo I noticed was the "Sink" or "Swim" on his hands.

Steve was formerly homeless and in a train gang. Before he quit drinking, he said he was consuming half a gallon of whiskey every day. Now he's working in construction.

Bill, doing his thing.

Digger. He was hesitant at first to let me take his photo but he warmed up to me after a few minutes. Digger was kind and polite, but one of the most heartbreakingly defeated looking homeless people I've met.

The bird's name is Chiquita, like the bananas.

These two have been together for 14 years.

#tbt: Venice

This week gets a throwback to my trip to Venice in 2011. I'm revisiting the city this September for a family vacation and I couldn't be more eager to get back. Such an incredible city, filled with (mostly) friendly people and truly surreal sights. Here's just a few shots from my trip that I really enjoy.

Beggar in front of a church (the name of which I can't remember), just north of Piazza San Marco.

Craftsman of some sort (frame maker? Art dealer?). I tried eagerly to talk to him for a few minutes but he did not speak English.

Paul

A quick shot of Paul, my cousin, who made the trip out to Fort Worth last night to spend some quality time. Shot this philosophizing gentleman (he's single, ladies) in the apartment studio with a simple but somewhat dramatic lighting setup – one softbox, camera left.

Jarrett

Shannon and Amy