A View to An Uzz

SPF: Tribute Time!!

Yep...I am playing a day late...maybe even two days late:-) In the last few days I have shot stories on chefs, restored passenger trains (which I got to ride), doctor awards, a retirement and I even squeezed in a wedding...which I rarely do. SOOOOOOOOOOO...I have been a little busy, but I wanted to play!
This week, Ms. Kristine over a Random & Odd gave us another music assignment...a tribute...and who would I want to pay tribute to??? Why yes...my cool son...the former Mini-Uzz!!!

Remember...click on pic for a larger view! The lyrics are from a beautiful song by Ben Folds called "Still Fighting It"...these lines always stick in my head:-)

good morning son
twenty years from now
maybe we'll both sit down
and have a few beers
and i can tell
you about today
and how i picked you up
and everything changed

That is a pic of Mini Uzz that I shot MANY years ago on a suspension bridge in Waco...in the fog:-) He loved that Reptar car!!! This is one of my favorite shots of him ever...yes...its shot with a 35mm.

I took this pic of him tonight and it just amazes me how much he has grown:-) My life got better the minute I met him and we have been inseparable ever since!! You can ask Army of Mom about how I used to carry him EVERYWHERE!!! I look back on those days and I desperately want them back, but of course now that he is over five feet tall, I guess those days are over:-) Luckily, I have friends and family with carry-size kids, so I get to carry them around!

Did you play??? Let me know and I'll stop by!!!!!

SPF: Me in Music

OK...a disclaimer...what you are about to see is truly rare...old Uzz pics!!! The them of this week's Stuff Portrait Friday is "Me In Music" and you are about to see me humiliate myself. Thanks to the lovely and talented Kristine over at Random & Odd, you are about to see what an Uzz used to look like and what the years have done to him...SO MAKE SURE TO LEAVE A COMMENT:-)

Remember...click on the pic to make it larger...

Yeah...that is a early 20s Uzz on his wedding day...Army of Mom never told me leading up to that day, but I think she wanted me to cut my hair. Trust me...it got longer. Why is this "Me In Music"??? Because, at the time, I was a manager with a record store and spent a LOT of time with musicians and going to a LARGE number of concerts and meeting some pretty cool people.
Now...fast forward...MUCH LESS hair, but probably more cool and definitely a better person! I shot this today, just for this...another rare self portrait. Honestly, I feel better today than I did then. When I was young, I constantly worried about stupid things and only saw the small picture, but thanks to friends and my ex and especially my son, I learned that life is pretty cool when you just let it flow. Today I am an up and coming photog in the metroplex and I am surrounded by friends that truly care about me and a son that thinks I am some kind of rock star. Its pretty zen folks.

Oh yeah...I play a little guitar and I write on top of my photography...my advice...do what makes you happy and somehow you'll make a living at it:-) And yes...I am a better photog than the guy who shot my wedding.

Let me know if you played!

SPF: A Lyric In a Song

Yeah...I love music...actually the world love is underselling my feelings for it, but for the purposes of this exercise, I will say love. This week, the lovely Kristine over at Random & Odd has brought us...A Lyric in a Song...basically find a lyric in a song that describes a photo. Now I could do this all day, but I only pulled a few out of my archives...remember...click on the pic for a larger size.

"The spin of the earth impaled a silhouette of the sun on the steeple."
- Elliott Smith - "Everything Reminds Me of Her"

" Isnt that a pretty sun
Setting in a pretty sky?
Will we stay and watch it darken?
Will we stay and watch it darken?

Her church not made with hands"
- The Waterboys - "Her Church Not Made With Hands"

 ... just as an aside...I love this song mostly due to the fact the opening lines are loosely taken from the final page of C.S. Lewis' series "The Chronicles of Narnia", where Aslan states, "the term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning."

"And when that queen’s daughter came of age,
I think she’d be lovely and stubborn and brave,
and suitors would journey from kingdoms away
just to make themselves known."
                          - Okkervil River - "A Stone"

this is my ex's (Army of Mom)daughter and  I promise you that Army of Mom/Dad will have their hands full years from now:-)

"And it's me who's too weak
And it's me who's too shy
To ask for the thing I love"
-Paula Cole - "Me"

Don't think I have to add anything else. (yes...its a rare self portrait)

SPF: Songs (A Little Late...but Fun)

Yeah...its Saturday, but after the horrible week I have been having, I must say that I worked or slept most of Friday...therefore...I am posting this a little late! The lovely Kristine at Random and Odd has requested songs...so being the music nerd I am, I had to play:-) Yes...I shot all of these and culled them from my archive:-)

Remember...click on pic to see it larger

Born in the U.S.A. - Yep...I will lead it off with the mighty Mini-Uzz who was indeed...born in the USA...specifically, West Texas. The building behind him is the new Omni Hotel that is being built in downtown Fort Worth and yes...he is holding a camera...he actually has a pretty nice eye:-)

The Black Crowes - Yeah...its NOT an actual song, but he is actually singing a song! That would be Chris Robinson of the Crowes, who I shot at a concert festival I did work for last year. While I am not a huge fan of theirs, this did turn out to be a pretty cool shot to show off:-)

One - Yes...the U2 song...not really anything that has to do with the tune, but I love the way the shadow plays on the field:-)

Dancing Queen - I shot this during the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo this past January. Ballet Folklorico is a wonderful group of dancers in the area and I love shooting them...the colors, the motion and pageantry tend to lend itself to great photos!

Hold You In My Arms - Ray LaMontagne

When you kissed my lips with my mouth so full of questions
My worried mind that you quiet
Place your hands on my face
Close my eyes and say
That love is a poor man's food
Don't prophesize
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever

Hurt - This is a photo of a mother and child who were refugees from the New Orleans hurricane. I shot this when buses were brought into Fort Worth. It was one of the few times that I had been moved to tears while covering a story, but the power of the overwhelming human tragedy was pretty strong. Despite the sadness of the situation, I thought this was a beautiful portrait of two people who still have each other to hold onto.

World Waits For You - While the song from Son Volt does not have much to do with weddings, the title does convey the enormity of how her life will change once she walks through that door. The song does have a beautiful message:

"Find strength from the words
Of those that went before
Take what you need
But leave even more"
Where Do the Children Play - Cat Stevens - This is a shot I took while covering a block party in the north side of Fort Worth. It was just one of those shots that you turn and see the colors and see the action and fire with nothing but instinct. What I love about this pic, is the tilt, the perspective, the drenched colors and the candid nature of a moment in time.

Well...that is it...did you play?? Let me know!!! And I always love to hear from others:-)