The field, vanquished by frost. Ashfield, Ma. holds its breath, knowing that the deep snows that paralyze it for 6 months of the year are coming soon.



Thanksgiving morning walk:

I miss my sister

The tin man used to belong to an oil company somewhere along Route 2. When the place closed down, my neighbor Richard Richardson bought it at scrap metal price, and installed the light-up heart. Richard collects just about anything that can be classified as both junk, and beautiful, and seems to have set his sights on proving the old adage that one man's junk is another man's gold. This place is a great photo destination for anyone interested in decrepit allure.

The USA

Let's face it, America has long suffered problems of low economy. It has been blessed with work ethic and plenty of resources. But one can only go so far on ones hands and pride. Here, the shock of the bank crisis is only a another debt.


The center of Town - Goshen, Ma.

Sometimes life feels like one big balancing act. One of these days, I'm bound to slip. Until then, I'll fly.

Nature takes back the truck

Found on Rt. 2. Probably been there since before I was born.

Haiku

I know a hermit. He's been in my life for a long time now, and suffice it to say, I've learned a lot from him. Jack never saw me as inferior even when I was 8 and he was...timeless as always. For this reason, I've always heeded his advice. I visited him this summer. I told him I considered some photographs to be visual haiku. My haiku is somewhat awkward, but the photographs I quite like.

Robber Brothers

The Robert's brothers are one of the largest landholders in my small town, Ashfield. Land is power, and they have a lot. They also operate a fairly large forestry and wood refining business. I think everyone has a beef with the family from some time in the past. They allegedly harvested several acres of my family's forest a few decades back. This gives them a rather dark history, and the sawmill they own will not make you feel any better about the merits of their business. Ocea has never had a look at this site, the town police look the other way, and the site is far out of the eye of game wardens and the like. My father calls it Mordor. Suffice it to say that I am pulled toward the creepy work-hazard like a moth toward flame. All summer I found myself traveling down the rutted road to the Roberts Brother's sawmill. Padding along silently in the feet of sawdust, turning rusty corners on improvised walkways, I felt a sense of kinship with the place.Was it the reflection of my inner-creep that I was seeing? Was it the danger of the place: shards of glass left in second story windows over work zones? Perhaps it was the accelerated cycle of forest death and birth, symbolized by the mounds of sawdust and the bright green corrugated tin. Or maybe it was just the graphic beauty of the place, a place etched out like a wood-cut. Maybe there was no occult force drawing me back again and again. Maybe it just felt like that.

Cummington Fair

At the end of every parade featuring bulls, there must be a wheelbarrow. I think there is a lesson there for all of us who have a tendency to go off on celebrations without remember that when all is said and done, someone will have to pick up the shit.

glamour

This is actually natural light through a window. Looks just like stage lighting though, doesn't it?

Summer Flies By

I have finally returned to a land where the internet flows faster than molasses! I have several hundred photos to go through from this summer, but for now, I'll give you a fly by.
My Dad and Uncle walk my dad's new field just after the second cover crop sprouts up, 8/3. My sister models a dress she made in the same field, 8/17.

Much more to come, including highlights such as Texas, a hermits woods, the Cummington fair, and the Robert's brothers disaster zone.

Home is where I'm headed. Catch up with me next month.

finals

Finals make me feel like this. Behind bars, just looking forward, wishing I could get out...

Self Portraits

I have so many prominent veins in my neck. I've been practicing on myself to get ready for pin-up shoots. Four of five between now and next Tuesday! I'm looking forward to them all.

Tide-me-over

I have been shooting a bunch of pin-up stuff lately for my final project, and will continue to do so for the next few weeks. As much as I'd love to share my work with you, it's a little, shall we say, unclothed. Hold in there fearless readers! I'll try to get some sfw images from the next couple shoots to post here. To tide you over a little, here are a few abstract images from my travels. I deemed all of these not good enough to print, but let me know what you think.

A Little Bit of Home

Ashfield, Ma. the prettiest place around.
Lords over their domain of compost. The fence is a bit useless this time of year. Good thing chickens are too stupid to try to run away...

The boys were most certainly not allowed to do this. They had sculpted out a perfect sledding path, complete with jump, and were sledding happily down the roof, blasting off into air at the end, and then landing with a thud in the snowbank. I made them stop, but of course I had to take a picture first.
All I have to say is this: Don't mess with my dad when he's out to blaze trails. Those last three inspired by Frank Armstrong's this old place photos.

Soviet Bad-Assery

Hey everyone. I'm back from break early to work on a paper where there is internet that moves above a snail's pace. It makes such a difference for research purposes. Check out this photo shoot I did with my sister while I was home. Again, these are straight out of the camera and need a LOT of editing. I still think they are pretty cool though. More pictures from break later.

old school

God help me, I'm trying to upload my blog from the Dead Zone. Get this, there is high-speed 2.8 miles down the road on one side, and they are installing up to 4/5 of a mile away on the other side. In between, where we live, there is only painfully slow dial up. And a few angry families.
Anyway, if I can get this to load, here is something I really want to post - my very first fashion shoot with my darling sister. I rather think my skills have improved since then (not to mention my equipment. These are shot with an early model olympus point and shoot). You'll get to see the newest shoot when I get back to the land where high-res jpg's don't take a day and a half to load. For now, enjoy these priceless jems.