So this year has been a bit slow fishing wise. Last year I was between Augusta projects and had quite a bit of free time to fish. This year, not so much, much busier shooting, doing promotions and schlepping my book around. I have managed to get out a few times, maybe 10 days total. I have a few trips planned over the summer and am very excited. There are a couple of small mouth trips coming up and there is a trip to Montana in Aug. I’m guessing a trip or two to Miami.

So far this year I have been bass fishing, trout fishing, redfish fishing and shad fishing. The red fish and shad trips were busts. Meaning no fish caught, but still a great day on the water. Had some great trout days, some great sun fish days and the bass are starting to wake up.

I’ve started doing some urban fishing, searching for hidden ponds ( if you know of any, please tell me ) and seeing if there are any fish in them. So far, I’ve found a few.

I’ve updated the fish count page for the year and included a little description about the way I think about fishing by popular request. So take a look and let’s hope those numbers rise soon! In the meantime here are a few photos from trips so far this year:

This is the Beaver Dam Creek, in TN.

Part of my urban exploration. I call it UBE or Urban Bass Exploration. Yes, I know this is a sunny, but I have caught bass too.

See, here is a 3-4 lb bass taken out of a dirty pond hidden away in a sub-division in S. Charlotte! This pond is full of em!

The Savannah River was beautiful, but the shad were just not there that day.

A nice sized Shellcracker.

A wonderful private secret pond I was privileged to fish.

About the size of my luck this year!

Checking out a small cove.

End of the day on Mountain Island Lake.

My friend Jeff dabbling a little in the Beaver Dam.

Slab of a crappie out of a farm pond.

This is what trout eat. V1.1

This is what trout eat. V1.2

Brown trout!

Another Brownie.

Fat Rainbow trout from the Nantanhala River.

20 – support a local CSA

check, done, in the process.

Lesley and I signed up for a CSA earlier this year. We did a farm visit and loved the place and after talking to the owner took one of the few open spots. The farm is the Poplar Ridge Farm in Waxhaw, NC. They  are a certified organic farm by the USDA. We wanted to do this for a few reasons. We both believe in supporting local businesses and local farmers, we both thought we should be eating better and instead of going to the farmers market every week and forgetting some weeks, we opted to have the boxes delivered right to the front door. We believe in trying to eat locally and cutting some of the petroleum out of our diet, meaning less shipping costs. Also we think the seasons are there for a reason, so why not eat with them. Of course we will stray and eat from the super market in the winter, but we are really trying to eat what is in season, when it is in season. 

So this is the 3d week of deliveries. We have had a huge box each week filled with vegetables, both new and familiar. Some we know by sight, others we are thankful for Google. Others we just don’t know.  We are getting carrots that are so good. Radishes were a new one to me…well of course, I’ve heard of radishes, but I am new to eating them. Purple Kohlrabi, Pak Choi, both of the cabbage family. Greens like you wouldn’t believe - Bright Lights Swiss Chard, Red Giant Mustards, Red Russian Kale, Encore Lettuce, Bilko Cabbage, Flash Collards, Beet Greens, etc,etc. Also some Renegade Spinach, Arugula, mesclun mix, micro greens (baby shoots of different vegetables that are intense in flavor and nutrients in tiny packages of goodness), and Nevada Head Lettuce. Some leeks, some spring onions, and some regular onions. Seriously. This stuff is all so good. We have tried to eat it all and have tried quite a few new recipes, like Chard and Prosciutto Risotto and Scrambled Pasta with Spring Greens. We have frozen some carrots and sautéed some kale.

The farm partners up with some other like-minded farms and also offers as add-ons organic free range pork and chicken, all harvested the week of delivery, eggs, bread, other produce that they are not growing and flowers. This week we ordered a flower order, and it is just amazing…$15 bux and has to be a 10 inch bundle. And this will go on for 23 more weeks! We can’t wait.

When the first box came, I decided to lay everything out and take a photo This of course led me to start looking at the rest of the veggies individually, and then I took photos of them by themselves. I did it again for week 2 and then again today. I am going to try and do this every week, just to keep a record and to keep me shooting and to help build a stock of vegetable photos. I will post here sporadically, but am trying to post to Facebook every week.

So here are some pix………

week one full delivery.

week 2 full delivery.

week 3 full delivery.

Carrots.

Purple Kohlrabi.

Micro Greens.

Spring Onions, Scallions.

Easter Egg Radishes.

Leeks.

Nevada Head Lettuce.

Pak Choi.

Bright Lights Swiss Chard.

Beets.

Flowers.

Flowers.

Flowers.

Green Leafy Lettuce.

White Onions.

Peas.

No idea. If you know, please tell us!

Again, no idea. If you know, please tell us!

So a couple of weeks ago I was feeling upset that I hadn’t been able to find the time to shoot my dogwood photos for the year and it was getting warm already and the ones I was finding were already dropping petals and getting spots on the remaining ones, just looking like the end of their cycle. I try to shoot dogwoods every year, I think it is the prettiest flower and a wonderful tree. Last year I was able to shoot them on my parents property and you can see them here . This year I drove by them all over the place and just never had the time or the inspiration to stop and do the shots. It was really starting to bug me. Then I was doing a quick shoot for Rodale Publishing in a park here in Charlotte and as I was leaving decided to drive thru the park and came across this awesome dogwood tree, one of the biggest I have seen with more blooms than I could even hope for. Many of the blooms were starting to turn, but I found more than a few that were perfect, or at least perfect for me.

So here they are for 2009, the dogwoods…..

Like many photographers I am drawn to empty places, used places, abandoned places, forgotten space. I am not sure what it is that attracts me to it, but I can’t drive by an abandoned store or house without taking a long look at it. Most times I keep driving and always wonder what surprises I just passed. Sometimes I turn around, other times I brake to a stop in the middle of the road. I have been in empty mills, steel mills, textile mills, empty homes, small and big stores, hotels, motels, factories. Often these places are in rougher areas of towns and I have to take that into consideration. I’ve often seen signs of people using these spaces as a place to sleep or do drugs, but I have never ran into anyone while exploring. I like the industrial spaces the most, especially if the equipment is still there. I always try to picture the factory running at full speed, employees running around and machines humming. I wonder what happened, why is it empty, how many people lost their jobs. I try to think of the excitement of when the smelter or the tool benches or the weavers were first installed or fired up. In homes, I picture family dinners and holidays. With the economy the way it is these days, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for places here in Charlotte that I can  photograph and tie into current affairs. An empty auto lot, a floor of empty cubicles, homes with foreclosure signs. I have found an auto lot and the empty floors in the high rises, well, I need some help for those. 

The following photos were taken last summer on my way to the beach in the town of Florence SC. I drove past this hotel, and then just had to turn around, there was no fence ( often a barrier that I rarely cross ) and it was certainly abandoned. This is what I saw.

( random photo of Bella, so that this post will have a photo )

So, last year while I was pursuing many blogs to get an idea of what I wanted mine to be, there was this trend going around. People were making lists. A list of 101 goals to meet or things to do in 1001 days. 101 in 1001. At first I didn’t think much of it, just another one of those viral things, like the tag game where you tag someone and they have to give 8 seldom known things about themselves. I hated that one. If I wanted you to know something about me, I’d let ya know. But after following some of the blogs and people who were making these lists and doing the tasks, I was intrigued. I started to look at it differently. I started to see it as a way of being held accountable for some goals. Like many other creative people, my mind goes 1000 miles an hour all the time. Ideas pop in and out, some register, some i forget the second the next shiny thing catches my eye. It can be very frustrating as I am sure some of those idea are just brilliant! Mostly the idea comes and goes and I don’t really address it. like a photo project or story I want to do, I have dozens of them in my head, but don’t ever start acting on them. So I figured this was a way to put down on  the page a list of things I want to do. Some are big things others are rather small and easy. 

I started my list about 6-7 months ago, wrote down about 75 things then left it for a while. I decided to get back to it last week and finished my list. I re-read my list and was surprised at how many of the tasks still meant something to me and how many of them I had actually already completed! So, with a start date of Nov. 1st 2008 and an end date of July 30th 2011, here is my list.

The page will become a link on the top of the site for you to keep track of what I accomplish and I will be posting some of the tasks from time to time.

1 – Build new websites

2 – invest money in an IRA

3 – write thank you notes once a week for 3 months

4 – send congratulations notes to local and regional ad agencies that win awards

5 – contact at least one potential new client a month for 6 months

6 – go bone fish fishing in the Bahamas

7 – go Salmon fishing in Alaska

8 – go trout fishing in Montana

9 – photograph a series with local artists

10 – eat local food for a month

11 – visit and hike Yosemite

12 – learn to snowboard

13 – do something for someone and not tell any one

14 – start a senior photo business

15 – start a pet portrait business

16 – take an agility class with Bella

17 – produce and shoot one portfolio level shoot a month for 6 months

18 – learn to tie my own flies

19 – eat vegetarian for a week

20 – support a local CSA

21 – learn to can food

22 – buy an used old cast iron skillet   2.09

23 – travel to Europe

24 – build an outdoors portfolio

25 – visit my grandparents

26 – offer a workshop

27 – write a letter of appreciation to someone who does something nice for me

28 – no fast food for 3 months

29 –  blog at least once a week for 3 months

30 – take Jake fishing

31 – buy a house

32 – learn to shoot skeet

33 – make a Christmas card list and mail cards this year

34 – do a pro bono shoot for a charity I wish to support

35 – do a pro bono shoot for a deserving family

36 – join a new professional organization

37 – go to a professional organization conference

38 – take a workshop

39 – teach a college level course again

40 – plant a garden

41 – shoot a catalog job

42 – help someone in need

43 – hike for 4 more weeks on the AT

44 – volunteer with an environmental / conservation group

45 – take an overnight canoe/kayak trip in NC

46 – go to a Yankee game

47 – go surf fishing

48 – get a studio / loft space

49 – shoot more seed pods

50 – shoot more cactus

51 – edit, scan and post a stock collection

52 – get a stand alone ice maker

53 – get passport renewed      1.09

54 – get a video camera

55 – ROAD TRIP!

56 – expand wedding business into a real business

57 – make new friends in Charlotte

58 – set up a proper work flow

59 – shoot more flags

60 – shoot more night scapes

61 – enter some photo contests

62 – make my own mozzarella cheese

63 – design new promo items for clients

64 – get all my stuff out of storage in my parents basement

65 – bake fresh bread

66 – take a yoga class once a week for 3 months

67 – help a new / novice photographer

68 – go to the symphony

69 – expand children’s business to offer mini sessions in NJ and FL

70 – start a locations database

71 – hike on the Florida Trail

72 – go on a cruise      2.09

73 – visit friends in another state

74 – donate blood

75 – take a cooking class

76 – shoot in another country again

77 – go to the Observation Deck of the Empire State building

78 – visit the 8 states I’ve not been to, WA, ID, OR, MA, VT, HI, AK

79 – Ride my bike 25 miles

80 – win a live poker tournament

81 – shoot a video

82 – buy art, support a local artist

83 – get an old truck

84 – have a dinner party

85 – learn to cook Chinese

86 – make a new hard copy portfolio

87 – shoot more for Docuvitae

88 – get an assignment from one of the big food magazines

89 – re-connect with an old friend

90 – build or re-build something

91 – try a new food

92 – carry a camera everywhere for a month

93 – look into getting representation for editorial work again

94 – set up a RAID system or some other back up system

95 – fly a kite

96 – fish with in the Charlotte city limits

97 – shoot an empty space

98 – swim in the ocean

99 – drive a jet ski

100 – get prints / canvas’ done for the house

101 – sell a fine art print