Day 84; Golfing; My friend Bradley takes a swing at a golf ball on Tuesday. With the pandemic showing no signs of slowing Bradley and I got out assuming this could be the last time we could even do something as simple as golfing. Last Tuesday (day 76) was the last time we could eat in a public setting and it goes to show how fast the virus as effected our lives. Two days later the golf course was closed as a statewide shutdown was issued.
Day 83; Along the tracks; Alex my buddy Nick and myself get out of the house and go on a little adventure. Fresh air was needed. These are train tracks in the Royal Gorge. The last time i will see this stretch for a while.
Day 82; Sunday Mimosas; Colorado Governor Jared Polis passed a law where its legal for restaurants to deliver alcohol amidst the pandemic. You must order food while having alcohol delivered as part of the rule. On this Sunday Alex and I ordered mimosas from Mugs along with some sweet potato fries. With the pandemic effecting essential businesses thankfully restaurants can still offer take out services. Alex and i are slowly feeling better and this vitamin C was a boost :)
Day 81; Non-essential shutdown; As the virus spreads and infects people at a torrid pace non essential businesses close their doors down for a while, effecting the economy and the human psyche.
Day 80; TB to TB; As if the country coming to a complete halt and dramatic circumstances changing everyday life as we know it wasn't enough this happens. Tom Brady to the Bucs. As a life long Buccaneer fan i am stoked and excited. It rejuvenates a sad fan base and a struggling organization by bringing in the greatest Quarterback of all time. No one believed me when i told them that this really could happen. Well now it has happened. Its like the world is ending or something!
Day 79; "You like my space buns?" Alex is pictured here holding our cat Dude. She is also sick with a cold but is used to staying indoors since she works from home. While taking this picture she asked me "babe ya like my space buns?" Yes babe. Nice space buns.
Day 78; Tylenol; On Wednesday night i came down with Flu like symptons, hot and cold flashes and fatigue. I took some medicine and laid in bed waiting for the symptoms to leave. To be sick during this time is absolutely frustrating and concerning. Add to the fact we have to be out of this house, packed and moved 3 states away in two weeks is terrifying and stressful. Take your meds and rest up for the time being i guess.
Day 77; Clean Hands; My godfather Mark washes his hands in a sink at his shop. The CDC recommends you wash your hands for at least 20 seconds while scrubbing vigorously. Mark did just that here in this example.
Day 76; Last Call; Dalton takes a drink of beer out of a glass at The Owl, a popular burger joint here in Canon City. On this Monday we were certain this would be the last meal where we could all eat out in public and have beers together. Shortly after we left the establishment a rule was in place that for at least the next 30 days all bars and restaurants in Colorado would be closed, thanks to the corona virus. This served as the last time we'd be together in public for who knows how long.
Day 75; Spring Training; Spring rain drops line an Iris outside of our house early Sunday morning. The smell of rain and the welcoming moisture is wonderful.
Day 74; 16th Street Reflection; I get out of my car and wander to take pictures in the puddle soaked parking lots near my home. I always find a nearby cement walk-way lined with businesses interesting to photograph so i pulled out a multi-exposed image of that walk -way coupled with an image of my reflection looking into a gas station window. I love me some reflections.
Day 73; Self Portrait; My friend Brooke suggested i take a self portrait as a challenge photographically. On a day where i have a lot of cool moody images i chose this image of me looking almost Russian. Thanks for the idea Brooke. Its nice to have what i look like on this project.
Day 72; No Tee-Pee; The Corona Virus in the USA is getting very real and folks are stocking up on toilet paper in response. On this day my boss asked me to go to Safeway and get a plunger for the store. I can't tell you how ironic it was that I had a plunger and everyone else wanted toilet paper. I took my camera with me to take a few shots of this aisle and in the process ran into two people in less than 1 minute who needed toilet paper and were visibly frustrated it was all bought out. As of right now a 36 roll of toilet paper is going as high as $100 on Amazon.
Day 71; Corona Cubes; On this day America was set back by the rapidly approaching Corona Virus that is effecting peoples lives. The NBA suspended its season after a player tested positive for the virus and even star celebrity Tom Hanks and his wife were confirmed to have it. This has spun the country into a sobering reality and a bit of a panic. On this night i poured whiskey over ice and watched the news. I looked closely and thought these bubbles looked like bacteria and wondered if this is what the corona virus looks like.
Day 70; Red on White; Pictured here is my friend Shannon. On this day we photographed her dressed up for college graduation shots to send out. When i saw this red door and her red hair complimenting it i was thrilled. Congrats to you my friend, im proud of you and love your view on life.
Day 69; Laid Back Dude; Dude relaxes on a chair in the afternoon. Dude recently went to the vet for a bad tooth and they gave him fluids and an IV, as evidenced by the missing patch of hair on his arm.
Day 68; Weight Toss; The clocks went forward as Spring approaches. On this beautiful day me and these fellas went fishing after work. Our buddy Dan in the blue plaid smoking a stogey brought a magnetic weight tied to a long rope in hopes of picking up something out of the river. In this image Nick tosses that magnet out into the river as they all watch in anticipation, including Nicks dog Toby.
Day 67; Carlos goes by; This is Carlos. He is what i call a bar ninja. He comes in weekly and will have a handful of drinks over a span of time but they are never the same drink. For instance he can go with beer, to coffee, to vodka, to tequila, a different beer to soda. He has the guts of a god and he rides his bike everywhere. I don't know how he does it, i dont know how Ninjas do it. We laughed at this photo since i told Carlos i had no pictures of the day. He was totally cool with me randomly photographing him with my giant ass off camera flash. Thanks Carlos.
Day 66; Missing Film; I miss film and all the different kinds there is to shoot and all the diffferent cameras to use. Can't wait to get back to it. In the meantime i got a year to live.
Day 65; Walking Alone; After the service for Thomas Bright was held at a church the burial followed in the next town over where this image was taken. I took a picture of this woman leaving the ceremony, far behind a few others ahead of her. I don't know who she was but i was intrigued by her funeral attire among the gravestones and the trees. Like myself, she wasn't accompanied by anyone else she was there alone and i could relate to that. RIP Thomas.
Day 64; Loving Tattoo; After being able to take off her protective wrap, Brooke shows me her memorial tattoo and some of the flowers she recently received as well.
Day 63; Old Bills; While counting out cash i get some of my older bills out to photograph. Ive had these tucked away for a couple years now just because i think they are pretty cool. Ive taken a few pictures on different days and this was this days edition, pretty simple. Im taking them to the bank soon to finally cash in. Fun fact on Day 24 photoshop wouldn't allow me to even open an image of a newer 100 dollar bill. Apparently photoshop doesnt care about old bills.
Day 62; Afternoon Guinness; Every Monday or Tuesday i go and see my friends Scott and Kris (day 6). This usually consists of having a Guinness or two. Cheers bud.
Day 61; Walk of Shame; After that crazy leap year party i had to walk to work at 730 AM since i left my car at the party to avoid drunk driving. I took a picture of this stop sign in our neighborhood which sums up our slummy corner quite well. We live next to an abandoned house that kids like to tag and destroy and im sure they really do hate us snitching on them when they are caught doing it.
Day 60; Leap Year Party; Pictured here is an image of two girls shot gunning some white claw seltzers and drenching a crowd at my buddy's leap year party. It was the craziest party I've ever been to. It was hard finding an image for this day as that party produced the funnest night of photographing i've had all year by far.
Day 59; Tulips; I take a picture of some tulips I got for Alex. Thankfully our cats haven't thrashed the hell out of them yet.
Day 58; rory; I meet my friend Brookes dog Rory. I actually used a combination of Brookes camera with a lens i am letting her try out. In this shot we went to the kitchen and we tried getting her to jump for treats. She was confused by the gesture at first, jumping for treats, figuring it out rather quickly. She was sweet and gave me puppy fever.
Day 57; why?;
and the clock tells me its late.
I wish i knew what to say
take the pain away
My black pea coat is covered in cat hair and i think of Huck.
I thought of Rory and want to meet her.
Im at your door.
and hope somehow they
Day 56; Hannah, Phoebe and the Birds; I go and visit my friend Hannahs in her new home. I finally got to meet Hannahs cat Phoebe as she looks out in a common perch of hers, watching birds, while Hannah eats lunch. Hannah has all wood floors and i am shocked that cat doesn't shed and i can only think how lucky she is not having to clean it up compared to ours.
Day 55; Ducking Darts; This is my friend Jen. I took this picture of her while she shot darts and was telling me to move or else it wouldn't be pretty. She has been my boss for over 7 years. On this day she took me and Nick and Tahnee on a 'Thanks for working for us for so long' trip. So shout out:
Jen, I am going to be hard pressed to find anyone that has ever treated me so well as an employee and small business owner. I am always so thankful for how you care for us like family. You give a shit about us. Its hard to find people that run a business and care about the employees as much as the business so thanks for always being not just my boss but a friend and such a reliable person in my life. You are an idol of mine by the way you carry yourself so well as a business owner, a wife, a friend, a mentor and an American damnit. Thank you so much for being a part of my life."
Day 54; Winter\Spring; This day i woke up with rain on the ground and the smell of spring in the air. A few hours later the biggest snow flakes i have ever seen began to fall from the sky. It looked like giant feathers floating down. After a day shift at work the snow had passed but everything was soaked, including cactus spikes pictured here.
Day 53; Happy Birthday Gary; My friend Gary stopped in for a few drinks celebrating his 69th birthday. Gary is my friend who i confide in when it comes to music. We both collect vinyl records and he often is a sought after vendor when he attends vinyl festivals in Denver and Colorado Springs. Gary's vinyl collection of the Beatles is awe inspiring and id wager money its one of the finest and most collect-able collections in the world. Happy Birthday pal.
Day 52; Latte Pour; On this Friday i get a latte from the bean pedaler. Its been a while since i have had a latte and decided to get one over black coffee for pictures sake.
Day 51; Missed MAGA Rally; Pictured here in his 'Make America Great Again' hat is my friend Dakota. He attended the rally in nearby Colorado Springs but stood in line for over 5 hours and didn't get in. There was a reported 70,000 registered for the rally in a venue that held 8,000.
Day 50; A Cold Walk Home; A late night walk home after work was a cold one, as another cold front moved through producing snow. While the majority of people in this town complain about it i am thrilled to see so much snow and a real winter for the first time in years.
Day 49; WW1 Mementos; My godfather Mark pictured here has owned his own antique store for close to 30 years. Over that span he has come into contact with many amazing items that he has either shared with me or told me about. This year a man came into his shop and sold Mark his entire great grandfathers World War 1 collection. When asked why he was selling it all the man said was he needed to pay bills and all this was "just stuff". The collection included the soldiers helmet, canteen, medals, 3 bibles he carried and wrote in, a piece of a propeller off of a WW1 fighter plane, his own hand made trench art, a Japanese katana sword and a german helmet. This book though was the personal favorite and something that would make this whole collection appeal to museums and history buffs. It was his very own handmade journal featuring his enlistment and discharge papers, letters to his wife, facts about the planes he was flying in, newspaper articles about the war, food menus where they stopped and ate, prayers, snippets out of books, photography, you name it. Looking through it made you tear up and cherish the lives and freedoms we have thanks to men like him.
Day 48; Dealing Cards; Mom finishes dealing a deck of cards again during our weeky match of spades.
Day 47; On a Sunday afternoon i went out with a crew to have some drinks. I called my friend Brooke and told her we should shoot a sunset on Skyline drive, a one way road that takes you on an aerial view of Canon City. My tripod head was a bit loose and the wind was literally moving my camera so im surprised and happy this long exposure was born.
Day 46; Sunbather;' Dude basks in sunlight in a small section where his fat ass can fit.
Day 45; Valentines Rose; In the cafe at work the owner always gets fresh flowers for the tables. The roses were a fit for this day.
Day 44; Icy Windows; A photograph featuring a single snow flake on my car window is taken in the driveway. I was curious to why the flake itself had an orange hue to it. Then i figured out it was the light from the outdoor garage light touching it.
Day 43; Asian Nachos; Food photography is hard. I went to photo school with a girl named Nikki who is now an established food photographer and i remember how difficult it was in studio with reflections and color corrections and lighting. I'll feature about one picture a month of food but i am no food photographer yet. I named this picture Asian Nachos because to me it looks like an Asian version of Nachos.
Day 42; Spades; My mom looks at me as i sneak a picture of her as she surveys her hand in the card game spades.
Day 41; Droplet; A drop of water trickles off an icicle outside of the cabin we stayed at. Over the entirety of the weekend a ton of snow and cold weather was sent to the region.
Day 40; Love Day; Alex pictured here on a blanket with champagne ready and snacks poses for a picture before i head outside to photograph a nearby creek. She laughed and told our friends over snapchat how inside by a cozy fire with a robe and champagne is an ideal place to her while she pans the video to me in a freezing ass snow storm photographing and thats my ideal place.
Day 39; Courtney Barnett; I got to see one of my favorite musicians again that weekend when we went and saw Courtney Barnett perform at the Stanley Hotel. I was thrilled i got to bring a camera into the event and was happy with the images, including this one of her looking me dead ass into my soul.
Day 38; Illusion Forest; My friend Forest plasters his hands on the window in this multi exposed image. I had been planning this image for a few weeks and was funny instructing him to cover the window with his hands many times. The nice fella didnt want to dirty the windows up too much to which i replied "Dont worry. The print will be worth it."
Day 36; Bird Watching; Presley watches birds outside of our window.
Day 35; My weekend after a drunken super bowl Sunday brought snow and bitter cold temperatures and beautiful landscapes.
Day 34; Back to the Car; Snow begins to fall as a cold front and winter storm hits the area this Monday. Pictured here are my foot tracks between my tire tracks as i make my way back to my car parked on the side of the road.
Day 33; Super Bowl Blur; This image taken at Mugs where i work shows a blurred state, representing what i remember. Lots of beer, lots of shots and lots of laughs. Thankfully my cat won us 250 dollars on a super bowl square and everyone here was pissed.
Day 32; Izzy's Birthday; On the 1stof February it was my moms dog Izzy's 11th birthday. This dog was around when my dad was alive and is such a sweet girl. Way to be a good girl Izzy.
Day 31; Dave is retired; Dave wanders in late for a drink close to closing time. I hadn't seen Dave in mugs in close to 5 years. I took this picture of him and his hat that says "Im retired...having GOOD times IS MY JOB". Dave said he didn't know where he got the hat. Nice seeing you again Dave. Keep enjoying retirement.
Day 30; Late Night Mercury; To this point on this night i hadn't shot a photo all day and i was now off work and approaching midnight. I drove around town searching til i found this ole classic sitting out by a mechanic shop.
Day 29; Herbed Vinaigrette; At work i photograph my buddy Josh in the process of making salad dressing. This was olive oil meeting red wine vinegar.
Day 28; Inside Dans head; My buddy Dan is the smartest guy i've ever known in my life. He is a genius and a totally out there guy. Dans mind stretches the limits and his personality stretches the line of sense of humor at times, making him the kinda guy that makes philosophical conversations awesome. Any conversation really. Dan is like talking to a real life Rick from Rick and Morty. Im thankful for having had this dude in my life and look forward to his company always.
Day 27; First storm; 27 days into the year and Canon City has its first storm coming in.
Day 26; RIP KOBE; I was on the toilet playing a golf game in the bathroom when Alex opened the door and showed me her text on her phone, it sent a jolt to my brain but i dismissed it. She shrugged and walked away and i looked it up myself. To my disbelief multiple articles no more than 5 minutes old were posted all over Google, all headlined about the death of Kobe Bryant via helicopter crash. Kobe was one of my idols growing up watching my favorite sport, professional basketball. He was one of the greats and someone you admired and someone i hated to hate. I didnt want to hate Kobe because he was awesome. He was a laker though and as a die hard Nuggets fan i had to watch Kobe beat us more often than not. No bigger than the 2009 Western Conference championship series, the fursthest the Nuggets had ever advanced in their franchise history. He was accused of rape in Colorado just a year earlier and when i went to a game the 'boo's' every time he received the ball were deafening. He hung 41 on us that game and took care of business unfortunately. That year the Lakers won a ring against a bad Orlando Magic team and i always said it should of been us. After that i always marveled and was in awe of Kobe Bryant. His competitiveness and will to win was unlike anyones mindset i had ever seen. He did it all on the court and there was no doubt there will ever be another one like him. He basically revived one of the biggest cities in the world by giving them hope and encouragement, something to look forward to that was positive and uplifting. Kobe Bryant was in many ways a cities saviour and all he did was simply work hard at what he loved to do. Over the next several days i read about Kobes personal life and his relationship with his wife, his kids, his friends and his colleagues. It makes the death of him at age 41 much more tragic after reading his regard for the future and his drive to get the best out of his kids. As dominant and amazing he was at a sport he absolutely loved, he would choose family over that in a second if he had to. He leaves this earth as someone i'll never forget and an idol i'll look up to til i die. This picture was taken in the gym that day he had passed.
Day 25; Record cleanup; Pictured here is a splatter paint vinyl record from the band The Mystery Lights. On this night a friend of mine named Gary, gave me a bunch of fancy sleeves for my records to which i began to organize and do a clean up effort. I had to take a picture of this beaut.
Day 24; Deposit; On this day i took this money to the bank. I transferred my change from a jug into a large bowl. A quick guess thought the change would add up to a little over 200 dollars and was pleasantly surprised to see it netted me over 300. Interesting note (no pun intended) When i tried to open this image up in photoshop it wouldn't allow me to even open the picture, thanks to their stance on banknotes being edited. It just pops up a screen telling me i cant edit this picture. It left me with an uncomfortable realization that "They" are watching everything you do.
Day 23; Edie's Embroidery; Pictured here is my friend Edie who does hand stitched embroidery and is awesome at it. Edie's house was so warming and welcoming and her pets helped make the visit so memorable. Here she is pictured in her living room.
Day 22; Cats Etch; Pictured here is the hands of my friend Cat. Her and her husband Tom have their own art studio and they come into mugs every week and every week Cat does a new themed picture on the etch a sketch. The most impressive thing for me, aside from detailed work on an etch a sketch, is the amount of time it takes her to finish her drawings, only around 10 to 15 minutes at most. This weeks image is a advertised image of the upcoming super bowl in Miami.
Day 21; Employee Bowl; Alex tosses a bowling bowl at some pins during the Mugs employee party. Almost no one was sober.
Day 20; The Squiggly thing; Alex and i went on a hike by a nearby creek and i noticed a bush with these furry "squiggly" looking things hanging off the end of some of the bushes twigs. I pulled out my macro lens and went to town. This image is especially relevant because it became the first image in which i photographed and printed on the same day.
Day 19; Jersey Swap; Levi Paxton can only smile in disbelief while resting his face on a cheese head as his Green Bay Packers get smoked in the NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers. Levi's mom sitting next to him is a big 49ers fan who was wearing a Jerry Rice jersey while Levi sported an Aaron Rogers jersey. At one point while down 20-0 in the 2nd quarter i heard Levi ask her "Mom can we trade jerseys??"
Day 18; Bucco Presley; Presley hangs over her cat tower looking down on Dude in the afternoon.
Day 17; Lunch with Lindsey; i meet up with my sister Lindsey and enjoy an afternoon catching up and talking while enjoying a delicious Italian stallion sandwich. I love her very much.
Day 16; Impeachment Trial; An impeachment trial for Donald Trump begins as the country continues to be divided.
Day 15; Eggs; Eggs are about to be cooked for breakfast.
Day 14; 1917; Alex and i go and see the movie 1917, a World War 1 movie that was filmed to be one continuous running shot. The movie was probably the best movie id ever seen in theaters.
Day 13; Presley's interest; Before work i play with my cat Presley who is snuggled in the window pane sun bathing.
Day 12; Dude and Presley; Our cats Dude and Presley post for a white house style photograph.
Day 11; Bo wins a beer; Bo pictured here holding two beers is an avid Kansas City Chiefs fan. On this day the chiefs hosted the Houston Texans in the AFC divisional round and quickly fell behind 24-0. Bo, then made a bold bet that the Chiefs would be winning by halftime. Everyone including myself called him a dumbass but then miraculously, the chiefs stormed back to take a 28-24 halftime lead. I paid my dues on the bet and without Bo knowing i opened up an O'douls non-alcoholic beer. When he took a drink of it he was pissed and asked "What the fuck is this!? Why did you give me a Grandma beer!?"
Day 10; Printer setup; My cat dude offers support as i read instructions on setting up a Canon Pixma-Pro 100 printer i received for christmas. The printer is a pro grade printer and has inspired me to print print print! Its been a blessing and lit a fire under my photographic ass.
Day 9; Rule Burnside; I like to collect cameras, photography related things and records. The record market is unbelievably wide open when it comes to vinyl records anymore. Limited edition releases, foreign country releases and different designed vinyl is all awesome. Before getting ready to prepare a meal i pulled this old record out of the stack. A record by blues artist R.L. Burnside on a limited edition "smoke" vinyl.
Day 8; The Barbershop; Pictured here is my buddy Aaron looking into a mirror after he had just cut my hair. I went to school with Aaron and hes my barber down at Phil's Barber Shop.
Day7; Epsom Salt Bath; After a long week of exercise and work i run an epson salt bath to end the week.
Day 6; Ufa's turn; Pictured here are my friends Ufa and Kris. Kris has been dealing with injuries and has been prescribed pain killers to recover. While on pain killers her son scott gets the dog Ufa to jump on the couch for a picture. Kris immediately demands Ufa to get down while Ufa does her best to ignore her. Moments after this picture Ufa reluctantly gives up her spot on the couch.
Day 5; Presley's ailment; Alex let me know of the discovery of a chewed up peace lily on the same day of our cat Presley throwing up clear liquid. The peace lily is a toxic plant for pets, thankfully for Presley she was alright and only digested a small amount.
Day 4; Word search; Alex looks through a word search on a relaxing Saturday afternoon. NFL football playoffs started this day and so did Alex's laid back weekend.
Day 3; Mike Brodies book arrives; in the early part of the decade around 2012 i discovered a photographer named Mike Brodie. He was a train hopping traveler equipped with a 35mm camera, capturing everything on his journey. It became my favorite body of work over the last decade and i finally bought the book. The book arrived on January 3rd of the new year. Here i am looking through it with a a cup of coffee.
Day 2; Meatball Nirvana; Turkey meatballs bake in the oven late at night, minutes to midnight. Cooking has become a large staple of my life in the last year, remembering recipes from scratch is something i plan to work on extensively.
Day 1; 2020; Back in the day when i thought of 2020 i would think of flying cars, robots doing my laundry and the ability to read minds. Instead...We have beyond meat burgers at Burger King.