I was still a long ways away from the "photo a day project" but I was more in the random-shots-here-and-there-mode. I took these shots of my mom on a visit to The VA. She hardly ever plays piano any more but I am always amazed how she just picks it right up when she sits down. She sings too! Plus, this is one of the rare shots of my parents' living room - not a room that gets photographed too often. You can see Hippy cat sleeping in the chair in the background.
Both my parents, individually, are very hard to photograph people. They both put on this photo-version-of-themselves that includes a lot of uncomfortability and bad habits. So, getting them both to look decent in a picture together is nearly impossible
I wish with all my heart that I had taken more pictures of my Dad. I don't know why I wasn't taking his photograph every day that I was with him. And I don't know why I didn't take more relaxed, casual, intimate shots of him doing every day things that he did. But, our generation didn't really grow up taking those sorts of pictures did we? I am making an effort to try and change these things every day now...taking pictures of the people I love doing the normal things that they do. But that has only come from shooting all the time and from learning this lesson a very hard way.
For the record, Mush was grumpy way back on June 20th, 2004. I know many of you out there really love the grumpy Mush pics.
Looking back through my old photos, I thoroughly enjoyed looking at these pictures of Julia on her first trip to NY. I just had to add more because five years later, I can now recognize all of her expressions in these photos even though she was only 9 months or so old. Isn't that amazing? That we have our smiles, our expressions, our "signature looks" when we're just this young?
Late that night, we had one of our great nights in the garden with good friends and a few drinks. Gords even came by. I remember thinking it was so weird that the "adults" were having a few drinks after we put "the baby" to bed. It had never occurred to me as a kid that the grown ups had a life of their own that they continued as regular people after we went to bed. I also never knew there was an entire level of normal adult conversation going on over top of our heads during most of our young childhoods. At the time, this was a new an interesting realization for me.
Looking at it now, it's a terrible photo, but at the time I loved this photo of Gords very much. I loved the motion and the tilting back in his chair, the warmth, and the feel of the few drinks we had all shared.
We all went out to dinner at Two Boots, one of our regular haunts, for food on the patio (ah, summer in Brooklyn). J had no idea what to do with a baby and I think Julia's look here clearly says "Dude, you don't have any idea who you're talking to, do you?!"
It was so hard wrapping my head around the fact that we had a baby in our circle now. We took her to our favorite little cafe/breakfast place Naidre's (she was clearly unimpressed). I love this photo for her squishy little baby-fat cheeks!
I remember this moment very clearly. B was explaining, in scientific detail, the parts of grass to Julia.
I believe this was little Julia's first trip to NYC. Since she was (and still is) the first baby in our group of college friends, I remember being totally freaked out that a real-live-baby was going to be in my apartment. It was weird! We all went to Prospect Park for a beautiful afternoon in the sun though. The guys threw a disc around and the girls (me, Julia, and her mom) sat on blankets in the grass and did pictures.
Random photos of Brooklyn life...taken through the window at Naidre's cafe. A girl and her dog; I wonder where they are now?
More practice with the camera. J used to play the guitar all the time. Now, he only picks it up a couple times a year. Dear, if you're reading this, I really miss you playing guitar! Please play again! I love it!
p.s. Man, was I ever a bad photographer!
In the early days, J was my one and only person that I could practice taking photos of. So, there are lots of these pictures where he's just standing there looking at the camera while I work stuff out in my head. Clearly, when he got home from work I must have said "Come out in the yard real quick so I can take some pictures. Nah, don't worry about changing." We finally threw out the last of these work shirts here in Seattle.
This was our Brooklyn garden. If you had told me when I took this picture that J and I would be getting married right there in less than two years I would have called you crazy. This garden is THE ONE THING I miss the most about New York, by far. We spent many wonderful hours back here making it beautiful, relaxing, grilling and eating with friends. It is one of the great little patches of earth.
J, five years ago, at Two Boots.