Beauty of Decay

I'm currently sitting on my couch post snuggling with my little guy while watching his 'girlfriend' Rachael Ray on a very cold snowy Columbus Saturday. I plan on shooting a roll of him today.. it's been far too long.

My upcoming travel plans include much warmer places than Ohio.. North Carolina, Tampa, and Santa Fe/Albuquerque. New Mexico is one of the only 7 states I havent been to, so I am thrilled.

Until then i'm headed up to Detroit to shoot in some of the beautiful abandoned structures there. I rarely do self portraits outside of my own bedroom or hotel room so this will be a new challenge for me. Not only do I find beauty in these spaces, but it's also a little saddening to see a fine American city in decay almost directly due to the auto industry. However, there is a a few good art communities around that area that find beauty there, so who knows what the next 10-20 years have in store for Detwah.

This image is 5 1/2 years old. I was 8 months pregnant modeling in an abandoned mental hospital in Pittsburgh. It's also a very special moment as Aidan was kicking me....



Ethan Long 2005

Unconditional

My odometer light has gone out in my car. I dont think i'm quite at 200k yet, but very nearly there. After a busy year and especially busy fall, I am very excited to ring in the New Year with new opportunities. Every year I grow as a person and try to live life to the fullest of my ability while having wonderful people right along with me.

I finally finished my last shoot of the year yesterday. I drove home from Indianapolis under a clear sky and blueish appearing snow under a full moon. It just reminded me how lucky we all are to see such a gorgeous site as the vast space backdrop each night. We have evolved from nothing, and we need to treasure our precious lives here. What better time of the year to remind ourselves this?

I know I am... and i'm also lucky this surprise is in my life. I am of the opinion there is no positive emotion felt by humans than unconditional love. He has taught me this;

Jupiter!

I've officially put 6,000 miles on my car in a month, and what a great month it has been. From St Paul to Boston to North Carolina to Rochester.

Headed to The Emerald City (Seattle) and Vancouver next week to see some of my favorite people in the world.

Until then, watch Aidan recite the planets;

Everywhere I Go...

I am amazed at the life, the thinking, the learning, and the laughing. Listening to The Black Keys on repeat for 1/3 of my 12 hour drive back.. set me free.

It only gets better from here.





Mark Haskins August 2010 - The Upper Peninsula of Michigan

First Aidan Video

I do not have a video camera but I do have a few videos to share, which would give you a better idea of the character and personality of my little angel.

"It's Waves Right There!"

Aidan said his first 4 word sentence i've heard while looking at my phone and the beautiful pictures of Shi Shi. I'm so proud of him. He keeps excelling by leaps and bounds.

I have been looking for philosophy to read lately (as it has been far too long) but sometimes I should look at the simple philosophy in front of me. I could take something from living in the moment with Aidan and apply that to my own personal life and the goals in it. Why focus on 10 years down the road when living in the moment feels so much more amazing and real? It seems that people tend to get too focused on worrying about what they're going to be doing in ten years, or what their life is supposed to be compared to everyone else, which is really society's fault. "Figuring yourself out" is a process of life but to get too focused on it you really lose sight of the important things right in front of you and some have been the entire time...

Marine life;


One of the most brilliant sunsets ive ever witness captured by a crappy phone but I remember it very vividly...


Tide Pools;



Sea stack;


My heaven.

Grainy Baby

I am currently sitting in a McDonald's in the middle of nowhere upstate New York waiting on 10:30 shoot. I've had a productive trip. I havent been here before and I noticed a few things, it's huge, it's pretty, and there are a lot of colleges, businesses, and just interesting things here. Corning glass, Cornell, RIT, Kodak... yeah a non existent Kodak. I was shooting with a guy who explained he used to work at Kodak in Rochester and explained he had a 4x5 camera with film just sitting in his fridge. I went down to look at his darkroom and was amazed at how much equipment he had as well as the fact it was organized.. almost too organized...

He then explained he hadnt used it in quite some time and how he bought most of the equipment at yard sales. Including his $3000 enlarger for... $100. Yes One-hundred dollars. My jaw dropped to the floor. We are really transitioning out of this medium and I just cant believe it. Film makes me think. I operate on the fact I really think about the image before I click the shutter. None of my cameras have a "cloudy/sun/people" setting on them. They dont think for me, they force me to think. Not to say everyone uses digital cameras that way and film is better I just prefer the f-stop, shutter speed, and iso setting... and well that's it. It literally forces me to think about my shot after I have the idea or see the image in my head. I create better images this way. It's for me... I can only hope it will last another 50 years but I digress...

I also watched an Annie Leibovitz documentary last night. She grew up a lot like I did and thought the same way I did. The way I saw a picture was through the square image of my dad's window on his 1982 Chevy Silverado due to moving constantly from his welding life. I remember thinking how I wished I had a camera to document our lives....we loved it. My dad had a polariod and I started using that. I acquired a 110 camera from my uncle at age 10. Photographing my sister crying because I wouldnt give her my camera to get her way.

My mother asked; "why did you photograph her like that? She is crying not smiling!" I simply said; "because that is who she is."....

This is probably my favorite portrait of the most important person in my life waking up. He is so beautiful when he wakes up and I am inspired now to document even more than I have;



taken with an Agfa 6x9. Tri X 400.