Bicentennial Mall

Bicentennial Mall and the Tennessee State Capitol

     I took a photo walk with some friends Sunday evening down to Bicentennial Mall. It's been unusually chilly in Nashville for the last couple of days. There was a slight drizzle that was going in and out and it was just kind of gloomy. At least the cicada song has been quieted a bit. 

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Workshop, Weekend, Weather

     It's a workshop weekend so I'll be spending most of my time glued to the internet. Adding to the knowledge base is essential and keeps me learning and growing as a photographer. The weak spots get brought to the forefront and I'm presented with the choice of strengthening them and becoming better at what I do or ignoring them until they show up again. 

     They will show up again if nothing is done so, as always, the best time to work on them is now.

     I'm taking advantage of the breaks by sitting on the porch and taking in some of this beautiful day. Quite a change from the boom and slop of earlier this week. It's gorgeous outside. 

     Enjoy the weekend.

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Rainy Day Portrait

Breaking Records

     According to the weather reports the world is going to end sometime today. The local news is all over the story so the path of destruction is clearly mapped and timed. If you have any doubt of when your demise may draw nigh, just tune in to the local affiliates and they'll lay it out with impressive accuracy. 

     Camden, TN, you can expect the fear of God around 3:28pm. Hurricane Mills, around 3:35. Mt. Pleasant, 3:41-ish. If you live in Crab Orchard, you've got about 25 minutes to pack in a few more sins before you hit your knees in a bathtub or interior closet and plead your case.

     It's no surprise days like today are big news and it's not my intention to mock the plight of those who actually are affected, irreparably in some cases, by mother nature stretching her legs. It was only a year ago when the skies bled like a stuck pig and brought a thousand-year flood to Nashville and Middle Tennessee. If you weren't affected directly by it, you knew someone close to you who was, and it was no laughing matter. 

     I guess I'm just fascinated by how a radar map can be so captivating with it's different shades of green, yellow, red, and, what the... is that PURPLE?!? 

     I remember when the Weather Channel was announced as part of the lineup of basic cable and how insane that seemed. How in the world is a channel with 24 hours of weather coverage going to survive? How boring must peoples lives be to want to watch that? And look at it now, a huge success. I even have their app.

     As excessive as the local coverage may be to me, I'm guilty of consuming what they're producing. There it is, in the background, droning away like the cicadas will be about a month from now. It's kind of soothing in a way. It doesn't require me to be too involved mentally. They'll snap my attention to order if there's something I really need to know about, and maybe, just maybe, Charlie Neese will give us another inadvertent anatomy lesson and provide us with internet gold.

     I felt compelled to take a break from the neighborhood Ark construction and post a recent piece.

     A while back, Melissa and I received a box of old LP's from a family member. They were rejected by the local record shop and she just wanted to get rid of them. One night we took the worst of the worst and made some vinyl sculpture by heating them up and twisting them into all kinds of cool shapes. I watched Melissa do her thing and I took a lot of photographs. I love watching her work. 

     It was like old school art class with my best friend. She's going to cook a delicious dinner tonight and we'll relax with a couple episodes of The Sopranos. If I have to take cover in a closet or hide in a bathtub I'd rather it be with her than anyone else.

     Be safe everybody.

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Spring Up

    

     While taking a break from working on some video, I thought I'd share a few photos from a recent lunchtime walk around the Farmer's Market. Mid 70's temps with a stiff breeze and quiet enough to move around as slow as I wanted. I like it like that. I went there during the week so the halls were pretty empty, but a few shops were getting their inventory ready for spring.
    

     It was nice to get out of the house and away from the front of the computer. I have a few video projects in progress and it's nice to be working with moving images again. Working with video is a much different beast than still images. Of course, there are similarities in exposure, composition, etc., but the difference in length of time from capture to output is what I notice most of all. There's lots of waiting involved.
  

  I'm loving it, though. The feeling I get when I realize the whole project has been worth the waiting is amazing. It's another way to tell a story which really is what photography is all about whether it be moving or still. I'll be sharing some of what I've been working on sooner rather than later and can't wait to get this stuff out into the wild.

     Hope you're digging the weather lately and getting a chance to take advantage of it. Share Tweet

Street Tunes

     Keep your eyes open and there's no telling what you'll see. Yesterday, it was a man named Joseph practicing the violin on a basketball court off 8th Ave. Making my way towards Reservoir Park with fellow photog Barry Davis, all I could see from the street was a torso, a head and a violin.

     Barry parked the car and we made our way over. After introductions Joseph agreed to let us snap a few frames. The scene was perfect. Out of the racket of all the cars and buses driving by, Joseph carved his own place and gave whoever was lucky enough to hear it some sweet licks with his bow while his son danced and played around him.

     I really wasn't expecting to find refinement around Reservoir Park and the contrast of elements was very nice. It's these pockets of artistry that pop up all over the map that make Nashville such an interesting place to live.

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