Jaci V

This is your pilot speaking, I hope your enjoying your flight with us today… Ok, it seems like I’ve created a theme of commercial airline flying this week. So, I thought I would cap it off with one more shot from my flight in April.

One of the cool things about flying Air Tran is that they offer XM satellite radio! which means you have access to many different kinds of music to pass the time of your flight. I love being able to listen to my favorite modern Christian music as I fly. The LCD display shows the channel (or genre) and artist whose playing at the time. I had been wanting to get a cool shot of the display when I seen Jaci Velasquez’s name appear, Perfect!

You see, I’ve a had a celebrity crush on Jaci ever since she came onto the Christian music scene in 1995 when she was 15. I just seem to be drawn to dark haired women like Jaci Velasquez or Catherine Zeta Jones. Of course I like blondes too, a few celebrity examples: Naomi Watts, Kirsten Dunst and Scarlet Johansen.

Anyway, funny story; I’ve been able to see Jaci in concert about 3 times. The first being in 1998, when she was about 19 (I‘m just a few months older than her), she opened for 4HIM. After the concert I bought a black and white photo of Jaci to get autographed. As I stood in line, the guys of 4HIM were actually working their way back the line signing peoples stuff! I didn’t care about that though, I was waiting for Jaci! Anyway, as I got closer to Jaci’s table that she was sitting at, I remember that most of the other people in line were little girls and their moms. When I finally got to Jaci, I gave her the photo to sign. I think she asked me if I had a good time and smiled as she signed the photo. I think I actually spoke and said yes, but for the rest of that small moment in time, I was just like…uh…duh…….

Window Seat

Here's another image that I captured as I was flying up North earlier this year. I was entertaining myself with my camera when I looked up and seen the boy in front of me gazing out the window. I knew it was a photographic opportunity, so I fired away. It took me a couple tries though, because this boy was chewing gum like a cow, I had to get a shot where you couldn't tell that. I like how you can see his reflection in the window and how he's just looking out on the earth below. That's what drew me to this shot.

It really is amazing that we can actually fly in giant machines through the sky. It's mind boggling when you stop and think about that. I'm glad I live in this time. There's always bad things in this world, but I still think it's an exciting time to be alive!

Reese

Earlier this year I flew up North via Air Tran, to visit my parents and to be in my cousin's wedding. Air Tran’s in-flight magazine is “go”, which on this particular cover was Reese Witherspoon (I used to get her confused with Alicia Silverstone). I just thought it was cool how Reese was peeking over the magazine holder in the seat. I also thought the title was cool, “There’s nothing stopping you”.

One of the girls I used to work with at a grocery store actually reminded me of Reese and Alicia, I think more so Reese. Her name was Sam, she was fun to work with;)

A Beginning

I took this self portrait when I was 8. This was from one of the first “photo shoots” I can remember going on. I had just gotten a “micro 110” camera at Burger King. I don't see the Creepy King serving those up on his commercials these days. The camera was only about two and half inches long. The end of the 110 film cartridge actually stuck out the side of the camera! It had a little red shutter button that I thought was cool. The view finder was a pop-up square piece of plastic, well, the whole camera was pretty much plastic.

Anyway, I remember taking this camera outside that evening and wandering around my grandparents Big yard. I was amazed that I “had the power” to capture whatever image I wanted to. I was shooting shrubs, trees, etc. Then I turned the camera on myself and pressed that cool little red shutter button. I love having this picture, because it shows an interest in photography that I had even at 8 years old. This was taken long before I would know anything about shutter speeds, aperture or film speeds, I was just capturing images.

I found the image of this Micro 110 on the internet. It’s almost identical to the one I took this self portrait with. If you look closely at the diagram on the box, you can see the film cartridge sticking out of the end of the camera.

Shadow Play

Another thing that inspires me as a photographer are shadows. I think it’s because they create something unique on their own, something that at times will only be visible for a moment. On numerous occasions I’ve spotted shadows that I just had to photograph.

In 2004 I went to Chicago for a Mac design seminar. While there I explored the city looking for cool photographic opportunities. As I walked through an underpass I saw a 10 speed bicycle that was locked up in a cage. I noticed how it had a great mirrored shadow coming off of it on the ground. At first I kept on walking, but then I knew I’d better turn around and take that shot! So, I did.

I seen this duck on Chicago’s Navy Pier. It was in the evening and the duck was casting an elongated almost bowling pin like shadow. The table photo was taken down in Boca at the same resort I took the shots of the limes. If you look closely you can see a lime in the glass on the table, but the shadow on the ground is the star of this photograph.

The Limes

A few months ago I went on a business trip to Boca Raton and was blessed to stay at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. As I was wandering around the massive resort trying to photograph all the cool architecture, I stumbled upon this bucket of limes. After I photographed them, I realized that also on the table were sliced ones placed in glasses for the juice that was being served. I got there just in time though, the table slowly began to be swarmed by thirsty guests, making it more difficult to get a good shot.

One guy had to wait for me to get out of the way so he could grab a glass. He was probably wandering what the heck I was doing, I was capturing a creative photograph that’s what! Sometimes that’s going to happen though, some people might look at you weird, not knowing that your really creating art.

Hoop Dreams

The image above evokes a lot of feelings within me. I can just see a dunk being threw down, a bank shot made or a rebound grabbed with authority. Basketball came into my life when I was about 12. My Uncle Rodney showed me some of the fundamentals and I took off. I watched it, played it, and talked it for the rest of my teens.

Because of life and having other passions and interest now, I hardly play basketball anymore, but I still have a love for the game. The images of the game still play through my mind almost everyday. If something is going well for me, maybe that translates into a “highlight” in my mind. It’s kind of hard to explain, but basketball is so ingrained in me, I think it will always be apart of me.

The drama that unfolds on the court is really in it’s own realm. One of the things I enjoy about watching NBA basketball is that anything can happen. When a game is close nearing the end of the fourth quarter anything is possible. I think it is a parallel to life, especially life with God, anything can happen! There’s definitely things i'm looking forward to in life that will be like winning an NBA championship for me when they happen! I’ll be as happy as Michael Jordan kissing that trophy back in 1991 when he won his first title.

I think I can understand why NBA players are so elated when they win a Championship or so devastated when they loose. When you pour your time, effort, energies, and dreams into something, your going to be moved with everything inside of you one way or the other depending on the outcome of that endeavor. I’ve seen in small ways in my own life when I’ve poured my time, energies and dreams into something how it effected me both positively and negatively. But, that’s when you know your living, when you pour everything you have into something.

This photo was taken when I was about 13 or 14 years old. I was laying on the basin of my “Insti-Hoop” and took the shot with a point and shoot 35mm. I think I was already inspired by that view while laying there to rest on previous occasions and decided to “capture” it one day.

Remember the Time?

I really like watches. I don't wear any other Jewelry, but a watch I do. If you would ask any of my close friends, they would all tell you that I'm an "on time" kind of guy. I guess I was just brought up that way, to be punctual. Anyway, I like both watches and clocks, one of the images on my first Blog is a clock in my apartment. Watches though, are even cooler than clocks to me, because you "build memories" with them. What are you talking about, you say? I can look at one of my watches and think, "I wore that during 'this time' in my life" or "when I accomplished that" or even better "I was wearing that watch when I took that girl out on that date!" So for me, time pieces that you wear to keep time, also become apart of the moments that create memories.

Above is one of my favorite watches, a Relic that I bought after Christmas with some gift cards back in the beginning of 2005. And oh yes, we have built some memories together.

Auto Art

What makes classic automobiles so interesting? Why are they so beautiful? For me, I think it's the design for one thing. I think cars were made a bigger deal of as a whole back when the automobile was still young, you can just tell by the some times flamboyant lines and curves. I've tried to capture that when I started photographing them at Old Town's weekly Saturday Night Cruise in Kissimmee Florida back in 2004. I guess I got inspired by two things; my 2000 Mustang that I got at the end of 2003 and the digital camera I got for Christmas that year. My Mustang made me feel like I was a part of the American car heritage. My new digital camera allowed me to experiment more with my photography and get closer because of the "Macro" capabilities of most digital cameras.

Some of the cars have a romantic sense to them for me. I can just look at the bucket seats in a Corvette Stingray and imagine going down the road on a Friday night with a special girl by my side. A ride for just her and I. If you listen carefully to the stories that people are telling around you at one of these shows, you will hear things like "We had one of those when we were dating" or "When we first got married, that was our first car". It's amazing how these autos are weaved into peoples lives.

So, when I photograph these classic cars at Old Town, I try to capture the beauty, magic, and romance that make these machines so wonderful.

My first "Blog"

Hello, I'm Chad, I thought that I would join the rest of the world and have my own "Blog". I am a Graphic Designer and Photographer, Photography being one of my biggest passions. I love to capture anything that's interesting or make something ordinary interesting. Anyway, I hope to post some of my better images on this blog. I want it to be a "photo driven" blog.

A little about the 2 images above. One of the reasons I bought this clock, besides being a "clock guy", was the words on the face, "Alpha Omega" which means "beginning and End". This is one of the names of God, proclaiming that He is the beginning and the end, He was before and will be after us. I take comfort when I read those two words, knowing that my past, present and future rest in His very capable hands.

The other image represents masculinity in both what the object is and what it says. I would like to find an image that would represent femininity as well. Maybe frame them side by side.