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.