Thanks for looking.

Jonathan

One disappointment though…this is LA…how was “The Rock” not on top of this thing— fists raised in the air rocking out to “We Will Rock You” — all 11 days of this epic journey?

Thanks for looking.

Jonathan

Thanks for looking.

Jonathan

Thanks for looking.

Jonathan

See, I’m not a daily shooter. I’ve never been one to carry my camera with me everywhere I go and I’ve been ok with that. Thinking through a lens all the time has/will occasionally produce a not so savory faux pas. I usually just pick and choose when I’ll bring my camera with me on daily excursions. This has drawbacks as well because I end up being really annoying after hearing me say for the third time, “I wish I had my camera with me” when I chose not to have my camera with me — at least with friends I’ve known for over six hours. Plus I do miss opportunities to make great photos and that just makes me feel like an ass, without a camera.

I’m mixing it up. Gonna see what happens to my images, storytelling and interactions when my holster is packed. Some days I’m sure I’ll deliver mediocrity (psst, it’s already happened this week) and some days I’ll be able to share some street images that would never see the light of day— hopefully I’m breathing life into images that otherwise would never have been.

If I miss a day, I’ll have to suffer the humiliation of posting a blank slide for all to scoff at and hopefully I’ll hate myself. I can’t cheat and put two photos from Monday in and skip Tuesday. Seven images each week, one photo from each day of the week will go up. Shoot More. Find More. Talk More. Share More. Get More(feedback).

Nothing special here just trying something new.

Thanks for looking.

Jonathan

My brother and I traveled cross country late last year when I moved back to California from DC. We were driven by a chauffer named Chad…no, no, no, we were driven by a desire to avoid interstates at all possible costs. Three main reasons: 1) to take our time (3 weeks), 2) to eat glorious food (avoiding the vortex of fast food on our lovely federally funded highways) and 3) to see America (the real America that President Obama refers to when he takes on that southern twang and the end of his speeches that he has no business owning).

We also made a pact not to discuss our route unless it involved the state we were in at the time or a bordering state; that way we didn’t lock ourselves into any preconceived destinations that would clog our minds and have us focused on future events and not the present. We had no smart phones, no GPS and didn’t buy a map until we got to Mississippi (and then we lost it in Louisiana).

Our lack of preparation led to some inconveniences for sure and a few tiffs arose because we were going the wrong way more than once (thanks Austin!). But all along the way, in each place we visited, we were rewarded with randomness and culture and nice folks that make America so fun to say. It’s right there off the highway, just a few miles in… like: the greatest thrift store known to man in Truth or Consequences, or really dumb armadillos in Lake Fausse, or teenagers on ATV’s wanting you to buy them christmas tree cookies in Bowater, or Barney and his toilet seat museum in San Antonio, or riverboat gambling (and losing really really badly) in Vicksburg, or meeting a Swede metalhead named Bob in Lafayette, or helping a girl find her lost dog at 4 in the morning in Nashville, or watching hanging street lights swaying in the wind in Memphis, or listening to Zydeco late at night in Louisiana, or having to do chores at your hostel (Patrick had to dust the library hahahahhaha) in Memphis, or having the best hot tamale/blueberry pancakes/cajun crab/pickled quail eggs/meat and 3/sweet tea/duck tacos/spicy fried chicken/bbq spaghetti/cucumber and chile popsicle in your life, or coming to the conclusion that Miller Lite isn’t that bad at 6 am in San Antonio, or being spooked by the most relentless and brave long tailed pocket mouse at the Salton Sea, or running around an abandoned mine and screaming like 7-year old girls on Signal Mountain, or discovering the Tom Cruise movie Legend(WTF??? how have I never seen or heard of this movie???) in Asheville, or having a 60-year old bus boy tell you to stop picking on your brother in Nashville, or watching your brother pridefully finish of a menudo he is not enjoying AT ALL in San Antonio, or climbing trees with your brother, or doing the walk of shame with your brother, or having your brother beside you for the lonely crossing of west Texas…

Such a blast. So many warm and generous people along the way. Diversity like nowhere else I’ve ever been. Sharing thoughts  and memories with my kid brother. Such a gift.

Thanks for looking.

Jonathan

Spent an amazing week of learning and growing at the Missouri Photo Workshop in Clinton, Missouri last week. 38 photographers from around the world descended on a town of 10,000 to document what life is like for Clintonians.

Here are some of my orphans of life in Clinton that did not make it into my story. I will post my story soon along with photos of some of the beautiful participants in the workshop.

Thanks for looking.

Jonathan

Mom came out for a visit and we headed south for a little Carolinas getaway. Traveling with mom is not a chore, but a treat. She wants to stop every 3o minutes for snacks, points out every Starbucks we pass, bargains with motel clerks like no other and talks to EVERYBODY she passes on the street. She’s hilarious. I’m sure that I see things with her that I would not see on my own. She even got me to do a bus tour, something I always refuse to do (it was really enjoyable actually).

North and South Carolina did not disappoint. Hospitality, good weather, lush trees everywhere you look and damn good food.

Too short a trip for sure.

Thanks for looking.

Jonathan

Georgia Ave NW, DC

Thanks for looking.

Jonathan

I usually decline meetings at Starbucks because I can not stand it when I am forced to eavesdrop on other peoples’ interviews, coffee dates or ‘business’ meetings at the Buck. And why is that said people talk so loud in these scenarios? It’s like they want to be heard by everyone in the establishment. I just don’t get it. Plus I like to support local coffee houses when I can. Yay me.

(SIDE NOTE: If I was ever interviewing for a job and my interviewer asked to have it at Starbucks I would just decline the interview on the spot. Pet peeve for sure.)

Anyway, I had a meeting at Starbucks today because it was easy, convenient and we were short on time. I arrived 15 minutes early like I always do and instead of doing my habitual 2 or 3 laps around the block to pass the time I grabbed a seat at the window. In that seat I got a glorious little rectangle to myself of DC commuters heading home for the everning. One little 1/8 of a block where folks were on the move to a more important place.

God, people are beautiful! I feel like I can hear what they’re thinking.

Thanks for looking.

Jonathan