This shot was made at UC. It’s the back of a Mini Cooper Clubman. For the record, the regular Mini Cooper is one of the coolest cars on the road. The Clubman, on the other hand, is one of the stupidest cars on the road. I’ve heard the car called a midget hearse, which is extremely offensive to little people. Why would they want to associated with such an ugly car?

I just liked the tones and the colors of this shot. The slide film reproduces shiny chrome and reflective paints so well. Anyway guys, have a great Memorial Day. I wish I had a more patriotic photo for today, but I guess there is red and white in this image. While I’m writing this, the title field of the post is blank. I’m going to title this post “Blue,” so it has all the colors of the flag in it.

I think this photo speaks for itself, so I’ll keep it short. I’ve shot several pictures of objects that time seemed to forget in the city. This is one of those object. This obviously handmade sign (back when that was an actual job) sits in an alley near the corner of 9th and Race. The phrase “Improper Behavior” just strikes me. It’s like finding a really old book in the library or uncovering a secret passage. I just love stuff like this.

This shot was made at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park in Hamilton. Those orange beam are huge I-beams that are used in constructing big buildings. I don’t know how they were bent or joined or installed, but I bet it was tough.

Pyramid Hill is owned by an older gentleman name Harry Wilkes. He owns a lot of property in Hamilton and is going to donate Pyramid Hill to the city eventually. He lives on the grounds and his house was featured on a Home & Garden channel program about subterranean homes.

Pyramid Hill gets its name from his house. The only part of it that is exposed is a large glass pyramid that resembles a small version of the Louvre in Paris. His house is also filled with antiquities from all over the world. He has relics from Rome and even an Egyptian sarcophagus.

Remember… this is all in Hamilton. Pretty cool, huh?

Are you ready to see a cool a picture? Are you ready to see what slide film can really do? Are you ready for a taste of true Americana?

BAM!

What you do think of that! Ok, it’s not that groundbreaking, but neon just looks so good and true-to-life on this film.

You know how all the Monarch butterflies go to one place on a mountain in Mexico. You can go there and see them all piled on top of each other. Well the Rave theater in West Chester is like that, but for teenagers. They’re freakin’ everywhere. It’s like a really annoying zombie movie. They surround you.

Anyway, combine teenagers with a balding, fat guy carrying a camera and lurking in the shadows and you get this: a young girl, basically screaming, “HEY, THAT GUY IS TAKING MY PICTURE. WHY IS THAT GUY TAKING MY PICTURE? DO YOU SEE THAT GUY TAKING MY PICTURE.”

Needless to say, I got the hell out of there before some Rent-A-Cop went all Abu Ghraid on me and was never allowed to live near a school again. I’m sure there’s some room in Rave where no one can hear you scream over the 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound systems.

So, if the insanely loud, self-obsessed teenage girl that thought I was taking her picture is out there reading this, I obviously wasn’t. Please shut up. It was dark. You didn’t see a flash. I was stand 40 yards away from you. There was no way I was taking your picture. You’re not that important, and you probably never will be. Next time you see someone pointing a camera in your direction assume that you’re just in the way, because you are.

Tiffany Christensen was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was six months old. She went through life enduring several treatments a day, and much like Jen, she began spending more and more time in the hospital around the age of 12.

When she turned 21, she was placed on the lung transplant list. This was several years ago, so her wait was much longer than Jen’s. Jen waited just over two months for her transplant. Tiffany waited over five years. Jen’s lung capacity was hovering around 30%, Tiffany’s was at 18%.

We’ve come a long way.

After two years of a great life with new lungs, Tiffany was diagnosed with chronic rejection. She was told, bluntly, that she was going to die. She saw no way out, so she prepared to leave. She said she felt all of the things that defined her being stripped away. Her ambitions, her hobbies, even parts of her personality. Eventually she came to terms with what she was at her core and felt that she was ready to die.

Then she had an idea. Why couldn’t she have another transplant? After running a crazy gauntlet of medicine, the doctors said she could do it.

Tiffany is now a patient advocate. She speaks to medical professional about chronic disease care and even end of life care. She wrote a book called Sick Girl Speaks, and she runs a website. Check it out.

Anyway, I got a chance to hear her speak at the Fourth Annual Midwest CF Nutrition and Social Work Consortium. This was photo was taken in Indy the night before.

Remember how I said that slide film is unforgiving if you screw up an exposure. Well, this was one of those days.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with film or photography, each photographic medium (negative film, slide film, different digital sensors) has a dynamic range or latitude. This is how many steps above or below a certain exposure the medium can still record details. Black and white film has the most latitude, meaning that it’s the most forgiving. Color negative is next. Digital cameras used to be the worst, but they are a lot better now. And slide film has the least latitude.

Ok, the photography lesson is over. Resume your normal life.