Weekly Photo Challenge: Faces

13 years ago today we made the best and most important decision of our lives and today, I’d like to commemorate it with a photo.

Photo on 9-13-11 at 10.22 PM

Yup, that’s the face I fell in love with—although highly distorted courtesy of PhotoBooth—all those years ago.

I’m convinced that PhotoBooth is responsible for selling more Macs than Steve Jobs.

13 years, three kids, and three continents later and I feel like the adventure is still just beginning. Each day is better than the one before.

After 13 years we’re still laughing with each other at each other. Happy Anniversary, Sugie, I love you! You’re why the sauce is so awesome.

Want to participate in the challenge? Head on over to The Daily Post and follow the instructions below.

1. Each week, [they] provide a theme for creative inspiration. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog anytime before the following Friday when the next photo theme will be announced.

2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “Weekly Photo Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use a “postaday2011″ or “postaweek2011″ tag.

3. Subscribe to The Daily Post so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements. Sign up via the email subscription link in the sidebar or RSS.

Now, take a picture that captures this week’s theme and post a link to it in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Textured

The theme for week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is Textured.

Old Blue Jeans

Few things in life feel better to me than a nice, lived-in pair of blue jeans.

Want to participate in the challenge? Head on over to The Daily Post and follow the instructions below.

1. Each week, [they] provide a theme for creative inspiration. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog anytime before the following Friday when the next photo theme will be announced.

2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “Weekly Photo Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use a “postaday2011″ or “postaweek2011″ tag.

3. Subscribe to The Daily Post so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements. Sign up via the email subscription link in the sidebar or RSS.

Now, take a picture that captures this week’s theme and post a link to it in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Dump Truck Days

This week I went to the New Mexico Coal mines to learn about their driver safety systems for work. Located in New Mexico within and around the Navajo Nation, the mines are a teaming with dump trucks.

Dump Truck Crossing (Just Nice)

One of the best toys I ever had as a boy was my Steel Tonka Dump Truck. It was big, heavy, and made the sandbox much more fun than normal.

While I wasn’t out at the mine to check out the trucks, seeing them in action brought back memories from when my favorite toy didn’t need to be recharged or require Internet access.

Trucks All in a Row (Birdsky)

Dump Truck Closeup (Treasured)

Heading Back from the Plant (Green with Envy)

Loading the Dump Truck 1 (This Is My Boom)

Loading the Dump Truck 2 (Hint of Vintage)

Loading the Dump Truck 3 (Zen)

What have you seen lately that brought back childhood memories? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Searcy Revisited in Photos

Southern Girls BBQ (Mesochrome 160)

I’m just wrapping up another glorious trip to Searcy, Arkansas. I continue to be as impressed as ever with their barbecue and their ability to let time pass them by.

Here are some new photos from the past week for your enjoyment.

2 Friends Bait Shop (My Memories)

Attention everyone, the 2 Friends Bait Shop now has gas! This is fantastic news. Thank you.

Kroger (35mm Molga Color)

I present you with the Kroger that time forgot. The only way you can tell this picture was taken recently is the by looking at the cars up front. Inside and out, it’s pretty dated.

Fina (Vintage Look)

Lastly, here’s a Fina gas station—this is where the 2 Friends sell their gas. I hadn’t seem pumps like these in ages. They remind me of R.O.B., the NES Robot.

I may joke about Searcy, but the truth of the matter is that the people here are good, honest, and hard-working. The landscape is green and lush. It’s easy to like the place and its inhabitants.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking to relocate to Searcy anytime soon, but there is a certain charm that is undeniable. Searcy has in quickly become one of my favorite small towns.

What’s your favorite small town? Is it your home town? Why do you love it? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Old Fashioned

For my post last week I took some pictures of my grandfather’s old Polaroid camera and ran them through Flare. That post would have been perfect for this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge.

The theme for week’s challenge is Old Fashioned.

Pola 5 (Polaroid App)
Image via my flickr Processed using the Polaroid app for Mac.

The photo above was taken on the same day as the pictures from last week’s post. Rather than run it through Flare, I’ve processed it in the freely available Polaroid.app for Mac.

So, here you have a Polaroid of a Polaroid. Is that old fashioned enough for you?

Want to participate in the challenge? Head on over to The Daily Post and follow the instructions below.

1. Each week, [they] provide a theme for creative inspiration. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog anytime before the following Friday when the next photo theme will be announced.

2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “Weekly Photo Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use a “postaday2011″ or “postaweek2011″ tag.

3. Subscribe to The Daily Post so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements. Sign up via the email subscription link in the sidebar or RSS.

Now, take a picture that captures this week’s theme and post a link to it in the comments below.

Polaroid: Everything New Is Old Again

Pola 6 (Unorthodox Pop)
Image via my flickr. Processed using Flare for Mac.

Long before digital cameras (or Demetri Martin for that matter), Polaroid cameras brought generations of us instant nostalgia.

Pola 3 (Light Leak)
Image via my flickr. Processed using Flare for Mac.

I loved my grandpa’s Polaroid when I was a kid. There was something magical about the hazy, off-color images they reproduced.

Pola 1 (Amazing Stories)
Image via my flickr. Processed using Flare for Mac.

Apps like Hipstamatic on the iPhone, Mac app Flare, and photo-sharing site Instagram are bringing back the glorious look and style of the analog imperfections of yesteryear.

Pola 2 (B5-1)
Image via my flickr. Processed using Flare for Mac.

If you still haven’t bought Flare, now’s the time you really should. At its regular price of $19.99 it’s a must-buy—at its limited time sale price of $9.99 from the Mac App Store it’s a steal.

Pola 4 (Faded Applause)
Image via my flickr. Processed using Flare for Mac.

What do you think of the current state of retro photography apps? Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Meh? Sound off in the comments below.

Images from Searcy

Slim Jim Mobile
Image via my flickr.

I spent most of the past month working in Searcy, Arkansas. It’s a terrific small town about an hour northeast of Little Rock.

Other than being away from my loved ones, I’ve really enjoyed my time in there. As Searcy needs to be seen to be experienced, I thought I’d share some of my favorite views with all of you fine folks on the Internet.

Searcy Courthouse
Image via my flickr.

Growing up in a Union State, it comes as a bit of a shock to see a monument to the Confederate Army, but that’s an unavoidable part of their past. According to locals, the courthouse in Searcy is one of the oldest still functioning in the State.

Searcy Art Gallery
Image via my flickr.

I love this historic building that houses the Searcy Art Gallery. Now I just need to get out of the office while they’re still open so I can actually see what’s inside.

Sometimes Whatever
Image via my flickr.

I’m not in the market for a trailer, but if I was I’d have to buy from here based on the name alone—Sometimes Whatever!

Beaten Down Bus
Image via my flickr.

The “race car” for sale at the top of this post was right next to this beaten down bus. I like to imagine that this was the bus that the Partridge Family toured around in.

I’ll be in Searcy for at least one more week. I’m sure that in that time more of its charm will rub of on me.

All images in the post were processed with Flare.