I’ve written several blogs previously about things that I see everyday on my hour-long drive to work. I guess it’s because I’m familiar with them and I have nothing else to think about. Some are very sad (the crosses marking the spots where automobile accident victims perished) and some are just plain Alabama weird; worthy of noting but total junk food for the mind. Here is some junk food that is just plain freaking me out.

Right between Lillian and Elberta, Al. lays a very boring but beautiful stretch of farmland. A place that I’ve always dreamed of living if I didn’t despise driving so much. It’s a good 45 minutes away from anything useful, unless you consider Wal-Mart and McDonalds all you need. Some make it with less I guess…

At any rate, about 5 minutes into this stretch of farm land there is a lower class section of homes. Hard working people gamble with every crop to eek out a living off the land and I respect that a great deal. I couldn’t imagine rolling the dice every season over crops that could be worthless or a total loss. Sure, they get government subsidies for growing certain crops like corn, cotton and soybeans, but it ain’t much.

About a month ago, a farmer along this stretch chopped down all the corn on his plot after the harvest. Somehow only one green corn stalk was standing in this huge field of brown stubs. It was a photographers dream shot; odd and vapid. Not having my camera gear with me, I just slowed to inspect the area and tried to find a place to park to shoot the following week or so. While I’m looking around I see this creepy looking house. The thing barely looks like it’s standing and it has got to be over 100 years old. It looked to be vacant, but the following mornings and nights I would, every now and again, see an old rusted chevelle in front of the house that had a bumper sticker that read “D.O.A.”. Nice, the car even matched the house. I set it in my mind to shoot this house with my grand dad’s medium format camera. It produces some really amazing images and this was going to be one of them.

Finally, I have my camera gear with me and no one behind me on 98. As the sun is setting, I decide today is the day. I’m shooting this house no matter what. I have nowhere to park and you can’t see the house or driveway until you’re up on it. I decide to shoot from the car quick and dirty and hope that I get something good. As I pull up I start to get a little freaked out for some reason. Like I dared myself to do something that might not be a good idea. What if some crazy redneck sees me taking pictures of his house and tries to kill me? I thought, ah screw it, I’ve passed this house too many times. I stop in the middle of the road, no one is home, I fire off several shots and get on my way. I make it about a quarter of a mile before I feel something weird. I quickly look in the review mirror thinking I’m going to see that old chavelle ripping out of the drive way. Nothing…

I get home and tell Dallas that I finally shot the creepy house that I always told her about. She couldn’t be more disinterested. I turned the film in and waited to see my great results. When I got the film back I was very pleased. Not great, but good images, and I love shooting with my grandfather’s camera. I was pleased until I took a closer look and my stomach dropped what felt like a thousand feet. “Oh, god…” I whispered. Dallas asked if the shots didn’t come out. I wished it were that.

As I looked through the loop on my small light table here is what I saw. These are in no way altered. Just scanned film that I zoomed in on.

How creepy is that? Maybe it was just some women looking off into no mans land but she looks dead!

Click here to see more from the roll of film.

I recently entered a watercolor piece in the Artel Gallery’s Cinco Banderas Exibition and received the good news today that it was selected as one of the finalist pieces to be exhibited this Friday, October 26th. Here is a link to the piece the will be shown at Artel.

Special thanks to my buddy Joe Hobbs for getting me in there.

Absolutely incredible to have everything come together the way it did on our wedding day! It happened because of the amazing family and friend support network we have here and abroad. I can’t thank you all enough for all that you did. I owe the giant smile and great happiness that I get every time I think about our wedding day to all of you.

I thought that I loved gatherings until I knew I was going to be part of the center of one. It became something to plan and be concerned with, but in the end I really didn’t do much. Just got a suit, nice new shoes, and listened to what Dallas told me (one point for JP). See, I’m already learning the ins and outs of the “inside”, as my co-worker/co-inmate Dustin puts it. Honestly, the reason I didn’t do much is because so much had been taken care of by all of you and Dallas.

In short: I owe so much to my family and friends, but I owe my heart, mind and soul to Dallas. And she has it. I’m astounded at what an amazing mother she is to our daughter Carlyn and what a perfect women, friend and lover she is to me. Not to mention, she’s a fox! I know I was the envy of numerous gentlemen the day I married Dallas. Funny this is, they only know the half of it.

I love you, wife.
jp

For anyone who’s up for it; myself and a group of friends are heading over to Hanna Park in Jacksonville, Fl. to do some camping and surfing this weekend (October 6th & 7th). I haven’t been back to Hanna Park in years, but I remember it being a beautiful, relaxing park with decent surf just a walk away from the camp site. I hope to be sun burnt and tired on my drive back to Pensacola on Sunday.