Category: Untaken

4 Months Later…

July 9, 2020 / Rick / 0 Comments

As we started to turn a corner on the global phenomenon known as COVID-19, something began tugging at our collective shirt to try to bring us back around, with some states feeling the pain more than others. The reasons for the spike are varied and nowhere near as simple as much in the agenda driven media would like their viewers to believe. We also can’t forget to mention the (in more than a few cases very violent) protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis, MN policeman. That event (also being simplified by agenda driven media), couple with the artificial economic slowdown in response to the pandemic, has left us in “interesting times.”

I always viewed the phrase, “may you live in interesting times,” not so much a curse but more a blessing. My wonder was why anyone would want to live in boring times. I watched on television as the Berlin Wall came down. I watched in near real time the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. I was in US Air Force basic training when the Belavezha Accords were signed, which officially started the process of dissolving the Soviet Union. I was able to see the first non-white President of the United States get elected, followed by the election to the same office of another man who had never held an elected position in his life. The only overt negative in all this time was September 11, 2001.

While the good outweighs the bad quantitatively, it’s a different story in terms of quality. Not long after my last post (Pandeminomicon), I went into a bit of a funk where I just felt my energy was being sapped from the moment I woke up every morning. It was made even worse when I realized what was happening, but couldn’t pull myself out of it. Things have reversed, and I feel my creative energy has returned. Now I just need an outlet…

While we’re strictly not locked down in Texas, going out is not really an option and I can’t make any new concert work given the resurgence of COVID-19. I’ve been tooling around a little bit in Photoshop, so that’s been a help. I also spent about 2 weeks (most of it waiting for permission to use music) creating some videos of my published images for The Houston Metal Project. That was actually a pretty fun little project as it allowed me a glimpse of where I was at start and now my work has progressed. I need to start the edit for the book, but I can’t get together with my collaborators, who are going to help with the image edit, right now. We could collaborate over the Internet, but for this project I need to have discussions in real time, when the ideas are fresh and can be better fleshed out.

I did come up with an idea recently that I think could be beneficial, however. I’m happy to announce that I will soon be posting interviews. The first one is being worked right now as my subject and I take the time to communicate via text message. I don’t want to do email interviews as there is no room for the conversations that make interviews interesting.

At this point I’m going to face the coming day. The link below is to the first of the videos I created as described above. If you like it, please hit the Like button and leave a comment. I’ll be seeing you again soon, my faithful and not-so-faithful readers. Until then, stay safe.

The Next Step

September 6, 2019 / Rick / 0 Comments

I always had an “endgame” of sorts for my work on The Houston Metal Project. My original vision was for a book. The biggest thing holding me back was deciding on an insertion point. My plan is to continue to photograph these shows until I am no longer able, which made the decision harder. To put together his book, True Norwegian Black Metal, Peter Beste spent 7 years photographing the black metal culture in Norway. At the time I first saw his book (2015), I had been working on my own stuff for just over a year. I didn’t know if I could wait that long.

Here we are now, 5 years after The Houston Metal Project began, and I feel that this is a good insertion point for my first book. There are a lot of things to be decided aside from the images. Those decisions will come further in. My biggest constraint right now will be how much to include as this will be made through a self publishing service. Books from self-publishing services can be a little on the expensive side, and additional pages can really force the price per unit up.

With that constraint in mind, it’s only fitting that I begin the editing process now, even with Year 5 still in progress. This first edit is based mostly on technical grounds, with some subjective thought (e.g. composition) applied. To begin, though, I had to wade through over 2 years of images that were organized in ways that did not reflect any organizational discipline. Once I found those images and gathered them up, along with images from 2016 – 18, I found that I had published 2622 images to Facebook. All I did was sit there for 15 minutes, staring at that number, and ask myself what I got myself into with this stupid idea. Once that wore off, I started the initial edit.

At first I was a little shocked at what was published. There were images where the subject was slightly out of focus, underexposed images, ones with more digital noise that I would normally tolerate, and some that were just poorly processed. That isn’t to say there were no “good” images in there, they were simply a lot more far and few between then I realized then. Here are some of the gems I found in those early days.

This is just a small sampling from the keepers of the keepers of 2014 (I’m rather proud of the King Diamond image). 2622 images over 4 years is a lot to sift through, so those images are still being examined. This year, 2019, is still in progress in terms of making images, so after 1 January 2020 I’ll be full bore into that editing process. Help with the conceptual edit has been enlisted, but it will still be a while before I get to that point. What I want to say is going to have to be decided before I can think about that. Of course, these first keepers of the keepers are going to have a lot to say in that department as I start thinking about them. I’ll leave any commentary about that stuff to the appropriate time, i.e. when I come up with my own answers on those questions. My friends were more eager to help than I initially thought they would be, which is welcome because it shows they believe in what I’m doing with this project.

Moving along through these images, I have noticed a change in them and it can be seen in this image from 2019. I think this phase of the project is going to reveal a lot about my own practice to me, which is always welcome. To my faithful and not-so-faithful readers, I bid you goodnight. And as always, comments are welcome and encouraged.

PS – “Endgame” is in quotes because I plan to continue this project as long as I’m physically and mentally capable. This is just too much fun to not do.

Untaken – 18 Jan 2017

January 23, 2017 / Rick / 0 Comments

There is no doubt that the larger world can be a scare place. Leaving the (relative) safety of our dwellings and workplaces can be a stressful thing. The dangers lie not in just the obvious big things, e.g. crime, car accidents, etc., but also in the little unseen things, i.e. germs. Any place where large numbers of people gather can be a hotbed for germs, and that includes the grocery store. Some of the larger grocery stores I’ve visited have an alcohol pad dispenser so a shopper can wipe down the cart or basket. Normally I’ll see people take one, wipe down the cart handle, dispose of the pad, and be on their way to shopping.

This did not prepare me for what I saw this night, however. As I was grabbing a cart (meanwhile ignoring the sterile wipe dispenser), I glanced at a gentleman wiping down his cart. It wasn’t the handle he was wiping, though. He was wiping the metal around the top of the basket. I had to look away for a moment to process what I was seeing. When I looked again, he was taking another pad from the dispenser. Then he proceeded to wipe down the metal bars along the side of the cart. I looked at his face. There wasn’t worry or fear in his expression, just a determination to get through this task and proceed to the next. He was executing these movements next to the dispenser, but out of the way of other incoming customers and partially obscured from their view.

I can’t make any assumptions as to why he was seemingly intent on sterilizing every surface that could possibly contact his skin during his shopping time. Perhaps he had a weakened immune system. That begs the obvious question as to why he would be out anyway. Didn’t he know how acquired immunity works? Without exposure to some pathogens, his body will never learn how to fight them. Did he simply have OCD, was aware, and tried not to let it affect others?

That last possibility seemed the most plausible. I had my phone in my hand (I had taken it out to pull up by grocery list) but quickly put it in my pocket. This was his cross to bear and the fact that he was away from others seemed a statement that he would bear it alone, at least out here. For me to have taken a photograph of his activity, without his permission, could come across as mocking. Mocking was never my intent, but I decided not to leave my intent (which was fascination at that which I did not understand) to question.

Untaken – 27 September 2014

February 28, 2015 / Rick / 0 Comments

A few months ago I was at a music festival called “Building Temples From Death Fest” here in Houston. It’s an all day death metal show featuring bands from around the United States (and sometimes from outside our fair nation) that’s been going for 4 years now. I was there to photograph for my “Houston Metal Project” opus that I’m working on. There was a guy there who looked like he maybe had Cerebral Palsy. I’m not 100% on that but my guess is somewhat educated on the matter. Anyway, I was sitting outside, alone, and he came outside and sat near me. He said hello to me. I admit, I really didn’t want to talk to him at the moment (I really didn’t want to talk to anyone at the moment, I just wanted to get some fresh air), but I was friendly and said “hello” back to him and we struck up a conversation. He mentioned that he was from the Fort Worth area. I asked him what brought him to Houston. He told me that he came down just to see Internal Bleeding, the show’s headline act, and to get a chance to finally meet them. He talked about how he followed the band since 1991 (the year of their 1st album release) and how this was an exciting day for him. It made me think about how the band may have had a positive effect on this man’s life (he appeared to be around my age). It made me realize how important it is to be able to meet one’s own heroes. I honestly have never had the pleasure because I don’t really have any heroes. I mean, I’ve met my share of famous people and have gotten to have nice conversations with them, but never with someone I would label as a hero. I thought about taking an environmental portrait of this man who was really excited to be there, but I did not. I felt that if I did, I would somehow be taking some of his excitement away and keeping it for myself. Looking back, I am glad I made that decision. The excitement he felt was all for him and I wanted to let him have it all.

Untaken – 31 March 2013

March 31, 2013 / Rick / 0 Comments

My wife and I are at a friend’s house for a combination birthday and Easter celebration. I was sitting in a chair and reading a message that had come through on my phone. Suddenly, 2 young girls run loudly by me. I looked up at the distraction. While the perpetrators of this disturbance were long gone, another, even young girl walked by. She was obviously wondering where the older girls went. That in itself would normally barely register on my attention meter, however, I noticed this little girl, no more than 3 years old, wearing shoes that were at least 3 sizes too big. That this was mildly comical was beside the point. This toddler wanted to be part of the “big girls” group to the point she was trying to wear “big girls” shoes.

The decisive moment was actually 3 decisive moments as she turned her head to the left, to the right, and then once more to the left. This little girl had a look of mild distress on her face as she wanted so find out where these girls went. She then took off in her original direction, her feet shuffling as she struggled to retain the shoes that were way too large for her feet. My camera, alas, was not in my hand when this unfolded, and the decisive moment passed before I could get the camera ready for shooting.

I understand that without the context of the “big girls,” this photograph would probably not have been understood by many. It also may have been dismissed as one trying to capture a “cute” image of a girl wearing shoes that were too big for her. It was the look on her face that brought everything together as she was desperately trying to find the older girls. This point was driven home by what I could only say was her trying to be like the “big girls” as well, as evidenced by her wearing a pair of shoes that probably belonged to one of older girls.

Untaken – 29 March 2013

March 29, 2013 / Rick / 0 Comments

I have a relative in the hospital right now. He’s fighting an infection, the source of which the doctors can’t quite nail down. I just found out today that he has been in the hospital for the past 3 days. He was asleep when we got there, but his wife was there with him. My wife and I sat down on the couch next to the window while his wife sat in the chair next to his hospital bed. She had a hand to her face while she explained to us what he was going through. As a medical professional herself, she knows how to handle tough situations, but she had a look of genuine worry on her face, even though she tried to hide it. Her husband was breathing softly as the anti-nausea medicine worked its way through his system. The decisive moment came when she told us that she had to call 911 because he was too weak to get up and get into the car. She looked over at him with the love that can only come when you have shared your lives together for 26 years. I had my point and shoot camera, in its case, in my hand. I opened the case before the decisive moment. My instincts were shouting at me to raise the camera, but then they fell silent, which I took as a cue to hold. There was plenty of ambient light in the room as well. It was at the decisive moment that I realized why my instincts had fallen silent – the emotions she was feeling at that moment were hers alone. While I was free to empathize and share her worries, I had no right to steal them without her permission. I quickly cleared my mind and re-engaged in the conversation.

Untaken – 7 Feb 2013

February 8, 2013 / Rick / 0 Comments

I was driving home this evening, having cursed myself for missing the exit. In my defense, the normal exit has been moved for construction and the signage is a little off from the norm. Ultimately, though, I should have been paying attention to the signs. Not only did that cost me a little more gas, but since I was on the toll road, it cost me $1.75. The sky was orange with the setting sun. At the time there were some low stratocumulus clouds just over the horizon, which were light violet due to their relative position to the sun. Above those were some cirrus clouds, which were to be the stars of this image. The main body of the cirrus formation was a cluster that formed a nearly solid mass of cirrus, making them feel almost solid when looked at. Extending from this main mass were four fingers, all curved and nearly parallel. Just off those fingers were 2 smaller masses of cirrus clouds. The whole scene in front of me, as I waited at the stoplight, appeared as if the hand of a god was reaching to snatch something from the scene. The only problem was my situation – I was driving! The stoplight quickly became a “go” light. By the time I was able to stop long enough to compose a shot, the clouds, as they are wont to do, changed and the image had fleed from existence.