Off to Chicago

Yes, that's right; tomorrow we're heading to Chicago for a few days because of my cousin's boot camp graduation. I might do something worth writing about there or get some decent photos, but for now, here are some photos I've taken recently. I know, seeing multiple edits can be annoying, but any feedback as to which ones look the best would be greatly appreciated. If you want to see some images created by someone who really has amazing photography/editing skills, you should take a look at Lula's blog and Flickr photostream. I actually took the first photo below for the current photo contest for her Flickr group, which I'm a part of - the current theme is "goodbye." I think I will mention various photographers I admire from time to time so you can take a look and possibly be impressed. With that being said, you should definitely check out Rob Woodcox's work; he's says his style is surreal conceptual portraiture, and his images are amazing. I'll probably mention some other photographers I really like in my next post.

Click this image to see it on Flickr, where I tell more about the meaning behind it.

Although automotive photography isn't my favorite "genre", I still photograph cars from time to time. We passed by a car show the other day, and here are some photos I got there.

Sorry for posting so many images at one time...but I thought perhaps someone might give their opinion on which they think are the best and why.

This, that, and the other

Here's a brief update on a few things that have happened over here recently:
1) We got a cow, but she's not giving a lot of milk, and she might soon be traded for another.

2) We got three chickens and thirteen chicks, but the chicks were all killed by an unknown predator and the others disappeared, perhaps taken away by the said predator. Two of my little brothers think it was an owl that they saw in the trees, and since they later caught an owl on camera (a neighbor's wild game camera), they're pretty sure that's what was causing the demise and disappearance of the barnyard fowl. We now have nine hens from the neighbor who lent us the motion-detector camera as well (unless any have died or vanished).

3) I'm still trying to find a photography job, so I'm writing down the info of a whole bunch of photographers in Memphis...hopefully something will work out.

4) My aunt said she'd sell me her 1998 BMW M3, so as soon as it gets shipped from El Paso to here, I'll have a car - and a much nicer and faster car than my old one even though it doesn't look as sporty. Even an older E36 M3 like that one is supposed to do 0-60 in about 5.5 seconds. :D It's yellow, but although I'd prefer a color like black or gun metal grey, I'm certainly not complaining ;-) - if I can get it for not too much more than the cost of shipping, it'll be pretty good (as long as repairs - which I'm sure will be much more than my old Japanese car - don't bankrupt me).

5) I might get at least one other cool thing like the M3, but I'm not sure yet, so if I find out for certain I'll write about it.

6) I recently finished the Dragons In Our Midst series, by Bryan Davis, and I thought it was pretty good...very absorbing and pretty well-written in my opinion. One of the things I liked about it was how the author wove technical language with poetry and adventure, romance, and more to make a well-rounded, interesting series of novels.

7) We've been going to a church in Coldwater, MS, and although being around an hour-and-a-half means it's not likely that anyone from the church will come to to our house for a visit, it's pretty nice. I've made a few friends (a brother and sister in particular), and I like it.

8) Many dragonflies (perhaps even a hundred or more) fly around our yard nearly every day, and little frogs climb on the windows at night (and try to catch insects). I like my little friends. :)

I guess that's all I really have to say for now.

Nature photos

Here are a few photos I took recently around our house...they're not the type of images I hope to create in the future, but some like them.

More later, perhaps.

Hi, remember me?

I am...back. Sort of. I'm currently at the library, using the (currently slow) WiFi here, since we only have dial-up at home sue to our house being in the country. My mom cancelled that today since it's the incredible speed of 5k, and even Google's homepage takes around two minutes to load. Satellite internet is something ridiculously expensive, like $70 a month, and since it's wireless, there's a time delay with it. So right now I'm just on the Internet at Starbucks, library, the Rec Center on the Navy base my dad works at, or using 3G on my iPhone, although the latter method has its limits (i.e. typing can be time-consuming, there's a small screen, it takes longer than using a computer, no Flash support, etc.). Still, it's much better than nothing.

As you probably know, I'd like to get a photography job - having my own photography business is something I'd really like, as well as getting into conceptual photography, but right now I'm just trying to get any job, like at Starbucks.

By the way, if any of you use the iPhone/iPod Touch app, Instagram, my username on it is maximillianr
Of course, it still is whether you're on IG or not, but you get the idea.

The backyard of our new house in TN:

A friend took this photo of me with my camera: