Journal

We are all spinning tops...

‘Life changes in an instant. The ordinary instant’ ~Joan Dideon

 

Utica was a reminder.

The importance of family.

The impact of loss.

...and change – the only true constant.

 

These moments.

These times.

These faces.

 

Words.

Sentences.

Paragraphs.

Chapters in our story.

The mark we make while we’re able to make it.

 

We are all spinning tops…

…until one day we’re not.

Mady...

She's growing up and finding her way. As the oldest, she tends to get more heat from me. My expectations are high and I think I'm tougher on her than I should be at times. Seeing this image....I see my little girl. Unsure...with lots of things rattling around in her noggin. More than anything, I'm hopeful she'll come to find the loving, creative, passionate person that she is. There will be no stopping her from there...

madygirl-1-2.jpg

Commit...

Mid-week in our Maine vacation I decided to switch things up a bit by shooting B&W in camera.  Typically I document in color and convert during the editing phase. While not a huge leap...in a world full of choices, making one and adding this constraint was super liberating...and I couldn't be happier with the results.  I've been doing this a lot more ever since and it's really helped me focus my efforts and attention....photographically and in all aspects of my life.

Good things happen when I commit. When I go all in.

These images kick off as my mornings did in Maine...alongside Finn for a walk @ Back River Bend Boat Yard. The bulk of the rest of them were taken at Popham Beach...one of our favorite places in the world. I really love our days there. The beach is huge, the waters are calm and the tides put on a spectacular show.

The Liquor Cabinet: Shoebox memories...

It's been raining for days and I can hear the cycling of our sump pump even in my sleep.

Restless kids, faced with keeping themselves occupied indoors... sometimes without devices [GASP]... struggle, cry, complain, sigh...

...and every now and again a surprise -- middle man reading to little man. 

When I was little, I'd find treasures like this photo in the liquor cabinet.  No, I wasn't searching for booze (yet) -- that came a few years later.  The liquor cabinet housed the bottles that my parent's won at bull roasts and never drank.  More about that some other time. Below the alcohol were a number of drawers/doors that stored a little of this and that -- treasures of all shapes and sizes...but most importantly, photos.

Prints were in.  I can remember riding in the car with my mom and picking them up (typically from a Kodak Fotomat kiosk in a parking lot or at K-mart). While my folks weren't really into albums...you could be sure to rifle thru years of memories, roll after roll of film (alongside their negatives) nestled in their original packaging...stored in shoeboxes.  Every now and again, you could find us on the sofa in the basement with those boxes alongside us...soaking in those everyday moments. Laughing. Reminiscing. Telling stories. 

Those were the days.

So are these.

Cheers to more shoebox memories...

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From the Journal...

'SUNDAY - 7/15/2018 - 4:08PM - Back on the home front. It feels good but I feel different this time around returning from Maine. Realizing that the answers or 'holes' are answered from within. Too often I search/hope/pray for a lottery ticket courtesy of social media. All of my time spent there... which feels fruitful and honest... is perhaps a huge source of busywork and procrastination. I need to take the time and put in the effort to create more meaningful bodies of work. Dive deeper. Suppress the urge to share as frequently... so the work/words have time to develop and become more complex. Stick to the blog. Stick to The WaireHouse. Stick to writing. Stick to wrestling with the time/space I'm confronted with... and let the hands/phone remain idle. Let the brain drift. Listen more. Pause before answering/reacting. Listen more. Appreciate more. Do me... unapologetically. Edit the work. Sooner. Longer. Clear the plate to make room for the next meal/project/time with family. Waiting helps no one. Simultaneously I need to be slow, deliberate, patient. Let things flow at the pace it comes. Days/inspiration will vary. Good days. Bad days. Roll with them. This vacation has changed me. Hopefully for the better. The family needs me at my best. Back to the grind tomorrow.'

from the journal 07 15 2018-1.jpg

Split Rock Distilling...

Maine is as much about the people as it is about the rugged wild outdoors. A trip there for me wouldn't be complete without checking in with the guys at Split Rock Distilling. They're  celebrating two years of hand crafting small batch, organic spirits. Couple that with an assortment of simple syrup flavors and drink mixes and life is pretty schweet.  

This time around, a bottle of bourbon did the trick and an assortment of syrup samples (thanks Matt).  Do yourself a favor and stop by if you get in (or around) Newcastle, ME. Tell'm The WaireHouse sent ya!

Matt & Topher | Split Rock Tasting Room | Summer 2018

Matt & Topher | Split Rock Tasting Room | Summer 2018