Author Archives: andrewrslaton

photography, random thought, travel, writing

keeping austin… something, something

ahhhh… major sigh of relief. i am sitting outside at my favorite coffee shop, flipnotics, uploading a recent magazine assignment, john coltrane playing quietly in the background, sipping my favorite french organic medium roast. it’s dreamy. partly cloudy, 70 degrees. i drove in this morning, so i could get a few last-minute work things done before enjoying the next week in my favorite city in texas – austin.

“i used to live here, you know,” i think jealously to myself. i then bitterly justify why i no longer live in austin, “well, things have changed here anyway.” but that’s not the full truth.

yes, austin has changed. a lot. i can see the new high-rises that tower above town lake. all those damned new york and LA transplants! someone let the secret out about ten years ago, and since then, just like every other cool place in this fair country, it has been slowly californicized.

but i digress. bitterly. so… the real reason i don’t live here anymore is that there simply isn’t enough work for me. i tried to make it here after college. but the work was scarce, and competition fierce. don’t get me wrong, i love competition, but the situation down here is rediculous. a young guy making his start is better of in a larger market where he can establish himself. so I sold out and went to dallas.

and so i’m a little sad. but then i look around… and i remember the good times i had here. i used to spend 8 hours a day, six days a week here at flips. before i had a laptop, i would study, roll my own cigarettes, read thoreau, daydream my time away. it was a time of free thought and incredible amounts of creative expression. granted, much of that expression was destructive, and i no longer “express” in those ways, but it was good. a time that was needed… to get me where i am, and to help me see where i want to go. but austin is like that; it can serve as a helpful transition for many of us.

austin is a place for learning. sometimes for learning about how weird all of us really are. i also learned about what i am not. and that took a long time to come to terms with, but i am happy to be able to say that now.

i miss this place. even when i’m here. so maybe more than a location, for me it was an era. but i feel like i can appreciate it more now for what it is; awesome, and weird as hell. maybe now i can move back and usher in a new era…

Standard
family, photography, random thought, writing

post spring-chicken fashion

my friend, Amy, works at an upscale retirement home as an event coordinator.  she loves her job.

i’ve always been fond of wiser folks than myself (which happens to include approximately 87% of the general world population), so naturally those whom have double, triple, or even quadruple as many years as i do often capture my attention.

so when Amy asked me to come shoot her “annual senior fashion show”, i saw a great opportunity.

_mg_6325  _mg_6332

_mg_6334  _mg_6340

_mg_6378  _mg_6401

_mg_6426  _mg_6417

the faces lacked no character.  their hearts were still warm and beating.  and their dignity seemed larger than mine.  i guess it grows with age.

_mg_6446  _mg_6448  

_mg_6477  _mg_6514

_mg_6708  _mg_6712

they really enjoyed themselves, but they weren’t aloof to the fact that there was an element of novelty to those of us younger folks in the audience.  and i don’t think they cared.  they know what it’s like to be young and ignorant.  they’ve earned confidence and self assurance.

_mg_6775  _mg_6816

_mg_6854

_mg_6917

surprise, surprise.  so i got a little sentimental and reflective at the old-folks home.

my last-remaining biological grandmother passed away two weeks ago, and though it was expected and in many ways a blessing, it’s sad see another sojourner leave us.  but the flip-side of that is that she made the summit.  and it makes me happy to know that she had a pretty good time doing so.

_mg_6923

_mg_6943

_mg_6963

so i left the retirement community with a full cup.  and i get the feeling that we are missing out on something that you can only learn when you’re time’s almost up.  unfortunately, and fortunately, i don’t know what that is.

i think i’ll try to hang around the elderly a little bit more, and maybe they’ll give me a heads-up.

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2008

Standard
photography, random thought, travel, writing

give reviving

monterrey2f

mexico is one of those places that is inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time.

i had the unique opportunity to visit monterrey last week to shoot for my church and mission to the world (mtw).  it certainly was not what i expected.  but then again, i’m not completely sure what i expected.

honestly, my thoughts are still pretty jumbled, and i have yet to produce a cohesive story for this trip… but people keep bugging me for pics, so here are a small fraction of the photographs taken!!  more thoughts to come…

_mg_2801f  _mg_2871f

_mg_2900f  _mg_2929f

_mg_2957f  _mg_2958f

_mg_3056f  _mg_3060f

_mg_3216f  _mg_3232

_mg_3388f  _mg_3520f

_mg_3574f

_mg_3584f

_mg_3592f

_mg_3623

_mg_3674f

monterrey4f

_mg_3756f  _mg_4059f

monterrey7f

_mg_4447f

_mg_4454f  _mg_4456f

_mg_4467f

_mg_4494f  _mg_4495f

_mg_4574f

_mg_4601f

_mg_4604f

_mg_4606f  _mg_4617f

_mg_4630f

_mg_4641f

_mg_4661f

_mg_4679f

_mg_4691f

_mg_4714f

_mg_4729f  _mg_4733f

_mg_4782f

_mg_4806f  _mg_4804f

_mg_4903f

_mg_4912f  _mg_5083f

_mg_4968f

_mg_4969f

_mg_4995f

_mg_5089f

_mg_5130f

_mg_5133f

_mg_5141f  _mg_5203f

monterrey9ff

_mg_5240f  _mg_5274f

_mg_5288f  _mg_5347f

_mg_5359f

_mg_5367f

_mg_5369f

_mg_5385f  _mg_5397f

_mg_5401f

_mg_5464f

_mg_5502f

_mg_5508f

_mg_5548f

_mg_5567f

_mg_5595f  _mg_5598f

_mg_5629f

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2008

Standard
random thought, writing

these days

 

these days,

when i can’t manufacture a feeling

and i can fake it no longer

but we still go through the motions

 

these days,

when my heart is heavy like a sandbag

and it aches for something

not knowing what that something is

 

we’re searching

searching with a compass

but we’re reaching, grabbing in the dark

 

these days there is a deep sadness

that blankets the hearts of men

but there is also dignity, and madness

for the hope to which we cling tightly

 

these days there are clouds like freight trains

moving fast overhead

and with them come storms

and flowers

growing wild everywhere

 

these days i cannot hold on tight enough

to the moments that drift quickly away like butterflies

 

these days when i’m just as much to blame as anyone

 

these days,

my eyes both feed me and deceive me

and i am strangled by my own hand

 

these days when all the systems of man fail

yet we still place our hope in folly

 

these days when the wise are foolish, and foolish wise

 

these days while we wait in anguish for redemption

forgetting that we’ve already been redeemed.

 

 

Standard
family, photography, random thought

unclehood

my brother down in austin bought his kids a trampoline a few weeks ago.  i had been hearing about how awesome this thing was, but had not yet experienced the bouncy goodness it had to offer.  well, i went to austin this past weekend.  enough said.

elise and i had a blast.  she practiced form, and shouted “girl power!”, as i jumped and tried to focus my camera simultaneously.  i really love being an uncle.  it doesn’t get much better.

sam, my nephew, and boaz (the neighborhood bruiser and best friend of sam), are all boy.  when they spot their “crazy” uncle andrew, they go into attack mode.  i learned that this game, in particular, became more fun on the trampoline.  less chance of injury.  for the boys and their aging uncle.

  

elise, sam, and little andrew have all grown up with a camera in their face, thanks to their uncle andrew.  as a result of this, they are perfect little mini-models.  smiling on cue, mixing it up like true professionals, and absolute comfort in front of the lens.

a few months ago, i had the opportunity to hang with the little dudes for a whole day.  i was commissioned to watch over and entertain sam and elise for five or six hours.  i have to admit, i was really nervous.

i’m a bachelor.  and if you’ve ever read this blog before, you’d know that i’m quite impatient as well.  patience is a true commodity for those dealing with kids.  but i love these little guys more than life itself.  so i guess now’s as good a time as any to test my “parenting” skills.

okay, so i got a little help too.  my sister allowed me to bring them over to her place to set up a pool in the front yard.  it was a big hit.

  

miles, my third and newest nephew (my sister’s), came out to watch.  he’s a pretty serious little guy.  probably going to be a brilliant physicist or jazz musician.  or both.  even he managed to laugh at the three of us playing in a tiny pool in the front yard.

what a great gift i’ve been given to experience being an uncle, before being thrust into the throws of fatherhood.  i love getting to have fun and party with my little buddies, and then quietly escape when all of the tantrums begin, or the diapers need changing.  i’m enjoying this while i can.

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2008

Standard