My Favorite Photos of 2013 and The Stories Behind Them
2013 has been a great year. I learned a lot from photography by taking photos of people, places and things that were important to me . I traveled to many places, met hundreds of people and saw things that I would have never seen had I not picked up the camera and made it my hobby.
I wanted to assemble my favorite pictures of 2013. I imagined that they would be from all the fabulous places and amazing things that I saw but something funny happened as I browsed through my shots, selecting my favorites. I realized my favorite photos, the best photos that meant the most to me were the things right here at home. The things and people closest to me.
2013 was a year of love and new life and discovery that kindness with a camera was the truest and most rewarding form of photography. If I could clearly capture something and make an emotional or spiritual connection with the moment at hand, I felt I was capturing a picture in its truest form. My favorite photos were almost all quite accidental – just being at the right place, at the right time. I guess it helps that I always keep my camera close everywhere I go.
These are my favorite photos from 2013 and the stories behind them.
“Helping with First Steps” – Michael Helps James Walk
A picture taken through the reflection of a mirror. After a trying first year marked by premature birth of their adopted boys, last minute legal haggling and abusive hospitals the Fendley’s adoptive boys Frankie and James looked like they were in for a rough life. After pouring every ounce of love into them to help them through that year this is James taking his first steps helped by his father.
“You Will Never Guess Who I Am” – A Human and Funny Side to Aunt Ann
Aunt Ann lived on the streets of New York for 50 years. She was one of the infamous bag ladies of New York and when we were young we rarely saw her but only heard stories of her. She would come to visit but would always leave quickly as she was anxious to return to her homeless lifestyle. Over 50 years you have to be a survivor to live on the cold streets of New York. I could never imagine the ingenuity she must have had to live this way for so long. This year an aging Aunt Ann moved back to San Diego. This photo painted a human and quirky side to Aunt Ann that no one in our family had ever seen. She plopped this big hat on and made a smiley face. Deep inside Aunt Ann was a funny, quirky person just there if you looked. That’s what surprised me.
“Finger Pistols” – Kathy and her Son Ryan Share a Funny Experience
The Nash household is a very creative place. One Sunday afternoon we had a chance to visit them on our way up north. As I usually do, I took out the camera and Kathy went into action pulling out costumes and creating scenes for me to shoots. She does it so remarkably well that I ended up with some of the funniest and quirkiest pictures I took of the year. In this shot, Kathy points a finger pistol at a very hungover Ryan. He had just returned from a Bachelor party in Las Vegas and found himself in cowboy clothes taking pictures with his mom.
“The Final Moment” – An Emotional Bridget watches as Judge signs the final adoption decree
The story of the adoption of Frankie and James is an inspirational one. Against all odds and seemingly against hurdles that anyone else would have shied away from – Bridget fought for and eventually succeeded in adopting two boys that were born premature and destined for a tough life with homeless parents. It was her and Michael’s absolute refusal to accept anything but what was right for the boys that made this moment all the sweeter. In this picture, an emotional Bridget watches the judges final stroke of the pen realizing the boys were officially hers forever.
“Wide Eyed Wonder” – Baby Camille Soaks in the World with Dad
Just days old she was asleep most of the time. In this rare moment she opened her eyes perhaps to look right into the camera – something she seems to do every time since that I have taken pictures of her. Danny and Camille were blessed with little Baby Camille this year. In this photo her father, Danny, holds her tiny head in the palm of her hand. Who knows what is running through her mind. She will perhaps live for a hundred or more years and these were her first days.
“The Most Awesome” – Shirtless Geno Improvises
It was your typical Saturday night when we went over to visit Danny, Camille and Geno. I just happened to bring over a black backdrop and we decided to take some pictures. To make the flash really work and look the best we had to turn off all of the lights. Every few seconds I would take a picture without really knowing what I was going to catch. Geno went through various poses and we had no idea what they were going to be. When I got home, I found this little Gem which I call, “The Most Awesome” and it is one of my favorite pictures of the year since it really showed Geno’s creativity and unique style.
“Cuervo and His Woman Friend” – Two Nomads Wander the Southwest on Their Mules
I was driving down a very dusty single lane road to Slab City USA, a derelict of a small town, lying slap dab in the middle of the California desert when I had to do a double take. There off to the side of the road where two, what appeared to be hippies, slowly riding their mules. There was an older man wearing very short pants hiked all the way up to his hips and a lady wearing a Grateful Dead Tie Dye. I stopped the car and immediately turned around. I was quite nervous to turn around and talk to them. They must have thought I was so strange. I asked to take some pictures and they let me. It turns out, I had met a man named Cuervo and he was traveling with his woman “friend”. I read up more about him on the internet when I got home. He has apparently traveled all over the Southwest (Including Mexico) with these two mules. Now thats old school.
“Thankful” – An Elderly Vietnamese Stops Brushing her Hair to Thank Me
I made a habit of getting up at Sunrise while I was in Vietnam to go for walks and take photographs. I had passed by this same old house every morning and watched an elderly woman brush her hair. It was her morning ritual. She had long hair and she would brush it over and over again with her yellow comb. One day I decided to take a picture of her brushing her hair. As I took her picture, she stopped, put down her yellow comb clasped her hands as if she was praying, bowed her head and thanked me for taking her picture. She would never see it but she was thankful I had taken it. I always felt like it was me who should be thanking her.
“Poof” – Parkour, Flour and Lights at Night
I love taking night pictures. While reading about Parkour and how photographers were using Flour to accentuate the beauty of Parkour I decided to try it myself. So I recruited Charlie and his friend and we went out night shooting in a local park. The boys were covered in flour but by the end of the night we had taken some amazing shots. Like this one I call Poof. I liked it for the beautiful way that the flour contoured around his movements. It was a flash in time and one of my favorite photos from 2013.
“Ollie and Me” Darla and Oliver take a moment to rest after jumping on the bed
Darla just loves Ollie. When ever she goes to “Dan Diego”. She can’t wait to see her best friend “AhYi” (Ollie). I managed to catch this shot of her and Oliver after they were exhausted from jumping on the bed. It was a rare quiet moment that captured the sweetness of their friendship.
“Technicolor Wedding” Carrying Tu in Vibrant Vietnamese Color
When you get married in Vietnam, particularly a small town, it is big deal. A very big deal. I wasn’t able to count the number of guest or even the number of ceremonies we had for our wedding there but suffice it to say thousands of guest attended and many, many thousand more people in the small town of Vinh Long watched our wedding. This picture was from perhaps one of my favorite moments. It was a bright sunny morning and we were in traditional Ao Dai’s on our way to visit her families house by Rickshaw. Thousands of people lined the streets as we made our way in what was a very color parade. This was not only a favorite photo from 2013 but a favorite moment captured as well.
“Lemons” Isabella Sitting in Lemons Not Feeling so Well
We’ve all had those days where were not feeling so good. Nothing seems right and you just can’t put your finger on it other than that you just don’t feel right. Well we went over to make a video of Isabella dancing. Our timing was not very good because she was sick. But she woke up, put on a ballerina outfit and proceeded to dance for us. Every so often she would just sit down and cry because she wasn’t feeling good. Like at this moment. There were lemons all over the floor. Isabella looked so cute, even when she felt so bad.
“Catch Me!” Halsey runs from Dad
We don’t get to see Halsey that much because she lives in New York. But when she does come out its always a cuteness extravaganza and very special to us. Erin had just finished putting on this princess/ballerina outfit on Halsey. Halsey could not have been more thrilled to be looking so much like a princess. This photo was also one of my favorite from 2013 because it shows a giddy Halsey running as fast as her little legs will take her. You can see her dad running after her in the background.
“You’re Fine. You’re Fine” Darla consoles a worried Jude
That’s just what she say’s to Jude when he cries, “You’ll be fine… You’ll be fine”. We had just put Jude down on Darla’s lap to take a picture of them together when he started to cry. He was worried, although there was probably not much to worry about – just food and poops and maybe when to burp. This was a sweet moment of a sister consoling her little brother in the only way she knew how. It was a favorite of mine because it was a promise of what is to come as both of them grow older
“Young Blue Eyes” Little John in Overalls
Sometimes good light just happens and sometimes it all comes together. Sarah had just finished Dutch Boy Cutting Little John’s hair giving him these adorable bangs. The room was filled with a nice soft white light and he was wearing cute overalls with no shirt. I liked how all the cuteness came together for this shot, another of my favorites.
California Livin – A Bird, A Boy, Surf and Shore
Landscape photography is a big part of my photographic routine. I will spend hours just walking around the beach looking for interesting moments to photograph. On this particular day I headed up to San Clemente to take a walk along what must be some of the most beautiful beach in California. While walking down the pier I noticed that surfers were catching waves that carried them right below us. Taking out my wide angle lens, I captured a moment where a Seagull and Surfing boy seemed in perfect unison heading into shore. To me, this was what the California lifestyle is all about.
Giants in the Mist – A Visit to Sequoia and Promise to a Friend
I was explaining my new found photography hobby my friend when he told me he had been searching months for a photo of Sequoia’s to put on his wall. While I had never even seen a Sequoia tree in my life, Ian, my friend, was convinced that the tree’s held the secret to the beauty of creation and our individual seemingly small place in this world. I figured I had to go. Not only to see what he was talking about but to somehow try to create the photo that he was trying to find. It was a project. It was a reason to go to visit a beautiful place.
For weeks I procrastinated. I checked the weather convincing myself that I needed to go on a brilliant sunny and cloudless day. The weather was fickle and plans postponed. Finally, I found myself in Los Angeles on another project and decided I just needed to go. I didn’t even check the weather. Be damned with the plans. I was going to go regardless and just see and photograph what I could.
The weather was terrible on the drive up. I cursed myself as I drove up through Visalia through the pouring rain and then dense fog. There was zero visibility. I had driven hundreds of miles and wasn’t going to get a single good shot. Or that was what I thought at least.
I fumbled with my camera at first. My fingers were cold but it wasn’t because of that. I fumbled because the scene that was unfolding in front of me seemed so temporary. The dense fog was lifting briefly and the sun was beginning to burst through,and as it did, it was lighting up the most immense tree I had ever seen. I felt I needed to get the picture before it went away. I fumbled than I snapped the picture praying that I had the camera settings correct. The fog did return almost immediately. I’m glad I got the shot. It wasn’t the last however but the first of many awe inspiring moments to come during the day.
“BatDad” – Dad on the Internet with Mike Tyson Tattoo
My dad is extremely photogenic. And quite an individual I must say. I could not believe it but one night he let us put a Mike Tyson Tattoo on his face and he agreed to wear this BatMan cape – the rest is history. Sometimes you have to make a good photo happen, and I feel like we did that here.
Thank you for reading my stories about my favorite photos. It was a great year for photography and I am so grateful to my friends, family and everyone that has inspired me to go and take pictures, or even give me there time to let me take pictures of them. There is so much beauty in the world to capture. It happens all around us, everyday.
Jumping for Thanks
We received a nice little gift in the mail from the Lo Family. Some home made scarves and a nice picture drew by Grace. Tu and I took a photo of her wearing the scarf. Very nice huh?
Union Tribune and Sunsets
The San Diego Union Tribune published an interesting article on sunsets today. They asked me to give my opinion on our latest week of sunsets. You can check out the article here – San Diego Union Science of Sunsets.
Gorgeous San Diego Sunsets
San Diego sunsets are reaching legendary status this week. Is it the Santa Ana conditions? The Whispy Clouds? The horrible weather in other parts of the nation that is pushing an interesting weather pattern this way?
Any way that you slice it we are coming up winners in this summer-winter wonderland called San Diego. Are you interested in checking out more cool pics of San Diego Sunsets? You can see many of them here in my gallery – San Diego.
Tabacco, Cotten and Old Slave Quarters on 301 South
I was trying to find things to photograph. I had about a day before I had to be in Ohio so I hopped in the rental car and based on a recommendation I traveled down the road less traveled – The 301 South in the rural Carolinas. I was told to keep my eye out for lots of ramshackle abandoned homes, old plantations and slave quarters that were still standing. I hardly believed that there would be still be old slave quarters left standing in this day and age but I would prove to be wrong by days end.
Take it all the way to Florida
The 301 South runs 1,100 miles from Delaware all the way to Florida. In the olden days, people would pile in their old cars and make the long trek all the way down to Florida. The 301 South is a classic old highway that used to be lined with old motels, 1 room restaurants, train tracks, hobo’s – you name it. But today, its a much different story. The highway (still beautiful) is lined by very small towns, lots of farms and what appears to be many, many abandoned homes.
Overgrown with weeds and rubbish, this abandoned home had a large sign which said “Trespassers will be prosecuted”.
Cotton and Tobacco Road
Between 1861 and 1865 about 45,000 North Carolinians lost their lives in the Civil War. By 1868 the war was over and slaves were free. Up to that point, most of the area in North Carolina was used for Cotton Farming which was a huge cash crop. A little over 100 years ago, most of the laborers in the fields that I was driving through, were slaves.
I got out of the car just North of Wilson North Carolina to walk out to one of the fields which had some interesting building on it. It was quite curious. The cotton had just been harvested but little balls of cotton blew over the ground. It was a beautiful sight. I came upon this building – beautifully overgrown with weeds. The door would not open.
As it turns out. It was not for cotton at all. It was an old shack that used to be used to dry tobacco. These fields were serving a duel purpose for both cotton and tobacco. Inside the little shack I could see the poles where the tobacco would be hung to dry. It looked like it had been many years since that had happened.
As I walked I saw a small cemetery – just a few gravestones – but further in the distance and old house with an ancient tree next to it. How curious and beautiful it was. I kept walking to see what it was. I had heard that there were old slave quarters (many still standing) in this area. This certainly looked to be one.
“How odd,” I thought to myself as I looked inside. It was obviously a dorm room of some type. Just basic wood planks and a place where people might sleep. There was even an old ladder to climb to a second floor. In my mind, I was picturing how horrible it must have been for the poor people that had to live here and work. It might have been very different here, 150 years ago. It was a bit shocking actually to see something like this, if I was correct about it was, still standing.
Beauty and History
As I drove further down the 301, the minutes turned to hours. An old train was chugging down the tracks to my left. For miles we raced each other reaching speeds of 40mph at times. I would take detours down old roads, later return to the 301 and there was the train. It was odd that for so many miles, it was just me and train and the occasional pick up truck that would roar by on the other side of the one lane highway. I imagined not much had changed here for 50 years or more. Things seemed to happen slower here.
I found many more beautiful Tobacco buildings a long the route. I liked how worn and colored the buildings looked. The trees had lost their leaves and the fields were empty making it even a bit more beautiful I suppose.
Old trees frame an old Tobacco drying shack
Hidden from view, I spotted this old shack. Was it creepy, or really beautiful. Perhaps both.
Small fires were lit below the tobacco to dry it out over many days. That is why these shacks have smoke stacks.
After 6 hours of driving down the roads, I feel like I had seen much of what the 301 South was all about. It was a beautiful old road, and one that I would highly recommend any photographer to visit and drive through. As I adjusted my navigation to take me on the larger highways to Raleigh, I noticed a picturesque scene with small horses in the field. I stopped my car and looked out. There sure was a lot of beauty here. This was what the 301 South was all about.
The Colors of Old Wilson North Carolina
It’s deep in the south. In the 1800’s it’s economy thrived on cotton. After the civil war they had to remake themselves and it soon became the capital of the world for Tabacco production. This rustic city is filled with memories of old business, old warehouses and plenty of southern charm.
I believe this is a place you have to come to, to completely appreciate it. People are nicer and more helpful here than you have experienced. Life moves slower. The BBQ is amazing and the colors and history are everywhere.
An old vibrant blue building. There was no indication of what type of business it was.
Another business. Another interesting choice of color.
The town is deeply religious. Many of the warehouses have been converted to Churches.
The town is revitalizing. A mural featuring Piggly Wiggly just painted on the side of a large building.
People walk slower in this town then we are used to. They are in less of hurry, but this guy was in a hurry. He might have been the only one.
The beautiful old red brick building – A Farmers Market. An interesting place to go.
This is an office. Welcome to the office, come in.
This place smelled like a huge model airplane was being made inside. Do you remember how that smelled like. It looked abandoned though.
Groves Stott Store – A piece of the old block. I searched for history of this store. There was very little. Apparently it was a hardware store. It looks closed now.
The Liberty Warehouse. These are old warehouses that span the whole block. They were once used to dry-out tobacco. Tobacco would hang from poles from floor to ceiling.
I found old Jesus on a house in a less nice part of town.
