Art is Wherever You Are

Last week I went to Nationals Stadium to shoot images of stadium seating for a seating manufacturer. Pretty exciting, huh? Well, for me it is! The normal person probably walks into an empty stadium and sees lots of empty seats, but, for better or worse, I am far from normal. As I Walk the Earth, even when not photographing, I see the world around me in terms of shape, color, patterns, composition, and light. I have always seen this. I suppose it’s what has enabled me to become a good photographer. I already see images, the camera is just my tool to capture what I see. I see beauty and art in everything around me As I Walk the Earth, even in stadium seating.
(click any image to see larger, they look better bigger)

HotWire

Saturday night we played a party, the first time out with our new drummer Chris. Finding a solid drummer ain't easy and Chris is good, really good. He's rock solid, loves our music, and fits right in. Playing music is my favorite recreational activity, with Chris we'll be playing better than ever. Life is Good!

Youngest Zappa fan I know

My youngest son James has Autism. For several months I have been taking him every Saturday for one activity he particularly enjoys, horse riding lessons. Through a friend of our family we learned of this wonderful Therapeutic Horse Riding program TRRC which is designed specifically for children with special needs.. Recently our instructor mentioned the child before James, Michael, was at a similar skill level and perhaps in combining their lessons they may learn more effectively by watching each other. Upon meeting Michael the first thing he tells me is he likes music and his favorite artist is Frank Zappa. Well, this just blew me away coming from an 11 year old. I immediately liked him, anyone who realizes the creative genius of Frank Zappa is a friend of mine. He told me his favorite album is Weasels Ripped My Flesh. Obviously his parents have surrounded him with the correct influences. Coincidentally, as James and Michael were having their lesson we had a visit from a Pygmy Pony, just like the one the aspiring Dental Floss Tycoon wants to ride Along the Border Line in the song Montana. Below: Michael (w/Frank Zappa shirt) and his Mom, Chris. Also, the Pygmy Pony rides the border line.I told Michael I would post some photos for him that I took. These are a few from a show, I think in 1976 at University of Maryland. I saw so many shows in those days, prior to heavy security (and Clear Channel corporatizing and ruining concert venues). I was 16 and literally sitting on the edge of the stage with my trusty Cannon Ftb equipped only with a cheap 50mm 2.8.

Crabs in Baltimore

Went out Wednesday night with my brothers Chris, David, and my son Brady to our favorite crabhouse, Bill’s Terrace Inn. Bill’s is a classic real downhome crabhouse, the best in all of Baltimore. We’ve been going there for many years, I don’t know how he does it but Steve, the owner (seated at the bar below), always has the biggest and best crabs anywhere. We ordered our usual line-up, cream of crab soup ( I passed since I’m on a health kick to regain my girlish figure), super jumbo spiced shrimp steamed w/valdalia onion, and the big mutha crabs. The crabs were great, Huge and Heavy. The crab pictured below was my first of the batch and then opened to show how packed it was with Prime Grade A Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Jumbo Lump Backfin Goodness.
When we arrived the evening light was so perfectly beautiful I couldn’t resist a few photos in the parking lot. Waiting for the crabs I took a few around the inside to capture the ambience. Who doesn’t love a good Salty Sea Captain at the Wheel with pipe/Stormy Sky/Ship in Rough Seas painting? But, when the crabs arrive picture playtime is over, all conversation stops, and we get to the important serious business of consuming mass quantities of huge crabs with lots of Old Bay and vinegar. Jupiter is so prominent in the southern early evening sky this month, even clearly visible from a Baltimore parking lot as shown with Brady above. (click on any image to see larger)

Speaking of Sensationalized News . . .

I will admit, I used to love reading the Weekly World News. In fact I used to have some of the covers hanging in my studio. Covers like, “Elvis to Perform at SuperBowl XXII” and “Jesse Jackson’s Love Child Born with Two Heads”. And who can forget the zany antics of the freakish yet adorably lovable BatBoy?
Going through the contents of an older hard drive I came across the above scan that I had completely forgotten about. In addition to licensing images myself, I have many out there in circulation through agencies (rights managed of course - MicroStock is the Devil but that’s another subject). My images are published but I never see their application, just receive statements regarding their use. So you can imagine the thrill when to our shock and amazement my son Brady opens up The Weekly World News while checking out at Safeway to one of my images, full page. I've had countless images published, but for me professionally nothings conveys a greater sense of validation or personal fulfillment than having an image placed prominently in The Weekly World News-”The World”s Only Reliable Newspaper”.

I for one felt a great sense of relief when those “dangerous insect-harboring beehive haircuts went out of style”. Frankly I am shocked that in this modern day and age people “have ignored the warnings” and “have chosen style over safety”. Another item to keep you up at night tuned into 24 hour sensationalized doom and gloom/economic crash/wwIII/collapse of society/end of the world TV News, a two-kilometre-wide asteroid that could be on a collision course with Earth. BTW- the model for the shot above is The Lovely Linda Parker, Stylist was Kimberly Searle. Click on the image and read the full riveting story,

Saturday Morning in Glenwood, MD . . .

With my Happy Snappy Canon G-9

Gettin' my Groove back on

Happy Man on the Steps of du Sacre Coeur - Paris

I’m finally regaining my normal sense of blind optimism. I look around and see all things good and think of the future as bright and shiny. If I may suggest, DON”T watch TV news. I just don’t buy into this sensationalized TV News driven doom and gloom/economic crash/wwIII/collapse of society/end of the world scenario presented nightly. I really believe that people being hammered repeatedly with fear and anxiety towards the future perpetuates a self fulfilling prophecy. Things get tough from time to time, and I certainly face my own challenges, but only you create your own future. The future is good if you choose it to be.

Postcard from this Week . . .

Walking the Earth takes it's Toll

Just got back in from a relaxing Milk and Honey Pedicure with Sugar Scrub and Extended Foot Massage with Creme Butter that my ever loving wife Valerie treated me to. Since I’ve taken so much time off work I literally have not worn a pair of shoes, other than flip-flops, the past two months as I have Walked the Earth. Whereas in my mind I still maintain the presence and vitality of a virile 20 year old, I fully realize my feet are that of a 90 year old Tibetan Sherpa.

It fell upon the lovely Tracy, this wonderful sweet girl, to disinfect, scrape and scrub my decrepit feet back into something resembling those of a civilized man living in the 21st Century. She got out all her tools including what looked like wire cutters and I swear she put two pairs of gloves on. The foot massage was the best, she has her technique down, she don't be tickling or nothing. I like her and the job she did so much I’m making an appointment next week for the Banana Daiquiri and Nitrous Facial. Thanks Tracy!

Achieving Crab Bliss

Just returned from a wonderful relaxing vacation on Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. The crabbing was great! Everyday I caught dozens of crabs that my youngest son James and I would have for lunch. (also did some clamming for the first time although without the dorky high waisted rubber pants). Crabs and Clams everyday for Lunch on the back porch overlooking the water, this is what I imagine Heaven must be like.

I had my first lime flavored beer last week, Michelob Ultra Cactus Lime. I am a Genuine Certified Zen Crabmaster. As any Certified Zen Crabmaster worth his weight in Lump Backfin will attest, the right crabbing beer is a key component in achieving Crab Nirvana. Perhaps they derive the flavoring from the Peyote Cactus because this beer enabled me to attain complete transcendence into the Crab Mind, summoning crabs at will from all directions. I also saw my first Bald Eagle who came to visit us each day as we were crabbing. I took this to be a good omen from the Gods.

As always when on vacation I get up before the Sun to go out and take photos. For me there is no better way to start the day than having several quiet hours alone to be creative. Whether I get good photos or not isn’t important, it’s more the process of being highly observant of the world around me that is stimulating. I haven’t had time to go through and process what I’ve shot but below are a few quick selections just for fun. I actually still have a little gallery of some of what I shot last year here: Chincoteague07 Gallery. If you’d like to see more from Chincoteague / Assateague I have several hundred images posted in my Scenic Virginia Gallery on dcstockimages.com posted here.

Pot of Gold

The passing of my Father from this Earth hit me a little harder than expected. I have been Walking the Earth but with my head down low. I planned to take a break from all things work related until July to get my head screwed back on straight. Some time has passed now and I am feeling my obsessive creative urge return, gurgling up inside me (either that or it's the contaminated water I drank Tuesday).Yesterday we had a freakish sudden cloudburst, but it was sunny and beautiful. Three minutes of intense hard rain in the bright sunshine. A perfect arc rainbow stretched accross my entire side yard and right over my truck. I searched for the Pot of Gold thinking perhaps one was left so I might buy a tank of gas and go to the beach. But, I realize the Pot of Gold exists right inside my head as I Walk the Earth as illustrated in this quote from a previous post.

"If, by some strange convergence of the force, you have been able to combine your creative talents with a level of business acumen necessary to sustain it, do not forget about that creativity. That tap is a well from which you can always draw. Yet, to leave those well waters stagnant, is to neglect your sustaining abilities. The more you draw from that well, the more clear, and refreshing it will be. If you neglect to think yourself, and use other people's ideas for great imagery, giving them utterance only, you will fall far short of your own abilities, and what you are capable of."
~adapted from George Augustus Sala (1828 - 1895), Journalist

Also, thanks to Mark Ippolito with Digital Railroad for again featuring me in their Blog. View Blog here. I greatly appreciate his insight and understanding in that my work should be constantly blatantly promoted to achieve complete and total world domination.

See you in July!

Eulogy

My Father passed away last week. Writing the Eulogy was very difficult for me and my two brothers, Chris and David. Fortunately, my brother in law Jim was kind enough to make himself available and organize our thoughts into a beautifully written eulogy. We simply could not have prepared such a well written eulogy that properly conveyed the love and respect we shared without him. My oldest son Brady delivered the eulogy. I have never been more proud of anything, at anytime in my life as I was of Brady that day. I include the text here in honor of my Father and for those who requested a copy to read:

I thank you all for coming to this celebration of the life of Angie Santos
For those of you who don't know me, I'm proud to tell you that I am Angie Santos' grandson Brady Santos. It is an honor and a privilege for me to deliver this eulogy for my grandfather. I know that he would be overwhelmed to know that there are so many good people here today who are paying their respects to him, and giving their love and support to his family at this difficult time.

Angelo, Angie, Ange, Papu, Grandpa, Grandpa Angie, Uncle A, Skip, Nutsy, Mr. Santos. Those were some of the names for the man whom we knew and loved as a husband, a father, a father-in-law, a grandfather, a brother, an uncle, a friend, and a colleague.

To fully understand just who Angelo Santos was, it is important to know about his beginnings. He was born in the United States on Sept 19th, 1935, to a proud Albanian immigrant couple. Born in D.C., Angie was proud of the fact that he was a true Washingtonian,
His parents, Lillian and Leo (AKA, the Captain), like many immigrants, saw the beauty and promise of life in the United States, and they left everyone and everything they knew and loved in the Old Country to come to the United States to create a life of opportunity and prosperity for their family. And, like so many other immigrants, Lillian and the Captain succeeded beyond their wildest dreams in building a new life in the United States and starting a family
Angie followed his beloved brother Charlie in birth, and was the 2nd child and 2nd son of Lillian and the Captain. Soon Angie and Charlie were joined by their beautiful and loving sisters Helen and Tina. These four children of Lillian and the Captain would grow up together and grow close, remaining nearly inseparable as they made their way through the vagaries of life: In times of joy, they were celebrants together. In times of sorrow, pillars of strength to one another.

Lillian and the Captain prized the ideals of family, honor, integrity, and hard work, and they ensured that those ideals were instilled in Charlie, Angie, Helen, and Tina. All of you who knew my Grandfather know personally how he lived his live in accordance with those ideals. By any measure, my Grandfather's life was one of success and fulfillment.

After college he graduated from accounting school and became a CPA. Then, not content merely to be a successful accountant, he set his sights on the very important work of raising a family and being a successful husband and a father. In particular, he set his sights on a certain genteel Southern lady named Margaret McCreight. Although none of you should be surprised to know that Margaret was a former beauty queen, many of you will be surprised to know that she was a renowned Washington nightclub singer way back when, belting out torch songs in the smoky gin palaces of the city. In June 1965, they married. They raised three fine sons together Randy, Chris, and David, and my Grandfather worked hard to ensure that the ideals of his parents were also instilled his boys. Randy, my dad, and Chris and David, my uncles, are successful today, in part, because of my Grandfather's efforts.

My Grandfather was not only successful as a husband, father, and provider, but also as an entrepreneur and businessman. At the beginning of his CPA career, my Grandfather worked for the IRS. After a few years, he left the Dark Side, and set up shop with his beloved brother Charlie. My Grandfather and Charlie started their CPA firm in the late 1960s and it still exists today. Their other business ventures, such as the late, great D'Angelos Restaurant, were very successful as well. Many of you here today have such fond memories of D'Angelos and the cast of characters who, it seems, resided there on a permanent basis. My Grandfather and his brother Charlie were successful, I think, not just because they were smart businessmen, but also because they were each other's best friend and true partners for life. My Grandfather and his brother made the most of their respective strengths in each venture, and in each venture the love and respect they had for one another was plainly evident.

In retirement, my grandfather took great joy in spending time with his 7 grandsons, and watching his beloved Cardinals, Caps, and Fighting Irish. Even towards the end of his struggle, he still asked whether Alex Ovechkin scored a goal or whether Albert Pulholes hit a home run.

Family was the centerpiece of his life. He adored his extended family of wonderful loving nieces and nephews. Being surrounded by such a unique closely knit family with so much love provided him with imesurable happiness in life.

But aside from his family and relatives, and his business, perhaps nothing gave my Grandfather more joy than food. He would plan his day around food, At breakfast, he would discuss what to have for lunch and where to have it. At lunch, he would start to plan what to have for dinner and where to have it. And so on. When he travelled, it was not just to see new places, but more importantly to eat. Also, I can’t think of very many people who think nothing of driving over a hour just to have dinner.

It is impossible to describe a person fully in just a few short paragraphs. My grandfather's life did not lend itself to such a tidy summation, and this eulogy is but one small attempt to illustrate a life richly lived.

Certainly, all of us here today have our own memories. And those memories merge into a beautiful mosaic of the man we knew as Angelo, Angie, Ange, Papu, Grandpa, Grandpa Angie, Uncle A, Skip, Nutsy, and Mr. Santos

But however beautiful that mosaic may be, it is still incomplete. It is incomplete because it cannot capture the infinite scope of relationships that we the living have with one another because of my Grandfather's presence in our lives. I think, however, one common theme to be found in each of our memories of my Grandfather is that he was an unconditionally loving husband and father who provided so much for so many people through the fruits of his labors

He passed from this world with his loving family by his side. This, I feel, is a true testament to the character and success of a man so deeply loved in his lifetime.

So let us celebrate his life today. Let us remember him well as a quiet man of integrity and honor. Let us treasure the relationships that we formed through my Grandfather's presence during his time with us.

Saturday Morning . . .

. . . in Glenwood, MD. With my amazing little G-9 . I carry this camera almost everywhere now As I Walk the Earth because everywhere I go I see photos of everything around me all the time.

BBQ in Baltimore

Had an early AM shoot in Baltimore today that wrapped just in time for lunch. Driving back through the city the wafting scents of various frying foods got my stomach growling. Started thinking about something fried, something crab, on a bun with lots of hot sauce. Feeling the urge I headed over to Cross Street Market for a Soft Shell Crab Sandwich or two. Although, upon entering the market all visions of Soft Shells evaporated as I noticed Paula at Smoke BBQ and Grill slicing Brisket and getting ready to pull freshly smoked racks of ribs from her smoker. While waiting for the Ribs to finish Paula offered me some brisket and I knew I need walk no further. Now, I don't know if it's because I was hungry, or because I was feeling especially good, or if Paula sprinkles some magic dust in her rub, but I must say these ribs were some of the best I can remember having east of Memphis. Paula has three home made sauces, I took my sauce on the side and I'm glad I did. These ribs were big, meaty, juicy, perfectly seasoned, and smoked to perfection. They didn't need no stinking sauce. I was still licking my fingers as I headed back down 95. Thanks Paula! Paula Readies my Ribs

Daddy wants a GTO

Had a great Weekend. Spent Sunday muscle car shopping with my youngest son James. Even had enough time for a sweet little stop at Bed Bath and Beyond.

Postcard from this Week . . .

If you'd like to be on my e-mail Postcard list send me an e-mail. (info@randysantos.com)

Spring Blossoms

The Azaleas, Dogwood, and Lilac are in full tilt bloom throughout my yard. Took advantage of the beautiful day and shot a whole mess of images. Think I'll do more today. Here's a few from yesterday.

Simple is Beautiful

Playing guitar relaxes my mind (and my overstimulated hyperactive brain needs relaxation). I am fortunate that over the years I have acquired a few truly great guitars. Guitars that inspire me to play and playing keeps my creative juices flowing. Here's one I was playing last night, my 1955 Les Paul JR, feeling the love and feeling inspired. If you're not familiar, a Les Paul JR is one hot P-90 pick-up with a wrap-around tailpiece bolted to a slab of mahogany. There is no set-up more basic. I took this last night, just with available room light, to illustrate the beauty of it's simplicity.Speaking of Creativity, I read this morning on John Harrington's Blog what I thought to be a great quote:

"If, by some strange convergence of the force, you have been able to combine your creative talents with a level of business acumen necessary to sustain it, do not forget about that creativity. That tap is a well from which you can always draw. Yet, to leave those well waters stagnant, is to neglect your sustaining abilities. The more you draw from that well, the more clear, and refreshing it will be. If you neglect to think yourself, and use other people's ideas for great imagery, giving them utterance only, you will fall far short of your own abilities, and what you are capable of."
~adapted from George Augustus Sala (1828 - 1895), Journalist

Saturday Morning . . .

. . . in Glenwood, MD. With my Canon G-9 and a pass through Lightroom.