dwarf car nationals

adam and i spent the weekend in marysville watching his brother and some friends race dwarf cars. had a lot of good old fashioned redneck fun. complete with a stripper pole in the pits and my dog shitting on the dining hall table.

I just bought my ticket...

for this:



Oh yeah. Gonna be good times.

Last year was awesome. And I'm hoping that after a year of shooting, getting my head much more into the game, and a pile of life experience will help me get that much more out of the weekend.

Caravan, tons of students packed in a room, and hopefully another completely wasted 3am run in with Christopher Morris (yes, we all high-fived him, totally drunk, in the hotel hallway).

My fingers are all inky

I bought a 1950s Gray Magic Royal Typewriter today. It's one of the neatest purchases I've ever made. Right up there with the orange rotary phone I bought in Bisbee. Greg helped me figure out a lot of the ins and outs. Brothers with a knack for engineering are really clever like that.

Picture of it tomorrow. And hopefully by then I'll have a new ribbon for it. The one it came with is about dry, but there was enough ink on there for us to give the thing a really good test run. Thank you Brieshen for this incredibly awesome and simply amazing little machine.

Ariel? "What? You're getting a typewriter? Why? Explain to me why you spend three thousand dollars on a laptop and then you go and by a typewriter?"

It's simple: simple is good. It's as simple as that.

meet moco

now that i've been able to break the news to both my parents about the most recent addition to my life, i can formally introduce you all to moco. this little puppy is about 6-7 weeks old. he came from mexico, a few miles outside of ejido hermosillo, where we were staying. moco was living with an old man that lived in a grove of trees, without a formal shelter. most of the pups usually get eaten by coyotes or die from the heat because they don't have any shelter. moco was the most curious out of all the puppies, so i thought that was pretty fitting for a journalist's dog. little did i know that trait was a sign of the trouble to come. he's a little terror at times, mostly because he wants to chew everything in sight. but that's what puppies do and i've just had to learn to keep a much neater house and moved everything of value to higher ground.

yes, he's freakin adorable. and i love him to pieces. he has his own little bed to sleep in, but my favorite thing is when he wakes up at about 5 am and wants to crawl in bed with me. he whines, i pick him up, and he falls back asleep on my neck, head or chest, burrowed in the nape of my neck. it'll make your heart melt, trust me.

five years spent

i've spent a lot of time in this city over the past few years. sadly seen a lot of people come and go, move away and come back, or lose touch and never see or hear from them again. had a dream the night before last that got me thinking a lot about who i've come to be over the past five years. and thinking more critically about the choices laid out in front of me that will inevitably shape the next few years of my life. looking forward to the unknown future. and anxious to get started on something new.

i was really sick for about 4 days. still feeling a little ill but nothing like before. watch out for a tummy ache followed by a nasty fever. not fun. fevers give me lucid dreams. makes for a wild nights sleep.

in salinas sitting in a hotel room right now with my dad and brother. going to some bike races tomorrow. it's nice being with family. hadn't seen my dad in a while. or my brother. good to spend time with them.

little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same

this tiny pooch and i are itching to hit the road. ready for new places and faces. moco, quit eating all my stuff. and quit shitting on my carpet. it's okay though, i love you anyways.

scouring the country for jobs when what really sounds most appealing is hitting the road, camera in hand, and tackling my growing list of places to see and stories to hear.

mom, thanks for the pep talk. i really needed that. <3

alex just brought this to my attention via myspace:

http://www.esquire.com/style/style/bestdressed0907-19

nachtwey was voted by esquire as one of the best dressed men.

i told you i wouldn't be gone for long

adam and his mom were gracious enough to lend me an old brownie camera. i think it was his grandmothers. i'm going to load it up with film and shoot with it this week. stoked.

back home in the bay. wishing i was coming home to a place other then san francisco. ready more then ever to say goodbye to this city. mexico was amazing. update tomorrow with more details.

came home from mexico and shot janelle's wedding the following day. ariel saved my ass by filling in as my second shooter.

headed out to the east bay yesterday for a photo shindig at brad mangin's. my hometown was the last place on earth i ever thought it'd be going to for something work-related. i felt awkward. always weird to be home. wasn't feeling myself at all. headed from there to downtown p-town for pitchers of free beer and pizza at Gay Nineties. hung out with old friends the rest of the night.









a portrait of our neighbor and friend at the swimming hole (below)



a portrait of Candi at the cemetary (below)















a few photos of all of us working and trying to stay cool in the heat














onwards to wedding shots


















and then a few pictures from hanging out in town with friends