I have to pull a personal post for this one. Hopefully you still find it enlightening. I know if you have kids, you will.

Our daughter Ruby started Kindergarden the other day and the house has now gone quiet during the day. Max is in 3rd grade and gets his sis to class on time. I carried the camera along the journey from wake up to drop off. Follow the link if you care to take the ride too. Thanks…..

RUBY’S FIRST DAY

Just a perfect example of what I love to shoot. Happy people on Kodak 400NC. This is my daughter’s good friend Delaney. I had a few frames left over, so we walked down to catch the sunset in the backyard. I think the coolest thing about shooting kids is that they haven’t had time to develop a fear of the camera. They are open, honest and completely vulnerable in front of the camera. If we could all be a bit more like kids, we would take better pictures.

Surf Expo is truly an excuse to party. Seriously…that’s it. I’ve always wondered how much business really goes down. Well, we did have some business to take care of but it came in the form of a 12oz Bud can served at the Nike 6.0 AQUAFROLICS movie premiere. Oh yeah, and it was an 80’s prom theme, so that made the pictures more than interesting. My wife Dana even got a piece of this one. She has been organizing the event non-stop for the past month. Honey, you kicked ass. It was awesome. kudos. Prom photo booth on the Mezzanine, movie screened at the new Downtown plaza theater and an after party with all the accoutrements including the Dan band.

Highlights:

More mustaches than episode of Magnum P.I.
Appearances by Parks Bonifay and James “bubba” Stewart
Drink runners to every aisle of the leather seated theatrer
Ben Horan’s section and closing credits of the Aquafrolics
Cheesy meatballs at the afterparty
Darren Manzari’s jailbird get-up
Matt Manzari’s weird dance moves
Ben Horan’s pants. At 12pm he only had one pant leg and by 2am he was down to boxers and his shoelace for a belt.

Check out this gallery for some fun Prom pics.

AQUAFROLICS PROM GALLERY

Thank you to NIke for an amazing night. All the traveling and shooting we did over the past year was well justified on Saturday night.

I’ve made use of my time here in front the big screen. Like many photographers, I have been battling with a new definition of my photographic style. I know that I have, involuntarily, been developing a look for myself over the past 10 years, but when it comes to picking portfolio shots, it can be a tough decision. Yes, first and foremost, the image has to be good. And not just good to “me”, because of some attachment I have to it. More importantly it has to make sense with the other group of images. I struggled for a long time trying to “go after” a particular style. And yes, thats great in attempts to broaden the spectrum. But in the end you truly “ARE WHAT YOU SHOOT.” So, I’ve stood back, examined what I really like to shoot, and how I would instinctively grab one of my many cameras to make a photo. I like simplicity. I like the real moments happening around me and finding a way to capture that as honestly as possible.

I’d like to hear from you. Take a look at the updated site. Tell me what you think. What do you see? There are still many oldie, but goodies on there. But I really honed in to the “ON THE ROAD” gallery. These images make me feel the best. When I look at them, they spark a memory, they look real, subjects look comfortable. Everything I want. And when i think back to taking them, It seemed so natural and simple.

here’s the link: JOSH LETCHWORTH

And here are some screen shots…..

How is everyone feeling out there? I’ll admit, I’m in a little bit of a summer funk. Remember that feeling when you were young and summer break started off real slow and cruisy. And then…like a hyper-accelerator, it just starts flying past you, the days all muddled together, no beginning, no end. Its kinda like that last tunnel on space mountain where you appear to be going through a light year. Anyways…that’s my description of the “now” for me.

Here’s a set of images that describe my relationship to the camera and the subject. “just a man behind a lense and a sheet of film, looking for my way to shape the world. No color, no shape, no definition…just a composition of elements.”