Jacob from Chicago.  He needed a few bucks -- but, boy, could he play that harmonica, and there was light in his words.  I wish I could have given him as much as he gave me.

Wonderful rainy day; perfect to go out and do some shooting.  Being a Monday, everything was quiet to begin with, but with the rain not much was moving except a lone straggler or two.

Joe is the major part of a big project that I am currently putting together.  I am really enjoying this process because it makes me interact with Joe in a completely different way than I ever have.  In creating different moments with him, I get a chance to see him through the artist's eye; and I find that with each shoot I see things about him that I haven't seen before or that I just forgot to see with the passage of time.  With each image I find myself remembering why I fell for him in the beginning so many years ago.

Jerry.

Joe.  I'm working on a new series about my partner, Joe, and our life -- still a work in the early phases of development.  I'm just shooting him and things that mean something to us both, and I'm seeing where the project ends up.  I started to really enjoy working with environmental portraiture using available lighting.  And I have a built-in model -- as long as I don't forget about my honey-do list.

The dogs are our kids; they're family.  When we're home, there is always one or both hanging around close to where we are.  They are perfectly content to snooze while we're doing other things because they know that soon it's their time.  I should learn that patience.

 

Joe is an incredible cook, as is shown by my every expanding waistline.  Most of the recipes he has are from his mother.  He is the only one in his family to have all her old recipes and to be able to cook the Italian dishes that the family remembers from years ago.  One of his favorite recipes is his mom's recipe for homemade pizza.  This recipe her mother brought with her from the old country.  One time before she passed away, his mom tasted Joe's pizza and exclaimed, "The student is better than the teacher."  Joe's always cherished that moment.

Back in the 90's Joe and I attended a black-tie AIDS benefit in town.  There was a photographer there shooting the event, and we made arrangements to have our portrait done since we had the tuxedos.  It's funny that after this photo was taken, we went a very long time without taking any photographs of us at all.  It's funny looking at us as we appeared almost 20 years ago.  I still expect to see that young guy in the mirror.

Joe and I have created an interesting color palette that we have put together at the house with many diferent textures.

Keeping my eyes open for those little moments that I normally would not pay attention to.

I am spending time exploring the environment that I live in.  I am looking into all the different nooks and corners that I normally overlook.  This one little space just spoke to me when I stopped to pay attention.

The Last Leaves.   We have a beautiful Japanese maple tree outside that has the most beautiful crimson-colored leaves when it blooms in the spring.  Almost all the leaves have fallen and the tree looks so bare with just these few leaves left.  I know though that spring will come again soon enough.

Buddy, my Golden boy.  Just got a 100 mm 2.0 lens and I've been enjoying all the different opportunities it gives me.  Sometimes very overt distinctions and sometimes very subtle.

Cherub.  Many years ago Joe and I ran across this pair of 19th century candlesticks selling for a bargain.  Since we have a tradional home, they fit in perfectly.

Cloisonne.  Years ago Joe and I had gone to a black-tie AIDS benefit which included a silent auction to raise funds.  We both saw this Cloisonne bowl and signed up for it.  Joe was so enamored over this bowl that he stood next to the bowl making sure that no one outbid us, missing all the evening's entertainment.  We won.

"XX."  So I was grabbing a scrumptuous chili cheeseburger and fries at my favorite eating spot, Hamburger Haven -- my guilty pleasure for the week.  As I was sitting on the patio finishing up my food, I noticed how the metal chairs on the patio had worn this wonderful line across the wall.  I loved the combination of the chair, table and the wall, so I grabbed a couple XX from a neighboring table to finish off the scene and created my own still life right there on Santa Moncia Blvd.

Light.  Part of the colorful world of West Hollywood.

Robert & Joseph.

Portrait of a Golden.  This is a photograph of my female Golden Retriever, Rosie, who is four years old.  Most of the time she is a regular Tazmanian Devil, but she has these rare moments where she quiets down into a beautiful creature.  Dog owners always believe their dogs are the best, but I firmly believe mine are.

The Finger.  Part of my social commentary series, this image I put together to show the indifference of the top 1 percent of the people in our country economically to the plight of the other 99 percent.

Another Successful Mortgage Modification.  This is part of a body of work I am working on that are a commentary on what's going on with our nation.  This image relates to the growing homeless population in our society -- boosted by the the growing jobless rate and people's inability to stay in their homes.

Gigi.  A great woman who is part of my LGBT community. 

Still Life -- sort of.  When staying at a Best Western, I was taken with its austerity and simple lines.  In scoping out the room, I found this composition that I wanted to capture.

Still life.  I am studying the work of Josef Sudek, a WWII photographer who did a lot of still-life photographs relating to objects in his home.  I am going to do a still-life study using objects I find in my home.

Still life.

Tomatoes.  Lighting through a north-facing window.

 Ana, 74.  Part of my "LGBT" series.

"An Evening in the Park."  This is a tintype image that is part of a series by the same name.   This series is about my longing for a childhood upbringing that I never had.  In using the tintype process with these photographs, I want to create an antique, dated look to the images of memories I never had.

Car Show.  In this photograph the cars are actually four-inch Matchbox cars. My fabulous model, Rachel, was photographed three different times in three outfits with three different poses that would match her ultimate position with the cars.

Clif.  "Senior LGBT" series.  This is an on-going project that I am working on relating to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people who are over the age of 55.  Being 56 myself, I am facing the emotional hurdles of getting older.  I am meeting with other 55+ LGBT people and doing portraits and connecting with them at the same time.  Clif is a very interesting guy.  He just retired from a long career as an English professor at the university level and currently writes books, short stories and poems.  In talking to him, I discovered we had a similar upbringing:  we both started playing the violin at a very early age and studied until college.  We also both studied piano also.  This made for a very fun shoot with Clif bringing out his "fiddle" and performing for me as I shot.  Thanks, Clif.

Spider.  This big guy had built himself a web out in my front yard, and he just screamed to be photographed.