"Do you know where your children are?"

I knew when I saw this house exactly what I wanted to do.  Fortunately there are plenty of kids to choose from in this neighborhood and I was able to get a brother and sister with some great innocent looking costumes to contrast with the house.  It's so much fun to do these.

2013 NC State Fair

Wanted to get at least a little time tooling around the NC State Fair this week, so I headed out this morning for a couple of hours before the crowds turn up in force.  For a little while I thought it might rain, but the clouds parted and it became a beautiful day.   Mr. Simon's and I had a discussion about what fair weather is supposed to be.  "Well...there's fair weather...and then then's fair weather...two completely different things!...I do better when it's fair weather."  Mr. Simon's sells great  authentic rootbeer floats.  Huge ones for $5.00.  I was a little bloated this morning after having one at 10am.

NC State Fair Photography Competition

Back in 1985, I entered my first NC State Fair Photography competition.  I captured a first place blue ribbon for a photograph of the old mail boat out at Ocracoke.  I entered again the next couple of years, but photography was judged against fine art instead of separately, so I stopped entering.   Last year I joined the fray again and took a first place ribbon.  Feeling the need to support the fair competition again this year, I entered this image taken out at the Jim Hunt complex last year.   To my amazement it captured this years blue ribbon. Two years in a row.   As my art teacher will undoubtably say next week..."That ain't too shabby!"

Happy Accidents

After playing in "the darkroom" as I now call fiddling with the computer, I just threw some like images together in layers and blended them along with some additional tweaking of filters and sharpening...well in other words I didn't worry about going easy.  Everything was just thrown together like a poorly designed recipe.   Sometimes though the end results can be very pleasing.  I think these qualify, at least to me.

Next stop...Raleigh.

Hoped to capture the North Carolina "Piedmont" train arriving at dusk tonight, but unlike European trains, if it arrives within 15 minutes of it's scheduled arrival time...then it's on time. So...it was on time, but 15 minutes late.  :)  European trains depart and arrive exactly when they are supposed to.  However, I did get some nice light when I arrived and was able to get a couple of interesting shots of the station.  Later the train pulled in, but I struggled with the bright head lights.  Will probably head back there again earlier next summer, when it's still light when the train arrives.  Hopefully it will be on time...or better yet...early.

Friday night walk about.

One can go out and sit around in a bar on a Friday night...or one can go out and photograph people sitting in bars on a Friday night.  Although there is nothing better than sitting around with friends sampling the latest in micro brew,  I have to admit I really enjoy heading out in the early evening with my camera in tow...especially an evening as nice as this one.   There are at least a couple of shots here that qualify for my "Front Porch" series.    Sadlack's Heroes is a Hillsborough watering hole/landmark that will soon be torn down to make room for a hotel.  Many of my friends have performed there in the back porch area.  

Raleigh at Dusk.

Raleigh has a wonderful vibe today compared with 10 years ago.  I can remember riding through downtown on Sunday mornings with Raleigh's assistant manager and talking about the changes that were coming.  It was at a time when condo's were being built at a frantic pace.  A college classmate Greg Hatem had started buying up old warehouse spaces and had started renovating them into offices and restaurants.  Fayetteville street had reopened to traffic and businesses were starting to move into downtown.  When I first opened my studio on St. Mary's street in 1993, Raleigh's downtown was still pretty dead.  The Glenwood South district didn't even exist at that time.  By the time we sold our building in 2005, Glenwood South was firmly established...so much so we could hear the music and general rowdiness at night if we were working late two blocks off Glenwood Ave.
City Market had an English Pub and Brewery called Greenshields, but that was about it. Eventually Moore square and the rest of City Market filled in with more upscale and trendy establishments.
Ten years ago, I never felt that comfortable walking around downtown at night.  Today, it has a whole different feel.  I've been out shooting for a client recently that is wanting huge canvas prints of downtown.  As I walk around after dark, I am rarely by myself.  There is plenty of activity even during the week.  It's been fun getting reacquainted with Raleigh night life...and have made a few nice images at the same time.  Of course not all these are from downtown.  I have included the James Hunt Library as well.  The last image though is a reminder that although Raleigh is a vibrant community, there are still the homeless and less advantaged that reside just off the main drag.  I'm thankful to this day that I am not homeless and have a passion for my work that keeps me clothed and fed... maybe not enough for a penthouse apartment, but a home with a roof none the less.

"Flow"

"Flow" 50"x50"
Canvas Pigment Print.
©2013 Simon Griffiths

Raleigh Project...(con.)

Looking for Raleigh's largest Oak Tree, I took an excursion out to Schenck forest in Raleigh...only to get sidetracked by a visit to the Jim Hunt Library at NC State University.  Impressive.  On the way home I had to stop by Moore Square to check out the lighting.

Raleigh Project (Continuing)

I'm currently working on a project through August highlighting ...what else... the City of Oaks!  Trying to get photographs of each of the various college and universities here locally, but have to be careful not highlighting one over another.  Difficult.  I ran out tonight after dinner at PR's with my biker buddies.  Great sky.