Young Learners Guide to American Wildlife

Hey party people, it’s picture time! This go-round I used the camera that doesn’t have a mechanical error that prevents me from setting the shutter speed lower than 1/100. It’s like the old saying: “Fool me once, shame on you. If the camera has a mechanical error that prevents you from setting the shutter speed lower than 1/100, shame on me.”

This roll of film takes us to the start of a new semester, a couple of record shops, a few of my work spaces and sometimes wherever I had lunch that day. Picture quality is becoming more consistent, however, I do see myself butting up against one of the core issues of doing a photo-a-day project on film: if your one photo is shitty or boring, you’re just kinda stuck with it. But that’s all part of God’s inscrutable plan.

 

University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. January 22, 2013.

It’s the first day of Spring Semester and the boys are looking fine! My ma used to always take a picture of me on the first day of school, so I figured I’d pick the tradition back up. If you’re wondering, no, the sun did not actually consume Justin’s left side right when the photo was snapped. One of the joys of this project is that sometimes you don’t keep proper track of winding the film and this kind of crap happens. Or he just got consumed by the sun.

 

University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. January 23, 2013.

This photo is like that alternative girl with the dyed-black hair and tattoos who you’ve secretly been crushing on for months: more interesting in principle than in reality. (If you can’t tell, the manhole cover has been excavated and a sheet of plywood placed over the hole. Why I found this interesting I really don’t know. Maybe it was just the fascination with something you can’t have. Which is plywood manhole covers, obviously.)

 

Budig Instruction Lab, University of Kansas. January 24, 2013.

I came here to “brush up” on Photoshop and Dreamweaver before a job interview the next day, and remembered how computer labs at universities take a good 10 minutes to log in. So I thought I’d take a picture of my waiting. Then it finished logging in before I could take the picture. Almost as lame as this story.

Indiana Street, Student Ghetto, Lawrence, KS. January 25, 2013.

Scaffolding on the facade of a house with different colored siding on every floor. I hope they don’t make it all one color. Oh also, I had just gotten hired at my new English Department PR job and was walking home in dress shoes that made my feet bleed (not really, but kinda).

Lawrence Public Library, Lawrence KS. January 26, 2013.

LPL is getting “renovated”. I thought this would be a beautiful study in brown terraces, but apparently the C3 just hates construction shots. (See January 12).

Burrito King, Lawrence KS. January 27, 2013.

People are snotty about Burrito King, but I haven’t found a better hangover food than the chorizo breakfast burrito. Also if I ever fall into a deep depression and go all hermit, BK is less than a block away.

Casbah, Lawrence KS. January 28, 2013.

I’m not sure what combination of circumstances aligned to make this indoor photo so clear and bright, with sharp colors, and Justin looking like he’s not trying to look casual. I damn sure didn’t write it down. But I do know KU beat West Virginia 61-56.

Post Office, Lawrence KS. January 29, 2013.

Today I went to the Post Office to mail in my passport application, so I can go to Kenya and Tanzania in March. The adventure has already begun!

Downtown Alley, Lawrence KS. January 30, 2013.

I walked around downtown for a while today. Don’t remember why, but that’s a homeless at the end of the alley holding up a sign. I felt like a jerk just walking by him, so I circled the block to get to this end. Conflict avoidance!

University of Kansas, January 31, 2013.

I rode the Lawrence Transit busses for the first time today. It was surprisingly unremarkable, so I decided to document it on film. Note the depth of composition here, and the varied, but equally baffling expressions of Justin and Phil.

Love Garden Sounds, Lawrence KS. February 1, 2013.

For my radio piece about vinyl, I went to Love Garden and interviewed an employee out back. It was really cold, and probably not ideal interview setting.

Hitt Records, Columbia MO. February 2, 2013.

The next day I interviewed Kyle Cook, about Hitt Records. Picked up copies of Nilsson Schmilsson and Ram. Bitchin’.

Niedermeyer Building, Columbia MO. February 3, 2013.

I figured I should snap a shot of the Niedermeyer, because for all I know it’ll be torn down the next time I got back to Columbia. I’m not being hyperbolic here – they’re really demolishing the oldest building downtown to make room for shitty student housing. Yay!

Phillips 66, North Rangeline, Columbia MO. February 4, 2013.

The last payphone left in North America. These used to be things.

Wescoe Hall, University of Kansas. February 5, 2013.

I got a new position as a PR assistant to the English Department, and it came with a new office. I have to share use of it with two gals, but I’m gonna work hard to make it uninhabitable for others. Because having two offices makes me go crazy with power.

KJHK Studio, University of Kansas. February 6, 2013.

Here’s the studio where I compose radio shows sometimes. This was probably around 4:00 or 4:30 AM. Finished my piece and was waiting for the final mixdown. (PS YOU CAN LISTEN TO IT HERE.)

Jayhawk Food Mart, Lawrence KS. February 7, 2013.

So the next day I probably didn’t really feel like leaving the house. But evidence indicates I may have transacted business at the Jayhawk Food Mart. JFM is right by my house, and a vital source of gum, sunflower seeds, and other stuff people buy at gas stations. It has also been incorporated into my planning for when I become a sad hermit.

Mirth Cafe, Lawrence, KS. February 8, 2013.

Here’s one of those frustrations of old-school, fully-manual film photography: sometimes you get a picture that turns out great and it’s completely boring. I had lunch at Mirth Cafe with my mom. Evidently there was a truck out front. Yay. But in all seriousness, part of the project is to record how I spend my 2013. And part of that involves ma coming to town and taking me to lunch. I’ll take it!