Saturday January 30th, 2016

I found myself thinking about the reason I got into photography in the first place this morning as I was wandering Bishop hunting for sunrise images. I began to seriously pursue what has become a passion for me not because of a love for the medium, I honestly still debate whether or not photography is an art, but that is a conversation for another time...the actual reason I started taking it serious was the fact that it, unlike many other mediums I had experimented with, had seemed to connect to other people. The images I was capturing were getting attention, people related to them, they saw something in them....and that, to this very day, is what drives me as a photographer. Connecting with people. 

I am, however, not the greatest at trying to get my work out there as much as possible. I get lucky from time to time with a gallery show, or a publication printing my work...and for that I am very grateful, but I always think as though there is so much more I can reach with my work. And with that I have problems.

 You see, I am not the greatest at expanding my reach, or trying to capitalize on what I do. I love doing what I do, I don't love trying to sell what I do or peddle it to others. Hell, in all honestly, I am not terribly concerned with profiting from my work, although I should be...I really have no income to speak of right now lol.

Anyway, I am straying from my point...I was hoping that you guys might share and repost my work in hopes I might reach more people who might enjoy my images as well. I could really use help in this department. I am no good at self promotion...or at least not nearly as good as I could be.

And no worries if you don't...I understand completely. I am not one to repost others work too often, so I totally get it. But for those of you who might, I thank you in advance.

Also, I have been contemplating several ways to approach print sales in the near future. Please stay tuned as I am exploring options. Any recommendations concerning how I might approach this, or how you or other do would be great, please leave comments below. 

And, for those who just wanted to look at this morning's sunrise shots from Bishop Park, I apologize for interrupting the images with small portions or rambling text. I'll give you the next few images text-free.

Enjoy. 

I added the "Detroit Renaissance" in post editing...I really dug this guy's projected bravado and swagger.

Caught this guy making a call in the Ren Cen. Lately security has been kicking people out for taking photos apparently, but so far I have yet to be hassled. I try to converse with the security guards whenever possible. Many times I find that the right attitude and approach can make a big difference.

This character is one of my favorites amongst the hallways of The Russell Industrial Center. I don't really know much of the artist, if you do, please leave comments below so that I can give proper credit!

Sometimes....you can find yourself in strange surroundings if you wander too far...

...just hanging around.

I love this spot. I can see shooting here more in the near future...possibly with a model.

A few shots from the past couple walkabouts in Detroit

Taken at The Fisher Body Plant 21:

Selfie action at Fisher Body

Detroit through the broken glass....

Work by local artist Julian can be found all throughout the plant

Watch where you step on that top floor, the wood is less than safe for certain

Be on the lookout...

Taken at Lafayette Coney Island:

Local waiter extraordinaire and local celebrity Faisal...you should know who this guy is...

Taken at Harbor Terminal aka Boblo Building:  

My favorite part of this building is the engine room...I suggest exploring it.

We were there.....(vandalism already there, I swear)

Sweet piece found on one of the floors...not sure the artist. please comment below if you know.

Detroit skyline from the roof...good view of the city

Nature finds a way...always.

Great piece by Plot

Ice cold beer.

Taken from The Z Lot:

Traffic

More traffic

Taken at The Guardian Building:

Dat Lobby Doh...

Basement level.

A Day at Frenchtown Stables in Monroe, MI.

So, Here I am...nearly 41 years I have been walking this planet. As of today, I am technically unemployed, I reside mainly in a small room in my Grandmother's home, in which my Mother and her significant other, Ed also live. I live in a small, suburb of Detroit, MI called Wyandotte. I am the proud father of 20 year old boy who is turning out more and more like me every day. My income is very minimal. I hold jobs if and when I need to. I have a small and very loyal group of lifelong friends and family that I care for and that care for me. I have no idea what the future holds for me and those around me....

....but somehow, I couldn't be happier.

The details I left out above, are that in the past several days after leaving my full time job to clear my schedule for the next few months, I have worked several assignments for a local publication doing what I love to do, capturing images. I also have an organizational meeting next week with the Principal and Art Teacher of Roosevelt High School and the president of the School Board to discuss my idea for a Wyandotte calendar sale to benefit the Art Program next year. This is an idea that I have been wanting to go forward with for quite some time, and I am very happy that it seems to be gaining momentum. In addition to all this, I am very excited to hopefully be heading back out west come Spring.

Back in the late 90's, I spent a couple summers working in Yellowstone National Park at The Lake Yellowstone Hotel. These were two of the finest experiences of my early twenties. I say quite often that many of my friends went to college or to the service....and I went to Yellowstone. I thrived out there, and I credit those times in my life for me being who I am today as a person.

I always told myself I would go back one day. And there, I found myself, eighteen years later and one day had arrived. The road had been calling me for so many years, and now, it looked like I might be able to answer that call once again. I am very excited about this new idea of getting back to my free spirited, vagabond ways. So, I have applied for, have been offered, and have accepted a position working at Lake Yellowstone one more time. I am also seeking other opportunities in surrounding areas and am open to any other option that may serve the same purpose of getting me back out into the West.

Life is funny sometimes....you never know what may happen from one day to the next. Just make sure your markers are set towards your happiness, and never stop moving towards it.

i awoke this morning..
with memory of a dream...
one in which i felt the love of a woman for the first time in years...

...and it felt nice.

now i know it was just a dream...
and that it is not true..
but for as long as i am able,
im going to try to remember that feeling...
and wish it were you.

an amazing day.headed out towards detroit to take some shots of the city, and on the way i wanted to finally get a shot i have plotted to get for years...the skylineof detroit from the top of the 75 overpass near rouge. so i headed towards schaeffer(sp?) and fort street near where the overpass begins and locked my bike up near the wall that is supposed to keep me out i presume...then i preceded to climb over that wall, camera and tripod in hand, and walked along the shoulder of oncoming traffic up the slope...shot a vid...it was sketchy for sure, figured i might get arrested or hit by flying shrapnel all final destination style and what not...but nope...got to the top, set up the camera, wasn't the clearest day in the world, but i think i may be able to work with the shots i took and come up with something pretty cool...so there i was, top of the 75 overpass, camera set up...and a huge semi drove by super fucking close and the residual wind blew my hat right off my head on over the wall of the overpass where it slowly descended onto the train tracks below..nearly got ran over and destroyed several times...so, i took a couple more shots, and walked back down the slope, where i came across a car along the shoulder that wasnt there when i first walked past...i walked past at first, not giving any mind to the situation, and as i walked past the car, i turned around as i realized they may need help..it was an elderly man, so i asked him if everything was ok..he was out of gas he said. i asked him if he had a cell phone to call anyone, and he said he was just going to wait there for a policeman to possibly drive by and that they might be able to get him some gas..i asked him why he would do that, and he said because he didn't have any money to spend...i asked if he had a gas container, we checked the trunk...and he did. so i walked down to the gas station several blocks away and filled his container and got him on his way, he thanked me...and it felt good to have been able to help. i then continued to get my bike and find access to the train tracks, because there is no way in hell i was going to say goodbye to that hat without trying to get it back...had to climb a fence illegally...but i got my hat back...hell yes. i also got some really good shots while i was down there...and then, i hopped on a bus with my bike on the front bike rack, and made my way into the city...where i thouroughly enjoyed trolling through the dirty alleyways and out of the way places where grafitti may be hiding, and met and talked to alot of really cool people around the town who gave me some good places to shoot. all-in-all: an amazing day with a few adventures and some good karma hopefully.

ok, so...gonna get this out there...

i got myself a pretty bad mouthful of teeth in me. it's hereditary. i am not, nor have i ever been a crackhead or meth addict. i come by it honestly. yeah, it pretty much sucks, but there is not too much to be done about it. eventually, i will have to look into getting a full mouth of fake, old people dentures....but for right now, i just really have to deal with it. so that's that. i know it's pretty noticeable, and i know when you notice you will want to ask, but don't out of kindness, so there it is. i got shitty teeth. im dealing with it. excuse me if i try not to smile too much these days }:~)>

I drink my Coffee in the morning...

just to get me out of bed.

And smoke the herb to the brain,

just to check my head.

I got the world news screaming at me,

telling me to lock my door..

but I just can't do it,

I think it's the same world

it was before.

this world is always ending,

the doom is always near.

The government is always out to get you,

controlling you with fear.

All the wars are just for money,

all the nations just stand for greed.

And we the people barely get

just the little that we need.

But I keep waking up.....

....I keep waking up.

So, I haven't just sat down and wrote anything in quite sometime...figured now was a good time.

The road I have been on over the past several years has been full of twists, turns, and alot of learning and self discovery as well. I'm not entirely sure how it happened...but life has handed me happiness and peace of mind. It's a crazy thing to sit back for a minute and reflect on where I now find myself....in the office of Graham & Sons Antiques and Fine Furnishings...it's amazing. I am the proprietor of our family business. My mother is the owner. We now run an antique store as well as an auction house in Monroe, The Sundance Auction House....

...sorry, I was just re-reading that last grouping of sentences and soaking it in a bit...the idea is still new to me..but man, do I dig it.

Working for a Family Business is not like working at all. I put in over 80 hours a week here at the shop...at least...and I could be here more in all honesty, and it wouldn't bother me one bit. I know that this all goes into the family pot. It all benefits us....and that in itself, is more gratifying than working for anybody else. We are working towards a better future for ourselves, and man does it feel good.

I love being able to talk to people all the time. I love the fact that I feel proud to dress in a shirt and tie everyday, being happy to represent the family the best that I am able to. I love the fact that I am able to help.

Being at the shop is a great feeling. Over the past several weeks, many friends and family members have popped in to take a look around , or just to sit back and have a cup of coffee over some conversation. This makes me very happy as well. I seem to have shaken free some of my walls and allowed for a happier existence to happen. I am letting more and more people into my life, and feel the need to let more in.

And, somehow, in the process of taking a different path in life, I am finding I have let go of the feeling of loneliness that has haunted me. I have a new feeling of content that has washed over me. As if I walked blindfolded through a waterfall, I feel good again. Not sure how or why, but I am not one to question these things...at least not this time....I'm pretty happy...and I know that everything will work out just fine from here.

Everything happens exactly the way it should....otherwise, it would have happened some other way.

Much Love.

-kcl

The past year: a reflection

The past year has been an interesting one in my life on this earth. Hell, in the last couple months many changes have been made in my life. Back in August, I got it in me to take off....to leave everything and start over, travelling around and working from place to place. I desperately needed a change. I thought that was what I needed.

So I gave notice to my family and friends, as well as my road crew job, and started making very rough plans to head towards Fort Myers, FL. I took off on a mountain bike that was given to my by Nathan Delong (an old High School friend who thought I should have it, seeing as though both bikes I had previously had been stolen). It was a very nice thing to do, especially seeing as though Nate and I have barely talked in the past decade or so.

I packed up as much as I thought I could carry with me, which amounted to about two sets of clothing, a tent, my camera and tripod, a blanket, my father's old laptop, a little bit of food in the form of ramen noodles and rice, a sterno camping stove, a pot and some silver ware...as well as various other matches and camping tools I thought I would need.

I made it 160 miles on my newly acquired mountain bike. I made it to Lima, OH....and I knew that was about as far as I was going to push myself.

My back and apparently the rest of my middle aged body had had enough.

That moment would be a benchmark for the rest of the year.

I am not as young as I once was....

...and what I thought I needed....to escape...was not what I needed at all.

Don't get me wrong, it was good for me. I learned alot about myself and about people on my little adventure, but after coming back into Wyandotte for Austin's 16th Birthday, I knew I had to stick around. Once I got into town, I knew that there was no way I could leave again.

Fort Myers was great. The location and the weather were beautiful....simply breathtaking at times. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. But, when your life tells you that you need to do something, sometimes you should listen...

And now, my mother has decided to start a family business in the form of an antique and furniture storefront on Eureka across from Cahalan's Party Store and and auction house located in Monroe...which was another reason I felt as though I should stay in town...Better to work towards a family business that to work for anybody else in my opinion. My mom has always dreamed of going into business for herself, and if I can help her do so, than I really see no other option.

The past year has humbled me. It has aged me, it has made me very aware of my own mortality. I have learned much in the past year, I have alot more to learn still.

Let's hope I do.

There is alot of improving to be done...if I am ever going to meet the girl of my dreams, I have to first make sure that I have it in me to be the man of her dreams...

much love everyone.

9-6-2011 video blog

a moment of doubt

not gonna lie, starting to second guess my decision to come down to Florida...the past week has tested me to no ends..

the lack of a job, friends, cash, and the feeling that i am under foot staying with close friends is starting to get me down. i have to admit that i lied to myself in order to get myself here...i let myself believe that i would have no problem finding a job when i arrived....in retrospect, this was a bad idea, and not at all being honest to myself.

i have spent the past 2-3 weeks pounding the pavement quite diligently filling out applications everywhere i could and trying very hard to get noticed above all the other people desperately looking for employment. shit is hard here...especially right now...seems as though i have arrived right in the middle of the down season around here...i got here when everyone else seems to have left...which is not making it easy to find a job...i keep hearing "we wont be hiring for the winter season for another couple weeks" over and over again, and my patience is wearing thin...

i also miss everyone in michigan terribly. my son, my mother, and the full circle especially. i find myself thinking of everyone quite a bit.

i hate feeling like i have made a mistake...maybe i just am getting discouraged that things have not worked out the way i was hoping they would...maybe i have to suck it up and make it work, somehow....i got myself here, now it's time to make something happen...but what happens if i cant make something happen...what happens if i got all this all wrong...what happens if somewhere, i made a wrong turn..

it's hard to not feel lost sometimes. I just hope that the path presents itself once again....and soon...because i hate feeling like this.

i am sure everything will happen exactly how it should...it usually does.....i just have to get right with it.

video blog 8-22-2011

The amazing place that is Florida

HOLY SHIT IT'S HOT HERE!!

I mean it. It's a "wall of heat that burns your skin as soon as you step out of the blessed thing that is Air Conditioning" kind of hot around here. And the Moisture in the air (to steal Greg's analogy) is like "having a seven foot linebacker leaning on your shoulders all day, just kind of saying 'hey buddy, how ya doin'?" ALL DAY.

But, those two grievances out of the way.....there is absolutely nothing bad to say about this place that is Ft. Myers, Florida. As a matter of fact, there is nothing that is not amazing around here. It is such a latitude change from anywhere I have ever traveled.  Everything is new to me, I fucking love it. I still find myself just looking around, trying to soak it all in.

Last weekend, I had a great time as Greg, Judy, and Cari (Greg's girlfriend) showed me around the area. Greg introduced me to Downtown Ft. Myers, Ft Myers Beach, Captiva Beach, The Mucky Duck Restaurant (where Jude works), and many a bar along the way (the Hideaway is a great place, as is The Buddha). On Captiva Beach I witnessed the greatest sunset I have seen in at least 13 years. It was the second time that people on the beach actually applauded the sun as it finally dropped below the horizon. That moment reminded me that I had made the right decision in coming to Florida.

I am so happy. This journey and this destination were brilliant ideas. I havent stopped to write as much as I thought I would, but in all honesty, it has been hard to stop to write along the way...I was just having to much fun being in new places, meeting new people and constantly feeling like the new guy in town....because I was.

After I found myself at Cody Lake campgrounds, I had a chance to reevaluate what I might do from there..I spent two nights there, and enjoyed my time there very much. It was nice to have a chance to relax abit. I decided to take a train to my next destination: Lexington, KY where I had arranged to stay with my good friend Tom McCleese's Grandfather and his Cousin Paul.

I had an amazing time in Kentucky. That part of the country is truly amazing. The rolling hills and the rich, deep history that extends back to the beginning of our country fascinates me to no ends.

Tom's Pawpaw and his Cousin Paul were very kind to allow me to crash for several days as I saw the sights and arranged my next move. After talking to Paul and his friend Nick, I decided to take a flight from Lexington into Ft Myers, FL. They had informed me of an airline that offered cheap flights into Florida, and at that point, my road cash was seemingly disappearing day by day...so I decided to just get there as opposed to spending alot more time, and money, to get there..

flying is cool....blah blah blah blah.....

(I really do enjoy flying, but whatever I would write would just come off either all "it's so amazing, flying through the clouds, and all the people look like ants, and they even let me into the cockpit to take pictures, and it was so awesome".....or......it would come off all "fuck airliners for their offensive use of fossil fuels")

I took me alot less time than I had originally planned, but I think I really got exactly what I needed to from the whole trip to Florida. I saw alot of great places, met alot of very kind and generous people, and pushed myself a little bit to do something I have always told myself that I would do again, travel.

Next Posting....FLORIDA BITCHES!!!!!!  

THIS.PLACE.IS.AMAZING.


much love.,

KCL