Greetings from Mt. Vernon, Ohio

I just returned from a short trip to Mount Vernon, Ohio... Not sure why, but the new surrounding sparked my interest... The bridge is located right outside the hotel...

I selected the top image, not just because it's awesome... ;) No, but it feels so fitting these days... Like a passage over an obstacle right in front of you, but you cannot make use of it...

More of the same bridge... Now from the other side and things are much less dramatic now... I guess that could be said for all kinds of events... Much less dramatic once you passed them... 

No clever analogies here... I just liked the orange trucks parked and the evening sun coming through...

Looks like an abandoned rest stop... Impressive shapes...

One of the main squares in town, I would assume... Didn't wander much further as the sun was setting and restaurants close at 9 pm the latest...

Same block from the side with a longer lens...

Old neon signs do bring out some nostalgia in me...

Last picture of the first evening... The office! Not sure what kind of office though...

This is from the next evening... Simple... Could be anywhere... I still like it...

Variations on the topic of "the way"...

Number 2...

 And number 3... I really like those tiles... And of course the light... And that they are not flat anymore... Might be impractical for walking, but very handy for allowing me capture some interesting imagery...

A Christian church for rent... I don't think I've seen that before... Would have liked to see the inside... But only found it on the last day of my stay...

Same church... Close up... 

Details...

Not really sure how my mind works... I guess I liked the structures, lines and resulting shapes... And decided to make a mini series out of it...

Like some kind of flag...

Closer... As usual decay makes for great images...

Crossed out...

Bearing a cross... 

Same town, different parking lot... Later that night...

Stepping into the light... Right from the depth of the hotel hallway...

A day at the taxidermist's...

What a weird way to start the year... I tagged along to help a very good friend of mine (Vincent Soyez) on a shoot... It was one of the first days this year that I was actually upright as I was dealing with a stubborn cold or flu... What an intense day... Lots of visual input and quite an experience in regards to smells as well... His shoot was very different, but luckily I was able to look around and take my own pictures...

I selected the top image as cover, because it reminds me of Georgia O'Keeffe's work... As well it deals with what's going on behind the scenes as well... One of the reasons I like being a photographer so much is that one gets to see different places all the time... From pig stables to operation rooms... I've been there... ;)



This image was right next to the one before... Under the tarp remnants of a buffalo delivered earlier that day...



Earlier that day... One of those moments when one might not want to know how sausages are made...

Covered in dust: Ordered and not picked up yet...

A wolverine awaiting pickup...

Another view at the "friendly" wolverine... On the background other trophies being stored...



Flipped this one upside down... It was being stored on its back, but the image was too confusing... The eyes all whited out remind me of how seers are depicted in the movies... Kind of scary...

Fish trophies are apparently no longer made using any part of the caught fish... A detailed photo with sizes and weight of the catch are sufficient for a resin replica to be created... These are then artfully painted to match the original... Items pictured are waiting for their owners...

An unfinished shark surrounded by various fish molds...

An elephant tusk waiting for someone / something...

I was quite impressed by the eyes... Seemed lifelike to me...

A zebra under wraps...

Everyone perky and attentive...

One of my last images of the day... The shop had closed, but the owner kindly offered to stay until we were done with the shoot and packing up... This is where it happens... At least part of it... The other part (Molding the fish and painting) happens upstairs...

Sammelsurium...

At the end of the year... I love this word... It translates into hodgepodge... And that is what this basically is... A collection of files that I haven't posted before... (Although some look very familiar to me... Maybe because I came across them quite a few times, but never felt it was the right time to publish them...) Well I hope that these are indeed all unpublished and that the time is indeed the right one now...

Hard to beat yesterday's cover image... So I thought I go for a some more summery and vivid feel... Very strange to find this still in my pile... Like the blur... And of course the idea of winter not being forever... ;)

From the series "Sleeping Poses" 

A band... They were quite good as I recall...

Unrelated... 

Clearly not winter yet...

Lovely eyes...

I even double checked all folders if I haven't used this one before...

No ad space goes unused...

One of my two most used home stations...

This one looks familiar too... Maybe time to change the formula if they start to look similar even to me... :p

Man with style! Reminds me of an aikido friend of mine...

Seems familiar...

Gold shades! In golden toned image... 

Benicio Del Torro look alike... ;)

Pre-Sandy notifications... And aikido friend Stu in the background...

Men with glasses...

Asian looking people...  In various moods...

Suspicious...

Shady... Or should I say shaded...

Blue and blond...

Rush hour...

Dynamic...

Lining up for metro cards...

Working on the train... Or at least at the station...

I think I told the story about the coat that I lost to one of those freshly painted columns already...

Beauty and funky focus...

Unbeknownst to me it was the day of the Santa Claus crawl... 

Modern couple partaking? 

 Crawl goes on...

Here as well... Union Square...

 Union Square station as well...

 Things lost in the subway...

Weird constellation...

Cool!

Mysterious... (or wanna be?)

Being bored on the train...

Suiting up...

Not part of the group...

Stickied up 72 Street station decal...

Several coats of paint collected...

No longer part of the crawl...

Evocative...

Hand as focus...

Singing? Yawning?

Divided...

I hope there was no body in that bag! 

Reminds me of the hat that I lost recently at Whole Foods! :(

Animated...

That hat looks warm!

Vivid!

Friendly!

Styled!

On the phone... I guess there is reception at 125 Street after all!

Mmmh...

Texture galore! And color!



And finally another self portrait... Very photographer like!