For years I’ve used a combination of iView/Expression Media and a specific folder naming structure for catalogs. I am considering bringing everything into Aperture. I love using Capture One and all of its controls however I do like the idea of the Aperture Vault and one-stop back-up of images.

Anyway, Hurricane Irene is roaring away outside. We just lost our great Maple tree and it is in the street. I am shooting hurricane damage tomorrow morning and Monday for a client. I thought I would take a look at my Michigan images and enjoy them for a few moments. The past two weeks in Haiti were intense and I am shooting quite a bit the next two weeks plus prepping for the CHESAPEAKE show, book delivery and the Haiti show in October.

Not sure why, most likely some influence from my friends Tim Griffith, Julian Calverley and Paul Freeman, but I enjoy shooting with the Alpa 12 Max a great deal. Jules, Paul and Tim shoot with the Alpa with either Phase or Leaf backs. Jules recently switched from a Sinar back to Phase. I am enjoying the slower process of shooting medium format again.

When I was driving across the U.P. and Up North, I came across many abandoned buildings and homes. I found this school and thought it would be worth spending a few minutes of shooting time and to take a break from driving.

Near the northern approach to the Mackinac Bridge in St. Ignace.

I stopped to take a break while driving from Sacramento to San Jose. I needed gasoline and exited at the El Macero Mace Blvd ramp of Interstate 80. I drove past Cindy’s, a small restaurant that looked similar to an old style Denny’s. Situated next to a Motel 6, I was ready to keep on rolling but something made me go back and check it out agin. I spotted the Kow Thai sign near the entrance and decided Thai for lunch in a college town would be worth trying.

I ordered the Phad Khing which was a delicious mix of ginger, golden tofu and three types of mushrooms. The appetizer was a traditional Thai soup and small salad. What impressed me about Cindy’s/Kow Thai was the preparation was perfect. Crisp and fresh lettuce, perfect tofu, ginger with snap to it and the meal, to me, felt like it was prepared with care and purpose.

The restaurant is a traditional American breakfast eatery in the morning and as the day goes by, morphs into a full Thai restaurant. For lunch or dinner you can order from a Thai or American menu.

How can you not like an eatery that hires an illustrator to create a poster for the wall with portraits of their long-term customers? I’d eat there again, in a New York minute.

Kow Thai Restaurant
4823 Chiles Rd.
Davis, CA 95618
(530) 756-9894

Aerial photographs of the aftermath of the Haitian Earthquake – AerialStock.com

I placed a collection of over 100 aerials of the destruction of Port au Prince on my AerialStock.com site today. All of the images are available for rights-managed licensing. They were shot low and slow from a Robinson R-44 helicopter a few weeks after the earthquake and include photographs of the destroyed National Palace and National Cathedral. Also included are tent cities, destroyed neighborhoods and Citi Soleil. Legitimate NGO’s who have a long history in Haiti may contact me for pro bono usage of select images.

I have photographed a bunch of fires over the years, usually from helicopters and they are visually arresting and a challenge to show something different. I was drawn to this smoke column by its shape. I drove down a bunch of Farm to Market dirt roads trying to get closer to the fire. It was in the middle of a large ranch and this was the best view.

I’ve been messing around in Exposure this evening. Going for the wonderful old cyan and short lived B&W Polaroid film look.

Aerial Haiti

Aerial Hog Island (A Virginia Barrier Island)

Aerial Norfolk, Virginia (Aerials shot at dusk)

Aerial Hog Island, Virginia – Images by Cameron Davidson