20 years ago, Hurricane Andrew was a category 5 storm that hit South East Florida on August 24, 1992.  I was living in Tampa, Florida and only experienced some bad weather, my family and many others suffered through the storm of the century as it was being called.

Countless property was lost and Miami, especially Homestead, Florida was an utterly appalling  disaster area.  Water was scarce, tempers ran high as people struggled to provide the survival necessities.  My family’s home was severely damaged in the storm forcing my family to relocated to North Miami while the repairs were being done on the home.  I still regret for not realizing the extent of emotional and physical damage to my family.  I should have packed up my Bronco with supplies and headed to Miami, but I didn’t.  And, for this I am deeply sorry.  One positive outcome of the hurricane Andrew was that my beloved brother and I grew much closer cultivated our brotherhood.

I am not exactly sure when these pictures were taken.  It was sometime later probably in Autumn of 1992 when I took a drive around Homestead to see the damage with my own eyes.  The streets were unrecognizable, I couldn’t tell one from the next.  All of my childhood landmarks were gone.  The Miami that was part of my soul was blown away as the 175 mile per hour winds (280 k/ph) hit the city of my birth.  When I drive Krome Avenue these days, it still looks more barren than it ever was, except for all the cookie cutter developments that was sprouted over the last 20 years.

All these years later Miami has become a greener city again.  Many of the trees have grown back and some of the neighborhoods look lush as they used to, but not the same.  There are neighborhoods you can visit in between Miami and Homestead where the only the foundation of buildings remain.

It is hard to believe that 20 years have passed since that day.  These pictures were taken with my beloved Nikon FG, and a taped up and reloaded disposable panorama camera.  They were also hand printed in my university’s darkroom.  Some of my first prints to be done in color.  My color balancing skills were not as good as they are now.  As I can now use my digital darkroom to work on my pictures, part of my heart still belongs to the magic of watching an image come alive in the developer.

Looking back now I have come to the realization how much this event changed my life.  Hurricane Andrew not only tore down buildings but it ripped some families to shreds. I am thankful that my family was safe, and that we all survived to be together.

Let us not forget this tragedy as other storms barrel their way across the Caribbean and the American South, especially the land of my birth, Miami.

There really is quite no other feeling like dropping off a roll of film to be developed.  The only thing better would be to do the processing yourself.

In this digital age we are all living in, analog has been freed from the masses, and the artist can indulge in film however they like.  Don’t get me wrong.  I still love my digital work.  To be able to process the work so quickly is fantastic too.  But that method of popping a roll in the back of a camera, being selective in what you shoot, then to finally walk down the street to the processing store is a great feeling.

The roll I dropped off today, has pictures going back to last August of last summer to a few pics I snapped Monday night this week.  I only selected two images to share today and both are from last summer when Tomo and I went out to Narita Temple in Chiba, for a day of shooting.  Other images include some of my work with the Hip Hop scene in Miami.

as usual more to come…

so go out and shoot a roll or film, you’ll thank yourself for it.

I had a chance to go down to Key Largo’s John Pennekamp State Park with my family to do a bit of snorkeling.  I hadn’t been snorkeling since my wife and I had been on the Hawaii’s Big Island.  The water was a bit cold, but nothing that couldn’t be overcome.

The focal length on my little disposable camera, was a bit longer than I thought; therefore, a few of the photographs came out rather blurry.

I look forward to being under the sea again.

More from the Olympus Pen’s trip to Okitsu a few weeks ago.

These are from the little town.  Lovely decay, in the salty sea air.

I finally finished the roll of half frame pictures from my Olympus Pen camera.  This time the Pen came with me to the beach is Okitsu, Chiba Japan.  The lovely little pics to warm up my love of analog.  All things considered this little camera, is a great companion.  We both had a great time at the beach.

It is cloudy and they say snow, and icy rain is on the way.  Thinking back to the long walks in summer.  To walking until my feet burn.  These are both from Yurakcho just behind Ginza.

Riding though my neighbor hood on a bright and sunny day yesterday, an old beat up camera shop sign caught my eye.  I am always on the look out for these kind of shops, because you never know what kind of little gems might be in their display cases.

So I propped down my kick stand and peered into the shops window.  There were some polaroid cameras in the display window, and on the other side there were three film projectors.  A little treasure drove tucked away in my neighbor hood that I had never found before.  I started to chat with the owner about cameras, and what I was looking for.  He said he only had a few cameras for sale, but we talked about the good old days when you needed to know a bit about cameras in order to get a picture taken.

It was great talking with him.  In these days, these shops are 90% all digital, or they do both.  I hope to stop in again, and have a chat.

Been going though old negatives today.  So many rolls that have been shot over the years.  Light that has inscribed on to bits of celluloid memories.  Sheet after sheet of film of hand developed black and white.  I long to go into the darkroom again.  For now I have to be content to keep on clicking and expanding the medium that I love best.  Photography, by any means necessary.

Necessary

1 a : of an inevitable nature : inescapable b (1) : logically unavoidable (2) : that cannot be denied without contradiction c :determined or produced by the previous condition of things d : compulsory

2 : absolutely needed : required

The first film roll came back from my local friendly photo shop.  The roll is from the Olmpus Pen EE S, half frame camera.  My Ricoh died on my once we got to Oahu, so It was like the old days, using a simple point and shoot to capture the environs that surround myself with.  Most of these were taken in the little north shore town of Haleiwa.  Home of surfers, laid backs, and all around chill people.

Look and See.

Dreaming of those blue waves, and orange cliffs as we paddled across the Kealakekua Bay.  

The water so cool, the sky so clear, our minds opened and became refreshed.

As the Autumn Equinox has passed, the days will grow shorter, as the nights grow longer and colder, my dreams drift back to the warm enveloping waters of Hawaii.  As we swam in the emerald seas, watching the horizon bob in and out of vision, the blues entered into our souls.

The blue skies, melting into the minty blue seas, or is it the other way around, as the seas, evaporate inot the richly hued skies.

Blue, Blue, Blue

The elections in Japan are short and sweet compared to those from back in the US.

There was only a few weeks of heavy campaigning and the trucks driving around the hood

blaring the “VOTE FOR ME,” rhetoric.

The streets are busy, in the morning as people rush out to vote before the heavy rains to come.

I started to take a few steps back when the political posters were the subject.

These are the results.

If you are here, in Japan, go out and vote.

Here comes another classic in the shape of a vintage Olympus Pen EE S half frame camera.  Those of you

might remember from a few months ago I tried to liberate some dusty cameras from a store display in Ichikawa.  I wasn’t able to, but I found this Pen EE S at the camera show in Shinjuku on Friday.  Its a solid point and shoot camera that first appeared in the late 50’s and was widely used by the Japanese public.

These are the first images, shot mainly in and around Shinjuku and Okubo.

Light illuminates all.

Turning the mundane beauty in to surreal

golden treasure.

Thank you Weird Al Yankovic for the title inspiration.