...Since I Rock and Rolled. 

It started with a text message from my friend Val: "We are playing at Harlow's this weekend it's a birthday bash for Sean and Ken would love to see you come hang out..."

Who am I to argue? It was a great night of music and fun with my old friends Midlife Crisis, as well as a band I had not seen before, Reptile Dysfunction Dude (what a name, huh?).  If you've visited this website before, you know I started my photo journey taking images of Midlife Crisis back in 2017. There isn't a year that goes by where I don't at least catch them in concert at least once.  They put on a great show, often with appear with other great acts from around the South Alabama music scene,  and never disappoint. Saturday night at Harlows in Ozark was no exception. 

 It was also a great night to take some photos. I've been experimenting with camera settings during music photography for  some time, and I've slowly settled on the settings  that work for my style.  As someone who started in painting and drawing first, I try to bring art composition to my photography style.  Maybe in a future blog post I will talk about music photography composition and style. 

I hope you enjoy the images. See you next time. 

I took the images anyway, and then resumed my journey.  I edited them that night, and then forgot about them. I've never displayed these photographs before.

Looking back, I think these are notable images just for the subject matter alone. 

From the outside, it's a good house. It is heavily overgrown, but mostly fast-growing vines. It's been perhaps two or three seasons since the neglect began. Yet, it is apparently salvageable. The roof looks good. A satellite dish adorns each corner, giving clues to when it was inhabited. There is a story here. If you recognize this house, please don't leave a comment about who it belongs to or the story behind it or where it is because these stories are seldom happy. None of that is really important. What matters is that it is empty, and there are so many like it, and no one seems to be paying attention. 

There are way too many houses like this, fairly modern and functional homes, along the South's backroads and rural highways.  They are everywhere.  Everywhere.  I see more and more each year.  This is why these mundane images of an abandoned house in the middle of deep rural South Alabama are so important. This isn't right and it hasn't always been this way. 

Start paying attention and you'll see them, too.  Modern homes. Good homes. All abandoned, all in plain sight. Then you won't be able to stop seeing them. 

I hope you enjoyed Adam's work. I want to highlight other local artists and writers in the coming year. If you are a Wiregrass area author, artist or photographer and would like to collaborate or have your work showcased on The Illusion Exotic, please contact me. 

Maybe its time to reevaluate my relationship with this time slayer we call social media. I started seriously writing in my 40s,  just about the time social media became a thing. It still seems like a new thing to me, but its been around for well over a decade now.  It started with a personal account on Facebook, and then it morphed to a few business pages for my writing and my old company Underground Book Reviews. Then I branched to Instagram for photography as well as a few minor apps that have come and gone. As for Twitter, it's been on and off but we are currently seeing each other...but not seriously. I leave apps like Discord and Tiktok  to the next generation. Frankly, there are so many apps that I find it exhausting.

Lately, I find myself asking "Why?" Why do I feel the need to even have one social media account, let alone three or four?  Is my life richer for the experience? Was I better off before? What do I get out of all this time I've spent with my face in an app? 

Well, I enjoy seeing what my friends and relatives are up to.  On second thought, do I really? There is an awful lot of drama on the inter webs, and if someone close to me really needs my help they know my number.

I like being able to contact people. Well, some people. Actually, I have a phone, too. There are also a lot of people I don't want to be contacted by. I also don't enjoy people knowing too much about me. In fact, there is way too much information about be on the interwebs as it is.

I like to post photos and look at friends' photos, but why am I really posting it? Some are for business, but as for the other images, like family events, I could just as easily text those the image to those who actually care to look at them. Maybe I should think twice about posting those photos. Isn't it all really about attention and vanity if am brutally honest with myself? After seeing all these Tiktok videos bleeding over onto Facebook, its becoming apparent our society is taking the definitions of "vanity" and "narcissist" to new levels every day.  

Speaking of vanity, nothing is more vain than being a political blowhard on social media (guilty, guilty, guilty). I don't think anyone really gives a damn what I think about politics, and that's okay.  So why even post it? 

​There is also news on social media, right? Social media is good for posting news stories, and therefore can be educational and informative. True, but we've also learned in the past decade a lot of that news and educational material can be false or heavily skewed. Perhaps I should be more careful when reading and posting. 

It also makes me uncomfortable to think about how much I whip out my phone just to mindlessly doom scroll, like a smoker taking another drag. I know its not healthy, I'm self-conscious of it, but I do it anyway. But if I didn't, how would I be able to look at the latest funny cat meme?

Some days I think the only redeeming element of social media is funny memes and videos. I mean, there is some really funny and insightful stuff out there. Cat memes are truly the only thing I would miss about social media if I were to ever walk away. Is it even possible to walk away?  

It's everywhere. Many non-social media websites and apps have some element of social media built into their user interface. Social media seems to plug into every other aspect of our culture and lives. We're steeped in it like a teabag left too long in the water. It leeches us, and makes us physiologically pale.  It has become impossible to extricate SM from the fabric of our culture. Case in point, as much as I hate to admit it, I will eventually share this blog post on social media.

​Can we really escape it? Should we even escape it? While I estimate I have lost a full year of productive writing because of social media, I also got a photography book deal because of it. Social media is truly a two-edged sword, with great promise and dangers.

My social media experience has two flavors: Personal and professional. The personal journey started with Facebook  just about the time I retired from the military.  In the years since, Facebook has been a great way to keep in touch , both through good times and tragedy.  I've reconnected with old friends from high school, college and the service. I've made new friends from all over the world. Its been fantastic to connect with those that share my same interests, such as writing and photography.  In the early days, before censorship, algorithms, privacy issues, and unbridled monetization twisted our social media experiences,  it was fun. Social media has even taught me some life-lessons. 

Social media taught me my that my 20 years in the service, and perhaps my upbringing in rural Alabama, put me in a "bubble."  In the military I thought (wrongly) most Americans viewed the world like me and shared my values. Social media's wide-open, uncensored early days showed me how naive I was.  

Social media taught me there are only two unwinnable conflicts: Nuclear war and debating on social media. 

I also learned through interactions on social media that the generations behind me are vastly different than those that had come before. They think differently and don't share many of the older generations' values by an order of magnitude, especially those who are  college-educated.  They read fewer books. Most have never read any portion of the Bible, from either a religious or secular perspective. Many are overly  hostile to any religion without the least acknowledgement of faith's critical role in human civilization.  Most American young college graduates are unfamiliar with the US Constitution or any of the important documents that led to its writing. They are technically far more savvy and advanced than those who came before, but lack the foundational culturally building blocks that define their western culture. In fact, many are openly hostile to their own culture and civilization.  Labels and slogans have replaced objective truth and critical thought.  All that is "new" is morally right. All that came before is "bad," including history, philosophy, faith, and even science. They are obsessed with race, genitalia, identity but they have no idea who they are, or what they want, or where they are going. They are easily outraged and offended and feel like mob in search of a riot.  Once again, this is a general observation and does NOT apply to everyone younger than me, especially any young people currently reading this - you are special and definitely the exception.

As a result, I found myself interacting less and less with some younger people on social media because, frankly, they aren't much fun and they scare me just a little.  I also found many people my age also interact less often on social media, too. Maybe we're been turned off by the rise of censorship and fact checking. I think a lot of older people really don't want to support many of these platforms.  Social media companies have proven untrustworthy and don't have their customer's best interest in mind , and they've proven too cozy with big government. 

Taken as a whole, my personal social media is locked down tight and I generally restrict it to Facebook.  If one is not an immediate family or a close personal/non-work friend,  you're on the "acquaintance /restricted" list. Sorry, it's nothing personal, it's simply privacy and protection. The older I get, the less I'm interested in the world seeing my personal business. Also, I see many people getting hacked, especially older people, and I want no part of that. 

I still post family events, personal achievements, the occasional funny meme and even political opinions, but not very often.  My posting is becoming less and less as the years go by. I see a day when I'll walk away entirely. The only reason I'm still there is because of my writing and photography, but that is hanging by a thread. 

When I started writing my fellow writers said I needed a platform. So I got a platform. Its also how I got into blogging.  At first, the platform-thing worked pretty good. Prior to 2016 I used to sell books using Facebook as an advertising tool. I used to get hundreds of clicks when advertising on that platform. In fall of 2016 everything dried up. It was like someone threw a switch. Now, an advertising dollar doesn't stretch near as far on Facebook. I abandoned Twitter in 2016 when the trolls and garbage became overwhelming. I recently returned hoping under Musk the platform had gotten better. It didn't  and it's clear I'm not going to find a readership out there. In the early days of Instagram, one of my images could get 20 or more likes easily. Today, I'm lucky to get 6. 

​In all these SM cases, it became clear there was an algorithm behind the scenes that needed appeasing, and obviously I wasn't appeasing it. I began to feel like I'd been put in a digital cage, and the price for breaking out was too high. It was also obvious that algorithm could change without notice. It also became clear in the revelation of the Twitter Files, that shadow banning and "social-media scores" were actually real.  And I don't want to appease Algorithm. I'm sick of the Algorithm. 

I keep hearing to get a social media following you need content - lots of content. I have content, its called my books. I can either write and take photos, or I can spend hours upon hours honing an online presence in hope of appeasing some hidden and mysterious daemon to reach readership. I don't have the time, energy or inclination to spend the precious moments of my life trying to get a few more clicks. Sure, I'd like to sell more books and prints, but it's not worth it. In fact, it destroys my creative process. 

I'm good with that. I'm at peace with that. 

So what's my advertising and marketing plan on social media going forward? You're looking at it. I'll continue to blog here, and occasionally post those blogs to Facebook, Instagram and maybe Twitter. I'm also on Vero, but that place is a ghost town. Mostly what I plan to do is write and take photos and create. That's where I want to apply my efforts. I also plan to use in-person appearances to get the word out.

I think social media, and the internet in general,  held so much promise in the beginning. In the early days, before the corporate giants took it over, it was algorithm-free. No one and nothing stood between you and everyone else. There were no filters, no shadow banning, no fact-checkers, no social credit scores,  - just you and the rest of humanity connected instantly. The people were different back then, too. I don't fully understand the people on the other side of the screen anymore. What I see out there doesn't bode well for our species. I really don't want to interact with those people for fear I may become one of them. I'd rather interact with those people I see out here in the real world, those that smile and shake your hand and have manners. 

You are welcome to disagree with me, but I've reached a point in life I've come to trust my own observations and instincts. Social media and the internet was once wonderful. And now it's gone. I'll hang around the social media interwebs for professional reasons for another year or two, and see if anything changes. After that, I see no reason to stay.  

I am a member of Gen X, the last generation who will remember the world before the internet and social media. Last I checked, the real world was still there. ​I think I'm grab my camera, hop on my motorcycle, and go explore it. I'll crawl back into my bubble and shadow ban the world, thank you very much. Maybe I'll drop a post on Facebook about it. Maybe I won't. 

​(picks up phone and begins to doom scroll)

#socialmedia #essay #culture #facebook #twitter #instagram #vero #theillusionexotic

I bet you thought I had stopped doing Photo Phridays. You were right, I had. But now it's back.  

I'm taking fewer photos than I did a year ago. It's not intentional, its simply a matter of time and opportunity. One such time and opportunity was last fall's Enterprise High School football season.  I brought along my little T5 Rebel and the kit 300mm lens just for fun to a few games (and to take pics of my daughter in band!) 

I've got to say upfront, I'm not a sports photographer. Not even close. I don't have the right gear, the right experience or the right access. However, I thought my little Rebel did pretty good capturing what action I could see from the cheap seats. What lessons did I learn from the experience? Its a good idea to  have a good low-light camera. Mine isn't. If you are jacking up the ISO and have a digital zoom, you're going to have grainy images. This matters, too, for shutter speed. I struggled to keep it above 1/200s, but with a cropped sensor, that was difficult. Anything below that and I ran the risk of blurring.  400mm zoom or better is a must with a pole mount if you're serious (I'm not).  Sideline access is better, but there was something to be said about the perspective from the stands. If you are going to be high up, sit somewhere so people ahead of you don't block your view. 

Lessons aside, taking these was fun. If you're one of my local friends, then you are familiar with the excellent sports and music program at Enterprise High School. Its one of the best in the state! Here's some shots of the 2022-23 Enterprise Alabama Wildcats Football and Big Blue Marching Band season. Enjoy! 

Goodbye 2022. 

It's been a blessed year for me, both in the photography and writing fronts.  I did a decent amount of both writing and photography, but not enough to satisfy me.  My day job and family obligations took precedent, as they should. I also started a new journey into taking care of my body (down 15 pounds so far). In fact, I really ought to be at the gym right now but find myself drinking coffee in my pajamas in front of the computer.  

I'll talk about my writing in a future blog post, but on this New Year's Eve, I'll recap 2022 from the photography perspective.  If I could sum up 2022, I'd say it was the year I started to find my brand. It's the first year I began selling prints, it's the first year I won any serious awards for my work, and it's the first year I began to think of myself as a fine art photographer.  Giving myself an artistic label doesn't mean limiting myself to only one creative area, it just means that I have a lens to focus my efforts.  Having a focus is good, as it allows me to concentrate effort, build depth and increase my skills.  

These are my favorite images from 2022, presented in generic categories.  I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did taking them. 

In 2022 I started work on my next photography book. I didn't get as far as I wanted, but I made a good start. For this project, I have as much research to accomplish as I do actual photography. I also have a lot of Photoshop work ahead of me, as this project will involve digital art as well. I might even have to hire a model or two. It's a big project, but one I truly believe is worthy of the effort it will require. The project is related to Abandoned Wiregrass, but far more ambitious and more history-based. 

This project also marks the first time I've changed how I conduct my field work - much of it is now done using a motorcycle instead of my truck (its just more fun). I put 5000 miles on my Harley in 2022, most of it working on this book. This project also saw me reverting to using my cropped-sensor camera more often then my full-frame Canon. 

Hopefully, 2023 will see the book's completion. I'm keeping its details under wraps until I can pitch it to a publisher. Here's a sneak peak at the first draft images. 

These fine art images are not associated with any specific project. They are either images that presented themselves, or me simply trying to perfect my art. 2022 was a year I took fewer images, but tried to  push my personal limits on composition and light. Another change from 2022 from previous years was more use of my old cropped-sensor Rebel as opposed to my more capable 6D. I find in bright or medium light, especially outdoors, the little Rebel is just more practical. It's lighter, fits in smaller spaces, can take punishment, and I don't worry about breaking it. It can also use my high-ed glass with it. The more comfortable I get with my style and gear, the more I can "squeeze out" of less capable equipment. In fact, several of these images are IPhone shots. 

While I try to always have my DSLR camera with me, this year I got caught a few times without it. That's no excuse for not getting the shot, so I pulled out my IPhone more often in 2022. When using a phone, one must rely heavily on skill, and that means leveraging light and composition to the maximum extent possible. 

If you want to have fun, try to guess which images were taken with my phone, which were with my little Canon Rebel, and which were taken with the full-frame Canon 6D. 

It is my hope in 2023 to open an online store to sell my fine art photography. I need to get smart on it first. More to follow. 

2022 marked the fewest portrait  clients I've had since I started photography. Most of these were repeat customers, family or close friends.  I didn't actively seek new clients in 2022 because most of my efforts centered on fine art photography.  As I said before, this is where I am  starting to find my niche. 

However, I still love portraiture, and will still do it on a case-by-case basis. Going into 2023, my goal is to deliberately move toward a more fine art style of portraiture when the opportunity presents itself.  I think these 2022 images show the direction I'm moving. I want to evoke feelings and reflect how the client wants to see themselves.I want to boldly use light and setting to accomplish this. Simply put, in 2023 I want to forge my own unique artistic path, not necessarily a commercially-oriented one. I'm looking for clients who would like to be a part of this journey; those who won't shy away from trying new things and have fun creating memorable photography experiences.  

If you're interested in a fine-art portrait session in 2023,  personal or commercial, please take a look at these images below, or at my broader portfolio, and contact me. 

If you know me, you know I love music photography! Starting in 2016, I cut my chops taking live performance photos.  2022 took me in new and exciting directions.  

Summer 2022 saw an extraordinary opportunity drop into my lap. I was hired to photograph country music legend Vince Gill  I think I did a good job despite the "handcuffs" the venue places on photography.  I was thankful for the chance to work the event.  I love working under pressure, and this event challenged me.  I'm really proud of my work on this one. 

Helping make an album cover was another first for me in 2022. It was my honor to assist rising country music performer Bryson Storey create his first album, Bellwood Road. This was LOT of fun and I learned a how to format an album cover.  If you love country music,  checkout his music! 

Thankfully I was able to hit Harlow's in Ozark, Alabama at least once in 2022 to catch Temple Monarc once again. I'm hoping 2023 will afford me and my camera more opportunities to visit Harlow's (my favorite music venue) and catch some of the best performers in the area.

Music photography is my favorite, and that means all aspects of music photography! If you are a performer or band and you need high quality imagery, browse my portfolio here and  on Facebook give me a shout. 

I took these photos in 2022 just for fun! I took these on vacation, at motorcycle events and at the beach. I simply liked them, maybe you will too! 

For those who have visited this blog and supported my art and literature in 2022, THANK YOU!  I'm hoping 2023 leads to exciting new possibilities in both my writing and photography. I'm still having fun, and I hope you are, too. If you're new to my blog and work, you can find out my books here and here. 

Thank you and Happy New Year!

It's 10 am on Christmas Eve. I'm drinking coffee in my pajamas.  Christmas shopping done. Gifts wrapped. It's below freezing down here in the deepest of the deep south and I keep worrying a pipe will freeze and burst. All the outdoor plants are in the garage, huddled for warmth. 

I'm surrounded by my family, and feeling blessed. May all the blessings of the season be upon you and yours this season, and I'll see you in the New Year. 

​Merry Christmas! 

Several of my fiction eBook titles are reduced or free starting today for a limited time. Click here to find out more.

Its quiet and I'm alone in the house for a few hours. The holidays are upon me, and nothing is getting done. I'm a little tired today. 

Boxes of ornaments sit waiting next to a nude Christmas tree. My manuscript hasn't moved forward in over a month. My camera is patiently waiting in its bag. My life is overwhelmed with everything else. I both love and loathe the holidays.  Things at my day job accelerate, as deadlines fall like snowflakes. The beloved extroverts in my life have gone nuts and planned event after event. Introverts like me grow exhausted.  

Yes, I am blessed, but I'm tired. 

Downtimes from writing and photography are probably a good thing. I tend to neglect other important things when I fall into my creative rabbit holes. My health is one of those neglected things. Several check-engine lights are now blinking on my health dashboard, and I had better get a handle on it now. I've been to the gym quite a lot, and  I'm down over 15 pounds since November began.  That's no small feat during the holidays.  I've even resumed jogging, at least as much as my neck and back will permit.  I'm also back lifting weights. I love lifting weights, and I can't understand why I abandoned it for so long.  I was hoping the improved fitness would increase my energy levels, but I still can't seem to shake the ever-present exhaustion. 

Along with my health, I'm also trying extra hard not to neglect the important people in my life. Lately, a good deal of my free time is spent with family, especially my daughter.  She has been cooking healthy meals every night to help me. At only 14, she is an amazing cook and baker. Oh, and she is a straight-A student who takes the tough math and science classes. She's simply amazing, and I don't think she realizes how much her old man loves and thinks the world of her. I'm proud of the young woman she is becoming. 

I also think the world of my wife.  With a demanding career, her world is currently more hectic than mine.  The other day we decided to take a day off our respective jobs and just get away. It was nothing more than a day trip to the beach, but it was pleasant. I wish I could do more of this kind of thing during the holidays, just stop and spend time with the people I love with no agenda or schedule. 

I don't see much of my two oldest children these days. My oldest son is out on his own as a successful video game designer.  My middle child will soon be a college senior, and has a busy life of school, friends, and work. The day is coming soon where they will not be able to come home every Christmas.  I realize I have to make every moment of the time left before they have their own families and responsibilities.  I don't think either of my sons realizes how much their old man loves them, and thinks the world of them. I'm proud of the young men they have become. 

In addition to family time, I've trying to get home renovation projects completed.  Right now, the big project is the garage. Its freshly painted, and I'm waiting for my new shelves and cabinets to arrive. After the garage, fence repair, pool repair and yard rehabilitation.  Somewhere in all of this, I will resume writing. I am still highly motivated to write, but why is beyond me. 

My fiction books are not selling, and that's a bit disappointing.  As an indie author, this is normal and makes me just one of the pack. Regardless, it always sows doubts about the quality of my writing. Doubts, always doubts. If I haven't found my audience by now, perhaps I never will.  This situation should make it difficult to get motivated. Yet, I will continue to write, perhaps just out of stubbornness. My oldest boy has picked up "Black Sea Gods" and is slowly reading it. Occasionally, he calls me to talk about a plot point or ask a question. He never really considered reading my work until he listened to the audiobook version of The Golden Princess. It's weird to talk to him about something I started writing when he was nine, and now he is a man.  I'm not sure if he's reading the book to be kind, or if he is genuinely enjoying it, but I am thankful either way. It's just my doubts creeping up on me. Doubts, always doubts.

When I was young, I had so few doubts and so many dreams. Now, I cling to just a few remaining dreams, and oh so many doubts. If we grow wiser with age, shouldn't we grow more sure of ourselves? 

But behind the doubts there is always a faith I never knew (or needed) in my youth  - faith that I'm doing the right thing. Faith I'm showing the people most important to me the time and attention they need. Faith I'm not neglecting the things that need taking care of.  Faith that in between all of this and that I will eventually get these ideas and stories out of head and onto paper.

Faith that maybe they will be worth a damn. 

Yes, feeling blessed, but tired. 

Thank you to everyone who dropped by my exhibit at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art two weeks ago. They had over 600 visitors, and I met a lot of great people.  It was a lot of fun, and best of all my son joined me for the event.

I'm sorry I haven't blogged lately. I haven't written or taken a single photo, either. Things got nuts. A huge yard project (which involved a contractor) kicked things off, and demanding a great deal of my time. Then, over the Thanksgiving weekend I got the stupid impulse to overhaul the garage. "If I'm already cleaning it, why don't I just repaint it while I'm here," I said to myself. That turned into replacing the lighting fixtures, which is now morphing into possibly sealing the floor and building cabinets.

Now, somehow, December got here, the holiday season is in full swing, and time is slipping away. I think many of you understand exactly what I'm talking about. The calendar is filling in with events with friends and family.  It's a good thing, but leaving little time for photography and writing. Or blogging. 

Its time to go to work, but I'll try to get my next in-depth blog post finished and posted next week. Keep checking back for upcoming events and signings. 

See ya next time.