albuquerque old town

The Old Town area of Albuquerque has the traditional southwest architecture.  

Most of the restaurants hang chile peppers outside.

abq...day four

I add some free time this evening and shot some more at the hat shot.  These guys who run the store are great.  I recorded some audio and will do again on monday for a possible slide show...so stay tuned.

abq...day three

on central ave. (route 66) there is the Man's Hat Shop. This place has been around since 1946 and can outfit anyone with a great cowboy hat. The owner's father even supplied the first marlboro man with a hat.

The Man's Hat Shop - Albuquerque, NM

Bill Sisk helps out a customize with a gift certificate she was giving to her husband. She wasnt sure on what hat size he wanted and Sisk just suggested he come in and get fitted personally by himself.

French photographer Joel Halioua tries out a cowboy hat for a potential purchase. Joel was in town for the NANPA conference such as I was but upon entering the store I just thought he was another crazy european tourist. Little did I know he is one of the "in" guys for photographers in Europe. We exchanged cards. Hopefully he sees this post soon.

Quite a character Joel is as he jokes with his friend John.

Bill Sisk checks out Joel.

Stacks of hats fill the store.

I am hoping to shoot more tomorrow...we will see.

albuquerque...day two

albuquerque seems to be stuck in the 1950s

yea the architecture is cool but i dont really see the allure to this city yet.

cool tree along the way back from having a beer with art wolfe and some great other photogs.

albuquerque...day one

shot this right outside my lovely hotel. the hotel actually is kind of crappy lookin but its worth savin a buck.

critter control

I followed around Peter Riney Tuesday afternoon and made some pictures. Im hoping to go out with him again soon as he continues his quest to rid of unwanted critters.

Peter looks upon the job at hand - trying to capture raccoons that have been getting into the Columbia Performing Arts Center.

Peter places marshmallows near the dumpster of the building to lure the raccoons near his trap. 

In addition to marshmallows, Peter uses chunks of tuna inside the trap and around the trap to lure in the unwanted pests.  

Walking along the rooftop of the building, Peter inspects areas along the trim where the critters have been getting inside.  "In late winter and early spring is when we see lots of raccoons finding ways to get into buildings in search of a place to raise their babies away from the elements and potential predators," Peter said.

The strong stench and the lure of a free meal from the mallows and tuna bring not only the desired pests but all animals.  Peter did not catch any raccoons this day but an european starling did make it into the trap.

assignment pitch

For my one day shoot/five points of view photo assignment I am going to spend some time with a critter control or pest services guy. I have not made any contacts yet but I am looking at the company Critter Control. I also like their orange trucks you see all over town. I think this could be some cool possibility to get some querky photos. I also feel like it will be fun just to see how he deals with each situation.

sequence slideshow