The Life and Times

Newest Image

november twenty eight, two thousand eight


    People are so quick to lose the positive, forget what good has been done, or what happiness is being created. To validate their self worth, which for many is below the realm of normal, they attack the character of another. This happens in order to rise above someone in an attempt to feel good about ones self. It is amazing how we have been conditioned to quickly turn to the negative. We stop thinking about the good, we stop talking about the positive until the negative has overcome all other emotions and we can forget any good that has been done by someone. This is often done to people we do not even know.
    To become angry with someone, or when the feeling of disappointment overcomes you, can only happen when you truly know the person. If you do not know the person then you are relying on the rumors, gossip and untruths that is being feed to the mob from the feelings of the hurting person. This is the life force of lynch mobs and witch hunts. This is the result of throwing kindness and caring to the wayside and feeding hate.
    We cannot forget what good has been done or what kindness has been given. A kind word can often stop the viscous actions of malice, because without an audience there is no rumors and hate. Forget the dismay, remember the good that has been done and projection these actions hard and nothing but good will come from it. - dba

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november twenty four, two thousand eight


The newest image completed in my photomontage project. I have a deep passion for creating these images, but in all aspects they take time. Starting in the mind, the shoot and the final process of bringing it all together. I was asked the other day how long will I continue to create these images. My reply was simple, as with all of my projects, they end themselves when I move on to something else. Something new.

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november twenty one, two thousand eight



    We can be, and usually are our own worst enemy, and we are our also the builders of our own roadblocks when it comes to fulfilling our dreams.  How can you ever acquire what you want in life if you worry too much about getting it? Relax about it and let the mellow vibrations make it happen. You cannot think in the terms of what you do not have and cannot get. Good will not reach your mind and spirit if they are filled with want and worry. If you bind yourself with limitations, there will be no room for blessings. Keep your mind closed to new expressions; you will stay confined to the old ones.
    What you want may be very new to you, beyond your wildest expectations, but how can you get them if you yourself stand in the way. It is time to move, get out of the way. What you are seeking is also seeking you. – dba


My car window after it was violated by a piece of concrete. Was this an act of random violence and destruction, or was it a personal attack on me and who I am? Answers I doubt I will ever know. I do know and feel good about, I felt no anger when I found this. I only felt for the soul of the rock thrower. My own inner being and the person that I am, stayed strong and intact.

These photographs come from a walk along the shore. I have got to make these treks and they tend to be more and more frequent as time moves on and I regress from the ways of the human want and waste.

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november fourteen, two thousand eight




Dave and I did a grandfather run while he was here visiting last week and as always we talk art make images and generally twist off for a while. Here is proof.

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november thirteen, two thousand eight


Do not let the day work on you. You must work on your day. – dba

    One of the greatest times in life is when we feel sence of pride, not for ourselves, but for a friend. David and I have been friends from the first moment we met and we have shared some unforgettable times together. We have also shared a lot of interests. One of the largest is our love of creating art. 
    David has started doing a Barbie doll project that will undoubtedly be one of his best. He has taken many of his talents and blended them into something that has become a wonderful image. He starts by pulling patience from his years of tying flies, taking hackle and wool to bring a sence of realism to Barbie. Next, he uses his talent as a photographer and puts light on the plastic woman that would make any fashion shooter envious. Then he uses his expertise in Photoshop to take out the wrinkles and blend it all together. The final product, as we can see here is something that I find unbelievable. This project will really go somewhere David so keep blessing us with more.

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november eight, two thousand eight


    On a crisp and clear fall morning I watched a full moon fall from the sky. As this huge glowing orange ball sank and disappeared beyond the western horizon, it reflected an inspiring beauty while at the same time diminishing my size and stature in the universe. I felt content in a realization that though I am fully alive, I am a minute glimpse of a contributor and a brief spectator into the whole.
    This realization does not mean that I have given up as a person, for I have not. I want to contribute whole-heartedly to the who, and what I am. I realize now I no longer need to polish my ego. It has started collecting dust as I push it out into the abyss. It is more important to know people think of you as a person, who you are not what you are, or what you have materialistically gained.
    In this level of life, I have turned to disengagement. Not from life for this, I engage whole heartily. I choose to disengage from a society that is damaging us as people while depicting the way we are to live. I turn my back and walk away from this non-existent way. I vow to be an individual with the mindful quest for clarity, compassion, enjoyment and self. I want to live my individual adventure and perhaps evoke the same thought for someone else.
    The world I see is solely mine. What I experience in life is fresh and wholly mine. My life experiences are separate from anyone else. This is the case for everyone, what we see, what we feel is solely our own individual experience and adventure. No two people have the same or identical experience in life, so we embrace the moment when it happens. Because of what has formed me in the past as a person, from the many different things that I have seen and done in my life, I have chosen to share my experience, my thoughts and myself. I have made the conscience decision to illuminate to others the path I am walking on. Through my self-expression, I may explain or show someone a way, the way of self, which in turn may show me my self-expression better.
    When I create, I do it firstly for myself, I please myself with what I do, but as I have chosen to share it, I have hopes of bringing a small amount of joy and wonder to the individual viewer. Even when my work plunges or dips into the dark side, as it does when my mind questions the chaos in the world, I still hope to evoke a reaction, or a higher thought. This is a quest of all artists sharing their work; to allow the viewer a glimpse into your mind and soul.
    When I write, it is my hope that someone reads my words and can find humor, insight or maybe even a slight flicker of light on their own life journey. on the path they walk. This is not what motivates me to write and share my words. For again I write for myself first, but as I share my thoughts it is in my mind that someday it will be read, understood, acknowledged and used.
    By choosing this way and acting out my movements and thoughts through life with a rich vibrancy, has also made me a target by those that fear the actions of individuality. Though I am a giver, I am also worried, guarded and maybe a little frightened. By being so open will I be shut down for over exposure? Will I loose my romantic self-portrait that I portray as some kind of protective shield? The romantic portrait also carried by others.
    When and if I join the core person that I have buried deep, guarded and locked behind rusty bolted steel doors, to the shell of a person that I portray I will become the true person that I really am. I know the doors can be unbolted, so I will continue giving and sharing and unlock them forever? – dba

 

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november seven, two thousand eight



Are You A Friend
You tell me you are my friend,
    and say that you care.
You tell me that you love me,
    and say you understand.
You listen to the talk of others,
    and tell me what they say.
But when you keep this slander from me,
    and not tell me who said what,
what kind of friend does that make you?
    What kind does it make me?   - dba


Looking & Seeing
Once there is looking, there must be seeing. Once there is seeing there must be acting, otherwise what is the since of looking? – dba



From the Archives: This image was shot at Veedavoo near Laramie, Wyoming. She is a Native American from the Navajo tribe, and if you can look closely you can see a humming bird that flew in just long enough for me to snap one frame.

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november two, two thousand eight


These words I'm writing should probably never be repeated especially here in bold print, not only open to the world, but open to both sexes, male and female.
This conversation touches the core beliefs of all men, and I think should be exposed to all women. I also know that by stating this obvious bit of knowledge, I might be breaking a code that is seldom spoken out load, but known and true to all men.
    I'll start by mentioning our 42nd president, William Jefferson Clinton. By our over conservative society he was the most immoral president that we had. He got caught with his pants down, so to speak, and was ridiculed for just being just a man. His scandal was comparable to Watergate, but the difference was Watergate was about power and money. And Clintons was about sex. It seems that in our world, the hierarchy, which is governed mostly by men, a sex scandal is OK but don't fuck with their money or position of power. Clinton kept a 73% approval rating after the world found out about the famous blowjob from a friend and the intern. Why because all men thought the same thing. Had the 21 year old Monica Lewinsky swallowed there would have been no evidence, no DNA on her dress, to back up her quest for notoriety.
    Why have I babbled on such about this piece of oral history? It was to sit the stage for the unwritten male code of a platonic relationship. These friendship affairs can work, but will crumble as soon as the woman drops her guard. Why? Because where men are concerned it is all about the pussy. If they deny this then they have lived past their power of the erection, or are gay.
    The only time a platonic relationship can and will survive is when the chance for pussy has been completely eradicated. But even then there will always be an eye open always searching for the slightest drop of the guard. Men, all men are looking for the moment when a woman's psyche guard has a been cracked. It might be over an emotional upheaval, a night out with to many shots of tequila, or a fight with the "boyfriend," but when the guard drops and the legs open the old friend will become a fuck buddy. Women are fooled if they think that their man friend is consoling 100% their bruised emotions. One half of one percent is looking for the opening when the guard drops, their body relaxes and their legs spread. They might be holding you as a friend, saying it will be ok. They might give you a credit card just in case, but half of their actions are focusing on the opening. Even if it is just happens once, given the chance in a moment of weakness, it will happen. Why is this, why am I boldly stating such a sexist viewpoint? Because I am a man and I know mans quest for pussy is stronger than any urge, addiction or evil curse known.
    It is not our fault it is something that dates back to the beginning of time, when it was installed into males to preserve the specie. Even though by over population we don't need to worry about breeding, we also don't need to be the hunter-gatherer, but thousands of men go into the woods every fall in the quest for meat. So why are we still looking for sex. It is because we are all junkies, out of control zealants looking for that moment of climatic bliss, and we will do anything for pussy.  Again, I say if there are any men out there that say this is not true then they are one of three types; gay, dead, or brain washed by some religious sect. Though the later have been known for practicing some weird sexual rituals that even I would fear from writing about.

E-Mail: You hit the proverbial nail on the act of giving head with your comments Dan. Ever since Adam and Eve when he said, "stand back baby, I'm not sure how big this thing gets," men have been led like so many pussy witching wizards, searching for a place to plant their pole. I'll never forget Billy Crystal's line in 'When Harry Met Sally" when he said, "men and women cannot be friends because a man can't be just friends with a women he finds attractive ..." The question was then asked: can men be friends with a woman he doesn't find attractive? "No, you pretty much want to nail them too."

Ciao!
Frank Quarters


From the Archives: I was working for a production company doing a swimsuit calendar. This modal was a Penthouse Pet and a lot of fun to work with. I shot her in more, or less, then the job called for.

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Dave Vaughan