landscapes.

I'm only a few months late on this. Last summer I ventured far into the midwest for a couple of weeks and was able to photograph some of the beautiful rural landscape. The colors are magical. 

Coney Island

Last spring I had the pleasure of seeing my good friends Adie and Megan in New York city. Took these photos at Coney Island, a very whimsical place. 

Louisiana part two, portraits.

One of the main purposes of my desire to visit Louisiana was to meet family that I either hadn't seen since I was a child, or had never met. We had a wonderful visit! My dad (as usual of course) brought his cello and played for our aunts and cousins, which really delighted everyone. Its so interesting to me the deep connection that family heritage brings among people who are almost strangers; I feel so fortunate to have had to opportunity to get to know my cajun family. 

Louisiana part one, landscapes.

Heritage is an interesting thing, it follows you around wherever you go. From very young age a deep sense of heritage was instilled in me; I've always felt linked in some way to my family history. Last spring I felt particularly burdened to return to Louisiana with my father to begin exploring our heritage down there (begin for me, he has been doing this kind of thing for years). There is a generation in that area that still speaks french, but the language is quickly, and very sadly, dying among the cajun people; I developed the desire to meet some of these people, beginning with our family, and to photograph them and the area. 

At the time I shared my thoughts with my dad, hoping that in the next year or so we'd be able to make the first trip together. A few days later my mom called telling me that she had a plan, and in typical Hardee fashion, a last-minute trip formed; few weeks later, my father, my younger sister, and I were on the road heading for Mississippi and Louisiana. 

We only had a couple days, and I feel like it was barely a beginning, but it is amazing the connections that can be made over 2 days. I met some of my 1st, 3rd and 4th cousins, and 2 great great aunts one of whom's mother tongue is french. We learned details of our family history, and heard so many stories. What a soulful trip it was, learning about a once rejected, almost forgotten people, who's culture is still quietly alive, just below the surface. I look forward to returning, I expect this will be an ongoing project for quite some time. 

So, here are a few of the landscape images from the small city of Lake Charles and from the bayous that run beside the highway... 

live the questions now.

I recently stumbled across this quote (here) from Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke...

"I would like to beg you as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday, far into the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."

I like that.

Joy McWilliams, in black and white.

I was able to spend a day with Joy, one of my favorite people, while traveling through Mississippi last month. 35mm hp5

collective art and telling stories.

Photos from an afternoon outside drawing and enjoying a beautiful during the St James art workshop. We made some drawings together, each person adding onto the previous person's drawing, to tell a story of flying kites, starfish, colorful volcanos, and all sorts of things.. and then of course there was an interpretive dance photo shoot.

Mario found some new sunglasses

Daguy giving us instructions for how the piece would work

faces.

Some of you know that I recently had my photo equipment stolen.. Well last week I finally was able to get some of it replaced! So here are a few portraits of some friends that I took while on a walk. 

AND, since you are still reading, you should check out this great article from Hope Magazine in Europe on the hope of the gospel for this generation.