It starts with a notion..

The idea to leave my corporate design job in Manhattan and travel around taking photos and enjoying the outdoors crept into my presleep thoughts sometime in the in early spring.  Like a virus, this notion spread from daydreams to late night conversations with a few close friends.  I missed the outdoors and a sense of exploration.  Leaving a comfortable life in search of something different seemed crazy, but the more I thought it the more I realized it was the right decision.

At first, it seemed like a distant dream, years off perhaps.  Much to my surprise, steps started falling into place.  I signed a book deal with !t Books (a department of Harper Collins) for the Burning House and shot a commissioned project with The Anthropologist. These projects gave me both the money to finance my trip and the purpose to stay productive while traveling.   Eager to put my money where my mouth is, I bought a VW Syncro and made preparations.  LL Bean agreed to outfit me with the necessary camping and fly fishing equipment and I was off running.

"You're going to do what?  Have you thought this through?  What about your job?"

Next came a series of conversations with friends, family and my coworkers.  The responses were polarized, but by this point, my mind was made up.  If I didn't take a leap like this now, I probably never would.

"I want to see how far down the hole the rabbit goes."

In July, I  started condensing my things down. I gave bags of clothes to my cleaning lady to send back to her family in Trinidad and Tobago, sold odds and ends on eBay and gave away the rest to friends.  It was easier than I thought and more liberating than I could have imagined.

As the dust settled, I packed my possessions into a handful of dry bags and my GR1 and wrapped up my surfboard in preparation of  catching a a one wa,y flight back to Portland Oregon this Sunday.  From there, I will pick up my Syncro, hit the road and open a new chapter of my life.

Here are some more links,

All I Need Is (Picasa),

These Photos by Jon Levitt inspired me a lot.

Through Doors

Walking into people's homes is a look into their lives.  Over the last few months I have been spending more time visiting people at their homes, photographing the things they would take if their house was burning.  In addition to photographing their things,  I always snap a few shots of their interiors to test the light.  At first,  I didn't realize that I was taking this very similar photograph over and over again.  I guess people like certain images.  Here are some photos I have shot in the last few months through these open doors.

A look at Jimmy Fountaine's, a snowboarding buddy turned hotshot fashion photographer, stacks of negatives at his West Village apartment.

The ladder up to the roof at Jen Turner's, architect and furniture designer, Brooklyn home.

A look into Sandra Wijnberg's, private equity wizard , Berkshire Mass home.

Having a structured visual format helps me distinguish what's actually different.  Although these photos are shot in a very similar way, they all feel very distinct.  It happened subconsciously, but I'm going to run with it.  It's funny how habits arise.

Here are some more links, July (Picasa), Help raise money for Veterans (Go Ruck Ascent Challenge)! I would have gone Ape Shit if I had this  electric paper airplane motor when I was a kid (Amazon).

Foc'sle in Provincetown Mass

I first met Alex in the fall of 2008 after weeks of emails and calls to him asking if we could meet and discus a potential internship with his brand, Rogues Gallery.  I had no design experience but I did have a strong  interest in menswear, a connection with Rogue's aesthetic and a desire to learn.   Most likely to stop the weekly calls and emails, Alex let me come down from Waterville a few days a week that fall and winter to help with odds and ends around the office.  The seed was planted and based on my exposure  at Rogues Gallery and getting to know people like Daniel Pepice, Jay Carroll and Aaron Levine, my life took a new path.

Alex and I have kept in close contact over the last three years.  When he started at Bean in 2009, I interned and freelanced helping on various projects associated with the launch of LL Bean Signature.  After leaving Maine and moving to New York, I would meet Alex for coffee when he was in town or I was up north.

Alex recently opened a gallery/antique shop called Foc'sle on Commercial Street in the East End in Provincetown, Massachusetts.   Last weekend I drove up to Cape Cod for a photo shoot on a project I am working on for the Anthropologist.  Stopping by one afternoon,  I chatted with Alex for a few hours and poked around Foc'sle.

The shop combines the work of local artists, folk art and nautical-inspired antiques from around New England.  Alex sources most of the antiques like this fish-tail hinged trunk from the 18th century, himself.

Rock Lobster.

Paintings in the walkway.

Anchored.

Portraits of local residents by Mischa Richter.

Atlantic Salmon.

Alex's trusty spaniel, Ranger.

Visiting Foc'sle reminded me why I decided to hound Alex to give me an internship my junior year of college.  It captures New England.  If you're ever in Cape Cod,  Foc'sle is well worth a trip to Provincetown to see.

Here are some more links, Foc'sle (Facebook), Foc'sle (Picasa).

Changes

 

If you haven't noticed already,  I redesigned A Restless Transplant and switched over from Blogger to Wordpress.  I wanted to simplify the site and have the options of building more features down the line.   If you are experiencing any problems with the transition, please let me know.  Time has been tight recently as I am gearing up for some big changes.

In the mean time, here are some links that inspire me as of late:

Rohan's photos of Dusk and Bostok,

Desperados Under the Eaves (I have been listening to a lot of Warren Zevon recently and this song is one of my favorites),

The Grass Doe (as always),

Dark Side of the Lens (I watched this again for the first time in months, still amazing),

WabiSabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers (an interesting design philosophy,  just finished it),

665 Days in Iraq (a Flikr stream of amazing images of the War in Iraq),

The Anthropologist ( I am working on a project for them that I am really excited about based around The Burning House).