Dad I’m at Knotts and there is a shooter

Dad I’m at Knotts and there is a shooter. After reading my son’s text my girlfriend and I drove to Knotts Berry Farm (only 5 minutes from my house). As we approach Crescent and Knott Ave. we see groups of mostly kids running from Knotts Berry Farm. Next we turn left on Knott Ave. and the sidewalks are filled with people running and swiftly walking away from Knotts. There is not a single police car in site. My girlfriend couldn’t find any information on the News so she instead relied on Twitter.

Durning our 5 minute drive we learn that my son and about 20 others are hiding in the Panda Express bathroom. Now we are driving (in traffic) northbound on Knott Ave. and my girlfriend asks me “should I try to go get Apollo?” And I said OK. She jumps out of the car and disappears into to crowd.

Now I’m driving around KNOTTS Berry Farm while communicating with my son and girlfriend via hands free messaging.

My girlfriend walks right into Knotts Berry Farm through what I’m guessing is an employee gate located on La Palma and Knott Ave. And she is trying to make her way to The Panda Express. My son tells her via text to contact an employee first. Apparently they are locked in the Panda Express. So my girlfriend approaches a group of Knotts employees. She later told me they all looked high school age. In fact at this she has not seen a single police, or park security. There was nobody from the park guiding guests. She tells them about my sons group. And told her security would have to unlock Panda Express.

Maybe 15 minutes later my sons group where told to exit via the hotel. When my girlfriend received this information she met the group in the Knotts hotel parking lot. I was driving on Crescent Ave. and picked all 7 people up and drove them to my house. Where my ex wife and her husband where waiting. My daughter and her step sister also met us at the house.

In my front yard everyone was talking about what happened. I overheard Apollo’s friend say that my son led the group while they were hiding from the shooter. I’m so proud of him.

Lastly from the moment my girlfriend (Adriana) left my car to the moment she returned with my son and his group. She did not see police, security or a employee over a high school age. There wasn’t even a person directing traffic out of the Knotts Berry Farm parking lot.

June 27, 2021June 27, 2021

Make A Thing Everyday, 2021-06-26

John Terby’s roses

Make A Thing Everyday, 2021-06-26

June 22, 2021March 5, 2022

Weed Only cyanotype print series

Weed Only cyanotype print series is a collection of weed prints. To start I have photographed every flower in my neighborhood. Further I am starting to even memorize what time of year they bloom. In an attempt to avoid boredom I am collecting and printing weeds. In fact I am using the actual weeds as a negative.

I learned how to make cyanotypes from Greg Rager and more recently Tony Maher

June 9, 2021June 9, 2021

Make A Thing Everyday

June 2, 2021June 2, 2021

Felicia Skateboarding a DIY Jake built

A film photograph with flash of skateboarder Felicia Gibbs

April 10, 2021April 10, 2021

Make A Thing Everyday

March 21, 2021May 14, 2021

The Blue Sky Collection

After a year of being indoors, I felt isolated. One day the sky beckoned me to step outside. The way the light hit the clouds overwhelmed me with comfort. I hadn’t felt that in a long time. In the hope that I could share this comfort with my friends I asked them to text me a picture of their sky.

The pictures poured in, if you look deeper you realize each picture contained an extremely personal story of my friends (the photographers). At first glance these cyanotypes represent beauty. More important they represent trust between my friends and I. My friends didn’t question my text, instead they sent this non-verbal form of communication – the picture.

I printed the photos using the cyanotype process because the only thing that looks normal in cyanotype is the sky and the clouds. Similarly, during isolation, the only thing that looks normal is the sky outside our windows. In the end, The Blue Sky Collection brought comfort to my friends and I. I hope it does the same for you. We all live under the same sky.