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cweeks β reading the good book...
Published: 2007-03-07 22:23:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 13198; Favourites: 103; Downloads: 98
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j and i were in denver. we caught an 8 o'clock flight out of las vegas. it's not a long flight but after retrieving our bags, getting a rental car and all that shit ... it was time to eat.i don't know denver well.
in l.a. i can show you where to eat at any time of the day or night or whatever ...
there.
not so much.
so ... we picked some diner.
i think it was called "denver diner" but don't quote me.
and, yeah, the mp is almost always on my shoulder.
or on j's lap when we're driving.
but at this time ... it was on my shoulder.
when we came to the diner we saw this old cop.
he was reading the bible.
i'm sure if that should scare me.
i mean ... perhaps that would mean he wouldn't necessarily resort to a beat down at first contact.
then again, all the crazy christian-righties controlling the country at present ... they probably would.
i mean ... isn't that the WWF-crowd?
and i mean ... like the first thing i thought was, "if i were going to rob a diner, it wouldn't be this one."
then again, i don't know what kinda street crime they got goin' in denver.
it was just cold.
we flew in a day after some major snowstorm.
really cold.
it was like sundance at two thirty in the morning cold.
that's how i measure how damn cold it is.
anyway ... the frame of the limo in my last deviation reminded me how i used the frame of this doorway.
and even though i shoot for fancy clients ... my first love is making photographs of moments which mean something to me.
personal work is your own pathway to God.
or reading the bible in a diner in downtown denver at 11:30.
whatever your opiate.
whatever your opiate.
i prefer photography.
leica mp. 35/1.4 summilux ASPH. 1/60th at f/1.4. ilford hp5 400 (normal). minor adj levels. +9 cont. labscan
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Comments: 79
Your comments have drawn me in like a bee to a flower. I'm so glad I came across your work.
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I always love reading your artist comments... xDD I like this photo especially.
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Love this photo!
I find active bible-reading eerie. Most people seem reluctant to spend time alone with their heads. I suppose the bible's a big enough mix that you can take from it what you were looking to take anyway, so it's not the worst way to meditate.
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wow.
i've been looking through your gallery, and i've been pretty amazed...
like, 'man, even if i finally do take those photography classes,
there's no way i can get something this flooring every time i put the camera to my eye.'
but this one...
is especially amazing.
it's so quiet.
like he could be anywhere, doing anything...
but here he is.
like something about this means so much to him.
i love it. :]
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Man, you sure are one angry SOB, for one reason or another... But the photo is great...
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dunno about angry but i'm happy you liked the photo!
thanks!
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Don't think I've ever read anything you wrote and came away with a better mood.
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actually that is a pic of the denver diner. its at colfax and speer. i moved here recently and drive by it all the time. interesting trivia.
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so funny how many people recognize this place!
ya' like denver?
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so far its not bad. Theres alot of galleries here and a large art community on the whole. Also, there are enough transients and gangsters to keep things mildly interesting. The archetechture makes for good photographic inspiration, but models seem few and far between.
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and the best part of the photographs you make is that you capture lifes fleeting moments.
what i see in this capture is the humanizing of an officer whom is not liked by a majority of people. i mean, who the fuck gets pissed at a police officer after getting pulled over for breaking the law and going 20 over? it's their job.
and like you said. to each their own.
glad your own is photography.
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"personal work is your own pathway to God"
i think that that sums it up very nicely indeed
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I like this. I like how you capture moments. I wish I wasnt so chicken when it comes to candid work. which is why most of my shots are of buildings cars and animals.
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"And on the way home held your camera like a bible/
Just wishing so bad that it held some kind of truth/
And I stood nervous next to you in the dark room/
You dropped the paper in the water/
And it all begins to bloom/
Ya they go wild"
--Bright Eyes: "Old Soul Song"
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"i mean ... isn't that the WWF-crowd?"
Oh c'mon I've never watched that stuff in my life for more than a minute.
Excellent work.
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There is something poetic about a policeman reading the bible isn't there?
I don't know if I could have left him alone. It would have been hard to resist the urge to walk over and say ... "Looking for some guidance?"
A picture is worth a thousand words, and this one could evoke quite the conversation in some circles.
Another great pic.
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MERICAN
LASSIFIEDS
Im a sucker for the little details.
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Looks like he's walked the beat a while, seen a few things, done a few things. Maybe his faith brought him through the tough times, maybe his tough times brought him to faith...
Those are the questions that run through my mind with this photo... Which came first, the book or the badge? Does it make him a better police officer being religious? Does it make it more difficult for him?
I was thinking about this photo while I was at church today. Thinking about the sermon about faith, how it's sometimes what we bring to feed the soul, and sometimes it's what we believe is brought to us to fulfill our destiny. Are the righteous not cast down in calamity as are the sinners? Is it not possible that even the most pious of us could die at any moment from nearly anything? Yes... bad things don't just happen to bad people, it happens to us all.
Perhaps, being an older cop, having a true understanding that life is tenuous and fragile at best, he's making sure he is at peace with God, because the next guy shooting him might not be using a camera.
Living life to its full potential, that is our fate, our destiny. If it is only for a moment, or a century or longer even.
I'm glad you're living at the full mark, Chris. You make photos that make me think. Thank you.
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yes, because the next guy he may encounter with something to shoot ...
may not be me.
and may not be a camera.
you put it so succinctly!
always happy to hear my photos make you think.
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Great shot Chris! The kind of stuff you can only hope to see in a movie. Maybe heβs just looking for redemption
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thank you!
and, yes, perhaps!
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Look, not every Christian is an overly judgmental wacko bent on smashing down those who don't hold their beliefs. You're using a few publicized people who did stupid stuff to generalize an entire part of the human race. That's like me saying every follower of Islam wants to be a suicide bomber. It's insulting and incorrect.
Anyhow, that's a very nice shot. Has a nice, old-fashioned, comfortable kind of feeling to it.
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When I saw this photo I thought of myself in the future. I'm in Vegas right now to apply for the Honolulu PD (the joys of out of state recruitment) and then saw this and just thought it was a great shot, very relaxing and telling. I'm not religious on any level but the picture meant a lot to me thinking about my future.
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The only person dangerous enough with a RF to hold up a diner with one..
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i love this ...
the kinda cop he is really comes through in the picture ...
i agree with what you said ...
very sick bro. 
cheers.
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well ... most of the churches were like museums or clubs!
thot all the dutch were atheists!
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haha well not quite so you see know....
And you're right: Amsterdam almost hasn't got churches anymore who still have church services on sundays... too bad i think.
Nah just kidding!
But hey: Paradiso is a great and holy rock temple now! ([link] )
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rock&roll in a church! that'd be cool. i went to some odd stuff in prague ... which was in churches. odd to me.
where do the dutch go to church then?
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In churches in their own places i guess. haha
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they should do this over here!
we have too many christian evangelical freaks!
i love your country.
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In america... yes. that's way too over the top 
But hey: what's not in The USA?
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there's a lot of "way over the top" here ... especially in l.a.
but not so gross as in orange county.
what's not? intelligence.
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Realy nice shot, but it's a pitty that you dont' have teh waitress's face in the pic...
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there's a woman at work who always reads the bible during her lunch break, its a tiny dog-eared one,
i dont know how many times she's been through it,
i dont have a problem with religion,
i was brought up in a church environment,
but its the fanatics that spoil it for everyone,
not just the muslim fanatics, but the christian ones too
(i'm talking end timers here)
i get a lot of different thoughts from this,
is he reading because he has always been religious,
or is he reading, looking for repentance for something he did as a younger cop,
hmm
nice shot
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For some reason, this photo makes me happy. I love his expression, the concentration. And the fact that it's the Bible he's reading just makes me even happier. XD
Thanks for taking this photo.
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thanks for checking it out!
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When you look it from far away it could almost any book but now that you say it, it somewhat makes sense. He looks so concentrated and also very concentrated, makes me wonder what he's pondering, is he just checking some lines, just reading or is he really seeking guidance. What ever it is, I like the photo.
I really would like to get some black and white film. But before that I should probably learn and experiment with the Olympus more. Anyway.
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"whatever your opiate.
i prefer photography."
Nice ending - it ends on a consonant note.
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