Blog

2012 Begins...

2012-01-06T22:18:07Z

lookback : junk yard shoot

2011-05-21T04:45:41Z

So about this time last year (actually, a little longer), my friend Megan asked me to take a few pictures for her Senior art project. She had been designing clothes all year made out of reclaimed/found materials. I was intrigued, so naturally I said yes. Well, I finally got around to looking at the pictures...a year later, and played around with them very quickly tonight.

On the road

2011-04-10T02:08:14Z

I've been traveling all over the place for the past 10 months and wouldn't have it any other way. I wish I had used this blog to record everywhere I've been and everything I've done. It's really amazing to me that I've been fortunate enough to do so much in such a short time.

The Introduction of the Midweek Review

2010-11-17T05:28:09Z

I am embarking on a new project one that will hopefully benefit you, or at least keep you entertained. Every Wednesday (at least that s the plan right now), I m going to post up a mid-week review that will have the weeks most interesting links that pertain to my hobbies and interests. I may set up delicious account, but for now, I want to keep it in blog post form a la the amateur econ blog. Some of the links will have my commentary along with them. Others will be by themselves. Most of the links will deal with Cars, Architecture, Music, and my new found hobby Cycling. Of course, other stuff will be thrown in as my interest change, but I really feel I need to do this to keep me sane. With every week and day being different, I think it s important to stay grounded somehow. So, without boring you any longer, my 1st Mid-Week Review.

Cars

1953 Porsche Hot Rod - I love how simple this thing is. Simple lines, simple motor, and oh my, that simple interior. When I first saw that picture, it looked like the car only had a gas pedal. Upon further inspection, the whole accelerator, brake, and clutch pedals look like they are one assembly. This is a car I d love to take on a cross country trip with only a backpack of clothes. Keeping it simple. (Okay, maybe some tools too, just in case).

Other Cars

o Car Spotlight | The Derelict | Speedhunters

o Racing an Electric Car from Alaska to Argentina | Jalopnik

Music

Girl Talk | All Day - If you know me, you know that I am a big fan of mashup mixes. This album is no exception. I absolutely love it. Gregg Gillis is a genius. The whole album is pretty much seamless. While it moves a little more quickly than DJ Fusion mixes, it has a broader range of music. DJ Fusion is still my favorite (and has been for over a year), but he does mostly Top 40 Mixes, so this Girl Talk Album is a great change of pace.

A quick side note about the album I couldn t download it all day. The site was super, super busy, and ended up having problems. Luckily, my buddy Nick was able to hook me up via Windows Live (which I have never used before). Here s an article on MTV.com about it.

Architecture

If you ve talked to me in the past 3 years about my dream house, chances are that you ve heard me say I want a small house and a large garage. Well, at least an interesting garage. To me, a garage is a serene place. It s has to be every bit presentable as it is functional. I like simple designs, and I hate clutter (which is ironic given my current living condition more on that another time). The garages below are two of my personal favorites. I would be equally ecstatic to have something even a fraction of either one.

The M House | GarageJournal

The 12 Gauge Garage | GarageJournal

Cycling

As a kid, I used to ride my bike everywhere. My parents can tell you the stories better than I can, but I loved my bike(s). I raced BMX for quite a few years growing up and did a little mountain biking with my dad. In high school, I trained for Triathlons with my friend Alex, who later went on to do an Ironman 4 years later (if only I would have kept training with him!) I ve realized that I need to get back into shape, so what better way then to rekindle my passion for cycling? I just signed up for the 2011 BP MS150 from Houston to Austin, TX, so that should act as motivation enough to get my riding again. I shopped for a bike for close to 4 weeks, scouring craigslist and forums for a good used deal. Unfortunately, I m so short that the bikes that are my size don t come up very often.

I finally found the deal that I was looking for on a great 2009 Look 566. To say the bike is smooth is an understatement. I m looking forward to putting many miles on her.

Other Cycling

o Glory Cycles Clive at Glory Cycles in Columbia, SC was a great help when I was looking for a bike. Unfortunately, they didn t have the closeout bike that I was looking for, but the review on his blog about my bike it was pushed me to buy it.

o Livestrong I just stumbled upon this website this week and have to say, I am very impressed. The community aspect of the Livestrong Foundation amazes me and I look forward to contributing in any way, shape, and form in the future.

Alright, now admittedly, this was a little long winded. In the future, I will just post a list of links. Enjoy them. See you next week!

a new beginning

2010-06-23T07:12:37Z

So, I realize it's been nearly 7 months since I've posted anything. To tell you the truth, I haven't really been working on much as far as photography goes. I've been busy getting the next chapter of my life ready. I've graduated college, found a job, and have started into my new career. It's really exciting for me to say the least.

I'll be moving from Atlanta to Houston soon (at least until January/February), and will be traveling nealry 5 days a week every week. Unfortunately, this means that some of my photo projects will have to take a back seat. I'm also starting to get into my longest-lived passion - performance driving/racing, and I'm afraid photography is also beginning to take a 2nd to it.

I love photography, so naturally, I will be taking a small, yet capable camera with me on all of my travels, but I won't be doing as much comissioned work. I'll always be turning ideas over in my head and will be planning new, large projects - but the reality of life is that there simply isn't enough time in the week to do everything.

It pains me, but at the same time, it also gives me time for a much needed break. I felt like I was losing sight of why I really started into photography. I hope to get back to the level that I was on before and renew the passion that I once had.

So, as I start this new chapter in my life, I invite you to share it with me. I'll be making weekly posts of my travels (have to have something to let mom and dad know what I'm up to), as well as posting new pictures and stories along the way.

One thing for sure is that this site is definately going to get a lot more use, and I hope you'll find the new content enjoyable.

~ Austin

"That Which you Manifest is Before you"

2009-12-11T05:52:22Z

Right now, I'm in the midst of finals wondering where the heck the semester went. It suddenly disappeared and I am now 6 months away from graduation. What was once 4 years has now become 6 months - my how time does fly. With this time slipping away so quickly, I realized that I have many things that I've said I was going to do, but never quite got around to. One such thing was putting the fact that I had found a new favorite book last August. The Art of Racing In the Rain, by Garth Stein, easily took over the empty spot I had reserved for favorite book (books don't really move me that much very often). I was so enamored by this book that I literally read it in the equivalent of a single sitting all in a single day (headed back from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia to Atlanta this past summer - If you notice, my cover is different than what is sold in the US - that's because I bought it in Canada - more on that later).

Now, I may have enjoyed the book so much because I am a driving enthusiast, but to be honest, I thought the book was going to be about a dog running around in the rain. Not so much so. I had seen the book around the pool at the resort that I work at (as a cabana boy in the summer) and figured there was a dog on the cover and it the title was about racing, so naturally the dog must have been the one doing the racing. Boy, was I wrong. If I had known the premise of the book, I would have read it the moment I learned about it. As you can see, the Canadian cover is much different than the US cover and tome signifies that the story line actually involves racing. I actually prefer the Canadian cover - I guess it's the Motorsports enthusiast in me.

There is one line in particular that presents itself many times in the book - it is this: "That which you Manifest is before you." At this point in my life, there is probably no other quote that means more to me. I hadn't really thought about it much before tonight, but in thumbing through the book in between my favorite TV shows and (**edited just incase my mom is reading**) studying for my Cost Accounting Exam that I have tomorrow (last final of the semester, by the way) this quote just kinda fell into my lap, almost like fate. "That which you manifest is before you." Of course it is, it only took a talking dog in a book that I read some time ago to make me realize that it is, that I am in control. I loved the quote so much, I took an old shot of mine from a secret racetrack and turned it into a wallpaper:

Shoot me an email (austin@austincabot.com) if you would like me to send you a copy of the wallpaper. In the meantime, I highly suggest you pick up a copy of the book and read it if you haven't done so already. Though I can't do a full review of the book since I don't remember every little detail (I did read it nearly 5 months ago), I fully intent to re-read the book over the winter break (this time with a highlighter - there are many good quotes), and write a full review complete with how I can/have applied the lessons to my personal life. Now, back to studying for my last accounting exam I will ever take - at least at Georgia College. You all enjoy your weekend and happy holidays!

Related: GoEnzo.com (http://www.goenzo.com)

the tyler hammond band

2009-10-26T17:07:41Z

Had the pleasure of shooting the Tyler Hammond Band last Saturday night after the Deep Roots festival down at Capital City. Here are a few quick pics:

For the full album click here.

Couldn't Wait so here is a sneak peak...

2009-09-15T05:28:17Z

Ciara and I went out and shot a boat load of images for our portfolio today. Once I got home and put the images on the computer, I knew I couldn't wait to edit them to share at least one. So, here it is:

This is straight from the camera, no editing, no nothing. So glad I made the switch to Nikon - the colors are so much better, even in the .nef files. I'll have more photos up in the next few days. The only problem now is sorting through them all - I love so many of them!

joey [for the colonnade]

2009-09-14T06:06:40Z

Last week while in the Colonnade writers and photographers meeting, there was an article proposed on student firefighters. I immediately thought of my friend, Joey, who I've known for a little while now, through car stuff (he's got a pretty nasty Audi TT), who is a Volunteer firefighter here in Baldwin County. Unfortunately, they didn't announce that they needed photos for the article. So, I went to the office after the meeting and proposed that I take some photos of Joey, and the staff let me run with it.

I'm glad they did. Joey is the type of guy that is very enthusiastic and as such, he was a great subject. We actually drove around earlier in the day scouting for locations to shoot at. We found a few places, but settled on the station that he normally works out of. They have a brand new Ladder Truck, Ladder 9, that we were able to use for photos. I had an image in my head that I sketched out the night before to use as a goal (which I ended up scrapping once we got on location, but that's another story(check out my f/8 tech blog for more details)).

Everyone at the stations was very, very helpful and super nice. They Chief even repositioned the truck a few times so that I could get the shot that I wanted.

I know these photos aren't the typical photos that show up in newspapers, as they are posed - but I am trying to incorporate more of a magazine type of appeal to the photos I submit to the paper, plus it's good practice for me to use my lights and work on my composition. We ended up shooting for close to two hours and I loved every minute of it. Joey was very patient and loves the way the images turned out. I love them too.

If you're interested, here is the e-version of the edition of the Colonnade the photos are in:

Open publication - Free publishing - More newspaper

More good stuff this week. Stay tuned.

Findings | 8.31

2009-09-01T02:19:14Z

This evening after everything I had to do was done, my friends, Michael Forsyth (www.michaelforsyth.com), and Drake Simmons, went out to take some pictures. I wanted to exercise my new Nikon d300 and lenses, and they just wanted to get out of Milledgeville. (So did I). I was also looking for a few new locations to use for upcoming portrait work. Anyways, here are a few randoms that I liked: