RUSH HOUR

From Mats

I shot this in Amsterdam 10 years ago in the summer of 2001. I never saw so many bicycles before except when I was in the army stationed in Germany. I was in the armored division, in an engineer (E) company which builds bridges. We were in charge of 80 5-ton trucks, six tanks and six half tracks. Every month there was an alert (random drill) at usually 4 or 5 in the morning. So you had A, B, C, D, and E co, each with their own caravan of tanks and tractors and all this equipment which had to be mobilized. Imagine all the gasoline we needed in doing that.

HAIKU: Red Tulips #12

Click picture for larger view | From Mats

Amidst months of gloom
the clouds break and the sun shines
it's fucking springtime

SMOKING GUN

Click picture for larger view | From Mats

I took this shot from a moving car on the NJ Turnpike 22 years ago. I guess I was compelled because seeing this smoke spewing ceaselessly didn't sit right with me. And now all these nuclear plants in Japan are melting down and it reminds us how shortsighted we are and the risks we're exposing ourselves to.

Flamingo

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The flamingo is the poster bird for the saying "You are what you eat".  Pink and orange flamingos eat algae that contain the same stuff that gives carrots their color.  I shot this is at Disneyworld exactly 30 years ago. 23 years later I punched circles in the from the same image to create its complementary mat.

WATER to WHINE

Click picture for larger view | From Mats

There's a wino crashed out on the steps of the church. Next to him is a bucket of water. My interpretation: he is asking Jesus for a little bit of that miracle magic.

GOTCHA

Click picture for larger view | From Mats

1981: When I was a bartender at the Terminal Bar, this fool used to look in the window all the time, like that. And I said (to myself) I'm gonna get his picture one day, and sure enough he came to the window and I went over and shot his picture. He was just this wild thing that was out there and I saw him for quite a few years. He was around a long time and he was surviving out there on the streets. But he couldn’t come in, no way, I'd just tell him to get the fuck out...and when Jersey (the bartender) was there, I didn’t have to do anything. Jersey would just stand in the back and yell "get the fuck outta here." I mean, it would take only a second. If the guy didn’t move, Jersey would come on out...(end of story).

SNAKE EYES

From Mats

question: What happens when you shoot snake eyes?
answer: You're a loser.