tk edens photography blog

Too Much Free Time

2008-05-30T11:23:00.002-04:00

Big Bird

2008-05-29T08:56:00.001-04:00

Jenny

2008-05-28T08:46:00.000-04:00

What a Day, the Beach Makes!

2008-05-27T16:28:00.000-04:00

2008-05-23T07:28:00.005-04:00

The other day, we drove to Greenville, NC to see and celebrate our daughter's birthday. On the way to find a place to eat, Haley gave us the semi-grand tour of downtown Greenville and what a cool place. The old industrial section of town is a photographer's dream location. With alleys, warehouses, railroad track, and textures associated with the industrial era as backgrounds and props, a guy could not go wrong when shooting environmental portraits. This is a place on our short list to revisit and shoot.

Brook

2008-05-22T14:01:00.000-04:00

Nuff Said!

2008-05-20T07:17:00.000-04:00

The Weekend Shoot

2008-05-18T20:06:00.005-04:00

What a weekend...super weather at the beach...family everywhere and running amuck and all is well! We planned a big shoot with my wife's sister and her family; let's see at last count...12! All beautiful girls except for the handsome men. My timing was off...but the sun and mosquitos were not. We had planned to do some portraits at the beach and that didn't workout too well due to the mid day sun and very overcrowded beach. So we decided to move on to a secluded trail with a bridge and walkway to a cool part of the beach with dunes, grass and fence. We got to the spot and were greeted by a swarm of malnurished mosquitos! We were a little overwhelmed by the turnout, both family and mosquito! We did however manager to capture most for the family and render some really neat stuff. What did I learn...family first, planned shots second and always have plenty of bug repellant on hand. The photo above is of my niece Savanna, and this was one of my best unplanned portraits of the weekend! Despite my best efforts in planning, sometimes the best image is right in front of you, just waiting to be captured.

Finding me....

2008-05-09T09:16:00.002-04:00

I want to be original, not a copy cat! But... it is very hard when you are influenced by so many talented photographers and their work. So I have taken a trip down Finding Yourself Lane. It's a little scary jumping out and looking for a look that pleases you and ignites emotion in others. At least that is what I feel when I look at the work of others that motivate and inspire me. I am late to this trip, but nevertheless it is an exciting adventure and you are welcome to be part of it. Over the next little while I will be posting images that have developed as part of my quest to find me. Tell me what they do for you...does an image excite you, bring back a memory or make you throw up a little in your mouth! I am looking for honesty (and praise) in your thoughts. So turn on your GPS (compass for old folks) and accompany me on my journey.

Updated Website...

2008-05-07T17:46:00.002-04:00

Just updated my website: TK Edens Photography. Please take a look at it and let me know what you think! I still consider it a work in progress, but really like the direction it is going. As for me, just trying to push my new business out the door and learning to cook, but more on that later.

Layovers

2007-12-09T04:47:00.000-05:00

There are two types of travelers; those who have experienced airport layovers and those that will! A layover is sorta like life, it is what you make of it. And like life, it presents challenges, color, interactions, stress and joy. A layover will bore you to tears and excite the senses at the same moment. Depending where you are will also provide you with a duplicate image of life. From the highly pampered first class guest to the nameless coach occupant layover life mirrors real world life, from 5-star guest facilities to sleeping on benches. Dinning pleasures go from catered 5 course meals to waiting in line in the food court. Shopping offers something for everyone too. Watches...Rolex to Timex, Wall Street Journal to Mad magazine, beverages available from water to ridiculously priced wine....hell both are available at a ridiculously high price! Sounds and spoken words are from a baby crying to a group of travelers conversing in their native languages; the drown of the woman on the public address system announcing flight changes and gate times to the beep-beep of the service carts racing up and down the concourses amazingly missing all the thousands of individuals walking (or running) in the paths of the daredevils controlling those damn carts. Colors and costumes also run the gamete; from bright multi-colored robes and head dress to the lifeless business goer splashed in gray. Wherever you find yourself experiencing a layover you are also experiencing a special slice of life that many will never experience. Embrace a layover, not with dread and frustration, but with the drive of an explorer! Seek out the new and unique, the different and exciting opportunities that are part of the airport life. Again, just as in life, your experience and journey is what YOU make of it...enjoy!

Time to Think?

2007-11-19T04:26:00.000-05:00

How do you know where you are if you can't see yourself on the map? In other words, you may know where you stand, but finding that location in reference to the world around can be very difficult to do unless you can pull back to a point to where you can see both. Being able to see yourself and the immediate world around you can be very very insightful, such as today. I was on a nearby camp waiting on some team members to exit the PX. I just sat on a traffic barrier watching the community of soldiers, American and British milling about the out-door market operated by vendors from many of the middle eastern countries surrounding Kuwait and it hit me! I may be soon departing this environment, leaving behind these many individuals and their many missions, but whatever I do, wherever I go, I will never escape who I am and what I have become...a warrior, a leader! Neither of which I chose, but what I am. As I reflect on my recent past and approaching future, I am troubled with the thoughts of where do I fit in. I am a husband, a father...a friend? In the world I am about to rejoin, where do and where will I belong? I am at home in hostile environments, where young men and women serving our country carry weapons and are not afraid to use them to protect themselves, but also the individuals on the left and on their right. We are all joined together by a bond of war and hardships. A bond where life or death is a normal as Starbucks and self-serving people move about believing they are important. My initial thoughts envision myself as a tourist in a foreign land learning the customs of it's people. How will I survive in this land...by living one day at a time and not getting caught up in the culture that rules this land, but by observing from a distance and learning and exploring. What I need to remember is that the land I travel to, is no less dangerous than the land I am leaving!

Blowing Sand

2007-11-09T22:25:00.000-05:00

Sand Storm

2007-11-04T02:30:00.000-05:00

Where in the War are You?

2007-11-03T05:17:00.001-04:00

Searching

2007-10-28T12:18:00.000-04:00

The Desert

2007-10-24T03:22:00.000-04:00

Self Image

2007-10-19T11:30:00.000-04:00

Self image, image of self, one is outward, the other inward. Both say a lot about the individual. One offers up the first impression others have of us. The other comes after that initial impression of us. This image takes time to develop not like the point and shoot image of the first. The more someone studies your image, the more they know and understand you. This is true of studying one's own image. You may find details that please and excite you, other detail or imperfections that you may with to remove with Photoshop. Just like a speck of dust in a image can be removed with the healing brush in Photoshop, so can those specks of dust found in our self images, and again with the healing brush, but this time, not by our hands, but in the hands of the Master.

Sk8ter

2007-10-18T11:30:00.000-04:00

The Kinder Gentler Warriors

2007-10-16T02:53:00.000-04:00

Preparing for deployment to Iraq in the hot sands of Kuwait, these Marines discover another fighter...a bedouin lizard.

Zia

2007-10-15T10:39:00.000-04:00

Zia is from India and has been in Kuwait for 20 years supporting his family. Every month he sends the majority of his meager earnings to his family back home. He is supporting his own family, his parents and also is putting his son through the university as he studies telecommunications. It is Zia's hope that once his son completes his studies, that he to will be able to support the family. Zia's earnings have remained the same for many years, with no recent pay increases and no prospects in the near future. Even though his income is is just a few dollars per day, he is able to support himself and his family. The money he sends home goes a long way in providing for the family needs. What Zia, keeps for himself, enables him to share an apartment with several others in the same situation. He has maintained a relatively flat lifestyle revolving around work with very little time to himself. But this is his choice; a spartan life, that provides for his family and loved ones at the expense of his goals and dreams.

The Babysitter

2007-10-14T10:53:00.000-04:00

Have Oil - Will Move

2007-10-13T04:23:00.000-04:00

So you work many months on a project with the anticipated start date being shuffled around like a deck of card, then your card comes up! My card came up, the crews and equipment move on site and the work begins. Everything moving as expected with multiple projects being knocked off one-by-one! This day was so going my way...until the dust and sand settled! Out of the billowing dust and sand came many SUV belonging to the Kuwait Oil Company! The caravan drove to ground zero of my just completed construction project. A kind man walked to me and introduced himself to me and flatly stated he was going to drill for oil right where we were standing, right where my finished project stood, in two weeks! So the moral of this story is very simple, if you play in someone's backyard, be prepared to run when the owner's let the dogs out.

The Friends

2007-10-10T11:49:00.000-04:00

Invisible Women

2007-10-09T08:24:00.000-04:00

Throughout this culture women are to be unseen, invisible. Whither hidden behind a vail or blurred in motion females move unseen through this world.

Problems

2007-10-05T07:56:00.001-04:00

Cars are a lot like relationships. When both are in good running order, the world is in balance. But when something misfires or experiences a blowout, time stops and we run around swearing the sky is falling. Well is it...really? A blowout, pull over to a safe place and fix it...works well for a flat tire or an argument. Misfires may take professional help, from fixing the timing of the engines in both the car and relationship to performing a basic tune-up to get both purring like new again

Memories

2007-10-04T11:13:00.001-04:00

Memories...we all have them, some bad, some good. What triggers them, what makes us journey back and relive memories. Is it a smell, a word, movies, locations or photographs, I really don't know, but more and more old memories are being triggered. Could be that I am just getting old and trying to hold on to the past. Sometimes this is good and healthy, other times these memories dredge up bad experiences and bad times. We can not escape our past and sometimes we are haunted by our old experiences and deeds. Sometimes the deeds and actions of others effect our memories too. These I find the most troubling and haunting, the memories I try to hide or suppress. Photographs hold such memories. Memories that we may have hidden only to resurface with the image. The power of a photograph holds such strength. It can bring down a King, celebrate the birth of a President, start wars and end marriages. This power knows no limits and holds what is cherished, what is reviled. The power of a photograph is stronger than we are and will hold our memories long after we are gone.

Celebrate

2007-10-03T03:48:00.000-04:00

Joyous village leader celebrates the actions of US Forces freeing his village of insurgents.

Young Heros

2007-10-02T12:39:00.000-04:00

Walking

2007-10-01T12:52:00.000-04:00

Life begins when night falls.

Sunset

2007-09-30T09:01:00.000-04:00

Sunset, what does it mean? An end maybe. Sometimes I feel that I am enjoying the sunset of my current employment. It is a bad thing, not at all. From sunrise to now this has been a very good day, very rewarding and very challenging. But as the sun sets, I feel it is time for me to move on. Why, I want to enjoy the sunrise from a different place in my life tomorrow!

When is a Riot

2007-09-29T16:43:00.000-04:00

a celebration, a demonstration or an example of freedom of expression? Warfighters deploying to Iraq undergo several different training experiences during their last few days in Kuwait. Many of these experiences or exercises involve interaction with Third Country Nationals or TCNs who portray innocent Iraqis or deadly insurgents. During one exercise military personnel are subjected to numerous events to judge how the leadership will respond to stressors they could encounter in Iraq. One of the scenarios have a patrol of soldiers attacked by an IED and insurgents using small arms. The unit leadership must deal with this attack, injured personnel and the threat of addition attacks. As the leadership process and respond villagers within a nearby village riot and move towards the patrol. Again, all designed to force the unit leadership to make decisions. Many unit commanders see this riot as a threat to their personnel and take action to protect his charges. Others, through the use of interpreters learn the angry approaching mob is actually happy villages celebrating the death of the insurgents and arrival of US Forces.

Shade

2007-09-28T10:40:00.000-04:00

Shade, either nature's or man-made offers a refuge from the summer sun's rays. It protects us and provides a cool place to relax, nap or enjoy a meal with someone special. Shade can keep the elements at bay or tightly secure a child's kite just out of reach. Shade can be a gathering place for friends and strangers bridging the gap of difference between the two and producing a common fiber uniting each. Shade is greater or lesser than the physical surface of it's self. Just as we are greater or lesser a person than out bodies. We are shade to many, providing protection from nature, the world or even each other. We, me and you are shade to our families, coworkers, friends and strangers, we cover them and keep them safe. The thing to think about is wither or not your shade covers more than just you?

Too Play....

2007-09-27T09:13:00.000-04:00

Last month I went home on leave and did some traveling to include visiting the areas I grew up in. This photo of Hooker Mill Falls in Western North Carolina brought back memories of my youth, playing in the creeks and rivers around my home. Not a care in the world except for wondering what Mom was preparing for dinner. Today our kids really are not allowed to be kids. They are forced to grow up way too soon, missing out on the simple pleasures of our youth. We expect our youth to be and act like adults along with the responsibilities and baggage that comes with being a grown-up. What happened to play, as adults we forget how to play and then try to take it away from our children. What is up with that?

Getting Started

2007-09-27T05:30:00.000-04:00

The middle east has offered many new and exciting challenges to someone like myself. I grew up in the USA, but for the last 4 years I have lived in the middle east. Almost 2 of those years were in Iraq with the US Army. My latter 2 years in Kuwait, training US military personnel. I have had a very interesting journey through these lands and now it has become a passion to share, through images, the sights and experiences I have had the opportunity to experience. Through this medium, I hope to share my experiences with you.