California Woods Park in Cincinnati, Ohio

Today I went for a hike in California Woods Park.  I wanted to get a chance to hike in a park with some trees and trails.  Cincinnati has several nice parks so I want to see a few this weekend while I have the time.

So here I am standing by some giant ash trees. When I lived in LA as a boy the house that I grew up in had a big ash tree in the back yard.  This is the first tree that I remember climbing and hugging.  Today as I walked through this woods I saw so many ash trees and my mind was lush with the memories of how my brother and I could be on top of the work when we were in the South Central ghetto of LA when we were in our tree.

I take pictures like this by placing my camera on a timer.  then I pick a spot on the ground or on an object to take the picture.  I press he button and then run to a spot that I think is in focus and wait.  I like taking pictures like this because they are fun and produce random results.

One of the random results that this type of photography produces is that I get to see what I look like.  It is amazing how much attention I pay to what I think about how I look based on how I feel.  When I check reality and see what I actually look I see what everone else sees and it is quite the surprise.

So on the inside I feel one way but on the outside I look totally different.  I am very aware that my external appearance has a big impression on how people think about me, but I always get amazed with how different I look when I take random pictures of myself.  Usually when someone else takes a picture of me it is at a special occasion and I am dressed up.  When I take pictures of myself it is usually when I am working on the ranch or hiking by myself. 

These self portraits taken with my camera are the ones that I treasure becsue they document what I look like. I hope that my children will be able to look at these images and my writings and get a better idea of what makes me tick.