

SFA Longterm Servers Project: Everything you wanted to know and more.
This summer I will be working on an oral history collection for the Southern Foodways Alliance that documents the lives and work of longtime restaurant servers. Although I have recorded many interviews, this is the first time that I’ve been able to contribute to SFA’s growing library of oral histories, collections that stretch back more than a decade and are made available to the public on … Continue reading SFA Longterm Servers Project: Everything you wanted to know and more.

Audubon Park Series
Without question, Audubon Park is one of America’s most beautiful urban greenspaces. These landscapes are an attempt to capture the feel of the park’s light and shadow. For pricing and availability check out the painting price list page. Continue reading Audubon Park Series

Creole Italian Now Available: Stops & Dates of Book Talks + Press!
Nine years after I began this project, my book Creole Italian: Sicilian Immigrants and the Shaping of New Orleans Food Culture is now available! It is part of the Southern Foodways Alliance Studies in Culture, People, and Places series at the University of Georgia Press. I’m very excited to see how readers receive the work and am very thankful to the many people who have … Continue reading Creole Italian Now Available: Stops & Dates of Book Talks + Press!

Oaks of St. Joseph in the Fog
My old friend Peter lives in Mexico most of the time now, but when he came back before Thanksgiving, the two of us headed up to Convent, Louisiana so I could photograph the Oaks of St. Joseph that line a magical sweep of the Mississippi River’s front across River Road from the Manresa Retreat House. I was concerned that I wouldn’t have enough sun, but … Continue reading Oaks of St. Joseph in the Fog

Decennium
For weeks I had thought that by a decade later that I would be ready to unpack memories and share my experiences of the massacre that unfolded on the campus of Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. As this day drew nearer, that old familiar pressure band built in my mind. I always imagine it being like how dogs feel when a tropical depression blows in off … Continue reading Decennium

Gentle Pointers About Life Learned from Life with a Pointer: Remembering a Special Bird Dog
Greta, the day I brought her home in 2002. Like many moments that somehow change your life forever, I ended up the owner of a bird dog entirely by chance. An acquaintance whose father-in-law’s hunting dogs had a litter called to ask if I would like a free German Shorthaired Pointer puppy. I wasn’t familiar with the breed, but he emailed a few pictures of … Continue reading Gentle Pointers About Life Learned from Life with a Pointer: Remembering a Special Bird Dog

Rediscovering Something Old in Something New: Thoughts About My New Fuji X-T1 and Life
From left to right: Sony SLT-A77 with 16-50/2.8 zoom, Fuji X-T1 with 23/1.4R, and Honeywell Pentax SLR with 28/2.8 lens – circa 1965. Photo taken with an iPad! “It looks like it is from the ’80s.” That was the first thing my wife said about my Fuji X-T1 as I excitedly handed it to her. She didn’t mean it as a compliment. The blow to … Continue reading Rediscovering Something Old in Something New: Thoughts About My New Fuji X-T1 and Life