a detroit city rocker

“Great dancers aren't great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.”

Obviously, this holds true for anything in life. I appreciate passion in people. A photographer may have all the education, technique and experience in the world, but will that make him a successful photographer? Not if he lacks the one key, the one trait that we all must possess. Passion. It all starts with your heart. There are many “types” of people in this world. I find myself gravitating, by chance and absolutely unintentionally, to people that possess a unique form of passion in their lives…. There are many people in my life, but the ones I keep close and the ones I seek are those which are young at heart. Passion runs so deep into our lives that often times we can’t control it. We stumble and stutter to find words. We photograph everything – family, friends, moments, details along the road, the sky, posters, a doorway, a ray of light, a basket of vegetables… etc. We can’t sleep because we have this idea that we MUST write out or sketch. Sleep can wait. We look at the world differently…. Absolutely.
Sadly, these souls are hard to come by.
That’s why it was so amazing when I was given the opportunity to meet Jay Shuster. (If you are not familiar with this story – please start reading here.) I picked Jay up Thursday morning at 7:45AM to begin this adventure. I dropped Jay off at the airport this morning around 5 AM. The departure was marked with a handshake and one of those brotherly one armed hugs. I was bummed to see Jay leave, I had so many more questions about his remarkable career. And more importantly, his life…
The last three days flew by.

*Jay is most famous for creating this character... But in my mind, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

I’ve been sitting in my office for the last 4 hours trying to write out all the details of the past few days. What a surreal experience. I don’t want to forget anything.
As expected, Jay was a great sport. I drove him all around town Thursday which included a live News interview, a radio interview, his lecture at the Philbrook (which was phenomenal – pod cast coming soon) signing 500 posters, signing a ton of: Books, toys, DVD’s, tickets.. etc, taking thousands of pictures, a thousand more by Scott Raffe and myself, touring Tulsa, touring downtown, eating, drinking, laughing and chatting….. Jay entertained hundreds of people on his trip to Tulsa. I was fortunate to witness every moment. He brought inspiration and genuine happiness to every person he encountered. Jay is extremely humble, kind and accommodating.
Thank you Jay!
Best of all, I made a good friend in a short amount of time. I’m grateful to see that there are still people like Jay in the world – kicking ass and continuing to follow their heart. A heart like mine, like those close to me = Childish, ridiculous and aware.
I want to tell you all about it, so if you want to hear it – call me or lets grab a drink…..
It’s been unreal....
A photo from a memorable lunch on Friday. Left to right - Me, Jay and Michael Wallis [You might know Michael Wallis as the voice of Sheriff in the movie CARS - he is also a world renowned writer. He has written 10 best sellers and was a Pulitzer prize nominee... Currently I am reading one of his books "Way Down Yonder in Indian Nation" a fascinating book about Woody Guthrie, about Pretty Boy Floyd, Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller and Frank Phillips of petroleum fame... I highly recommend it. Michael is an amazing person, I could sit and listen to him tell stories for days. A charming man. In one of his bio's he states: "Still, I never forgot my roots or those formative years, and to this day I remain a staunch child of the sixties." *AND - Michael had an integral role in the movie CARS - outside of being the voice of "Sheriff", because of Michael's books dedicated to Route 66, he led the team of Pixar's geniuses through Route 66 and helped them grasp what they needed to create such a great movie.... Oh my god I have so much to say... I just have to stop....... Like I said, if you want to hear more, let's catch up.

Oh yea.... So last night I asked Jay to sign this for me. It turned into something a little more:

A one of a kind WALL-E....
[It might just be the coolest thing I own.]

What a week......
I'm inspired.
Like never before.... can you believe that? Wow................