Best of Pictures 2011
The holidays are approaching and 2011 is coming to a close. This is the time of year I look back on all the pictures I made throughout the year and ask myself are any of them worth entering in a contest. I’m never satisfied with my work and am often frustrated that I didn’t do more. I tried to keep my selection this year to ten images but I couldn’t get past 11. So here are my favorite pictures of 2011. These are in a visual arrangement not chronological.
Starting off with a bang, the birth of our second child. Our boy Hudson a.k.a. Sonny was born on July 25. I documented the whole pregnancy and labor with a fifty-five year old Nikon S2 rangefinder. In this image my wife Jennifer labors in the jacuzzi tub of our room at the birthing center at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan.
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Return to the South
Back in the South and loving it. Deciding to quit our jobs and move the family back to Atlanta was not an easy one nor was it made in haste. But we’ve been back for a month now and it was definitely the right decision. Jenn is teaching at the Aveda Institute and I’m working as a freelance photographer being represented by Redux Pictures. Come visit. Give Atlanta a chance.
My Son the Photographer
My son Julian is two and a half years old. He’s literally been around a camera every day of his life. Today, while he was naked nonetheless, I let him pick up my camera. We were sitting on the bed so I new it wouldn’t hurt if he dropped it. And this is what happened…
This was the picture he made!
New Addition to the Joneses
I’m proud to announce the arrival of our little guy, Jones boy no. 2. Hudson Lee Jones arrived around 3 am this morning in New York City. We’re running on very little sleep but we’re all home together getting settled. Here’s a sneak peek of the young man.
An Animal Oasis in Upstate New York
When Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, asked how I heard about the well-known vegan, animal destination upon our arrival this past weekend, I answered, “Being vegan, it’s just a place we all know about, especially if you live in New York.” Farm Sanctuary is to vegans what Times Square is to tourists. Ok, maybe that analogy is a stretch but you know what I’m saying.
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“Love Endures Even Cancer” on the New York Times
The first time I met Gavin he was sitting on a hospital bed at NYU with a titanium halo screwed into his skull in four places. He was preparing for a procedure called gamma knife in which gamma rays are very precisely targeted at cancerous tumors. Gavin had two metastases in his brain and many more throughout his lungs, liver, pancreas and bones. But even with all this weighing on him Gavin never stopped smiling, never stopped joking and never stopped living.
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Thomas Giles, Braveyoung and Stephen Brodsky in NYC
My good friends from North Carolina in Thomas Giles (featuring guys from BTBAM, Prayer for Cleansing and Hopesfall) and Braveyoung played at Santos Party House in New York on April 2nd with Stephen Brodsky. I went with my pal Chris Walker and the night turned into quite the North Carolina expat reunion with no fewer than a dozen former North Carolinians in attendance. A great combination of good music, old friends and a fun night. You can see more pictures at Flickr.
Documenting a Pregnancy
As I mentioned before, I bought a new-old camera as part of my grand scheme-pregnancy project part two. For our first pregnancy, my wife Jenn and I produced a DIY documentary about our pregnancy experience. I shot pictures the entire time using my Canon 5D. Then several months after the birth we interviewed each other and recalled our experiences. This was the result.
This time around, for the second pregnancy, we are doing something a little different. I shoot with a digital camera everyday and I’ve been eager for a chance to get back to basics. So I bought a Nikon S2, a fully mechanical rangefinder, no LCD, no light meter, made in 1955. And fitted with a 50mm f/2 and Provia film I will again take pictures the entire time. The ever present goal being to, obviously, tell the story in pictures.
Why choose a 56-year-old camera? Why shoot film? Why make it harder on myself? I often find myself asking this question along the way during various projects. I guess the answer is, unless it’s challenging I get bored. And if I get bored I loose interest and my work will show that I have done so. A characteristic I have come to recognize.
Through this process of documenting the birth of my second child with this camera, this seemingly replaceable mechanical object will embody something more. It will be forever kept and remembered as the camera that I documented the pregnancy and birth of my second child with. And I will pass it down to my child when he/she is old enough and it will be something he/she can keep forever and hand down to his/her child.
I guess that is why I chose to buy a beat up 56-year-old camera to use on this project. Digital files come and go, are created and corrupted, burned and lost. New models of digital cameras are released everyday. The cameras of the early to mid 20th century witnessed the “golden age” of photojournalism, street photography, conflict photography. I guess that’s why I find worth in these objects. When the tools you use are with you every step of the way through a life changing experience they become more than just tools. They become cherished pieces of your own history.
Here are pictures from the first roll of film I ran through the camera as a test.
North Carolina Hardcore Shirt Now For Sale
Do you remember growing up wearing Vision Streetwear shoes and idolizing the Bones Brigade and Powell-Peralta? Do you remember your first punk or hardcore show and the feeling of going to see your favorite band at 533 Uprisings with friends? I know I do and I know that no matter how much I wish we could revisit those days things will never be the same as they were back then. But that’s okay because we have the music, memories, stories and pictures. I designed this shirt with those days in mind.
The design of this shirt is inspired by the original Vision Streetwear logo but to those of us still representing and proud of where we came from it carries a stronger message. The shirts are printed on Canvas Greenwich apparel which has a feel and fit of AA. There will only be one printing of these gems in extremely limited quantities! Order yours today and wear it proudly wherever you live.
Since this is a very limited order all orders will be filled at the same time. Please allow about two weeks for delivery.
Take Me to the Deep South
The first trip of the year for The Joneses was to Atlanta, a place that holds a special place in our heart. We were married there in 2007 and moved to NYC from there shortly after our wedding. We still have many friends there and do not get back nearly as much as we would like. On this trip we of course ate plenty of great vegan cuisine, were inspired by the city’s ambition with the new Beltline project and were reminded why not having a car can actually be a privilege. Our Southern blood still flows strong.
The night before we were set to fly back to NYC, my good friend Matt Miller (MPB, Five Mile Grace) and I made the drive up to Lawrenceville, Ga. where we met our fellow hardcore straight edge compadré Tony Price for the Foundation, Naysayer, Come Back Kid show. Matt was shooting the show for Foundation’s upcoming debut release on Bridge Nine Records. I couldn’t help but shoot some pictures as well. Other pictures from the trip are on FB.
Best of 2010. . .
“Best of” is not completely accurate; favorites would be more like it. I didn’t shoot nearly as much as I would have liked in 2010. I don’t mean just taking pictures, I mean investing energy in projects that I am passionate about. And that is my number one resolution for 2011, to completely release my creative side and go all out.
Some of my favorite shoots from this year were the Banker horses on the Outer Banks, the New York City Marathon and a story in progress about a person struggling with gender.
More on nytimes.com: Around the Grill and Barbecues, High and Low
Here’s to 2011 and another wonderful year. Love you family, thanks for the support.
Happy Holidays from The Joneses
Well we’re sitting in about two feet of snow here in New York City and while it came a day too late for a white Xmas I still appreciate the effort.
I hope your holidays are filled with love and family and that you take the time to reflect on what’s meaningful in your life. I have already begun my own re-prioritization.
The Joneses wish you a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year.
Each year we put together a fun holiday card. This is the one we sent to friends and family this year.
How to Ring in the New Year
Camo snuggie, Shake Weight and the Yule log on TV. Covers all the bases. Consider it.
New Bike, Take Two
Many weeks ago I placed an order through the Hudson Furniture Racing Team‘s shop sponsor for a new bike. Specifically the Giant TCR Advanced frame which I was going to put my Dura-Ace group on. However, through a change of fate the Giant has been replaced by the Stevens SLC Team frame. And I couldn’t be more thrilled. Giant makes light, reliable and strong frames but a smaller European company like Stevens just makes me a little prouder to be riding one. They’re mostly known for their cyclocross bikes but the SLC Team frame is cutting edge and weighs in at an alleged 890g! I have to thank my teammate and team prez Kasper for making this happen. Now time to buckle down and start preparing for Battenkill. Registration opens in 6 days.
Lost and Found
I love finding pictures that I forgot I had ever shot. This particular frame is from Feb. 2009 during a cruise with the U.S. Coast Guard to Robbins Reef Lighthouse in New York Bay. The images never ran but I’ll never forget the adventure. On this cold winter morning I rode out to the lighthouse off the coast of Bayonne, N.J. with the Coast Guard and spent some time exploring the unused tower. It was amazing, especially to be sitting on a tiny island in the harbor wtih the New York skyline in the distance. Good times. You can see my original post here.
Secrets of the Centenarians
What’s a centenarian? The dictionary defines it as “pertaining to or having lived 100 years.” Almost 100,000 people in the U.S. today are over the age of 100. That’s a big deal. Even in this age of advanced medicine and extreme technology it’s considered by many a rare achievement to live so long. While many people look to religion or inner spirituality to extend their lives other opt for more superficial solutions to make them appear younger.
I recently spent a day with with a wonderful 100-year-old woman in Charlotte, N.C. named Hazel Miller for a feature in The New York Times called “Secrets of the Centenarians.” Ms. Miller was born in Athens, Ga. in 1910 and moved to Charlotte with her family in 1925 during the depression to look for work.
Today she lives at Atria MerryWood, a senior living center, and spends her time line dancing and china painting among other things. And she still drives herself around. She says the only secret to making it to 100 is just to keep living.
The Joneses Back in the South
The Joneses took a trip to North Carolina recently to visit family and friends. We both grew up there and fell in love there so it’s always a special place to return to. Tattoos were made, love was shared and good times were had. During our short trip we managed to spend time in Charlotte, Greensboro, Trinity, Chapel Hill and Raleigh and see a majority of the Southern Empire Crew. Here are a few memories from our trip.
Wild Banker Horses of the Outer Banks
Earlier this summer escaped New York for a few days to vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in a little town called Corolla. As a kid growing up in Chesapeake, Va. the Outer Banks was a familiar place. I often went on weekend trips with friends and family to places like Ocracoke Island, Nags Head and Kitty Hawk. Ocracoke Island was always my favorite.
The vacation was short but I was able to steal away for a few hours to go horse searching with Wesley Stallings of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, the herd manager of the 88 wild horses that live in Corolla. The horses are descendants of the original Colonial Spanish Mustangs brought to America by the conquistadors over 500 years ago.
Mr. Stallings is responsible for the general well being of the horses which travel in family groups on the 7500 acres of dunes and beach. Everyday he sets out in his four-wheel drive truck searching for the horses. He records all sightings and makes notes of every detail he can observe from the horses for identification purposes. There are no roads on the land where the horses live only trails.
Mr. Stallings says the biggest threat to the horses is development. The Outer Banks is a fragile ecosystem but it’s remoteness also makes it a desirable place for large rental beach homes. Developers continue to build large homes on the very land the horses have lived on for over 500 years.
Towns like Corolla and Duck exploit the uniqueness of the horses by using their image on promotional fliers and signage yet official protection for the animals is still lacking. Mr. Stallings’ primary goal is to get the horses officially recognized as the state horse and then seek federal protection.
The 29th Anniversary of Me
A couple of weeks ago was my birthday. I’ve never been big on the celebration aspect of birthdays but I do take the time to reflect on my life experiences when mine rolls around every year.
One of my most vivid memories as a child was when I was about 12 years old and living in Chesapeake, Va. My older sister and I were at home with our much younger brother, babysitting him while our parents were out. It was summer and another day of tornado watches and warnings. It seems like we had them every other day in Chesapeake. Because of the warnings and that terrifying noise the radio makes when the emergency broadcast system comes on I was always pretty scared of bad weather. Although we never really had a tornado.
But that day things got a little out of control. Before I knew it my sister and I had rushed our baby brother into the bathroom which was in the interior of the house where we thought we would be safest. Outside it sounded like the F train was passing through our front yard. I couldn’t help but make my way to the nearest window and watch the disaster unfold. As I stood there mesmerized by the violence, I saw the fishing boat that sat in our back yard lift off the ground and fly away. A few minutes later and it was quiet again.
I’ll never forget that day and now I’m fascinated by violent, dangerous weather.
I remember another time while riding in the back seat of a friends car on the way home from a show in North Carolina as a teenager, probably Prayer for Cleansing in Winston Salem or something. Anyway, I threw a handful of Vaseline at another driver as we passed. Probably shouldn’t have done that. Another time, circa 1991, I took on a second girlfriend before I had completely broken up with the current one. With that decision I caused tears. And felt bad.
My point is that trying to live with no regrets is great but that doesn’t mean one shouldn’t reflect on the past and accept that on more than one occasion you might have done the absolute opposite of the right thing to do.
We all have different definitions of what life’s about but for me it’s simply about getting better at living and being human.
Bikes, Vows, Mountains and Love
Brett and Edie, both serious cyclists from Brooklyn, chose Sugar Hill, NH as the setting for their simple intimate wedding. Friends and family traveled from around the northeast for a weekend of beautiful weather and cycling. A few days after the wedding Brett and Edie flew to Portland where they embarked on a 6-week journey on their bikes back to New York City. That’s a hell of a honeymoon! They’ll be updating their blog all along the way at www.kissingwithhelmets.com. Good luck guys.
Wedding Season is Here Again
Four months since my last post? Lame, sorry. If it’s any consolation I’ve been tweeting a lot more, which is a more accessible form of “blogging” for me. twitter.com/tha_joneses
First big update, I’m booking weddings again. I just got back from a great wedding in Sugar Hill, NH and will be posting pictures very soon. Stay tuned for the coolest cycling-centric wedding ever.
As some of you may know I shot weddings full time in Atlanta with Our Labor of Love (blog) before I moved to NYC. Now that I’m here permanently and finally getting settled I’m booking weddings on my own. Below are a few images from some recent weddings. My wedding side project is called Bright Lives. For more info go to www.thebrightlives.com (under construction).
A Pregnancy by The Joneses
A Pregnancy by The Joneses from Ray Jones on Vimeo.
When I found out we were pregnant, my natural instinct as a journalist was to immediately begin documenting our entire journey of bringing a life into this world. On January 18, 2009 our son Julian was born. This video is a gift to him.
http://www.raymjones.com
http://www.jennjoneshair.com
Tour of the Battenkill 2010
In preparation for this weekends UCI Pro Tour of the Battenkill, I’m posting my recap of the Team TOMS Shoes experience in last weekend’s Pro/Am Battenkill race.
**Well we did it, survived I mean. No crashes, no injuries. And here’s how it all went down.
The six of us (Matt Bartlett, Tim Chiang, Greg Capelle, Ryan Dudek, Ellis Kim and myself) arrived at the hotel in Shaftsbury, VT on Friday night around 11 p.m. For the most I think we were all filled with equal parts anxiousness and excitement. But we tried to get some sleep. Ellis snored.
We woke up at 7 a.m. Saturday and the butterflies were definitely fluttering. I had done quite a bit of talking to my local friends who have raced Battenkill in years past. The one thing everyone talked was the final climb before the finish, Stage Road. It’s all dirt and over 2 miles long. This was what I was most worried about. The race is long, 62 miles for Category 5 and I knew that if I was to have any chance at the podium I would need to maintain good position at the front of the pack through the final climb. But nothing at Battenkill works out as planned.
We had six riders representing Team TOMS Shoes in the Cat 5 field together. We were the largest team in our field and we knew that would be one of our biggest advantages. The biggest wild card was just how steep the climbs were going to be and how well would our legs hold up throughout the lengthy race? For many of us it would be the longest race we had ever done.
We donned our TOMS kits, loaded up with gels and water bottles and tried to prepare ourselves for the wind and cold. Forecast at the start; 42 degrees, cloudy, wind 15-20 mph. We proceeded to registration at the school in Cambridge and tried to continue eating but it was hard. We used the bathroom many many times and pinned our numbers on each other in the locker room of the school. We then went on a quick warm up ride together and headed to the start line.
We lined up and talked strategy one last time. Our primary goal was to stay organized at the front of the pack because we knew riders would start falling off the back early on and the pack would likely split. The dirt roads were numerous and the pot holes just as plentiful. Luckily everything was dry. It was a cold and windy start, the sun eventually broke through and remained but the wind was persistent and all over the place. In my small well-formed group we rotated in a tight pace line and echelon when crosswinds arose.
The first two climbs were absolutely brutal. I was totally caught off guard. I knew where the climbs were located on the course but I was not prepared for the grade of each. Our speed was in the single digits, climbing out of the saddle struggling to produce RPMs. As we predicted the pack split early on with about 20 riders out in front and the rest scattered behind with no organization. Matt and Greg were able to work together and maintain good position in the lead pack for the remainder of the race with Greg finishing 9th and Matt 12th. I found myself alone in the middle, exactly where I didn’t want to be. Tim was off behind me and Ellis alone in front. Ryan was also somewhere on his own. Unfortunately Ryan and Tim had to bow out. Ellis fought through the stomach sickness he had been battling and impressively finished the race solo.
During a relatively flat and rolling section of the course I spent about an hour bridging a gap on my own to reach a group of four riders. I recovered in the sanctuary of my new friends’ slipstream and for the remainder of the race we worked together very well and made up a lot of the time we had lost. At around mile 55 we hit Stage Road, our last major challenge before the finish at 62. It was a long stair stepper climb with unfortunate casualties forced to walk their bikes all along the way. When I finally reached the peak I was filled with relief and pride because I knew I had done it. The finish was just a few rolling hills away, with pavement all the way.
At the finish Team TOMS gathered to reflect on the brutal race and discuss where the hell we were going to eat.
View an extended gallery on Flickr.
Two Years On
It’s been exactly two years since the event that changed my life irrevocably. I always used to wonder about fate, if it existed, you know, how our lives unfold and what control we have in it all. If each little action truly causes a reaction in the timeline of our lives and how if we had done one small thing differently it might cause a ripple effect that could change everything.
I wondered what was the closest I’d ever come to actually dying. Maybe that time when a crash happened right behind me on the highway. Or maybe that time I decided not to walk down that street late at night after a show.
On April 8, 2008 my life changed forever when I was hit by a truck while riding my bike. I’m well recovered now, physically and emotionally for the most part. But if that accident hadn’t happened I wonder how I might be different today. I guess we all have to face our own mortality at some point its just that some of us aren’t afforded the extension of life to reflect back on our findings.
I have a family now and honestly cherish every moment I have with my wife and son. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about what happened on that cool April day. I know these are all a lot of clichés but I don’t write long winded about my experience for any other reason than because it’s an acceptable substitute for talking to myself.
This year’s anniversary is marked by two events. First, today I rode, really rode, a fixed-gear bike for the first time since my accident. I didn’t quit riding a track bike after my accident because I was scared too. Initially it was because my bike was totaled. The vintage Bridgestone I was riding when I got hit now hangs on the wall in my office. Then when I was well enough to start riding again my focus changed. I got a road bike, moved to Brooklyn near Prospect Park and started training and eventually racing. Now I’m working fixed-gear workouts into my training schedule.
Being on the bike today was amazing. I forgot how smooth and tight a nice track bike feels. A smooth, quiet, extremely efficient machine. It would be an understatement to say it was a Zen moment.
Secondly, this Saturday is the Tour of the Battenkill. A 62 mile race (for category 5) in Upstate New York that is influenced by the European classics characterized by dirt and gravel roads that comprise a good portion of the course. This will be my longest race to date and the first with my new teammates from Team TOMS. It’s going to be a great challenge and nice end to my time in Category 5. I admit that I slacked off more than I should have this winter but come on, who didn’t. This winter was brutal.
So here’s to life. Enjoy it and don’t let fear and apprehension keep from doing the things that make you happy.
-Ray