slips photo blog

"When Americans hide behind a mask, anything can happen.”

2011-10-29T23:35:00.000-07:00

I attended and graduated from a small private K-12 school in Houston called Awty International back in the 80’s. I graduated with 8 other people. The school was so small I was able to take part in pretty much any activity I wanted to; cheerleading, soccer, and my favorite, photographer and editor of our yearbook.

Halloween is my favorite holiday and NPR is my favorite radio station. I love Halloween, everyone has a chance to be creative and reinvent themselves.This year, NPR called out for submissions of vintage Halloween photos, so I searched my archive for the oldest photos I could find from my days at Awty. I found some and submitted my series to their site. To my delight, NPR chose a photo from my series and posted it on their website (#3 of 13) title
boys in costume

Of my series, the photo I liked most was the boy dressed as Pac Man,but that might be because I was totally hooked on Pac Man- still am today when I have enough quarters at Agora. NPR chose another one of the series which now that they mention it, their choice is probably the best of the bunch. Anyway I thought I would share them all together here, maybe you can tell me your favorites.

Happy Halloween!

“I never read. I just look at pictures”- Andy Warhol

2011-09-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

I don’t read books....... I wait for the movie. That said, I have a true passion for books and bookstores. As a non reader, E-books and Kindles don’t cut the mustard. They offer nothing that appeals to my senses. That is why I love to browse in bookstores and cool old shops; a great pastime especially for me since I don’t spend all my time reading and have plenty extra for browsing.

I do arduously read and analyze book titles, the author’s, publishers and all those “self published” books which seem to be all the rage. I really like the way books look, smell, old, new, rare, first edition. I like the feel of a book in my hand, to measure their cost, how big or heavy they are. I sort, organize and strategically place books on shelves and throughout my house. I photograph them and document the way I find them on a shelf. In short, I pretty much do everything but read the darn things.

For me, the whole “book thing” comes down to storytelling. I used to like reference books but now we have the internet, so it’s all about fiction. OK, I do read a few biographies because I like people’s stories, but really most of those books are movies now too.

The book itself tells enough of a story to fill my needs. Old books have inscriptions, notes or found gems like old ticket stubs or photos used as bookmarks. New ones have funky graphics, imagery and messages claiming to be relevant to current times.

Most of all, I appreciate a good storyteller which isn’t easy for everyone to do. It requires timing, gesture, tone, and humor. So much goes into storytelling and a good storyteller is hard to come by these days. We are in too much of a hurry now for telling or listening.

My favorite storytellers are what I like to call my older “gentleman friends” Dorman David, Geoff Winningham, Kirk Farris, and of course my Dad. Most Kids today can barely speak in complete sentences; much less tell a good story.

Sadly, storytelling may be a dying ritual, much like the fate of browsing aimlessly through a great bookstore. I won’t miss the loss of the superstores like Borders but I hope the independents can stay in business against the internet moguls somehow.

Tell me a story or give me the movie, but please keep the books and bookstores for old time sake. What does the future hold for books? And most importantly will storytellers die out along with the ritual of book browsing?

My Mom, The Monorail Model

2011-05-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

My mom was friends with a couple of photographers in Houston. Their names were Ogden and Jim.They were a fun loving gay couple who launched a photography business together back in the 60's. They used my family to model for them all the time, especially my mom because she was so beautiful. Hobby Airport tried to start a monorail and the photographers used my mom to help promote the concept to Houston. She is standing in front of it in the photo. The monorail never came to fruition but the photograph lives on to help us remember that exiting time. My older sister was 2 years old at the time, so she was a young mom but she looks like a glamorous jet setting career woman on her way to somewhere fabulous. Instead she was probably headed to the grocery store to pick up dinner and vacuum cleaner bags on the way home.
My friend Myra Bird suggested I submit it to a blog/book called "My Mom The Style Icon" I heard back from them today and they reposted it to their blog! What fun to see my Mom "In Print" on Mothers day at that! Happy Mothers Day Mommy!

The Monorail Model

slips photo blog: Montrose HEB

2011-04-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

slips photo blog: Montrose HEB

Montrose HEB

2011-04-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

Giant tarps cover the activity going on at the soon to be fabulous HEB in Montrose and now our local tree huggers have expressed their anger with some pretty unoriginal looking graffiti. They want to boycott HEB and have referred to the developers as “greedy” despite their promise to have all the trees they remove replanted throughout the neighborhood.

The hippie effort seems a little lame. The time for action to was two years ago when Wilshire Village was still standing and salvageable, so at this stage of the game we should ask ourselves does anybody REALLY care?

I talked to a rich hippie at Whole Foods about it the other day and he was a part of the failed plan to make the property into a vegetable co-op. I couldn’t talk to him too long because he smelled like he was also a member of the group who boycott deodorant, but anyway the point is that it’s just too late for anybody to be complaining.

HEB offers us new trees and more choices of quality foods that we just can’t refuse. I love Fiesta and will continue to shop there but I will also shop at HEB for things I can’t get at Fiesta, and others will do the same. When it’s all said and done, my guess is that stinky hippie will be sneaking in HEB just like the rest of us for all the fresh prepared foods and hopefully some of that fancy all natural deodorant.

Ben and the Astrodome

2011-04-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

I knew the family who lived in the house at 3070 Locke Lane.The owners were Ben and Marie McGuire. Ben was a very successful lender in Houston and Marie was his secretary. Ben was buddies with all the big names in Houston and they financed the building of the Astrodome, among other things. He was one of the biggest dealmakers in town.

Their sprawling house was set up perfectly for their live-in housekeeper, Dorothy, to have her own quarters. Their son got a “circus room” to play in, filled with Barnum and Bailey nostalgia. The upstairs was full of Marie’s spooky doll collection (nobody liked to go up there) and the bar was packed with Ben’s miniature liquor bottles from their many years of travels. Any afternoon they would be guaranteed to be watching the Wheel of Fortune and like most many River Oaks families, they never used the front door.

They outlived Dorothy and after Ben died Marie’s sister Nita moved in the house. Marie died in 2009 and now the house is gone too. This is a beautiful part of River Oaks. The movie "Terms of Endearment" was filmed in the two houses next door. Ben and Marie got to meet Jack Nicholson one day- They gave Jack VIP tickets to an Astros game, and they said he seemed like a nice guy.

Ben and Marie loved their Astrodome- what a shame how young of a building it is and this too is a tear down. We miss Ben and Marie and it’s sad to see their house go, but I’m glad they don’t have to see the bleak future of the Astrodome. Back in the day, Ben would have fought to keep the Astrodome, and knowing him, he probably would have won. Ben was a businessman first but he also had a big heart and many terms of endearments of his own to battle it out with the big guys.

Agora Fire

2010-11-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

News of the Agora coffeeshop fire was over the Halloween weekend was so sad to hear. We were just there with our good friend Costa Kaldis on Saturday. We all shared about how great the place was to hang out in, it's Costa's favorite place. The upstairs seating area was especially cool. The broken cheap Greek sculptures fit right into the scene behind the palm tree- it felt like we were on a European vacation.
I remember when they first built the place, I used to get my hair done across the street. We watched the owners and workers plug away on the fixing up the coffee shop just the way they wanted it. It seemed like it took months maybe a year or more for them to finish the place, and in one day it's gone.
I sure hope those charming Greek owners had insurance because we just can't lose another cool independent business like The Agora. Houston has lost Cactus Records, The Angelica, so many video stores are gone for good and now The Agora. Are we all now forced to drive through Starbucks as we contemplate what movie we have in our queue on Netflix? I sure hope not...

after fire photos

St. Agnes Reunion

2010-06-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

I made this little slide show for my Mom's 50th High School Reunion. It was fun to see all the hairstyles and outfits- and hmm for a catholic an all girls school they sure seemed to have a lot of boys and booze around...

click on the link below to see the slide show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrfMHL8aS3o

Frost Town Houston

2010-05-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Dimitri and I took a trip downtown last weekend to honor our good friend Kirk Farris and all his hard work in the past and future restoring James Bute Park/Frost Town Historic Site. What a treat to see so many local historians, celebrities and artists visit the place that was once a six block subdivision called Frost Town, circa 1891, for the dedication of a Texas Historical Marker.

Kelley Gale Amen contributed a beautiful park bench made of Texas Fossil Stone, and there were many special speakers including Robert S. Frost, an actual descendant of Frost town, and Sylvia Garcia. It turned out to be a very special day commemorating this unique historical Houston destination. Pictures from the event are linked in the title Frost Town Houston above.

I never heard Kirk say this before but on this day he mentioned that he would like to see the park include a historical home or homes like the Heritage Society Park Downtown Houston which I think is a fabulous idea. Even if it started with one home that was treated like a museum showing the history of Frost town, this would be a great start.

Congratulations to Kirk in helping us remember and acknowledge this special historic site. If it wasn’t for Kirk’s interest and passion to revisit this area, none of us would know this neighborhood ever existed.

Tangley

2010-05-18T17:38:00.001-07:00

I grew up on the 2100 block of Tangley. We played outside in the neighborhood and ran around in and out of each other’s houses all the time. Nobody locked their doors, we looked out for each other, everyone knew each other and we all felt safe. Sadly, things aren’t the same today- leaving doors unlocked nowaday's is unheard of.

Tangley is one of the nicest streets in Southampton and Southampton is one of the best neighborhoods in Houston. What we didn’t realize in the old days and often forget now is that anything can happen behind closed doors even if we are in a nice neighborhood and our houses are locked and securely bolted up.

The recent turn of events I link in the "Tangley" title above remind me no matter how nice our neighborhoods are, domestic violence can lurk within our homes and our enemy might be sitting right next to us. I am sad for the loss of Janet McAfee and Ken's injuries, but the two remind me the importance of nurturing friends and family because this is what matters most for all of us.

Floyd Newsum Spotting on Ferndale

2010-03-10T23:18:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, Dimitri and I were driving home on Ferndale as we passed by two guys walking across the street with a very familiar piece of art. I said “Wait a minute, back up- I know this work!” So Dimitri backed up for me to ask “Hey is that a “Floyd Newsum?” They happily confirmed yes- this was sure enough a Floyd Newsum piece of art. It was such a coincidence because I have been working on some promotional photos/collages of Floyd and there he is again right in front of me on my very own street.

All I had was my I Phone but at least I was able to document it somehow. I made the guys pose for me but the piece was so huge I didn’t want to delay them any more to ask them where they were off to and what they were doing.

Maybe these guys were neighbors exchanging art, maybe they were moving across the street, maybe I’ll never know. All I know is this was the first time and probably the only time I will ever stumble upon and recognize artist’s work while driving down my own street!

Election Day

2010-03-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

My cousin called me in last week to reframe this photograph for her but how ironic it was ironic to revisit this photograph now that we approach our local elections. My mother captured this photograph of Bob Eckhardt at the Heritage Society Gazebo Downtown back in 1976 and all I can say is I can relate to the little girl with her hands over her ears...

slips photo blog: what we really really want

2009-12-28T00:55:00.000-08:00

slips photo blog: what we really really want
http://gallery.me.com/sdl1965#101042

what we really really want

2009-12-27T13:54:00.000-08:00

My mom and I were on our way to the Guild Shop the other day and I noticed a couple of multi colored signs posted just before the Fiesta on Dunlavy. The first one says “WHY CAN’T YOU LOVE ME” the next one “LIKE l LOVE YOU?” I thought this was curious, my mom didn’t notice and we kept driving. We get to the Guild and it was closed for Christmas so we turned right on Welch and headed to the Blue Bird (our second choice in Resale shops.) I then see two more signs. The first one says “I WANT A ROCK HARD” next one “SIX PACK” Now I am getting really interested, I try to explain it to my mom she still doesn’t get it and we turn right on Commonwealth. There at the corner of Commonwealth and Fairview I see 3 more signs. 1. “I REALLY REALLY WANT” 2. “a 15 inch” 3.” MAC Book Pro” I tell my mom this is a feminine art statement worthy of being carried out by the likes of our very own Laura Lark or maybe an imposter like that Lana Lank out of San Antonio… SO- on Christmas day I had Dimirti drive me around the area to photograph the signs and hunt for more, but these listed and pictured here are all we could find.
I sure can appreciate the effort on the signs and I couldn’t agree more on what she really really wants. I want the same things, but the tragic part is even if we post signs right in front of your house you men still don’t get it. Women have many talents- one is we can read your mind. Men on the other hand can’t even read the signs we put right in front of them. How do we get the man to get the message? Or should we just stop trying? Click on my blog title to see a google map view to see for yourself and Merry Christmas!

No TrespassNig...

2009-12-04T19:23:00.000-08:00

Years go by and so often we just don’t notice the little things around us that are actually huge…
Here we have photos of several signs posted at the intersection of Shepherd and Allen Parkway- all of them say the same thing (almost) Thanks to the keen observations of our good friend Clay Robinson we have noted a slight mishap in the group of signs posted that say “No Trespassing No Camping” There are at least half a dozen signs posted all over this area but there is one that says “No Trespassnig” instead of “No Trespassing “ like all the others. “No TespassNIG?” So How could this happen? Dont these signs get printed in bulk? I don’t get how one single sign which happens to be in the most prominent of all areas area would be misprinted … something here is very wrong.

Halloween 09

2009-11-15T18:02:00.000-08:00

We saw lots of great costumes this year but I have to hand it to our good friend Clay Williams for coming up with the H1N1 virus costume. I love the pig nose and the wings, plus he actually looked pretty good in the white jumpsuit. Quite genius.

Second place has to go to Amanda and Pierre’s beautiful twins Patrick and Amelia- It only took us half an hour to get their outfits for the 3 minutes we made them keep them on for the pictures. They didn’t look too happy about the feel of ‘um but I must say they were the cutest pumpkins I ever saw.

West Ave

2009-10-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

As much as I like snooping and photographing old Wilshire Village I must move forward and recognize all these fabuolus new luxury apartments being built out there. I shot this for Apartment guide not too long ago and was really impressed especially with the rooftop pool and common kitchen/lounge area.

Plus Dimitri and I finally figured out why they call it West Ave- They didn't just make it up because the name sounded good- The apartments were built on a street called West Ave which no longer exists now. West Ave has totally transformed Kirby and word is this is just the begining as far as construction on Upper Kirby goes. We used to hang out there in High school at a neat old burger place called Ziggies and play Ms Packman all day- Who would think 20 years later there would be luxury apartments with IPod stations in every room. Times sure have changed.

Wilshire Village Resident

2009-08-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

I dropped by Wishire Village last week and met Mr. Lenoir Josey who says he remembers living at Wilshire Village as a very young child. Lenoir spoke very fondly of Wilshire Village and came to salvage something from the building as a momento. So with his hard hat on he snuck behind the fence to see what he could find that looked familiar. He broke off a piece of sheetrock painted powder blue which he believed was the original paint job color of his bedroom. He also claimed a piece of white brick from the outside. He said his parents had photographs of the grounds when all the trees and landscaping were young. He remebered a lot about Wilshire Village and was happy to bring his family to see the place before it was totally demolished. It would be really something to see the grounds so long ago when the trees were young.

Facebook

2009-08-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

I had fun Shooting group shots of Jones McClure Publishing for their Facebook profile. I had even more fun creating a fan page for It's All About You here in Houston. Facebook offers great opportunities for businesses to promote their product. Here I can set up your account and provide you with photos videos and more. Who needs an expensive static website when all you need is a Vibrant Fan Page on Facebook full of robust ever changing content! Click on the Facebook Title to this blog to see and example of a fan page I made for Shauna at It's All About You Houston. Call or e-mail to get you started!

Daily Demolition Report: Building

2009-08-13T16:47:00.001-07:00

Daily Demolition Report: Building Offset

Posted using ShareThis
I found a refrence to Tangley's tear down here on Swamplot which is a fun real estate blog that covers lots of cool topics.

People at Tangley

2009-08-13T16:01:00.001-07:00

This is one of my parents in front of the house on Tangley back in the early 80's. Its kinda spookey at first but they were jet lagged and tired. They had just returned from a vacation in Hawaii the night before but I had a portrait assignmnet at school and they were the easiest models for me to use so they let me.Click on the title "People at Tangley to see some more pictures of people at Tangley.

Marie McGuire

2009-07-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

I recently got word that Marie McGuire passed away this summer. There are lots of people who are just finding out so I am reposting to let others know who might not be aware of this sad news. Marie will be sorely missed.

"MARIE ALESSANDRA McGUIRE, 88, passed away on 5-29-09. Marie was born on March 4, 1921 in Waco Texas. She was preceded in death by her husband Ben G. McGuire. She was a member of St. Anne Catholic Church. She is survived by her son Michael McGuire, grandson George Langston-McGuire, sister Benedetta Alessandra, brother Sammy Alessandra and wife Jean, stepson Ben T. McGuire and family, and stepdaughter Marcia Kurtz and family. Funeral mass at 2pm on Monday June 1st at St. Anne's Catholic Church, 2140 Westheimer. In lieu of flowers family requests donations to St Jude Hospital, P.O. Box 50, Memphis Tn., 38101 or charity of your choice."

click on the title to this blog (marie mcguire) to sign a guest book for marie.

Wilshire Village After

2009-05-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

click on the title above to see a few of my favorites from the weekend.

2009-05-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

Wilshire Village

2009-05-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Wilshire Village

2009-05-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across these photos with my aunt a few days ago. This is what Wilshire Village used to look like in it's hey day. Pictured from left to right are three lovley lady friends of my sweet Aunt Johnna Lee- Gerrie Robinson, Mildred Duty and Mildred Reddick. They didn't have internet in those days but they got to smoke, read magazines and look at globes.

Idas House

2009-03-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

This is a photo doc I did of my Aunt Idas house for the family before they sold it. I drove by the other day and the new owners have done the most amazing things to this house- I'd love to see it again now but from the outside, it looks like they enhanced all the best features of the house.

Papa B Day

2009-03-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

This one was for my dads 70th- I just love putting music to imagery, especially sappy tearjerker ones like these ones.

photos with santa 08

2008-12-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

It's always so much fun every year to see children and their families visit Santa at the Bellaire Nature Center, sponsored by John Daugherty. This year our photographers really outdid them selves getting CDs out to parents so quickly. Thanks to all the agents and photographers who made this day so much fun!

A Dedication to Carlo Giannoni

2008-08-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed working on this project for Janet Giannoni this year. She had about 20 years of old Kodachrome slides stored away that her husband Carlo had shot of the family growing up.

I scanned them all and thie slide show link below shows my favorites. I love looking at the expressions on their faces- You can tell they enjoyed posing for a snap happy dad who loved them very much.

Click on the arrow to see the photos

The Girls

2008-07-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

What fun it is to host 3 sweet girls from Vienna, Austria! These girls are here to study English at Rice University and thank you Gerald King for hooking us up cause we are all having a great summer here at Tangley। This photo was taken on July 4th at a friends house on Lake Conroe. Everyone is making the girls feel so welcome! It makes me proud to live here in Houston with such friendly hospitable friends!

Click the link below to see the album!

http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=sarahlipscomb&P=pass&AID=5415729&T=1

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

When my parents and I went on our annual Memorial Day gravesite vist, we dropped by the oldest cemetary in Houston. There are lots of Texas war heroes buried here, but what I was most drawn to was how many stones just said "unknown" and what struck me was that these "unknowns" are likely to be just as heroic or more as the others.

We all seeem to seek more and more recognition in life and it seems that we just die trying, but does any of all that really matter in the end? I think there's a little more to life than all the purple hearts, medals and glory.

Click the link below to see the full album.

http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=sarahlipscomb&P=pass&AID=5274554&T=1

Here is a weird little tidbit- I found this great anagram solver site this morning linked below-

My favorite anagram for Unknown is Known Nu

http://wordsmith.org/anagram/

Ice House

2008-05-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from the bbq benefit for Joe Leonard last weekend. It was a beautiful day and a great turn out.

Order prints from this link and all proceeds will be donated to The Leonard Family.

http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=sarahlipscomb&P=pass&AID=5271306&IID=190346474

Samuel May Williams House

2008-05-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

What a treat it was to photograph "the oldest residential house in Galveston" My client/designer Jannele Thomson invited me to photograph her work at the top floor of the house pictured here. The Galveston Historical Foundation will be offering home tours this weekend and the best part is they ware looking to lease it for a mear 1,800 per month!

http://www.galvestonhistory.org/ec-hht2008-asid.asp