Crocus
We are supposed to have snow this weekend along with very cold temperatures. I didn’t want to lose these guys to the weather before I got the chance to take some pictures. Nature!
Green / Big Stick
Now that the snow is all gone Olive and I have started spending more time in the woods. It rained most of the day yesterday, so it was pretty wet. Nice.
She is a total stick (or should I say log) girl. This could have been record size for her. She carried it for about half a mile.
I have been seeing a lot of green lately, and these fungi are just beautiful. Can anyone out there tell me what they are?
Willard Suitcases / George C / Charles F
I am attempting to make a push to upload as many new cases as I can over the next few months.
George C’s case is really blue! It was empty save for a label. You can see the other photos at the willardsuitcases.com site. I am uploading the cases chronologically, and this is the beginning of a run of empty cases. I ran the second kickstarted appeal specifically to document the entire collection, and even the empty ones are important to me. (By the way, thanks to Peggy Ross for convincing me how important it was to photograph every case. I wouldn’t and couldn’t have done it without her help and support.)
One case stands out in this sequence though, especially as it was anything but empty. Charles F’s possessions were amazing. It will take me days to go through it all, but I hope to have it up by the end of next week. Above is his certificate of naturalization. On the left you can see the list of clothing that came with him to Willard. More soon.
Thanks for following.
Washington Capitals / Metro Closed
Peter and I went to a Caps game tonight. It was great, and they beat Carolina 2-1 in overtime on a (slightly) contested Ovechkin goal.
On our way to the arena, a guy sitting near to us on the Metro told us that the entire system would be closed for 24 hours starting at midnight. We figured he wasn’t kidding when we saw this ⇧. Should make the morning commute really interesting.
Design Observer / Jessica Helfand
Very shortly after the first Willard Suitcases kickstarter went up I received an email from Jessica Helfand expressing her interest in the project. She soon invited me down to New Haven to speak to her Yale freshman seminar class, “Studies in Visual Biography”. Here is a post I did just after that first visit. I have subsequently been to her class on several other occasions and it is always very stimulating and fun.
As well as teaching at Yale, Jessica and her late husband Bill Drenttel created Design Observer, which is a fantastic website devoted to creativity and design. That description doesn’t do it justice though, as it is so much more than that. It is really worth checking out on a regular basis. In addition to the site, Design Observer recently started publishing a quarterly magazine. The second issue is just out, and they included a huge spread on the suitcases. I am just so honored to be a part of the issue, and it looks great. Here is a link to purchase it, and I would really recommend all of you interested in the project to do so. It includes many suitcase photographs that haven’t been published before. Special thanks go to Eugenia Bell, who did a great job selecting the images, and making sure it all came together. She was a joy to work with.
As we were saying goodbye after that first class at Yale, Jessica reached out, hugged me and said “We’re friends now!” It was a most touching gesture and I have rarely felt so quickly welcomed into someone’s life. She has been a massive supporter of the project who has helped me in so many ways, and I am very fortunate to be her friend.
Coal Harbour Vancouver
I walked down to the harbour yesterday afternoon. There was a break in the rain so it was a nice time to watch the Harbour Air planes take off and land. I found myself thinking that if one were a pilot, this would be the best job in the world. And I love the floating Chevron station.
Although this plane was Westcoast Air. Back home tomorrow. This visit was much too short.
Japadog
I have always liked street hotdogs. Even (and maybe especially) New York City Sabrett dogs. Just outside our hotel is this Japadog stand. I had the Kurobuta Terimayo (Most Popular!!!!). Very tasty.
Vancouver Day 2
When we were taking the taxi in from the airport, Cris saw a sign in a shop that said “The world needs more Canada”.
I couldn’t agree more. The people here are astonishingly nice.
Everytime I come back to the room, the view is different.
Off to the botanical gardens later today.
Back to Vancouver
The first leg of the flight was Hartford/Toronto on this tiny little prop plane. It was kind of cool actually. Air Canada service was great.
The windows frosted up, but when we started descending just past Buffalo, there was an amazing view of Niagara Falls.
I took this photo just after first light. It will rain much of the day, but Vancouver is such an amazing city. Cris has meetings, but there will be lots of time to walk.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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