The History of Photography: 1988

Be Careful Selecting Pets: Those black labs, they may be smart and all, but they're a bastard to photograph, especially in snow. When you choose your pet, the ideal selection would be an 18% gray dog. You could name him Zone VI. We mistakenly went for this yellow lab, Earnest, and if she wasn't great for metering she at least photographed well. Besides, you can't go wrong with pictures of pets. Nikon FE, unsure of lens, Vivitar 283, Kodachrome 64

Crash college roommate's wedding in upstate New York flying on cheapo air tickets from Karla's dad, a retired American pilot, but don't take many photos there. Buy house. All excited because now I can build my dream darkroom! We live here for six years and I never do get around to it. Get cat (Frazier). Move rabbit outside. No money left for vacations or camera gear. Get dog. Yellow lab named Earnest. She's a nice color unlike black labs which photograph as silhouettes. We decide the house isn't quite hairy enough yet and get another cat (Mozart).

More Photo Hints from 1988

Photograph Wildlife in its Natural Habitat: Here's Tuxedo, the bunny, a gift to my girlfriend turned wife. A rabbit seemed like the ideal pet; quiet, litter-trainable (hah!), clean. In fact, they're dumb as rocks, wander around the apartment randomly emitting poops, some of which they eat (seriously--they're a source of Vitamin B) and can't do anything worthwhile like catch Frisbees, retrieve ducks, chase burglars, or pull sleds. We later learned, to our dismay, that they have quite long life expectancies. Once we bought the house, Tux moved out into a hutch and lived outside where he could poop contentedly on the dog, who liked to curl up underneath, until he met his end. Nikon FE, 20mm, Vivitar 283, Kodachrome 64