Jon Claxton | Photography

Yeah, so I’ve heard all the quotes before, “You can take the boy out of Bako, but you can’t take the Bako out of the boy.”  Well, maybe they’re right.  I don’t know.  What I do know is that Merle Haggard as the very first live performance that I ever saw when I was just a little dude in cowboy boots.  It is kinda surreal to get to watch him again, some 25 years later; give or take a couple of years.  Funny thing about this concert is that I didn’t even show up to the concert with my camera in hand.  I briefly thought about it, but figured I didn’t want to risk dragging that expensive equipment around, with a big wedding coming up this weekend (that’s right, Katie. I didn’t want any of the unthinkables to happen days away from you big day).  But……after seeing the opening band, and the seats that Dwayne and I got, I blasted out of the PAC and drove back home for the camera.  The ushers kinda tripped out after I hauled in my manfrotto tripod, cable release, and a bag full of lenses.  Thankfully, I was sitting up on the balcony like something out the muppet show; nobody was really around to disturb, so the ushers ended up letting me do my thang…  Thought maybe I would just post on or two pics from the night on the blog for fun.

After staring at my work computer for an undocumented amount of time yesterday, I checked the old email personnel email account to see if I had any thing good in there.  Hmmm… only one message was in there (hey, at least it was something). Thankfully, it wasn’t from anyone trying sell me anything or try to make me anatomically superior; rather, it was from my old co-worker and friend, Vanessa Amerson.  After opening up the email, I was flattered that she asked me to take some snapshots at an local event she has organized, called Kidical Mass (http://www.slokidicalmass.blogspot.com/).  Given the 2 degrees of seperation that San Luis Obispo invokes on it’s inhabitants, I had heard of this event somewhere before but I had no idea that it was Vanessa that masterminded the event for our town.  Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised and proud of her.  Kidical Mass is a really fantastic event that gets families outside and enjoying bicycles as a group, and hopefully incorporating it into their daily transportation.  To me, the event is like a “Hello Kitty” motorcycle rally.  And as a photographer (and pedestrian) it was hard to keep up with this rough and tough group during the ride, just to get a couple of shots.  At times, I felt like a CIA Agent running along the presidential motorcade.  But from my perspective, it really enjoyed looking over and catching the glimpses of the kids expressions the faces as they past me by at 5 mph.  You can check out some shots from the day at:  www.jonclaxton.com/events/kidical_mass_june.  If your a parent/attendee, feel free to right click and download what ever photo you want.  If you need a high res photo for any reason, just let me know.

I was walking down the street to this morning, having my a.m. epiphany (true story..ya know, things just pop into your head sometimes).  I was thinking…..hmmmm…..wouldn’t it be great to be really good at something.  I mean, like, really good at something.  We’ll I’ve always prided myself as being the jack of all trades, master of none; but, for some reason, I was thinking about the other side of the coin this morning.  To give you the long and short of it, I spent the whole day behind the desk at work and then wrapped up my day at SLO Brew….oops, I meant Downtown Brew….where I ended up hanging out with two guys who are “really good” at something: my buddy Lucas (www.myspace.com/lucasohio) and Jackie Greene (www.jackiegreene.com).  While I watched both of these guys play, I realized that they kinda fit my epiphany of the morning; I mean, they were really good at something, and it felt great to watch them do their thang.  I wonder if they would be as entertained my typing skills?  Anyway, this blog goes out to both of these guys for entertaining the crowd tonight at Downtown Brew.  I feel fortunate enough to have gone back stage to enjoy a couple of special moments between these two artists.  The PJ-style photo (above) was one of my favs.

Man, what a busy weekend!

Sunday marked my first ever golf tournament.  The day couldn’t have been any better; especially after a monster tee shot on the first tee box to start the morning off (along with a great bloody mary).  The golf tournament was sponsored by the Blue Marble Investments (www.bluemarble.com) and the proceeds go towards the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, located in downtown San Luis Obispo.  Our Team:  Jason “The Thunder” Williams, Tim “Don’t Outdrive Me Guys” Tringali, Greg “I Need a Smoke” Cherry, and Jon “Hack Under Pressure” Claxton.  The Other Teams:  old guys, semi pros, weekend warriors, yuppies, and a team of wives.  Thankfully, we beat the team of wives that was out on the course, but we didn’t really hold a flame to most of the other teams.   Having been my first time on Hunter Ranch, I gotta admit, it was pretty unreal.  Oak trees everywhere, narrow (yet often forgiving) fairways, and nice, well kept greens.  Hunter Ranch is definitely a course not to be overlooked if you have a C note burning a hole in your pocket.  But if you decide to play, get out there before the heat.

Anyway,  I dragged my Canon 5D mkII around with me for a little fun, in case my golf game went to poop.  The following is just a DRAFT version of a video that I slapped together for the boys to enjoy. It still needs some work (especially the lack of an ending).  But, in the meantime, enjoy!

After having an incredible Christmas Eve dinner at the Gandola residence, Buckwheat and I woke up the following morning to join the family for a morning of paper shredding and merry making.  At around 8:00, Ethan and Elyse (the stars of the morning) commenced the festivities by shredding whatever package we put in front of them; increasing their bounty of toys by the minute.  But somehow it was the noisy toys that made it to the forefront though (thanks to my sister, Denise).  Our Santa Claus from Colorado sent Elyse a super amplified keyboard and Ethan an electronic game, neither of which seemed to have a volume control.  After all the presents had been opened,  the party almost got out of control when one of the patrons began yanking the ornaments from the tree and smashing them on the ground.  I’m happy to report that no one was injured. 

Some family photos from my 24-hour stint can be found at:  www.jonclaxton.com/Christmas2008

As I poured through Costume Capers with Lulu for about a half an hour, I decided to really go out on a limb this year. I went the halloween party at Nepenthe as a nerd. The most disturbing thing about my outfit was that I pretty much owned everything already, with the exception of the glasses. But if you had a time machine, you could’ve probably just dialed it back about 20 years, and BLAM…you’d have a near spitting image. Anyway, the party was incredible, full of ups and downs and crazy people seemingly half insane by acting out their characters. Yeah, you know who I’m talking about, Batman!!! Take home message: If you haven’t been to Nepenthe for the Halloween party, pick up a ticket next year. I’ll see you there.