TODAY IS THE DAY

My 20x200 editions are out NOW. You should buy at least one of the two. Or maybe even both. You really should. It's affordable and it can hang on your wall and it's awesome. Art for the masses! $20 bucks each (or, there are more expensive options if you have the money)! Plus, I signed my name like, 400 times at least. I need the money for physical therapy. I like you, and if you like me (at all), you will buy some of my photos. Love, G.

BUY BUY BUY (it's good for the economy).

ALL HANDS ON THE BAD ONE

Did you know this? I did not. Whether I like a band or not, it's always fun to find out where they got their name. Other band names that sound like people but aren't include: Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Henry Cow, Geraldine Fibbers, King Crimson, Captain Beefheart, Mr. Bungle, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Medeski Martin and Wood (kidding).



photo © geoffrey ellis,

I MIGHT BE A JERK

September 5th is my 5 year wedding anniversary. Where am I? On a roadtrip. Without my wife. Now, before you call me a jerk, hear me out. Sarah was originally going to be out of town for our anniversary, but due to certain circumstances, she couldn't get a visa to her destination in time, so she had to cancel her trip. Knowing she was going to be out of town for our anniversary -- and being ok with it -- I extended my out-of-town work trip, booked a non-refundable car, planned to visit some friends in the Pacific Northwest and return on Monday. I do feel like an ass that I am away, but I didn't find out she wasn't going out of town until the night before I left. So, she is at home and I am g-o-n-e. Quite the opposite of the norm since she is the one usually gone while traveling around the world reporting on her new book. What is incredibly cool though, is that she is understanding and is ok with me being gone this weekend. Sure we both think it sucks and miss each other, but this is what makes our relationship great. Do you still think I'm a jerk? If so, ask Sarah how she feels about it and you'll know I found the perfect girl. 10 years together with no end in sight. I picked a great one.

Happy 5th, my dear. See you soon.



photo © jennifer ellis

ART IS GOOD FOR YOU

My friend, photographer Liz Kuball, has 2 photos for sale on 20x200. If you don't know what 20x200 is, check it out. Good, affordable art, delivered to your doorstep. Ready for you to frame and enjoy for years to come. And keep an eye out, because I have an edition coming up soon too.

BUY, BUY, BUY!



photo © liz kuball

RWANDA: PART THREE

It's been a month since I've posted? Ok, here are some more Rwanda pics.

Rwanda: Day Three

Tuesday: This was the morning of the Baboon incident. Crazy pastry stealing bastard. We couldn't find any Giraffes the day before but heard they were nearby, so we called up Charles and took a mini-safari to see them. The Giraffes were probably the coolest animals we saw. There was a baby, who at 4 months old was already taller than Yao Ming, and a female and male. The male was like 4 stories tall. Forget the ones you've seen at the zoo, this guy was for real, just hanging out in nature. After the safari we drove 3 hours back to Kigali and went to bed early.

Rwanda: Day Four

Wednesday: We got up early and headed south to the Murambi Technical School Genocide Memorial site. This was probably the most emotional day we had in Rwanda. The school was the site of a massacre where 50,000 people were murdered. They survived there for 2 weeks without food or water before finally being ambushed, slaughtered and thrown into mass graves. Only 7 people survived. Most of the bodies were reburied in new mass graves, but dozens of school rooms now hold hundreds of skulls, bones and about 1,000 mummified bodies, preserved in lime and laid out for visitors to see. The smell was so intense. It stuck on our clothes and in our noses for the rest of the day. It made it impossible to forget what we had seen. I only took 2 photos there, the one below a marker for the original mass graves and I am not posting the other. If you want to know what we saw, you'll just have to go there yourself. After the memorial site, we were pretty spent. We back through Huye (aka Butare), had some lunch, went to the Rwanda Cultural Museum and then back to Kigali for the night.















photos © geoffrey ellis,

RWANDA: PART TWO

Monday, June 15th: We got up early and drove out to the Akagera Game Lodge in the Eastern Province. Scene of the now infamous Baboon Incident. An interesting thing about Rwanda is the quality of the roads. The paved roads are great and even the dirt roads are better than some "paved" roads in California. We passed by mud-brick house after mud-brick house. And there were little kids everywhere. But nearly everyone has food and water and many have electricity. We got to the national park and signed up for a total DIY safari. We supplied the car and driver and they supplied the park ranger (named Kalimbu Charles). He was awesome. We drove into a grassland valley and found Impala, Zebra, Water Buffalo, tons of birds, 2 snakes, Antelope, etc. (Check out my Ryan McGinley-style zebra shot). Ha! We also encountered biting Horse Flies and Tse Tse Files. Damn those things are ugly. We even got in a motorboat and cruised out into the lake looking for Crocodiles and Hippos. We only saw some lame birds but being out on the water was great. And we had a nice view of the hills of Tanzania. After the day long safari we retired to the Game Lodge.













photos © geoffrey ellis

RWANDA: PART ONE

Sunday, June 14th: We went to the Genocide Memorial in Kigali. It was intense. No words can describe. Just so unbelievable. 1,000,000 killed in 3 months. How is that even possible? Wall of names, mass graves, photos, tributes, skulls, bones - totally horrifying, but very well done and tasteful in terms of memorial and education. After that we visited a metal co-op where they make things out of old oil drums. Woks, BBQ grills, cake tins, chairs, foot lockers... it was incredible. Then we walked around a vibrant neighborhood with tons of local businesses and all of them had the most kick-ass hand-painted signs. I felt like we were in Memphis for a minute! We also ate a lot of great fish and chicken and Sarah did a bunch of "legwork" before I got there and found our favorite beer for us called Mützig.









photos © geoffrey ellis

WHEN ANIMALS ATTACK!

I was going to post from Rwanda a few days ago but internet wasn't cooperating so that post will come later. More importantly, this morning in Akagera, we were eating breakfast at the lodge and a baboon charged into the dining room, jumped on the table and stole our pastries! We jumped up from the table and I grabbed my camera and started shooting. Sarah was screaming like crazy and we were both totally freaked out - but laughing too. It was completely ridiculous. All I can say is, Africa is awesome.

SLAPPETIME

Sarah was in China so I went to Portland for about 36 hours to see my friend Stephen Slappe's amazing 3-channel video installation called Shelter In Place. It's at NAAU and it's awesome so if you are in PDX you should go see it before it's gone (it closes June 14th). Go, go go. Now, now, NAAU!





photos © geoffrey ellis

TEN YEARS LATER

I met Sarah 10 years ago today. A couple of days later I asked her out and a couple of days after that we went on our first date and I never looked back. I can't describe how lucky I am to have her. She is better than the best wife I could have ever imagined.

This is the earliest known photo of our relationship, taken on May 22, 1999. A decade may seem like a long time, but believe me, we're just getting started.



photo © geoffrey ellis