Me and Tom Allen

Tom photographing Tim photographing Tim and Tom, 2007

A month or so ago I posted about Thomas Allen and his most recent show at Foley Gallery. A few weeks later Tom contacted me while I was in Florida. We spoke a bit and I learned that, to my surprise, he lived about an hour North of my parents, on a small farm in Michigan. After I went to visit some family who live in the same town (weird), I went to the beach -- check out this photo of the "Lake Michigan Ice-Burg" -- I then went to hang with Tom.

We chatted for awhile - art, photography, etc. We then went outside to play a bit and hang with his chickens. A good time was had. I was especially struck by his energetic daughter, Miren. See a few photos I took of her, here and here. As I was leaving I felt a feeling of sadness and envy. I'm not a big fan of this city. Not sure how long I could last on a farm, but it sure seemed nice!

Check out Tom's work here. View his blog here. And check out his wife's blog here (El's a Gardner, amongst other things it seems). Miren doesn't have a blog, yet.