We convened on Austin for a second go-round, once again taking over the generic corporate suite hotel conveniently located to where we needed to be. The occasion was a right of a passage, full of song and prayer, but for the kids it’s a few days of swimming, catching up, hanging out, and spending as much time together as is humanly possible.

I think of my father who was here last time, holding court by the pool with friends and family. My brother Phil who missed out on both occasions. Ruth and Bob who should be here and would have enjoyed it so. My Grandpa Jesse who would doze off by the pool at Uncle Barry’s on a hot summer day. Grandma Bertha who would sit at Barry’s, watching the swimming, close enough to get wet, dressed to the nines, shaded by a multi-colored beach umbrella.

When the kids were first born others would tell us about the phases they would go through – crawling, walking, understanding but not speaking, one word thoughts, and then sentences. What they didn’t tell us was how quickly these phases would happen. Some only lasted a few days or a week. When you are young and you see the older generations at gatherings there is a sense that change at that end of the scale happens slowly, that time is stretched. But what they don’t tell you is how quickly it, too, occurs.

My father would hold court but I’m not a court holder. I watch and observe. The kids want to swim the moment they arrive. We indulge them and I am happy to do it. There’s a lot to think about while you sit poolside on a late spring night.

From the Justices in the News Department:

Judge Sonia Sotomayor was nominated yesterday to the Supreme Court by President Obama. I photographed her in 2007 for Columbia Law School while she presided over their annual moot court finals. One of the judges she shared the bench with that day was Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito. I trust they enjoyed their time together, they’ll be seeing more of each other.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor

New York, New York, April 11, 2007

Judge Sonia Sotomayor

New York, New York, April 11, 2007

The Hon. Arthur Gonzalez is a United States Bankruptcy Court Judge. He presided over the Enron and Worldcom bankruptcies. Worldcom had been the largest U.S. bankruptcy case prior to Lehman Brothers’ collapse. Judge Gonzalez is now overseeing Chrysler’s bankruptcy. I photographed him for a magazine article, also, in 2007.

Judge Arthur Gonzalez

New York, NY, March 9, 2007

Judge Arthur Gonzalez

New York, NY, March 9, 2007

One more image from my quick trip to Texas this past weekend. Like the Gruene Hall photo, this too is a composite of multiple frames created in raw format on a Canon G10.

Portraits from this winter are starting to run so I can begin posting them. Here’s another take on the ad posted in a previous blog entry.

My photos of Demetri Porphyrios‘ Whitman College at Princeton University are now running as the cover story in The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment’s spring magazine.

The Prince’s Foundation

The Whitman College Gallery at JonRoemer.com

Porphyrios Associates

I photographed Newark Mayor Cory Booker this past Monday night at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. If you ever wondered what it takes to bring the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria to its feet then go listen to Cory speak.