Chad Norman » Photography

My 1980s G.I. Joe Graveyard

Chad Norman — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:16:40 +0000

I grew up in the 1980s, so my memories of playing with toys from that era are filled with Star Wars figures, Transformers, and G.I. Joes. In fact, I often cite the 1980s G.I. Joe line as my last love affair with toys as a child. By the time I was done with them, I had moved on to girls, skateboarding, and punk rock.

I was smart enough to hold on to all of my Star Wars toys, but I guess G.I. Joe broke my heart, so I gave away my collection without thinking twice. My entire stash ended up going to my younger cousin Josh, who lived three hours north of us – and that was that. Apparently he had a good time with them, and passed them along to our mutual cousin Brandon. After he was finished with them, they ended up back in Josh’s garage, where they sat for 20 years.

A couple years ago, my Mom, knowing full well how I feel about old nostalgic things, found them in a musty cobweb-filled box in my uncle Glen’s garage and brought them back to me. Opening that box after about 25 years was amazing! I couldn’t believe how many of the toys were still in decent shape, knowing full well my gender’s propensity to melt, burn, crush, and destroy anything and everything we can get our hands on in our tween years.

3 kids, 3 families, one G.I. Joe collection. Here is how it was returned to me, 25 years later. Not pictured is the Skystriker F14, which is upstairs in my son’s closet as I type this (not sure why I didn’t include it in the pic.). Enjoy!

The Sugar Plum

Chad Norman — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:58:08 +0000

I got to shoot a ballet rehearsal during Nutcracker season this year, and caught the Sugar Plum Fairy (my better half) having a good time. Bunheads rule!

The Tunnel

Chad Norman — Mon, 30 May 2011 23:11:08 +0000

Is it a surprise to anyone that the two-year-old is far more brave than the eight-year-old when faced with the dark, twisting tunnels of Fort Moultrie? What a great place to take the kids on a hot summer day – those bunkers are nice and cool!

Truth & Salvage Co.

Chad Norman — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:44:34 +0000

Took some shots at the Truth & Salvage Co. show in January, and forgot to post them here. Great band, and I swear it’s not because I’ve know Timmy since I was a teenager. His a shot of most of the band. You can see the rest on Flickr.

The Colonel’s Calling

Chad Norman — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 03:09:58 +0000

Loved this old school Kentucky Fried Chicken…

3 Generations, 2 Photos, 1 Scene

Chad Norman — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 04:47:35 +0000

When my oldest son encountered his first snowfall in 2005, we naturally had to document the occasion with some photos. Later when I downloaded the pics, I realized that something felt familiar. After digging through my old photo box, I found what I was looking for: a shot of my dad and I in pretty much the exact same pose from 1975. Now, I’ve seen that blog were people recreate photos from their past, so the serendipity of stumbling into a near identical photo makes this all the sweeter. The more things change, the more they stay the same…

Giant Millipede Found in Backyard

Chad Norman — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:57:02 +0000

For weeks we’ve been finding dried-up dead millipedes here at our new home, so we were pumped to finally stumble upon a live one! This giant millipede, narceus americanus, was living under a leaf-covered plastic bag buried deep in the mulch. The boys loved touching it and watching it curl into a tight protective ball. My one-year-old, being the ever brave outdoor girl that she is, gladly touched it too – but once it started moving, she wanted nothing to do with it. Here are a couple shots next to a U.S. quarter for scale (they get up to 4 inches long!)

Viceroy Butterfly Hatching from Chrysalis

Chad Norman — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 03:42:27 +0000

Yesterday, during one of our evening backyard games of kick-fly, we stumbled upon a monarch viceroy butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. Needless to say, this stopped us in our tracks. We all watched as this minute-old insect slowly dried its beautiful wings and prepared to take flight. My mother-in-law taught me everything I know about monarchs, so I was surprised to see the chrysalis attached to a willow tree rather than some milkweed (now I know this is because it’s a viceroy), but this little guy must have found plenty to eat. I like how you can still see some of the caterpillar’s pattern on the empty chrysalis – so cool! About an hour later, it was gone…

Update: Thanks to reader Kelly for telling me this is a viceroy, not a monarch!

Just a Texturiffic Wall

Chad Norman — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 18:07:27 +0000

This wall really caught my eye this morning, and this crop makes it look a bit like a flag.

Hello Goodbye

Chad Norman — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 03:40:29 +0000

That is what my kids always say when they see a plane fly by – like this one.