Thank You Lord Baby Jesus In Heaven

I wanted to scream that phrase in relief when I finally pulled up this image on my laptop tonight.

Things didn't go as smooth as I thought at my first Corpus Christi Rayz experience. This was my first time shooting professionally hockey, and probably only the third or fourth time I've seen a hockey game. For some reason, though, I went in with unusually high confidence. How hard could it be, I thought.

Well, its not really that hard, but if you are unfamiliar with the sport it takes a little getting used to. I had no idea where I was even suppose to stand to take pictures. There was no designated photo area, so I had to shoot through the glass. My equipment is so beat up the auto focus sometimes acts up on clear days, so shooting through the hazy, scuffed glass on manual focus seemed to be my only option. The above photo was the only shot from the first period that was in focus. I couldn't help thinking these signs below were meant for me.



The second period went better. I found a clearer spot on the glass and had a little more success. In the end I had a handful of decent images I didn't mind putting my name on. But in honor of my first period faux pas, here are some of my better shots, sans focus. And just for fun, they are in dramatic black and white. They're not blurry, they're artistic.






To cheer me up, I'm sharing some fun new Gnarls Barkley music. Their second album doesn't come out until April, but this song was leaked online by an internet blogger earlier this week. Its no "Crazy," but it does the trick for now.

In The Navy

I spent the bulk of my work day hanging out on the local Naval Air Station, where high school kids from across the area converged for a junior ROTC competition. Until recently I had no idea there was such a thing, but I found it quite fantastic. Unfortunately some of their sharp moves and intricate drills are lost in the still photo. I smell another video project.

Basketball

I've been shooting a lot of basketball lately. I suppose my blog should reflect that.






Oh and cows. A lot of cows too. But they can't rebound worth a damn.

Living The Dream

A year ago, I was very excited about making an audio slideshow on the Fayetteville Martin Luther King, Jr., parade. I storyboarded the whole thing days before and excitedly presented my idea to former fellow photog J.T. Wampler, who was going to help me cover the parade. He probably thought I was a little crazy, but he was willing to play along.

Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. Ice or snow or something rained on my parade and the event was pretty much canceled. But I held onto my pages of sketched ideas and patiently waited until next year.



This isn't what I sketched at all. About a month ago I realized Martin Luther King day was just around the corner. I wasn't going to work on the day of the parade, but I still wanted to do something. Armed with a few new resources and a mix of ideas, I put together this little video.

The main inspiration is obvious. King's speech is amazing, and I wanted to capture some of that. This is a very condensed version (the original took about 16 minutes to read), but I think it still retains some of that power. So take a moment on this day to hear a piece of that speech, as recited by a mix of ages, faces and skin colors from around Corpus Christi.

Watch: I Have A Dream

Fancy Dance

Hey, it's a new year! Might be time for some new photos.

I lucked into some very cool light with this photo, from a Lipan Apache tribe meeting held at an old county show barn in the area. These three photos are all from the same event as people get ready for the start of a Native American "fancy dance."

This fellow, a Vietnam veteran, said he had a vision about a red, white and blue dance regalia, so he made one. My favorite detail was the patriotic shoes.

And I so missed a fantastic shot when I went to the bathroom. I had all my gear with me and was awkwardly washing my hands when one of the performers, decked out with colorful feathers and a head dress, walked in and parked it in front of one of the urinals. The left-most urinal, with two empty urinals to his right. It was photo gold! But I had taken his picture earlier and he seemed not too excited to give me his name. I didn't want to risk getting punched in the face for taking a man's photo in the bathroom, so I just dried my hands and left. I know, I'm a loser.
I regretted it as soon as I walked out the door, which is when I saw this through the open women's restroom across the way. I was not going to let a second bathroom photo pass me by, so I shot this girl as she was getting ready.

It also might be time for some new music. I bought the CD "Population" from the group The Most Serene Republic after Christmas, and it has really grown on me. The first track was such a surprise and quickly put a smile on my face. I knew I was going to love this CD. Have a listen:



I first heard about this group a few months ago when I came across their song "Career in Shaping Clay" on The Hype Machine. It was my favorite music to edit photos to for a while. The CD is pretty fantastic (just skip that one instrumental track that sounds like bad elevator jazz music). My current favorite is the piano driven anthem "Why So Looking Back." It's so good.