Livestock Show

The junior livestock show finally wrapped up today, and the $22,500 price tag for the grand champion steer has left me questioning some of my life decisions. Despite the paycheck shame and the lingering smell of farm animal odors, covering the week-long event wasn't nearly as arduous as I remember it being. It's definitely safe to say that there are other parties involved in this show that have it worse than me.

Part of the coverage of the show included this little audio slideshow/video I made. A group of editors decided it would be fun to combine pictures of animals with kids singing Old McDonald in the background. I'm not really a fan of kids or animals, so the whole thing sounded like a nightmare to me. It turned out better than I expected, though. I actually enjoyed putting it together.

Spectacular

Yes, Christmas is over, but in the Catholic Church there is still some Advent celebrating going on. The Corpus Christi Cathedral held its annual Holiday Spectacular today, complete with choirs, angels, Mary, Joseph, and ballet dancers. Lots of dancers. In fact, I almost got trampled several times by ballerinas bouncing around in the aisles. It was worth it though. I lucked into a good position and some great light as this winged dancer heralded in the holy family. Right after I shot it I realized I was in the path of more oncoming dancers. I scurried out of the way, but soon noticed I left my second camera behind. I reached back into the aisle and Indian-Jones style grabbed it and saved just before it was crushed under a heard of slippered feat. Hallelujah.

Happy Place

My first assignment of 2010 was a funeral. No fun. My last assignment of 2009, however, still makes me smile (above). It's from a day camp for kids with working parents. They made art. They ate their crafts. And I stalked the little girl with adorable cheeks as she licked the frosting off the back of her graham cracker building materials. Yeah, way better than a funeral.