I Will Not Be Ignored

After a week-long media blitz, the circus has finally left town. When I first found out the Ringling Brothers crew was going to be here, I thought, that could make a neat audio slideshow. The circus would be in town for five days. I thought it'd be cool to have the slideshow up so people could see it and still have a chance to go and check out the spectacle if they wanted too. A little plug for the circus, I suppose.

Well, these guys really didn't need my help. They know exactly how to get the public's and the media's attention, whether you want to give it to them or not. Days before the first show the elephants come off the train and walk to the arena. That could make some good art, so someone should shoot that.

Are you hesitant to shoot the actual show? Well, the circus has an interactive pre-show, where ticket holders can come down to the arena floor, meet the performers, see acts up close, try on clothes and get autographs. You kind of have to shoot that.



Still not convinced the circus is news worthy? Well, now the clowns are going to the children's hospital, visiting sick kids and bringing a little joy to their day. Are you heartless? How can you not shoot that?



Finally, if you managed to resist shooting any of that, the circus has one more trick up its sleeve. The elephants. Ten of the 6,000+ pound pachyderms went marching up and down Shoreline Boulevard, a well-known city street that runs along the palm-tree lined downtown bayfront. The circus will not be ignored!



Besides, would you really want to upset this guy by giving the circus inadequate coverage? I don't think so.



If you are curious, you can see the audio slideshow here, which I put together with a little help from our fearless intern.

Moral Victory

So it's time for the mid-season photo contests, with Editor & Publisher and SNPA now taking entries. I got a nice surprise when I opened up the PDF entry form for the SNPA contest.

That's totally my photo! Right below the Florida Gators jube shot, and just above the Virginia Tech shooting photo. I found it a little odd that my photo was used since I didn't win anything last year. Still, it was a nice surprise. At least somebody thought highly of my photo, even though it was cropped within an inch of its life. Maybe if I had cropped tighter I would have won. Here's the full image, if you are interested.


Anyway, start looking through your last year's worth of images. You can't win if don't enter.

Dance Lessons

I stopped by a Folklorico workshop Tuesday, where participants were going through a series of master classes on the traditional Mexican style of dance. It was endlessly entertaining. I could have stayed there all day, but fireworks stands and baseball games don't shoot themselves. These are a couple of my favorites.


I loved this guy. He was so spry and nimble on his feet, teaching the room full of women and three men the complex foot work involved. They were all so excited and passionate about the dance. It almost made me want to give it a try myself. Almost.

High Fashion

Hooray for trampolines!

I shot a Closet Snoop, our weekly fashion feature, a couple of weeks ago. On Sunday it finally ran. I don't shoot a whole lot of these, unfortunately, but I really enjoy them.

This was the first time I shot one in the studio. Usually we shoot these at people's homes or businesses or some other predetermined location. It's sometimes a nightmare, but it gives me so many more elements and backgrounds to play with. The studio presented a new challenge. I shot the one above on the roof of our downtown newspaper building. Thankfully the girl was very open to the idea. When I first brought out the trampoline in the studio, she said "I love jumping on trampolines." Yes!

I will say, though, shooting someone on a trampoline was a little harder than I thought. Frame after frame there was always something a little off: I'd cut off a limb, her hair was in her face, he body was positioned awkwardly, the light was hitting her wrong. It was a challenge.

I like the way this one turned out as well. I sometimes have a hard time explaining to the subjects what I want them to do. They aren't models, they are just regular people in the community who agree to model their favorite clothes. Sometimes the only way to get my subjects in the positions I want, I have to put down the camera and strike the pose myself.

So now imagine me on that cube. Yeah, she busted out laughing too, but then she totally nailed it.

We usually shoot these a couple of weeks in advance, and by the time they run I usually forget to share them on the blog. So here are a couple of shots I like from the last few Closet Snoops I did.






Not quite the pages of Vanity Fair, but I like them. Sears catalog, here I come!

Fun With The Intern

So things were a bit slow for me and the photo intern Friday afternoon, so we decided to get in a little practice on lighting in the photo studio. You know, gelling backgrounds, spotlighting, playing with shadows, using trampolines. Yes, a trampoline. I found it in our studio Thursday and quickly put it to use. We didn't use it much in these photos, but I'll post some photos next weekend (after they publish) of some trampoline goodness.



Oh, and she took some photos of me too:

(trampoline ungoodness)

Rock 'n' Roll Fashion Show

There was a little fashion show last night at the House of Rock, a local bar across the parking lot from the newspaper. A friend from work was walking in the show, so I figured I'd stop by after work and take a few shots. Must feed the blog.

The light source backstage was one halogen flood light. I shot high and slow, playing with the warm light and harsh shadows it cast as the models made their final preparations backstage. I loved the shot above. Jacque is becoming quite the photo muse.



The show started pretty late. I think to get all the bands in that had yet to perform, they sort of rushed through the fashion show, doubling up the models on stage. It flew by. once I reset my camera and got into position, I only managed to get a dozen or so frames from the front of the stage. Still, it was good times.




I put a few more up on my MySpace page. Go HERE if you want to check them out.

Surf's Up

A friend from work invited me to Port Aransas this weekend, where a small assembly of Caller-Times employees were meeting to do a little surfing. I'm not a fan of being wet, so I initially declined. Then I thought, I could always tag along to take some photos for the blog. I'm definitely a fan of blogging.

The resident Caller-Times surfing guru offered up some brief instructions, and then they were off. It was only the first or second time for everyone, so no one was ready to stand up on the board just yet. The water was also pretty choppy Sunday. I waded out a bit for some shots, but I was pretty terrified of dropping my new D300 into the salty water. Still, I had fun and I think I got some decent shots.

Put Me In Coach

One final practice before the state tournament. If they win the first round, I get to join Todd in Austin to help shoot the championship game. Cross your fingers.

To Arkansas And Back

Good ol' Fayetteville, Ark.

So my week-long adventure across three states came to an end yesterday. I didn't quite stay within my budget, but I was actually pretty close. Who knew I had such generous friends? From Fort Wort to Fayetteville and Tyler to Tulsa, I was allowed to crash on couches and had several of my tabs picked up. I definitely owe some people my thanks and several rounds of beer.

The photo above comes from the Fayetteville Farmer's Market. Below, from a Roller Derby bout in Springdale, Ark.


I had planned to shoot tons of photos throughout the trip and update my blog daily. It didn't quite happen. Mostly I just relaxed and enjoyed the company of my friends. I also didn't do many touristy things along the way, but I did manage to hit up a couple of museums. Don't worry, I won't bore you with a ton of painful vacation pics.

Well, maybe just a few.

Me at the Kimbell Art Museum
Fort Worth, Texas

Me at the Philbrook Museum of Art
Tulsa, Oklahoma

I actually really liked the Philbrook museum, which is housed in this gorgeous old mansion in Tulsa. The grounds were beautiful. Even though I lived in nearby Fayetteville for four years, I never got around to visiting this particular museum before. It was very cool, and I'm glad I was able to check it out. The Kimbell was good, too. I had heard a lot about it when I lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It was much smaller than I thought. And even though I am standing in the museum's bathroom in the above photo (why is there a mirror above the urinal?), I was actually inspired by a lot of the works inside.

I'm glad I didn't let the high gas prices derail my trip. I love a good road trip, and I can't wait to wheel my way around the region again.