Hillary (or, Media Access Rocks)

You never really miss something until it goes away. On Tuesday, the Hillary Clinton machine came steam rolling through town, and it didn't take long for me to really miss the perks of being a credentialed member of the media. The event was free and open to the public. The media, however, was to be restricted in a pen at the back. In attempt to beat the system and try and get some different shots, we decided that I would just walk in with the regular crowd. Of course that meant I had to wait in line with all the regular people. Seating was first come, first serve, and we were worried that people were going to start lining up early. The venue was kind of small and I didn't want to end up in the overflow area, so at 8 a.m. I rolled up to get in line for a 1 p.m. speech.

It turned out that media wasn't really restricted, and I could have just skipped the whole wait-in-line thing. I was able to get pretty close, but I ended up standing behind possibly the tallest girl in attendance. She and her friends also didn't mind telling me how much they disliked our close proximity, and they got tired of my cameras touching them whenever I squirmed around trying to grab different equipment. It's a thankless job sometimes.

I really didn't get any spectacular photos. Despite the long day, though, I did have a good time. Big events like these are always stressful, yet fantastic at the same time. I think what I liked most was how excited the people were. It had the atmosphere of a rock concert at times. Even though I was trapped in the mosh pit, I was excited to be part of it all.



I also put together a little audio slideshow with photos and audio collected by all the photographers. It has parts of her speech mixed with reaction from some regular people thrown in. It's an idea I've wanted to try out for a while, so I'm glad I finally got it done.

Rock Out With Your Doodlebop Out

It's been a rockin' weekend so far, with assignments to shoot two concerts on Friday and a Guitar Hero tournament Saturday.

So what's a Doodlebop? If you have to ask, you are probably older than 5 and have no children. They are a trio of brightly colored musicians from The Disney Channel, singing songs about learning or being a better person or something. I don't remember. All that stuck was "Do-Do-dodo, Do-Do-dodo."



They kind of freaked me out a little bit, but the kiddies seemed to love them. I did enjoy a visit from their street-styled studio producer, a dog named Audio Murphy.

So how do you follow up a Doodlebop concert? With a little Free Bird, man.

Southern rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd was also in town. While both concerts were held at the American Bank Center (one in the auditorium and one in the arena), they couldn't have been more different. I was surprised how much I enjoyed shooting and hearing the first three songs of the Skynyrd show. I guess after hanging out at Kiddiepalooza, a little classic rock was just what I needed.








Finally, it's time to bust out the Xbox. If you really want to feel inferior to a 12 year old, a Guitar Hero tournament is the place to be.


A local drum group held the tournament as a fundraiser, attracting about 120 people. I was surprised how many little kids came out. Seeing kid after kid finger their way through Foo Fighter and Van Halen songs made me question whether I have ever been that coordinated.

I definitely need some practice. But, like all physically challenging activities, remember the importance of stretching and warming up. You don't want to injure yourself.

That's so not Rock 'n' Roll.

Ocean Drive

Today I had an assignment to shoot a softball practice at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, also known as "The Island University." The best part about shooting on campus is that the only good way to get there is to take Ocean Drive. Ocean Drive has scenic bay views all the way, dotted with multi-million dollar homes on either side. It is a fantastic drive on a beautiful day like today. It doesn't matter that I was nailed by a softball player during practice, the drive is always worth it.

These are a few quick pictures as I drove my way back to the office. I don't recommend shooting and driving, by the way. I just had to watch our employee training video on safe driving yesterday. They frown on driving and using cell phones, but they didn't say anything about photography. No driving while chimping is probably implied, I'm guessing.

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.

Rhode Island

A top twenty five college basketball team swept into town this weekend, so you can image the city was just a buzz with excitement.

The fans came out in droves:



And the players were swarmed by the media:


OK, so maybe basketball isn't their thing in South Texas. At least there was good action on the court.

Surfboard Art

I was super excited with this detail shot from a surfboard painting event downtown. It was good times, and I can't tell you how many times I heard the word "radical" used while I was there.