Frame-tastic

A few things from the weekend shift.

This weekend I was really trying to think about framing, and getting people lined up around graphically pleasing elements. These first two are actually test shots I made while waiting for the real photo to happen. I ended up liking both of these better than the "real" photos.

This was the scene from the downtown square, all done up and ready for the holiday season. There was a charity walk coming through, and I thought this would be a nice way to frame them as they paraded through downtown.

This is from a veterans memorial. I had difficulty with this one. It was later in the afternoon when I arrived, and the few people who did show up didn't want their pictures taken. No one said anything about their shadow, I guess. I wish this person had been better defined. Its more of a profile as she passed by talking on her cell phone. And I was the one being disrespectful?

And the only good thing about last month's time change is that the great late-afternoon light comes an hour earlier. I thought these two images had nice light.

A girl pulling the leaves out of her hair between baggings.

And a skateboard trick right into some nice highlights.

Almost There

The other day I was assigned to shoot a picture of kids at the park for a story. It was actually a nice autumn day. Leaves falling, great afternoon light, and when I walked into the park I thought, "there is a fantastic photo to be had here today." This is as close as I got to fantastic yesterday.

And here I was just trying to get something different from Friday night football. I love the big Mountie head.

By the way, it's almost here! The new Damien Rice CD comes out Tuesday, and I am more excited than I can say. If I were on top of things, I would have mentioned this nine days out since his CD is called "9." It is the second album from the Irish alt-folk singer. His first CD, "O," was a work of brilliance. Already I'm hearing his new CD isn't as good or focused as the first, but that isn't going to stop me from buying it Tuesday. If you are unfamiliar with Damien Rice or just need a fix until Tuesday, here are few songs to help you out.

Delicate.mp3 from the CD "O"
I think this song is just about perfect. Songs like Volcano (the lead single), Cannonball and The Blowers Daughter (featured in the movie "Closer") got so much more attention off of his debut album, but for me it's all about Delicate. One of my absolute favorite songs ever.

Unplayed Piano.mp3 available on iTunes
This was a benefit single he put out last year calling for the freedom of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (those musicians and their random causes). It's actually an interesting story and a pretty good song as well.

9 Crimes.mp3 from the forthcoming CD "9"
A sampling of what's to come, this is the first song from his new CD. Lisa Hannigan, who joins Rice on many of his songs, leads off this track.

I Shot The President!

With a camera of course. President Bush held a rally in Arkansas Monday to shake hands with the Arkansas gubernatorial candidate and tell people to vote Republican in Tuesday's Midterm election.

Since it happened Monday, the photo would end up on the front page of the paper on election day. The editors didn't want to give the Republican candidate any sort of advantage, so going in I knew they just wanted one shot. They wanted the president with the republican candidate for governor, and next to that would be a second photo of his Democratic contender from whatever event he was doing Monday. It seemed fair, but that meant everything else I shot would never see the light of day. So here are some out takes I like as well as some behind the scene photos.

This is the scene when I arrived. The rally was held in a big hanger at the airport so the president could minimize the amount of time he would actually have to spend in Arkansas. As you can see the media was way in the back.

Since we didn't get pool access, I got stuck on the risers with these people. It got kind of crowded because the writers all decided they couldn't see from their seats so they invaded the camera risers.

The media had to be in place about two hours before the president actually arrived, so I had a lot of down time. But there was plenty to see in the crowd.

There was something odd about seeing this portrait being waved around. As if this woman thought the president was the Pope or something. It really became odd later when people were practically body surfing their babies over the crowd just so they could touch the president when he walked by.

I thought this was interesting. A pair of soldiers watch the skies from the top of a trailer on the runway. I wonder if they were snipers. They looked all over the crowd before the plane arrived. At one point they were looking at me looking at them.


So the plane finally arrived, and of course the people went nuts. Air Force One is huge, by the way. I can't imagine why one person would need such a gigantic plane to cruise around the country in.




When he gets on stage he waved some more and shook some hands. I didn't anything great of the president greeting the candidate. They were always turned to the side or blocking each other awkwardly or something. I kind of expected the president to say a few words and then split. But once he started he just kept talking and talking.

And talking.

And talking.

And talking

And talking. And of course this is all useless to me. They didn't want a picture of the president. They wanted him and the Republican candidate together. So when he finally finishes talking, we get the money shot.

This is what ended up in today's paper.

It was quite an interesting day. It was my first time shooting the president, and I thought it was way cool. Some of the other photographers warned me that it would be a big pain. It took all day, you sat there doing nothing for hours, you get stuck in one spot while you briefly shoot the president, then have to fight the crowds out of there. So yeah, it was kind of a pain, but it was all part of the experience and I thought it was great.

Politics And The Like

It was an odd day today. I ended up going from one end of the political spectrum to the other.

I started out covering this peace rally, where demonstrators were calling for the end to the war and encouraging people to go and vote the Republicans out of congress.

I have to say, I had some very preconceived ideas of what I was going to see when I got there. I expected a bunch of aging hippies and idealistic college weirdos with too much time on their hands.

And there was some of that there, but when I arrived I was pleasantly surprised to find out this guy was in charge. He was really nice, spoke articulately and he wore a tie. Yes, he was young and idealistic, which was slightly annoying, but he was much more normal than I expected him to be. It was kind of refreshing.

Then I went to the a Republican rally, where candidates had no problem embracing the current administration. This was the last stop on a local congressman's bus tour. When the reporter and I got to the site there was hardly anybody there. Then the bus rolled in, complete with its own entourage of supporters. All of sudden the place was full and everyone was screaming and cheering. It was kind of bizarre and amusing.

Ultimate Cropping

I got up early this morning and shot an Ultimate tournament (most people call it ultimate frisbee, but the Frisbee people get upset when you use their trademark in the generic sense). I got this shot early so I got to leave early. Which was good because it was damn cold this morning.

I also shot a Veterans Day parade. I haven't hitched a ride and shot a parade from on top of a float for a long time, so I figured it was worth a go today.

The results were mixed. It was hard to edit because I had so many photos from that angle they all looked the same to me. The group was pretty rowdy before the parade, but they seemed to calm down a bit once the parade started. It wasn't because I was there either. They weren't shy around me. I sat in the back of their truck for about 20 minutes before we actually started moving, and they were joking with one another and telling me stories about themselves. They were great fun.

My real problem, though, was this guy. I loved the photo I shot of him at the time, but when I got back to the office I couldn't decide how to crop it, if at all. This is the original image. I liked that I shot it horizontal and I got in the sign. Once I got it on screen, however, I realized the sign was too hard to read, making it insignificant. So I just started cropping,

and cropping,

and cropping,

There were like four other variations, and I kind of hate them all now. One of the problems working weekends is there usually isn't another photographer or photo editor around to give me there opinion. In other words, no around to save me from myself.

Rock It Like Marilinda (or Go for the Gold-frapp)

Today I had the misfortune of taking pictures at an ugly intersection that the city was claiming to be beautiful. The whole thing was basically a grip and grin with out the griping, so I was kind of surprised we covered it.

I kind of wish I got the interstate in the photo, but the low angle made it cleaner, I thought. It's got the mayor. Its got pretty flowers. For what I had to work with, I thought I rocked it out.

I try to make the most of bad assignments these days. I don't know why, but this random reality TV show comes to mind. At some point during the last season of Project Runway, a model named Marilinda had to wear a pile of rags down the runway that one of the designers was trying to pass off as high fashion. It was a mess, but the dress won the challenge. All over the PR blogs, people were saying how much Marilinda "rocked" the dress, and the designer owed his win to how well she wore it. Sadly, I think about that a lot when I'm expected to pull a winning photo out of a mess of an assignments.

So today's music is brought to you by Marilinda's MySpace page (it's linked on a PR blog). It features Goldfrapp's "Ooh La La," which now pops into my head everytime I'm at a bad assignment. They seem to be coming more frequently, so I did a little looking into the band. They are apparently popular in the UK, but in the US their popularity has been limited to commercials and movie soundtracks. Their song "Strict Machine" has been used in TV promos for Nip/Tuck, the Verizon Chocolate cell phone commercial and was also included in the Miami Vice soundtrack. Here are a few I'm currently into from their last two albums:

Train.mp3 from Goldfrapp's Black Cherry
Strict Machine.mp3 from Goldfrapp's Black Cherry
Ooh La La.mp3 from Goldfrapp's Supernature

Fall Foliage on the Fly

It is very much fall here in Northwest Arkansas. I've shot photos of fall color several times in the last few days. I've probably overshot it at this point, but it's not going to be around for much longer so I might as well take advantage of it.

With this photo I wanted something where color was the main attraction and the person was secondary. At first I wished the woman in the photo had been bigger in the frame, but I kind of like how quiet the photo becomes with the woman so small compared to the trees.

I framed this a couple of different ways before I decided on this angle. I've been trying to think differently when I shoot, which is why I shot the next picture.

This photo is my attempt to channel Richard Sintchak. I'm not sure how successful I was, but you know what they say about imitation. If you haven't visited his site, Shooting on the Fly, I highly recommend that you do. It is such a great concept for a blog. His photography is very different than what I shoot, but it's so good. I really like seeing what he comes up with everyday.

So once your finished visiting Richard's blog, I have more music for you. A few weeks ago I wrote a little something about The Postal Service. I didn't know much about them other than half of the duo is the lead singer from Death Cab For Cutie, Ben Gibbard. Well, the other day a co-worker who read my blog loaned me a CD of the guy that makes up the other half of The Postal Service.

So I took a break (just a little one) from the continuous "Continuum" loop I've been on, and I gave Dntel (aka Jimmy Tamborello) a listen. It was interesting. Some of it was good, and some of it was just odd. It's kind of atmospheric, electronic music, which can sometimes take time to build. You can really hear how much influence Dntel had on The Postal Service. Overall I liked it, but its definitely something you put on the background while reading or something. Here are a couple of notable tracks:

Fear of Corners.mp3 by Dntel
Fireworks.mp3 by Dntel

And Ben Gibbard makes an appearance on (This Is) The Dream Of Evan And Chan.mp3

Halloween Happenings

Over the weekend I covered three different fall festivals. When did people stop saying Halloween party? Anyway, the first one I went to at was a non-profit preschool's party, and I really wanted to shoot something good.

I thought this ended up being kind of nice. I think there was a better photo to be had if I worked the situation a little differently, but I still like it.

No costumes in this one. This was at my second fall festival, and the juggler was part of the entertainment. There is a juggler at pretty much every event at the center this was held at, the Jones Center for Families, but I thought the vibrant colors and the framing made this work.

And with this photo, I just thought it was kind of funny that kids were dressing up like Mitch Mustain, the University of Arkansas quarterback. Imagine being 18 years old and having little children dress up as you for Halloween. In fact, when he was a senior at Springdale High School, I think I remember kids already dressing up as Mitch. Crazy.

And a little update: I ditched EZArchive and uploaded the music to my web site. I'm not sure why I just didn't do that in the first place, but all the mp3 links on this page should work now. I'll still keep removing the music links once the post falls off the front page, but now that I have more space I can upload more music at once. We'll see if this works any better.

Roller Girls

I shot a Rollergirls roller derby practice recently, and the story and photos come out in the newspaper I work for tomorrow.

With all the action going on, this photo of one of the girls stretching her legs before practice was my favorite. I'm not sure what that says about everything else I shot. I spent most of my time battling the light. The roller rink was so dark. I used an off-camera flash to light her legs, and a remote flash sitting on the rink floor aimed at the back wall to make this shot. It was all down hill from there.

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By the way, EZArchive, the site I use to share my mp3s, is going through a system upgrade, so most likely all the music on this page doesn't work. I've looked at their new interface and tried to upload a few songs to share today, but it wasn't working right. Its needlessly complicated and annoying, so I may switch service in the next few days. Sorry.

Kids are the Devil

I'm so over kids-- their sticky, tiny hands grabbing everything; their nonsensical, unending banter; their crying; their screaming-- I don't see why people are still having these.

So when I went to get a fall photo of people picking out pumpkins, I was dead set on not shooting a child. I stuck with a pair of grown-ups looking for their first pumpkin together. But the entire time there was this kid behind them, circling the pumpkin patch like a shark, waiting to make his kill. "I know you want to shoot me," he seemed to say with each carefree laugh and playful kick of the tiny pumpkins. Ugh, I couldn't resist. I swear that kid was the devil.



I shot the couple for like five minutes. I shot maybe four frames of the kid. Guess which photo got into today's newspaper.

Photographer Tip #17: Shooting kids is like shooting fish in a barrel. You'll never miss, but you'll also die a little inside each time you shoot one.

Something Beautiful

So on Saturday I had to go to a lake clean up. It was early, the leaves were changing color and the sun was shining brightly off the water. Even though it was pictures of people picking up trash, I really wanted to shoot something pretty and scenic.

This is the best I could come up with. The color is nice, and the people picking up the trash are framed well between the trees, but I'm not sure if I succeeded. It's OK I guess.

But don't worry, you won't go away without something beautiful. I finally got my hands on the new John Mayer CD, Continuum. I was so unsure if I would like it before, but now I can't believe I ever doubted the genius that is John Mayer. This kind of music is so what I need right now. I've only heard the entire CD a couple of times, but the early stand out is "Stop This Train." It's inspiringly beautiful. Definitely check this one out.

Stop This Train.mp3 by John Mayer

What? Me? Oh My Gawd!

So today I was assigned to shoot the crowning of a local high school's homecoming queen. Oddly, even though a police officer was shot in our area today, the news desk editor assured me they wanted this photo to be the dominant element in tomorrow's paper.

I wasn't super excited about it, but as it turned out there was some nice evening light and I think I got a decent photo. As far as crownings go, I mean.






"What? Me? Oh My Gawd!"






What was funny about this was the identity of the queen was a secret, not to be announced until all the girls were lined up on the field (for optimal embarrassment for the losers). I had wanted to get something candid of the queen before hand, so while I hung out with the candidates in the staging area I managed to get one of the teachers to tell me the winner's name. I didn't want to give away who the winner was, so I ended up shooting a bunch of random, often out of focus shots of the "losers" getting ready as well, just to keep up the charade.

At one point I caught one of the girls off guard. She said something about if she wins I couldn't use that photo. Don't worry, I thought, you won't win.

Small Town Fare

Just a couple of scenes from the small-town circuit I was covering this weekend.

Yes, that's a mule jumping over a hurdle. It's the annual Mule Jump, held in the Mule Jumping Capital of the World, Pea Ridge, Ark. I was surprised how many people showed up. I was also surprised their were amateur and professional categories to compete in. I wonder if the pro mules are all juiced up and branded with endorsements?

From a Build-A-Scarecrow event in Rogers, Ark. Rogers isn't as small as Pea Ridge, but the event had a very small-town feel. I thought this picture was kind of funny. I'm also easily amused.


And kitty says, NO PHOTOS! Damn paparazzi trying to put my business in the news...

Shopping For CDs (or why I don't buy CDs)

So the other day I went CD shopping. I (finally) got some birthday money in the form of a Target gift card, and I was dead set on picking up some new music. I've had my eye on a few CDs I've kind of wanted for a while. I didn't want them enough to buy them on my own, but enough to buy them with free CD money.

Armed with my Target gift card, I headed straight to Barnes and Noble. That's where I go to listen to and preview all my music, but I never buy. Why pay an extra $5 at Barnes and Noble when Target and Wal-Mart have the same CD at an everyday low price?

Anyway, here are some of the highlights (and lowlights) that I found while I was out:

"The Dutchess" by Fergie

Don't laugh. I didn't buy this. Don't judge me.

That said, I've had a morbid curiosity about this CD since that damn London Bridge song came out. When I first heard it I thought the song was an annoying mess, but sadly the continuous radio play and trampy video wore away at my musical taste. It's the same thing that happened with that damn Nelly Furtado song over the summer. It's like musical candy...sweet, sticky, slutty candy that will only make you sick if you consume too much. While I made the mistake of buying Ms. Furtado's CD, I saved myself from the same fate here. Besides, there's only one song worth anything on this CD. I swear, sometimes my musical tastes too closely resemble that of a 13-year-old girl.

London Bridge.mp3


"A Beautiful Lie" by 30 Seconds to Mars

Speaking of underage teens, this CD was recommended to me by an actual 13-year-old girl. I scored coolness points with her because I had heard of the band before, but I'm sure I quickly lost them all when she found out how old I was.

The CD isn't that bad. Their single is pretty radio friendly, but the CD has too much of an angsty, "I'm only listening to this because I'm mad at my parents" kind of vibe. Plus I'm not sure how I feel about a band fronted by pretty-boy actor and wanna-be rocker Jared Leto. It does, however, have a really cool Bjork cover as one of the hidden tracks. I'm not a huge Bjork fan, but the song is worth a listen.

Hunter.mp3


"The Eraser" by Thom Yorke

I never really got into Radiohead (that's blasphemy in some musical circles). But when their lead singer ventured out on his own for this solo CD, I thought it might be worth a listen. It's actually kind of cool, very moody, electronic and minimalistic. The track below, The Clocks, really drew me in.

I think I might like this CD. If that's true, maybe I'd like Radiohead if I gave them a fair chance. A lot of bands I already listen to are often compared to Radiohead. Part of the reason I never got into them is because I kind of disowned popular music during the time they started making a name for themselves. I was too busy listen to Yanni CDs in the back of a school bus on the way to marching band competitions to be concerned with Radio Head.

The Clocks.mp3


"Live: The Concert Event" by Yanni

Speaking of Yanni, can you believe this guy is still making CDs? Who is buying these? More importantly, who is going to these live Yanni concerts, making it possible for him to make another live CD?

I'll admit, 1994's "Live at the Acropolis" was a defining musical experience for me. And as I learned from attending the Immigration rallies earlier this year, Hispanics love Yanni, so I'm not alone. But I'm kind of over all that.

I didn't really consider buying this, but I was kind of tickled that it was there. And it was kind of nice to reminisce when I saw that some of my former favorite songs made it on his latest live set. Yes, I just blogged about Yanni. The nerdy 9th-grade trombone player in me sends his regards.

Nostalgia.mp3


"Break Out The Battle Tapes" by Wired All Wrong

What-the-what, by the who? That's what I thought. I had never heard of them before I saw their CD out for preview. It was a random selection, but it sounded really different and cool. I didn't buy it (they didn't have it at Target), but I seriously may go back and pick it up. Maybe there is a reason to shop at Barnes and Noble.

You're Freaking Me Out Girl.mp3

15 Minutes.mp3


"The Last Kiss: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" by Various Artists

The movie "Garden State" was a great film and had a superior soundtrack. With a collection of songs put together by Zach Braff, the soundtrack introduced me to some great artists I had never heard of, such as Frou Frou (Imogen Heap), Nick Drake and The Shins.

Now that Zach is out with another movie and another hand-picked soundtrack, I was excited to see what new artists I would meet. Unfortunately it's a lot of the same. The "Garden State" soundtrack so directed my musical tastes that much of what is on this new soundtrack I am already know about or own. Here are a couple of my favorites from the new soundtrack. I really like the Snow Patrol. The more of their music I hear, the more I like them. Maybe I should pick up their CD.

Chocolate.mp3 by Snow Patrol

Paper Bag.mp3 by Fiona Apple


"Continuum" by John Mayer

Being that my blog is named after a John Mayer song (Room For Square's 3x5), I of course was very interested in checking out his new CD.

He's always had a bluesy-groove kind of feel to some of his music, but he really revels in that sound with his latest release. All of his songs were good, but overall there wasn't a track that made me excited about the CD as a whole. I still might go back and pick this up because I'm sure I'd enjoy it. For now I'll just let these two roll around in my head.

Waiting on the World to Change.mp3

Vultures.mp3


So in the end, what I really should have asked for was an itunes gift card. I'll know better next time. But for now I've got a great mix CD that should hold me over until the new Damien Rice CD comes out next month. I can't wait.