3x5

Vigil

2012-02-07T17:46:00.002-06:00

Funerals, vigils and other general states of mourning are always tricky to cover. I feel awkward that I'm there, but at the same time they have the potential to make incredibly powerful images. I feel like I never got comfortable shooting-wise at this vigil, which was held after the sudden death of a well-liked high school Navy Junior ROTC commanding officer.

Funeral

2012-01-31T13:11:00.003-06:00

Funerals are high up on my list of events I do not enjoy shooting. But when a prominent member of the community, civil rights leader and beloved pastor dies, his funeral becomes a news event. The church members were so inviting, and I did my best to cover it with respect. This photo was one of my favorites.

Premont

2012-01-24T14:35:00.004-06:00

Senior Luis "Yayo" Torres shuffles across the gym floor Jan. 4, 2012 as members of the Cowboys basketball team go through practice drills in their gym in Premont, Texas. The school district has decided to cut athletics once basketball season ends in an effort to cut costs and help save their district from closure by the Texas Education Agency.(AP Photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Michael Zamora)

The story of little old Premont has hit the AP wires. One of the reporters at the paper here has been following the town's story and possible closure of the school district since this summer, and I've tried my best to ride her coat tails and stalk some of the people of Premont. On Friday AP asked me for some sports photos from Premont, and I was thrilled to see some of my pictures popping up around the globe over the weekend. The one above is one of my recent favorites.

Stuck in the Middle

2012-01-22T09:00:00.003-06:00

For a story about the difference in the old and new housing projects built by the local housing authority. I normally don't like when a subject is kind of staring at me. I had a couple of options where she wasn't, but in this case there was something about it that drew me in.

Parade

2012-01-18T19:11:00.001-06:00

Everybody loves a parade.

Except me.

But I'm not gonna complain if I can come away with photos like this.

Nah, I'll probably still complain.

Night Out

2011-08-03T12:53:00.002-05:00

Whenever I see a ballet folklorico group around here, I usually avoid them like the plague. Mostly because they're pretty ubiquitous in South Texas, but they also rarely have any sort of news connection with the event I'm covering. That was the case at this year's National Night Out. The event wasn't about them, but that doesn't mean I can't turn it into a photo about me.

Fore

2011-07-05T11:55:00.004-05:00

An image I shot earlier this month, from a fire on a golf course. I was headed to another assignment and noticed smoke from the country club area. I turned off the freeway hoping for a shot like this. No flames, but I'll take it. The beer can on the ground and the cigarette in the guy's mouth really amuses me.

Fourth of July

2011-07-04T11:35:00.007-05:00

We decided to show our patriotism at the paper with a collage of U.S. flags splashed across the front page. When I hear the word collage, I always think of a bad high school yearbook spread with the awkwardly shaped photos and weird cutouts blobbed together across a page. I'm happy to say it didn't turn out like that at all. The only thing that would have made it better, said my ego, was if they used more of my photos.

Only one of these photos (below) ended up in the paper. I was a bit miffed at first, but when you think about it, I got to spend hours driving around taking pretty pictures of flags. And someone paid me for it. Is this a great country or what?

State Baseball

2011-06-23T11:58:00.018-05:00

The last month or so has been a blur. Six day work weeks, 100+ hour time sheets, a set of new tires and thousands and thousands of frames of high school baseball.

And it was fantastic.

Baseball is huge in this part of the state. I don't think we've had a local football team make it to state in decades, but just about every year the Coastal Bend has a team in the state baseball tournament. This year we had three, one in 5A, one in 4A and one in 3A. We also had a private school repeat as state champs in their league.

Leading up to state, we had tons of teams in the hunt during playoffs. With a staff of only three full-time photographers and only a handful of stringers, our resources were stretched thin. What made it all the more challenging was I didn't shoot baseball at all during the regular season. Maybe one game. Suddenly I'm thrown into game after game of high-stakes action. I had to shake off the rust pretty quick.

A highlight was definitely the state baseball tournament. Our chief photographer traveled to Austin to shoot some of the opening games, and I came into town to help shoot the final title games. I shot some assignments on a Thursday in Corpus Christi, then drove to Austin that night so I could be ready to go first thing Friday morning.

When I got into town it was almost 10 p.m. I was checking into my hotel when I got a call from our chief photographer. The Thursday night game was going into extra innings and deadline was quickly approaching. He needed some back up or he'd either miss the end or miss deadline. So I jumped back into my car and made it to the stadium just in time for the 10th and final inning. I didn't even have my media credentials yet, but never underestimate the access you get when you carry a really big lens and walk in like you own the place.

As soon as I got onto the field, I started second guessing myself. Is this the best spot? Should I move? Am I gonna miss the moment? How do I shoot baseball again? By the end of the inning my nerves were shot, but it all worked out when I got the celebratory shot as one of our local teams advanced to the state finals.

I still didn't have press credentials though. I wasn't going to bother fighting to get in the press box when I was on such a tight deadline. So I ran back to my car, fired up the laptop, and sent in my photos from the tailgate of my Honda Element in the parking lot. Good times.

But the joy didn't last long. All three of our local teams fell short of the state title. The reality is that most teams will go home disappointed. That means I got a lot of sad player photos this season.

So baseball season is over, and I've got my weekends and a little bit of stability back. But I know I can't get too comfortable. Football season will be here before I know it.

Military Funeral

2011-02-17T19:46:00.001-06:00

I shot my third funeral in as many months last weekend. First was a police officer's funeral, then a Marine funeral and now Army Spc. Ryan Gartner's funeral. At all three of these funerals, the family members agreed to let media come inside for the church service and attend the burial. It's a tough situation to be in, and really a huge responsibility. You feel almost an obligation to the family that let's you in. They are sharing what could be one of the lowest points of their lives, making it my job to tell their story with dignity and respect.

Both the father's (above) and mother's emotions were pretty raw. Their son was scheduled to come home in two weeks, and they were still waiting for answers about the specifics of their sons death. It was an unthinkable situation for both parents.
I had shot several strong images of the mother, all of which just broke my heart. The last image (lower right) was during the gun salute. Her mother was trying to comfort her and she pulled away, almost in anger.

And then she looked right at me.

It was hard to tell what she was thinking as she looked down the barrel of my zoom lens. Who knows if she was even looking at me. It was a brief glare, then "Taps" began to play. It was one of those moments where I felt terrible for being there, like I was somewhere I didn't belong. I paused for a few minutes, found a new spot, and then continued shooting.

I hung around until it was over. All the condolences had been given and only a few family members remained. That's when I saw the mother going back to the coffin to sprinkle a bit of dirt on her son's casket and say goodbye one last time. It would have made another emotional photo. I was getting ready to lift my camera before I stopped myself. Maybe I still felt guilty. Maybe I was just being weak, but I felt like this wasn't a moment for me to capture. I'd captured plenty of photos already that told the story. No, I thought, this moment belonged to her.

Turtle Power

2011-02-15T07:56:00.000-06:00

We had a bit of a cold snap recently. Like, below freezing. And while our temperatures were probably still the envy of most of the country, it was big problem for the sea turtles.

Hundred's of turtles, stunned by the drop in water temperatures, started floating in the bays and washing up near a local fishing pier. Most of them weren't dead, they were just stunned by the cold and unable to move or swim. They just needed a place to warm up before they drowned. That's where the turtle experts from the Padre Island National Seashore came in. They collected hundred of turtles from the area and further south. I met them at one of the hatcheries to see what they had collected. It was quite a catch.

It was really cool to see all the turtles, even though they mostly just laid there. It was one of those things the average person doesn't get to see. This job is full of surprises sometimes. They couldn't warm up the turtles too quickly. After about a week or so, the turtles were let go back into the gulf.

Slice of Life

2011-02-13T09:37:00.000-06:00

I was shooting a high school JROTC inspection recently, and shot this image of a couple of the JROTC members practicing before the inspection started. I loved the photo, but I quickly started to get the same question: What's up with the guys head sliced off?

I got the question from one of my editors, who thought the photo may be a bit confusing to the average reader. I started to wonder if she was right. Did it tell the story, or did I shoot this just for me? Well, I kind of thought it was both. After talking it out with her and a designer, it ended up the lead photo on the front page. I was excited.

But guess who wasn't excited: Mom. The next day a coworker said she got a call from the photo subject's mother. She said the mom wanted to know if I had a copy of the photo where her son's head wasn't cut off. Unfortunately the answer was no. I shot about four or five frames of the kid, and in all the shots I had cropped out the guys face in camera. The photo wasn't about him, I tried to justify. It was about the action and the drawing of the sword and the pagentry of the event and so on and so forth. In other words, the photo was really about me.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. I think I should shoot more for me when I go out on assignments. It's my job to make photos with impact, though I definitely see the mother's point. It's a tricky balance sometimes.

Taking Stock

2011-01-31T22:05:00.005-06:00

One of my resolutions this year was to blog more frequently. Not because I feel I have all this wisdom to share, but because I know the more I blog, the more motivated I get to push myself creatively. Plus it's easier then giving up soda or going to the gym.

The livestock show is one of those annual events where I need a little extra creativity. There are two week-long county livestock shows we cover in January. Since January is typically a slow news month, it's not unusual to spend back-to-back days mining the fairgrounds for photos. It wasn't until the second livestock show, though, where I finally felt like I was getting something a little different.

I noticed a pair of kids washing down their lambs with Woolite, which I found so entertaining. I took dozens of photos of then washing their animals down, trying to get the bottle and the people and the animal all in the same shot. It all kind of came together, I think, in the frame above.

I also was a bit obsessed with all the cowboy boots, which came in all kinds of colors and styles. I think what my photography has been lacking recently is attention to those details.
Livestock season is over for another year. Hopefully that will give me enough time to get the lingering smell of barnyard animals out of my car.

Thankful

2010-11-25T10:00:00.007-06:00

You know what I'm thankful for? Crying volleyball players.

Crying volleyball girls above the fold on A1, however, makes me giddy. Let me explain.

I don't mean to be heartless. I truly wish things had turned out better for them. This was the King volleyball team's first time to make it to the state tournament, and they did it with a first-year head coach. It was a big deal for the team and the school. The two days leading up to the tournament the girls were front-page news. Many expected them to take the whole thing home, including some of our editors, who planned the front-page package around the girls celebrating in the opening round of the state tournament. But we all know what happens when you make plans.

The team was playing the late game of the day, so the editors decided that win or lose, volleyball would be the dominate package on the front page. The pressure was on. I was shooting a sport I rarely cover, plus live tweeting scores during each time out. Mix that with the regular deadline pressure and the expectations for some good A1 photos. The whole game was a blur. A chaotic, pressure-filled, fantastic blur.

When I shot the top image of the girls crying, arms linked with the scoreboard behind them, I felt like I nailed it. It's a feeling that I don't get very often. My worry, though, was that the photo wouldn't see the light of day. I knew it would run online, but there is some hesitancy at the paper to run pictures of high school athletes crying, especially on the front page. The night editor confirmed my fears when we talked on the phone. She liked the photo, but she just didn't think it would fly. I offered up some alternative photos and hung up the phone, thinking the picture of the girls crying under the scoreboard was done for.

So once I got back into town and finally saw the front page the next afternoon, I was very surprised. Surprised it ran dominant on the front page, yes, but I was more surprised how excited I got. After working in newspapers for nearly a decade, it makes me feel good that I can still get excited about seeing my work in print. I was excited to find out that the night editor fought for my photo. She stood up for good photography, and I am so very thankful I work at a paper that is still willing to do that. Most of all, I was thankful that there are still dedicated and talented people, from editors to designers to photographers, who still have a passion for putting out a good product.

I'll be honest, some days at work are not so good. Some days I wonder what I'm still doing in this field plagued with uncertainty. Some days I wonder if my work means anything. Not so on this day. So thank you, King volleyball girls, for giving me this great photo. On this day, I was know I was right where I should be.

Are you ready for some football?

2010-08-28T16:50:00.004-05:00

The answer is no, I'm not ready. Almost passing out from my climb up the bleachers to the press box made it clear I did not have a very productive off season. That's why I was super surprised I nailed this image early in my first high school football assignment of the year.

Bam! I'm ashamed to admit I was doing some hard core chimping in the end zone when I saw this in the back of my camera. Unfortunately that was the highlight of the evening. The first night of football you're really just trying to get something in focus and shake off the sports-shooting rust. Hopefully I will only get better as the season moves on.

A part of me, though, is really excited about the start of the season. One of my favorite things to do at football games is to find side features. There's something so iconic about high school football games. It's such a ritual and an event almost everyone can relate to. Friday I didn't have a whole lot of time to search for those quiet moments I love. Hopefully I can snag some sweet Friday night photos in the coming weeks.

Movie Magic

2010-08-24T21:47:00.008-05:00

It's been a long, hot and mostly uninspired summer. But there were a couple of creative bright spot over the last few months. One of those was the annual Corpus Christi 7-Day Film Project.

The project is pretty straight forward: write, shoot and edit a short film (8 minutes or less, minus credits) in only seven days. There are also three required elements each film has to include. This year the required elements were a prop (a black ribbon), a line of dialogue ("The problem with _______ is that he/she thinks too much") and a character (Sam, a male who recently found something).

This is the third year my friends and I have participated. The three of us wrote the script, I shot the movie while they "acted," and then I pieced the whole thing together in a semi-coherent order. This year was my first year as the team leader, which really just meant I payed the entry fee (still waiting on your share, Phil and Israel). I did get a pretty sweet swag bag, though. It almost made winning absolutely no awards over the weekend bearable. Almost.

We shot the film back in July, but we weren't allowed to post it anywhere until after the screening and awards ceremony this past weekend. Since that's all over, I'm now free to plaster our film everywhere. There's definitely bits of each of us in our main character, Kevin. The three of us each wrote different portions of the story, and it became clear we were all in very similar places in our lives: Slightly unsure, questioning our life decisions and wondering if the things that are so important to other people our age (marriage, family, careers) will ever be important to us.

Anyway, enough words. I hope you enjoy our film.

Ra Ra Ah Ah Ahhh!

2010-07-13T18:08:00.012-05:00

OK, so I knew this was coming a few days ahead of time. I played it cool. I didn't make a fuss. And when I saw the photo request on the photo budget, I casually volunteered to shoot it...but inside I was bursting with anticipation!

Lady Gaga is not coming to town, but a local radio station was having a contest to send the best Gaga look alike performer to her show in Dallas. Two concert tickets, airfare and a hotel stay were up for grabs, attracting a gaggle of Gagas and hundreds of onlookers to the local mall. And I couldn't have been more excited to be there!

Now, I wouldn't say I'm a big Lady Gaga fan (especially compared to these people). I only recently bought the album after kind of ignoring her music for a while. Some of it is just so damn catchy. After seeing a couple of her interviews I realized she actually has some talent and wasn't there to bring the world of pop music to new lows. No, that's Justin Bieber's job (Oh! Bieber burn!).

Anyway, the Gaga look alikes had a minute and half to either dance to a Lady Gaga song or sing. Most chose to dance, and "Bad Romance" was the song of choice. What, no love for "Paparazzi"? Not that I didn't get to hear the song. I had at least three different Gagas sing parts of it to me as I was shooting. I wasn't sure what to think about that.

This Gaga was probably my favorite. Not only was the look straight out of the "Telephone" video, but the passionate impersonator was a 13-year-old boy! Most of the Gagas were dressed and ready when they arrived, but this kid had some changing to do. I saw the boy and his mother walking by with a soda-can wig in one hand and a black leather jacket in the other. I chased them down into a clothing store next to the stage and followed them into a dressing room. I'm not even sure they knew who I was at first, but they were so nice and welcoming. There was also something kind of loving and sweet about the mom helping her son get ready for the contest. "I don't know how I feel about helping my son get dressed in drag," she joked at one point, but then quickly worked her magic to pin the hair in place, finish up the makeup and comment about how cute the shoe were. They are both my new heroes!

The winner was quite impressive on stage. He (yes, he) had the moves from the video down, and he finished off his performance with an homage to Miss Gaga's blood spattered performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. And the crowd went wild.

I had hoped for a little more Gaga/mall shopper interaction. It would have been so wonderfully awkward. For the most part, the Gagas were kept together and away from the crowds. Although I did enjoy watching people ride up the escalators and get an eye full of Gaga when they got to the top. Fantastic.

You can see more photos from the event over at caller.com, plus a little video put together by Caller-Times videographer Michelle Christensen.

Beisbol

2010-05-25T22:05:00.007-05:00

The baseball action is heating up in the area. The state championships are scheduled for next weekend, and we still have about 5 baseball teams and 2 softball teams in our coverage area vying for a trip to Austin. How good is baseball in Corpus Christi? Well, we will likely have two local teams face off for the class 4A state title next weekend, and another school has a good chance at making it to the 5A title game. Needless to say, it's been a busy couple of weeks for me.

3-Point-Oh No!

2010-05-04T12:55:00.002-05:00

Oh, Las Donas, I had such plans for you. It was going to be bold. It was going to be beautiful. Mostly, though, it was going to be so Scripps 3.0. But, alas, I was denied.

The Las Donas de la Corte held their annual Buc Days Coronation last week. It's an event where young girls dress up in jewel encrusted gowns and crowns before one is named queen of the court. It was actually an event I was looking forward to covering. I had a great time last year and was given some great behind-the-scenes access. So this year I had big plans. I brought a video camera, a backdrop, portable studio lights and a sort-of-fleshed-out idea about taking off-beat portraits and photo-booth style pictures. It was an awkward mash up of ideas that stemmed from something I'd done before and something I saw on glee. Hey, I'm trying here.

Of course, you know what happens when you make plans. After hauling over all the equipment things started to unravel. I had issues with the backdrop, and had to slice my backdrop paper almost in half to fix it. Suddenly it was way too narrow. Soon I realized I was missing equipment, I had a busted tripod and I had brought the worst roll of tape from the newsroom with me. But I wasn't going to let that stop me.

So what did stop me? Well, a mix of things. Two girls in, I did have a couple of decent portraits, but I wasn't getting the audio/video I needed. Plus I was running out of time. Mostly, though, it was some miscommunication (mostly on my part), and I didn't get quite the same access to the girls as I thought I would. But there was still a paper to put out. So when it became clear this was all falling apart, I buckled down and focused on the still photo. Oh well. I'll save my half-baked ideas for another time.

Despite my multimedia meltdown at the coronation, I was still set on milking Buc Days of its 3.0 potential. I figured the annual Illuminated Night Parade would be perfect. More than 150,000 people line the streets to watch this night parade, so it seemed like a no brainer to do something with it.

I didn't want to do a slideshow or edited video or anything. My bright idea was to livestream the parade on our newspaper's website. I figured it would be super easy. As an added bonus, I volunteered to cover the whole event myself. Each year we usually have two photographers cover the event: one focuses on the street parade and pre-parade set up stuff, and the other hangs out in the stadium where the parade starts to catch the pre-show and crowning of Miss Buc Days. It's more a matter of deadline timing (and sanity saving) then it being too much for one photographer. Or so I thought.

Well, I won't do that again. Not only was I exhausted by the end, but setting up a live cam is harder than I thought. It was such a pain, mostly because I didn't know what I was doing. The camera kept cutting out at important times like, oh, when the parade would start or when I was frantically trying to turn in photos on deadline. Of course it streamed crystal clear when I had it set up wrong and all you could hear was the judges banter and not the actual parade. Oops.

Anyway, it was a rough ride on the 3.0 bandwagon last week. The hardest part about having to do multimedia with the daily stuff is that the daily stuff is always going to be the priority. The print product is still our bread and butter, and any multimedia I try has to get crammed into the spare time I have between shooting stills. But I'm not going to let this discourage me. I'm going to write this one off as a Buc Days curse and try to recollect my motivation. At least I don't have to worry about Buc Days for another year. I wonder if it's too early to schedule a vacation for next year?

Buc Days Blues

2010-04-24T18:47:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure how to describe it, but the last couple of days I've been trying to shoot things very "flat." Not necessarily physically or tonally flat, just sort of emotionally flat, I guess. Muted, maybe. It's just the general mood I've been in lately.

Yesterday evening I went to the Buc Days carnival armed with a 70-200mm and a 50mm 2.5. No wide glass. They only wanted one photo for the paper, so I let myself be extremely selective about what I shot, trying to avoid the same old happy-kids-at-the-carnival scene I always seem to get. I took a lot of pictures of carnival workers, for some reason, and used my 50mm almost exclusively. The above photo stood out to me. It was something about that longing look on his face coupled with the blurry joy of the corn dog eating cops going by. At first I liked the photo, then I really started to hate it. Then I convinced myself it was brilliant. Now I'm not sure how I feel about it.

I continued my quest today when I went to the Buc Days Junior Parade, which is the annual children's parade through Corpus Christi. I'm not really a fan of children, and I really hate parades, so it was sort of my perfect storm of assignment frustration. OK, it wasn't that bad. I won't say I enjoyed it, but I didn't hate it either. I had to abandon my trusty 50mm, but I still found a couple of "flat" images I liked.

(Not My First) Rodeo

2010-04-22T22:44:00.006-05:00

It's been a while since I've shot a rodeo, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Past experiences have taught me that rodeos are tough gigs. At my first job in Wyoming, the rodeo was serious business. Cheyenne Frontier Days was televised (somewhere), so the organizers were very particular about their image. They wanted the look of their rodeo so authentic that I wasn't allowed to just stroll in and shoot in normal clothes. No, any media in the arena had to wear a western shirt, boots and a cowboy hat (bolo optional). Then we all got thrown in this half underground pit with poor air circulation, just waiting for a wild animal to come running by and spray dirt and dust into our prison-like pen. Yikes!

At my last job in Arkansas, they were pretty into their rodeo too. While I didn't have to dress like a cowboy, there always seemed to be this obsession with lighting the event. Unlike Wyoming, which was during the day, Rodeo of the Ozarks was in the evening. So most years I'd help haul a car load of lighting equipment, grips, cables, extension cords and locks to Parsons Stadium to set up lights. The lights never seemed to work so well for me, so I'm not sure I really got much out of it. On years I managed to avoid the set up, I'd seem to luck into shooting the last day of the rodeo and have to take all the equipment apart and haul it all back to the office. Exhausting!

Well, here in Corpus Christi, people couldn't care less about the rodeo (or much else, really). And I like it. Everything was much more laid back. No press pass, no cowboy hat, no lighting equipment. No worries. The light inside the arena wasn't great, but it was predictable. I just strolled in, shot for an hour and then split. Easy!

But I got to be honest. Even though I got some photos I liked (steer wrestling is my new favorite sport), there's is something a little more fulfilling about working a little harder to get a good shot. The years of rodeo nightmares were actually memorable (and dare I say fun) times. I won't be telling stories about shooting the Buc Days Pro Rodeo, but, hey, after all these years I think I was due an easy rodeo shoot.

Pie Guy

2010-04-17T16:55:00.003-05:00

I was taking pictures at a private school's annual festival today. That's where I noticed an awful lot of overly eager kids lining up to throw pies at one of their teachers. During a pause in the action I got the teacher's name. I understood why his booth was such a draw once he told me his title: Dean of Discipline. What an intimidating title. If I were a student, I'm not sure I'd have the courage to through a pie at this guy. Actually, I'm not a student and I still don't want to cross this guy.

SandFest

2010-04-11T22:47:00.004-05:00

Over the weekend I went to a little event called Texas SandFest. And by little, I mean more than 100,000 people crowded the beach to look at sandcastles.

To be fair, they are more than sandcastles. Master sculptors spend hours crafting elaborate structures and whimsical scenes out of packed grains of sand. It really is unbelievable what they can do. Worth the two hours it took me to find parking? Well...

The good news is you don't have to fight the crowds or get sand all over the interior of your car to enjoy the festival. While I was there I shot a little video. Before you check it out, though, let me tell you a little bit about my inspiration for this video.

The day before I hit the beach, an editor was talking to me about shooting video at a different assignment. He suggested I don't get bogged down and keep it simple. Sunday-Morning style, he said. That really inspired me. I don't know if you watch, but CBS Sunday Morning is probably some of the best, most enjoyable TV journalism you can watch. And at the end of every episode, they show beautiful and peaceful nature footage from some scenic corner of the country. That was the kind of video my editor was referring to. Just clean, simple shots. No voice over, no story. Just set the scene and let people take it in.

Now, he proposed I do this at a track meet, which I wasn't really sure I could make work. But I thought SandFest would be a good time to try out my Sunday-Morning style video. Going in I thought this would be easier. In reality I came close to ruining the video several times. About half the things I shot had no audio because my external mic kept getting switched off (I blame the wind). Natural audio really is key. Mostly, though, having to actually think about progression and natural transitions was harder than it should have been. Knowing I couldn't just slap a voice over or insert some random talking head to break up the video was a new challenge. I should really be shooting in this mind frame already, not just getting some interview and slapping it over some random B-roll and calling it a day.

This is by no means a masterpiece, and I'm confident Charles Osgood won't be calling me anytime soon to shoot the next nature segment. Still, I think it turned out well. So with that in mind: We leave you this Sunday morning on the breezy coast of Port Aransas, Texas, where sand is king...

Rocket Man

2010-04-07T21:40:00.004-05:00

Elton John came to town Tuesday, rocking the American Bank Center in a three-hour show packed with all the hits. At least that's what I hear. After two songs into the show, the media was politely ushered out the door.

For the first song we were all at the front of the stage, which was great until the fans with floor seats figured out no one would stop them from shooting right beside us. I got a picture of someone taking a picture that I liked, but for the most part it was elbow city up there.

I got to the arena pretty early before the show. I was on the hunt for glittery, boa-wearing fans. I guess I over estimated the flamboyance of the typical Elton John fan, because most people just showed up looking normal. That's no fun.

I'd never shot Elton John before, so it was a bit of a thrill. I did have a good time, but honestly I really don't remember how the actual performance was. When you are only given two songs to shoot, you tend to be less focused on the music and more on making decent pictures. And as much as I wanted him to play that song from the Lion King during those two songs, I came away disappointed. That's OK, I'm sure I'll get to hear it tomorrow when I shoot Disney on Ice tomorrow night. Hey, not every assignment can be golden.

Fútbol

2010-04-03T19:36:00.006-05:00

I love shooting football. Fútbol, however, is a completely different beast. Perhaps I would love it more if I got to shoot it more often, although something tells me that wouldn't be true.

It's playoff soccer time in Texas, so it was time for me to dust off the 400mm and head to the pitch for some soccer action. Counting the last two days of games (where these photos came from), my grand total for soccer assignments this year moves to four.

That means I have to climb up that steep re-learning curve of mine and quickly get familiar with shooting soccer again. I thought I did pretty well the last two days and was feeling ready for some state soccer action. Unfortunately our last local team was defeated today, and I will have to put away my soccer-shooting skills for another year.

Cluck Cluck

2010-04-02T13:07:00.003-05:00

By now I should realize that the angrier I am at assignments, the better I shoot. I was kind of angry at this assignment, a school-wide chicken dance. Yes, really. It had nothing to do with the people. They were all lovely and fun and welcoming, and I really did appreciate them letting me come by. I don't know, I guess I should just really make peace with having to constantly shoot the cute-kids-doing-cute-things assignments. But then again, I don't want to lose my edge.

As you can see, a good time was had by all. Except by me. And this kid.

15

2010-04-01T12:46:00.005-05:00

Where were you when Selena died?
Me? Odds are I was doing something band or newspaper related. Yeah, I was kind of a nerd in high school. But who is Selena, you may ask?

A valid question if you aren't from around here, or you were never a fan of Tejano music. But in Corpus Christi, Selena is still the queen. There's a bayfront statue dedicated in her honor. Her clothing boutique was in business for years after her death, and fans still can't seem to get enough of her. She has such a strong following around here that if Selena could some how endorse the destruction of the Memorial Coliseum, that building would be torn down by hand in a matter of days by a mob of cumbia-dancing fans dressed in sparkly hats and bustiers. Biddy Biddy bye bye, Coliseum.

Anyway, fans have been marking the anniversary of her death each year since she was killed by her fan club president 15 years ago. They used to gather each year behind a convenience store with this old, weathered mural of the singer on the wall. As a visual person I loved it. As a person who cared for his safety, it was a bit of a nightmare packing so many people near a wall so close to the street. This year it was held just down the road in the backyard of a restaurant/snack shack (I'm not making fun, it's actually called the Snack Shack). There was much more room, but unfortunately it seemed much more tame than last year.

Bringing Sexy Back

2010-03-20T20:00:00.006-05:00

I once had a boss that liked to used the word "sexy" a lot. Not in a creepy way. Well, OK, it was kind of creepy at first, but I got used to him referring to the good photos and assignments as "sexy." Unfortunately the word came up more often when I got bad assignments, like "I know its not going to be a sexy photo, but we've got to shoot it anyway."

*sigh*

So I had one of those "sexy" assignments last month. A police ride along. Nothing ground breaking, but it was a meatier assignment than the quick shoot-and-scoot daily assignments we normally do around here. Oddly enough, I really didn't want to do it. Spending five hours in a car alone with a police officer sounded awkward and boring, but I knew it would be good for me. It turned out much better than I expected. The time flew by, and I really enjoyed playing with shadows and trying to get the most out of the little light I had. Cruising down the interstate at nearly 100 miles an hour was pretty cool too. When it was all over I was super excited to sit down and edit my photos, and I couldn't wait to see them in print. Unfortunately waiting was exactly what I had to do. The story held for weeks, bumped from Sunday to Sunday because they wanted to give it good play, but a more timely story would inevitably bump the package another week.

Well, the story and photos finally ran last Sunday. It ran on the front page with a stack of photos inside.

A package like that will get your attention, right? Well, I was pretty intrigued by the answer. I hardly ever get any feedback on my photos from readers (or anyone, really). One of the ways I gauge the reader reaction to my work is through web hits. The top six photo galleries on Caller.com get ranked by popularity. More clicks must mean I've been able to hold their attention despite slow page loads and flashy ads. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when the police ride along gallery quickly dropped in the rankings. Unfortunately, it had some sexy competition.

Saturday I shot the Miss Harley Davidson bikini contest. It was actually an assignment I was really looking forward to shooting. No, it really wasn't just about the scantily clad girls. I was more excited about the photo possibilities. It had such potential for intriguing, attention grabbing and even wonderfully awkward photos. I thought I could be Chip Litherland or something. I had grand images of edgy backstage goodness and debauchery on and off stage. This was going to be photographic gold.

So of course I totally blew it.

Perfectly average photos. I blame bad access and some wonky stage setup, but really at some point there was a lack of effort. That didn't seem to bother our Internet readers. The first online comment made that very clear:
Great Story!
Pretty girls and motorcycles!
It doesn't get much better than that!

And my favorite comment, which came as a text from a friend after I put up a link to the 17-photo gallery on my Twitter page:
I got through 2 of your ride along photos before I saw the video link to Miss Harley Davidson. I'm sure the other 15 photos were nice.

That pretty much sums it up. Who needs feedback anyway?

Livestock Show

2010-01-16T16:57:00.000-06:00

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

2010-01-09T18:31:00.006-06:00

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

2010-01-06T19:04:00.003-06:00

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.

Bah! Humbug!

2009-12-22T13:59:00.015-06:00

I don't know when I turned into such a Grinch, but this year I've had very little Christmas spirit. The overdose of Santa appearances, toy giveaways and all the other holiday hoopla I'm been sent out to cover everyday doesn't seem to help.

I was talking with another photographer about Christmas and comparing notes on how many times we've shot Santa this year (I'm in second place with five published Santa pics). After a failed attempt to get out of shooting another holiday event, the other photographer asked me why I was so uninterested in the assignment.

"I guess I just don't like...Christmas," I said, kind of surprised myself at the words coming out of my mouth. He understood though. He said shooting Christmas this and Santa that over and over can make you numb to the whole mood of the season. No kidding. I'm usually in a foul mood at these events, trying to make images that convey the opposite emotion. I'm always nice. I smile. I return the obligatory holiday greetings, but in the end I'm trying to get in and out as soon as possible and escape the gathering of happy children and bad Christmas music.

My lack of holiday spirit really became obvious to me when I was shooting The Nutcracker rehearsals. We actually have two ballet companies in Corpus Christi, and they both put on their own version of the holiday show. By the time I shot my second one, with video and on a tight deadline, I was in no mood for fun. At one point I almost lost it as a little girl struggled to spell her own name to me. I shoved my notepad in front of her and said, "Here. Write it, and FAST!"

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I only have to try and make happy Christmas images for a couple of more days. Hopefully I can keep my inner Scrooge at bay. I'm pretty sure, though, no matter how well I fake it I'm going to get a lump of coal in my stocking this year.

Reboot

2009-12-16T21:09:00.003-06:00

Recently, we all huddled into a staff meeting as "Scripps 3.0" was unveiled to the newsroom. Basically its our parent company's new initiatives to improve the quality and profitability of all the newspapers in the E.W. Scripps chain. The good news is the plan is journalism focused. Its about looking at improving our daily product and focusing on community journalism, not slashing and trimming the news to death. More good news it that much of the organizational initiatives were modeled after things we were doing at the Caller-Times, so there will be no massive shake up as far as jobs. Job descriptions, however, have changed. We are no longer "reporters" and "photographers." Now we are all "Multimedia Journalists."

Yeah, I know. Anyone who's worked in a newsroom the last five years has probably heard this before. I myself was a bit skeptical. I've been told several times (at more than one paper) that its time to be web focused. Usually I get all excited and try to immerse myself in multimedia. Unfortunately after a month or so everyone goes back to being reporters and photographers, and no one seems to want to invest the time or resources needed to do good multimedia. This time, it may be different. I'm told everyone in the newsroom is going to be held accountable for doing their share of videos, web updates, blogs, tweets, etc. And with the orders coming straight from corporate, we are suppose to see a real investment in new media. I'm really hoping it will be different.

So in my first week as a "Multimedia journalist," I put together two videos. One in a couple of hours on deadline, and the other in about a day and a half.

They both turned out well, I thought, but the second one I really enjoyed. I saw an ad in our paper about a piano sale at the university, and had visions of a room full of pianos just begging to be played. After a couple phone calls and some vaguely grounded reasoning, I had a willing subject.

With the new initiative, we were told we don't really need permission to do things (at least that what I took from it). If you have an idea, just do it. If a reporter wants to take their own photos, go for it (God help us). If I want to pull a student away from studying the week before finals and force him to play the same song over and over for my amusement, have at it.

He was actually a great sport, super cooperative and a pleasure to work with. I should take a lesson or two from him.

(P.S. Sorry, about the auto play. I manipulated the embed code a bit to get the bigger video size on my blog, but then couldn't stop it from playing as soon as it loaded.)

November Moments

2009-12-03T17:12:00.008-06:00

Where did November go? It didn't exist on my blog, apparently, but I promise I was still shooting. I've struggled a bit staying focused for one reason or another, but I'm trying to get back on track. Today I was going through photos for the NPPA monthly clip contest, and these moments stood out to me. I thought I'd share them with you.

The Special Olympics held a bowling competition last month. I've never been a fan of shooting in bowling alleys, but I really liked how this photo came out. Like all three of these images, its kind of a quiet, subtle photo. I love quiet and subtle. I want to move their and open up my own photo studio.

Above is from an Opera dress rehearsal. I've been lucky to get backstage at a couple of local productions this past month. The back stage scene can make for great photos. I found this one particularly pleasant.

And finally a moment of prayer at a local Veterans Day ceremony. They prayed for the recent victims of the Fort Hood shooting, but its a clean, patriotic image that stands alone no matter what the situation.

In other news, I've been suddenly thrust back into the night shift this week. Hopefully leaving the cushy day shift slot I've had the last 5 months will be just the shakeup I need to refocus on making good photos. We shall see.

CAUTION! ZOMBIES!!!

2009-10-30T17:32:00.010-05:00

Last weekend I got to go out and shoot the Thrill the World event, the world-wide, simultaneous performance of the dance from Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Actually, I really wanted to be in it, but since I couldn't convince anyone to do it with me I thought shooting it would be the next best thing. It happened later than I would have liked (about 7:30 local time), but I thought it was worth it. The dancers had to dance at exactly 7:30 to be in sync with the rest of the world. So it's possibly the first event I've covered in Corpus Christi that actually started on time.

They had a little Zombie parade around the parking lot before the performance when there was still a little bit of fading light outside. By the time 7:30 rolled around it was pitch black. Fortunately they set up some lights for the dance.

Most of the time I was there, though, there wasn't much going on. All the zombies were told to show up already dressed and ready to go, so there was little primping and prepping outfits or makeup. They did a run through inside the dance studio, but mostly it was just waiting.

So they didn't break the record for most zombies in one place (I think Los Angeles won it this year), but it was still good times.

I didn't shoot this, but if you are interested there's video here of the Corpus Christi performance. Maybe next year you'll see my zombied face somewhere in the crowd. I'll totally show those kids how its done.

Reader Feedback

2009-10-14T17:25:00.040-05:00

It's rare I get feedback from...well, anybody on the day-to-day photos I shoot. Readers, however, are especially slow to tell me what they think of my work, good or bad.

So today I came to the office and was pleased to find an email note saying a reader had called to complement one of my photos. How nice! I immediately thought they must be talking about the pumpkin patch photos I shot yesterday. The ones that graced the front page of the paper. People love photos of children and gourd-like vegetables. But I was wrong. Here's the message:

Compliment michael zamora on his tor minerals photograph on the business section this morning. Keep up the good work he says.

Tor Minerals? That archive business mug I shot more than a year ago? I mean, I'll take a compliment where ever I can get it, but I don't remember that photo being all that engaging. I quickly flipped to the business page to see the photo that had so moved a reader that he had to call. That's where I found the huge four-column vertical. If only my pumpkin photos had run that big.

I think the important lesson is, size matters. That Tor Minerals photos was bigger than all three of my front page photos combined. If the business photo had only run, say, 1 column, would it have still been impressive to the reader?

My second reader interaction came about 10 minutes later when the phone rang. It was the mother of a drive-by shooting victim. Talk about quickly shifting gears. I had taken pictures of her, her family and her neighbors at a candlelight vigil a week or so ago. At the time there were still questions swirling about the shooting, if it was gang related and who was the intended target. It was all very sad, yet very surreal. It was a poor neighborhood where crime seemed to be something you just lived with. It's a whole different lifestyle than what I'm used to. A lifestyle that is probably far more common in this city than I realize.

Anyway, she wasn't calling to compliment me. She was calling to complain that we were selling the photos of her daughter's vigil on our Web site. She said she never gave us her authorization to sell the photos, and she was upset we were trying to profit from her daughter's death. That business photo compliment was looking better already.

I was kind of caught off guard, and started to babble about how we don't need permission to sell the photos we shoot. That didn't really help. I tried to explain how the "Buy this photo" option is a default setting on our site and that we weren't trying to make a profit specifically on this event. I could tell I wasn't coming off very compassionate, but really, I was just kind of frazzled. I told her I was sorry she was upset, took her number down and told her I would forward her complaint to the online editor. That's when her phone started cutting out and the line eventually disconnected. I tried calling her back so I could back up the conversation and tell her how I was sorry for her loss or that I understood why she was upset, but there was no answer. In the end, the online editor quickly turned off the sale option for those photos on the Web site.

But now I felt bad. So I went to our archivist's office and asked if we had actually sold any of those candlelight vigil photos. I was curious, but mostly I wanted to clear my own conscious. She said no, thankfully.

She did say, however, that my swimming with Olympians photos from a couple of weeks ago were doing pretty well. That brought back the smile to my face. The only other way I know readers like what I shoot is through photo sales. Every month we get a rundown of how photo sales on the Web site are doing. I always like seeing that list, especially when a reader buys a photo that I really like.

It was a pretty cool event. Three Olympic gold medalists (Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen and Rowdy Gaines) came to town to give a little clinic on open water swimming. It was a morning assignment, so I knew if I tried to shoot it from the beach I would get nothing but far away, backlit photos. So I brought my swimming trunks to work and carefully waded out into the bay as swimmers splashed around me. It's all fun and games until you get saltwater on your camera. "Is that thing water proof?" Peirsol asked. No, unfortunately...but OMG Aaron Peirsol just talked to me! I get star struck easily sometimes. I wanted to ask him to sign my trunks, but I didn't have a pen. And I was chest deep in water. And it probably wouldn't have been very appropriate.

Cheech

2009-09-16T17:55:00.002-05:00

I don't know why, but sometimes I get in a flash-happy mood. When I'm in that mood, everything I shoot has to be lit somehow, no matter the assignment. Remote flash, hand held, bounce, it doesn't matter. I just need to jolt the hell out of everything.

I was in that mood today, but by the time I got near the end of my third assignment, I (and my batteries) were exhausted. That's when I got this shot, a mix of museum lighting and the glow from the hot light on a TV camera. I like it. It reminded me why I try to avoid firing up the flash in the first place.

Oh, and this is Cheech Marin, in case you didn't know. The actor/comedian was in town to unveil his "Menudo" exhibit, made up of his personal collection of Chicano art. Nice guy, and I was surprised that he looked exactly the same in real life as he does on TV.

Bands and Fans

2009-08-29T09:12:00.004-05:00

Oh, high school football. How I've missed you.

Since I don't work the night shift anymore, football really won't be my thing this year (tear). But since its the start of the season they wanted all hands on deck. My job was to shoot the "bands and fans," as our chief photographer put it, to run on A1. So I was off to Calallen.

Another reason they sent me to Calallen was to hit the pregame ceremony naming the newly renovated field after their longtime head coach. After a series of speeches spanning the winning coach's career, I finally got this unstaged shot. Problem was, the ceremony took so long I hadn't shot any bands or fans by this point. Can't have that.

By the way, I love my 50mm, 1.8 lens (above and below). I want to marry it and have little baby 1.8s of varying sizes.
Hopefully I can talk my way into shooting some games here and there this season. Sometime before the playoffs would be nice.

Cry Baby

2009-08-26T18:02:00.005-05:00

I don't know why, but I found this crying baby endlessly entertaining today.

It was hard to keep from laughing while I was shooting an assignment at a day care today. So what was this little girl watching from baby jail that was making her cry?

There were no survivors.

Back To School

2009-08-23T11:09:00.003-05:00

Everyone loves getting ready to back to school, right?

New Shoes

Immunization Shots

Traithlon

2009-08-11T12:18:00.006-05:00

Over the weekend I got up early (super early) to make it out to a mini triathlon. It was a short triathlon aimed at kids and first timers. There was biking and running involved, but the bulk of my photos (or at least my favorite ones) came from the pool.

Feria De Las Flores

2009-08-01T19:55:00.003-05:00

Why cover the annual Feria De Las Flores "scholarship" pageant when you can hit up the pre-event rehearsal instead? I got a little time backstage as these teenage girls got in there final rehearsal just hours before they went on to compete for the Feria Queen title. It was good times.

I'm not sure why, but I was slightly obsessed with their feet. I ~~wasted~~ invested a lot of time trying to get shots of their shoes. Something about those fancy boots amused me.

Jourdanton

2009-07-31T09:47:00.002-05:00

I get to travel to all the exotic places :)

Boat Race

2009-07-23T18:24:00.007-05:00

The Scripps Fairy dropped by overnight, leaving bundles of new-to-us photo and video equipment. It was exciting, yet sad, because all the equipment once belonged to the staff at the Rocky Mountain News. Now its being spread out among the papers left in the chain. My excitement returned when I found a lens marked "GANNAWAY" on the barrel of a 16-35mm. With my new tool in hand, I set out to make some fantastic images with a lens once used by a Pulitzer prize winner.

The funny thing was, my favorite images of the day (from a cardboard boat race) were shot on my own trusty 50mm 1.8 (above) and my 70-200 zoom (below). They are the lenses I carry around all the time.

It's a quick lesson on how it's not the equipment, but the photographer. The lens may not give me Pulitzer powers, but it's a nice motivator. I hope every time I see that name on the bottom of my lens I'll work a little harder to get the best image.

I'll try and make you proud, Preston.

City Swim Meet

2009-07-18T17:16:00.008-05:00

I went to the City Championship Swim Meet today, apparently a little too late. While I came away with some nice, clean swim images, I didn't have time to try and get the sort of odd, quite, behind the scenes images I like to play with. This group of girls, hanging onto one another as they go from the staging area to the starting blocks, was the closest I came to something different.

July 4 Parade

2009-07-04T19:51:00.003-05:00

Flags, palm trees and little old ladies. Just a few of my favorite things.

Model Search

2009-06-30T18:16:00.004-05:00

The Hawaiian Tropic Model Search came to Corpus Christi over the weekend. Other than the women strutting around in bikinis, their wasn't much visually to work with. The auditions were held in this plain, poorly lit workout room on the second floor of a Gold's Gym. They did an interview, changed into their swimsuits, then did a little walk for the model search director. What I found funny was that there was no place to change near the audition room. So the girls had to go to the locker room downstairs on the other side of the gym to change, forcing them to strut pass regular folks working out to get back to the audition room. It was so awkwardly fantastic that I had to shoot it.

Pool Shots

2009-06-26T19:39:00.008-05:00

I was in a wierd mood today (I think it's called heat stroke), so I took some wierd shots at the pool.

Snooper Dooper

2009-06-21T09:00:00.015-05:00

Oh, the Closet Snoop. You either love it or you hate it. Or, you love to hate it.

The weekly Sunday fashion feature generates the web hits, but also illicits the ire of some readers. Earlier this year as the paper began to shrink and sections and features were cut, I heard the same thing again and again from angry (usually older) readers. "How can you cut (blank) but keep that Closet Snoop!?"

I'll tell you why. Because it's fantastic!

Though they can sometimes be super stressfull and exhausting, they are also super fun to shoot. Get a good subject, some cool clothes and some great locations, and you've got gold. Plus, the photo above ran six columns across the page. Six columns! Where else in the paper am I gonna get that kind of play?

I'm no fashion photography expert, but every couple of weeks I get to pretend I am. It's great when I get a woman that likes to play along. None of the women selected are models, just real people that were nominated or asked to be considered because of their love of clothes.

It's such a creative challenge sometimes. Usually we arrive at these people's home or business with no advance knowledge of their clothes or what the location will look like. It's a scramble, and my mind runs a mile a minute as I run lights, rearrange furniture and do my best to give directions. I always leave exhausted. And if I'm lucky, I come away with some really cool images, too.

Kids and Cows

2009-06-18T19:59:00.003-05:00

Well, I guess technically they are all steers. That didn't seem to stop me from calling them cows, even though each child/volunteer I said it to quickly corrected me. Clearly I was never an ag student in high school.

These are from a steer validation, where kids brought in their ~~cows~~ steers to be registered, tagged and tattooed before they can be entered into next year's livestock show. They even took hair samples and nose prints. If one of those cows commits a crime, they're screwed.

State Championships

2009-06-17T21:24:00.014-05:00

Moody's Magic ran out last week. After making it to the Austin and advancing to the final round of the state championships, the Trojans lost to Texarkana. It was interesting to see the same two players go from sort of a relief reaction after winning the first game, to devastation in the final game.

Much like Moody, I felt like I came up short on the final game. I still came away with some photos I liked. Thankfully another one of our staff photographers came up for the final game to back me up.

The catcher became one of my favorite players on the team over the course of the playoffs. Dubbed "Little Big Man" by one of our headlines last week, it looks like the name is gonna stick. He's a great athlete and also one of the more emotional players on the field. He had the final at bat(below) but was thrown out at first to end the game, giving Texarkana the 4-3 win.

Better luck next year, Moody.

State Bound

2009-06-09T15:05:00.013-05:00

Corpus Christi is home to two of the best high school baseball teams, not just in the state, but in the country. Both teams are ranked in the top 5 in national polls. So it was kind of a big deal this weekend when the two teams went head to head battling for a spot in the state baseball tournament. The series went down to the third game, with the No. 1 ranked Moody Trojans taking the regional title. I was kind of thrown back into the night shift a couple of weeks ago, lucky for me. I've really enjoyed getting to shoot these baseball playoff games. Tomorrow, I will ride their wave of success to Austin for the opening day of the state tournament.

The size of the crowd was insane. Whataburger Field sold out for the first two games. The first game brought in more than 9,000 people. It was the second largest crowd the field has ever seen. The largest crowd was when the Astros came down to play an exhibition game against their minor-league affiliates earlier this year.

(my Andy Shupe rip off)

Graduation

2009-06-09T14:32:00.006-05:00

I lucked out this year, and didn't have to cover any of the big high school graduations. But that doesn't mean I dodged the Pomp-and-Circumstance bullet all together. Last week I shot two small ceremonies, a Kinder-ready graduation, and an alternative high school/GED graduation.

Another Day At The Office

2009-05-15T18:50:00.001-05:00

Coffee Break

2009-05-13T13:42:00.005-05:00

Even a fifth grader needs his jolt of Starbucks in the morning. With soy milk, please.

What really surprised me (besides hearing a 10-year-old talk about his love of lattes) was that he wasn't the only one jonesing for a cup of joe. Several of the kids apparently had either made a Starbucks run or had it delievered before the start of their Renaissance Faire event. Gotta love those private schools.

Coronation

2009-05-01T14:56:00.003-05:00

I love high society!

So last night I got to catch the action backstage for the Buc Days Coronation Pageant. Its an annual event where young girls wear extravagant, hand-made dresses and are paraded around an arena for all to see. I've never been to one of their shows before, so I wasn't sure what to expect going in. Apparently they've had reputation for being a little uptight about media access in the past, but not this year.

Everyone was super nice and let me roam free for about two hours back stage before the show. The only time I was told to wait outside was when the girls weren't "decent," which is totally understandable. Even then I found other subjects to shoot while I waited. It was a blast.

I spent way too much time there last night, but I got a lot of photos I liked. If you want to see more from the evening, check out the photo gallery I created for caller.com.

Air Show

2009-04-21T17:57:00.004-05:00

The Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi held the annual South Texas Shoot Out over the weekend. Thousands of air show enthusiasts came out to look up at the sky and watch planes take off and land. I'm not all that into airshows, and with rain predicted in the weekend forecast I was really not looking forward to this one. Luckily the rains stayed away, and the clouds started to break just as the Blue Angels started to perform.

And man, they were loud. I loved these photos of these girls looking for the planes, seeing them come, then covering their ears as they roar by. It ran as a three-photo series in the paper, which I though worked well.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T06:00:00.001-05:00

Astros

2009-04-09T09:00:00.003-05:00

The Hooks season doesn't officially start until later tonight, but baseball fans were treated to a special exhibition game last week against the team's major league affiliates, the Houston Astros. I'm sure coming out onto Whataburger Field was a big change from Minute Maid Park.

They also had a Pee Wee baseball team named the Astros come out on the field before the game to stand by Hooks players for the National Anthem. I was kind of obsessed with them, but for a while they wouldn't stop looking at me and posing. Eventually they forget I was there.

Another photographer was assigned to shoot the game. My mission was to get a couple of pre-game features for A1.

The Hooks actually won, although I'm told that by the end of the game they were really just playing against other Hooks players in Astros uniforms. We'll see how this season pans out starting tonight.

Siempre Selena

2009-04-08T10:00:00.008-05:00

It's been 14 years since popular Tejano singer Selena was gunned down in a Corpus Christi hotel by her fan club president, but many of her fans are just as faithful today as they were then. One woman told me she still listens to her music every day. Every day! I turned to her sister standing next to her, and she looked back at me and said, "Yup, EVERY day."

There was a moment of silence at her memorial along the Bayfront, followed by some dancing and singing. One Selena enthusiast dressed liked the late singer in a custom made outfit. It really looked authentic. The rest of the days events took place behind a small convenience store in her old neighborhood. One of the outside walls has a big Selena mural, and each year for the last 14 years fans have gathered to remember and hear performances of her music.

I was in high school when Selena was killed. I knew who she was because my mom liked her music, but I was not a fan myself. I remember how big of a news item it was when she died. I grew up in Lake Jackson, which is where Selena was born and lived the first few years of her life before moving to Corpus Christi. I remember a few details of that time very clearly. I remember seeing a shadowy vigil photo the next day in the local newspaper, with a teary-eyed schoolmate front and center holding a candle in Clute Park. I remember Houston news anchor Marlene McClinton calling Lake Jackson a "tiny community" as she introduced a story about her hometown. We all got a kick out of that. At one point ABC reporter John Quinones came to town for a story. Years later, I remember going to the local theater with my family, and getting such a thrill from the opening few scenes that were set supposedly set in Lake Jackson. "It really does look like Lake Jackson!" we marveled. I also remember crying at the end, mostly because I cried a lot back then, but also because her death really was tragic and unneccesary. I guess that is why I some people can't stop wondering what could have been, faithfully remembering a star they could call their own.

Belated Spring Break

2009-04-07T12:27:00.005-05:00

I was going through my photos from last month for the NPPA monthly clip contest, and I realized I didn't post any of my Spring Break photos to the blog. Can't have that.

Spring Break is one of those annual events that photographers around here dread. I was lucky enough to avoid the madness for most of March. Each wave of college kids came and went week after week, until I was finally sent out to shoot some photos from the final weekend of revelry on Padre Island. As much of a pain as it to navigate the inebriated crowds, I guess I shouldn't complain about getting paid to hang out on the beach and take pictures of people frolicking in the surf and sun. And I can't tell you how many times I was offered free beer. I never took any, of course.

I loved this photo. I though it was such a quintessential Spring Break scene. I took several photos of people drinking, and whenever I asked their ages for the cutline, they were always 21. What a coincidence.

Cute Overload

2009-03-18T18:04:00.008-05:00

Sometimes I think the "day" shift should be renamed the "cute-kids-in-disgustingly-cute-outfits" shift. Can you tell I'm going through a bit of sports shooting withdrawal? This was from an event at a local charter school. They turned their parking lot into a dance floor, where the kids two-stepped their way across the concrete in little cowboy hats, boots and western outfits. Cute overload! It was so cute I wanted someone to punch me in the face later just to even myself out. I really do like what I shot, even though (once again) I was kind of angry when I arrived at this assignment. Something about being angry at an assignment really makes me shoot better, I think. I'm not sure why. Its therapeutic, I think, like a long run or something. I work out the anger by busting out some photos. Click. Click. Release.

Now this kid knows how to work out some anger. Don't worry kid, the day is almost over. You can take off the outfit soon enough.

Twirlers

2009-03-04T17:40:00.005-06:00

Over the weekend I shot a little baton twirling competition, featuring high school and college twirlers from around the state. It was one of those assignments where as soon as I walked in, I wanted to walk back out. Not because it wasn't visually interesting, but because I felt so far out of my element I wouldn't know how to relate to any of these people. They were all super nice, though. After some uncomfortable staring and probably some odd facial expressions, I began to make photos I liked.

And I only got hit with a baton once. Don't worry, it only hit the camera.

Hospital

2009-03-02T19:42:00.000-06:00

People always say they hate hospitals. All the sick people. The needles. The death. The truth is I love hospitals. The sterile and orderly environment. The free cable TV. And they have pie.

But mostly, I love hospitals because they take care of people. In my brother's case, they can save a life. When people say they don't like hospitals what they really mean is they hate the memories of seeing their loved ones in pain. They hate the helpless they feel knowing something is out of their control. I can definitely understand that.

Final Edition

2009-02-27T09:14:00.002-06:00

Final Edition from Matthew Roberts on Vimeo.
A final video from the folks at the Rocky Mountain News. I watched it twice this morning, and I cried at the end both times. So many fantastic visual journalists are now unemployed. Survivors guilt is starting to kick in.

Dress Up

2009-02-26T17:54:00.003-06:00

Those private school kids sure like to dress up, and it's not even Halloween. Two different events in two weeks. One was a colonial re-enactment. The other was a fairy tale re-enactment. Or something. The kids seemed to enjoying it.

For the most part.

Celis Watch

2009-02-21T14:21:00.006-06:00

Friday I was on "Celis watch," which meant it was my turn to stake out the court room for the trial of the year in Nueces County. It wasn't my first trip over, but it ended up being the last day of the trial. These are a few Celis portraits I liked over the course of the two-week Celis Circus.

There's a lot of back story to this, but in this trial Mauricio Celis was tried and convicted of falsely holding himself out as a lawyer. He faces a range of other charges stemming from some bizarre incidents last year. He's become this infamous figure in Corpus Christi, and the newspaper's daily blog covering his trial got thousands of hits and more than a hundred comments each day.

I don't cover many court cases, but I've done enough to know its nothing like Law and Order or anything you see in the movies, unfortunately. No one was held in contempt. No lawyers screaming "Objection!" No gasps in the courtroom before the judge pounded the gavel yelling "Order in the court!"

As a bonus challenge, Celis was also very aware of the camera. It seemed like every time he heard that click of the shutter he would look my way and then sit up straight or adjust his suit or something. The guy hired a spokesperson for the trial, so I guess it shouldn't have surprise that he was concerned with his image.

Pink in the Rink

2009-02-17T18:18:00.004-06:00

Over the weekend the Ice Rays had a breast cancer awareness campaign going on, called "Pink in the Rink." They turned the ice pink and drove a pink limo onto the ice filled with cancer survivors. When I got there the rink looked like a mess. With the ice all scratched up it was kind of hard to see the pink. Right before game time, though, the Zamboni came along and smoothed the ice over, revealing the Pepto Bismal like color under the ice. It was kind of cool.

Although I have to say they may have taken it a step too far with the pink jerseys. Forcing players to wear pink in such a testosterone-driven sport is just asking for trouble.

In other words, you're gonna get your ass kicked.

Ups and Downs

2009-01-10T19:26:00.004-06:00

I still hate parades, but they do have the potential to produce some interesting photos. I was pretty happy with this one today, with a little cowboy trying to help decorate his 4-H float.

It's been a busy couple of weeks, especially this week, where I've been bouncing around a five-county area running down photos. I even got to write a little story Tuesday at a wind farm. It was actually super stressful pulling double duty. I didn't know anything about this wind farm, the people involved or all the legal hoopla behind it. Fortunately it had all been covered pretty well by the paper in the past, so all they really needed was a basic story about the grand opening of the place. Stressful, yes, but the good kind of stressful. A job-well-done, you-earned-your-paycheck-today kind of stressful. Good times.

New Year, New Attitude

2009-01-01T17:23:00.007-06:00

(01/10/09-I had this in my blogger drafts and totally forgot to publish it. Oops!)
I'll admit I wasn't my jolliest this morning when I rolled into work at 8 a.m. after a night of New Year's Eve revelry. Shooting people swimming 60 laps at a pool wasn't on my list of new year's resolutions. Acting like my photos are better than they really are, however, is on my list. So I give you the greatest photo you've ever seen (this year (from me)):

I also got the chance to shoot the first baby of the year. Though I'd happily avoided it every year so far, I got oddly excited this year when I found out I was doing it. I wanted to go all out. You know, make it a spectacle. A Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, People Magazine kind of spectacle. It would amuse me.

Of course it turned out nothing like that. The mother was slightly reluctant to be photographed to begin with, and after I dragged a bag of lighting equipment through the hospital, the soft natural window light ended up feeling far more appropriate. I though this photo, with the mother and her too older daughters around the baby, turned out sweet.

Christmas Concert

2008-12-24T10:53:00.001-06:00

The Joe Garza Youth Orchestra had a Christmas Concert last week. I did a little story on the group at the beginning of the summer when they held their very first concert as an orchestra. I thought it was such a great idea: offering free lessons and borrowed instruments to kids who's families may not have the means to be a part of such a thing. They've had the lessons for years at a local recreation center, but this past year they secured a grant and were able to purchase dozens of new instruments. Enough to put together a little orchestra. We almost didn't cover their Christmas show, but I managed to squeeze it in before heading to a basketball assignment.

You Better Watch Out, Santa

2008-12-18T21:50:00.004-06:00

Those kindergartners want your soul.

Or, at least your sweet candy goodness. Nothing says Christmas like stringing up an effigy of a global icon and beating it with a stick. Some of those kindergartners really got into it, too. I hope this doesn't push any of them over to the "naughty" list.

Ice Rays

2008-12-14T11:07:00.005-06:00

So about halfway through the second period the game was still scoreless and there hadn't been any real fights on the ice. I had some decent enough photos but obviously nothing pivotal to the outcome of the game. Still, I'd already stayed longer than I had planed, and I had a ton of images to edit through before deadline. I figured it would be safe to leave now.

"You know as soon as I leave there's going to be a big fight or a goal or something," I joked with another photographer.
"That's the way it always goes," he said.

I walked away from the rink and out the rear arena door. I got maybe 10 feet away when I heard the fans roar inside. The siren went off and the announcer started screaming about an Ice Rays goal. Son of a...

When I was editing my stuff later, I found it hard to open up a photo I liked that didn't have our newspaper's logo somewhere in the image. That's good marketing for us I suppose, but it was slightly annoying for me.

The paper plastered its name everywhere. You couldn't even ~~look at a players ass~~ have a player skate away from you without seeing our newspaper's logo. Hey, I'm all for whatever keeps out circulation numbers up, I suppose.

Its Over (or, Cheerleaders Hate Me)

2008-12-09T21:38:00.017-06:00

My days of shooting high school football have come to an end. At least for this year. Our last local team from Refugio, Texas, was eliminated in the state regional quarterfinals at the Alamodome in San Antonio over the weekend. I decided to tag along and take a couple of snap shots while I was there.

Before the game started, I think I may have creeped out some of the cheerleaders. They were practicing their flips along the sideline as the team was warming up on the field. I thought it would be neat to try and freeze one upside down with the team in the background. I prefocused, set my camera down on the ground and shot a couple of frames. It didn't take long for one the cheerleaders to notice. I'm not sure what she thought, but they abruptly stopped and ran to the other end of the field. I didn't really get what I wanted, but whatever.

The game went alright. Nothing stellar as far as action. Refugio couldn't get anything going in the first half, which I used as an excuse for not really getting a decent photo. The second half went much better for me. Not so much for Refugio.

It was interception and turnover central for Refugio. And it seemed like they couldn't do anything to stop the opposing team's running back.

The coaches were not happy.

But the people who were really unhappy (beside the players and families and such), were the cheerleaders. I'm not sure why, but at every playoff game I've shot, the cheerleaders always seem to burst into tears. I get that it is a sad event to see your school lose, but it always puzzles me how emotionally invested they are.

There two girls were crying behind me, and I really wanted to take their picture. I turned quickly and fired off two frames before the girl on the right gave me this disgusted look and ushered her sobbing friend away. I had actually tried to shoot the girl on the right earlier. Before the game was over she sat down on the bench next to (I assume) her football player boyfriend. He was "overcome with emotion" (football players don't cry) as I stood behind them. I tried to use my mental powers to get her to put her arm around him or make some sort of comforting gesture. She didn't, so the photo didn't really make. At that point I was pretty sure the girl wasn't going to be thrilled to give me her name anyway.

By the end just about everyone was crying. With so many "emotional" players, I felt kind of guilty singling one or two out for a photo. So I avoided the crying player shot. I was very excited, however, to get this shot.

I just love this little water boy! He offered his support to one of the emotional players as the team came off the field. It was something different and unexpected, I thought, so I was super excited I got it.

Playoffs

2008-12-05T21:12:00.010-06:00

OK, so I've been a bit distracted over the last month...

Between a busy work schedule, holidays and that minor shifting of our staff (we no longer have a photo editor), I've been unable to post on the old blog. Actually, unwilling is more like it. When I would get to the end of my day, I just didn't have the desire to spend another 15 minutes or so minutes crafting a witty yet self depreicating blog post. Plus my stuff from October wasn't all that great to begin with, so you really didn't miss much ;)

Much of what has kept me busy has been high school volleyball and football playoffs. The sports beat has been good to me the last few weeks. I've had a lot of fun doing it, and I've come away with some images I think people have enjoyed. Tomorrow I'm headed to San Antonio for what could be my last football game of the year. If they lose, its over. If they win, they are going to the state finals. It's a bit bitter sweet. For the last year and a half (has it been that long?), I've been working the night shift at the newspaper. Starting in January we're juggling the schedules around, and I'll be working a set day shift. That means no more sports for this guy for a while. Tear. It was fun while it lasted.

So here's hoping Refugio gives me just one more game after tomorrow.

Homecoming Parade

2008-10-28T11:15:00.001-05:00

I've been slightly obsessed with the Diptych, but haven't really tried shooting them. It's mostly because I'm not really familiar with the concept. The pairing of two contrasting yet parallel images, however, is intriguing.

This one is sort of obvious, and I'm not really sure qualifies. Scott Strazzante's Common Ground provide's much better examples. More recently, Damon Winter with the New York Times put out a set of political pairings that are worth a look as well.

Marching Madness

2008-10-27T13:18:00.012-05:00

Who doesn't love marching band? Well, me now after spending 8 straight hours editing video of the high school performers last week.

The final product, though, was worth all the time. It came out kinda long (like, super long), but I think it flows well and tells a complete story.

I tagged along with our multimedia production guru, Michelle Christenson, for this video. We both shot video and I was the lucky one tasked with putting it all together in some sort of coherent, watchable fashion. Success?

By the way, after all this marching band immersion, I decided to check and see how my old high school band fared this season. Turns out that they are going to state AND they are marching to a Sigur Ros song. Wow, I don't remember the band being nearly that hip when I was there.

Volleyball

2008-10-15T13:50:00.009-05:00

I really don't shoot much volleyball anymore, but last night I got the chance to cover one local high school team as it made its push for the playoffs. I was inspired to try and shoot this with the same eye I shoot every other non-sport event. My first game out this season didn't go so well. I was a bit out of practice, and spent all my time just trying to get a decent, in-focus photo. Well, last night I arrived extra early to give myself more breathing room to shoot some different, non-action photos. Once the game started, I unfortunately snapped back into ~~panic~~ sport-shooting mode. So here are a couple of images I like from before the game. I'm no Damian Mulinix, that's for sure, but I still like them.

While I was shooting a less-than exciting society event tonight, I was pulled aside by two different people who commented on the volleyball photos. The first women said she was excited to not only see her daughter in the paper, but to see all the extra photos that ran online. She mentioned one particular photo (above) that she really liked. I was surprised. All of these were photo I really just shot for myself. The only reason I crammed them into a photo gallery with my action photos was so that I could share them on my blog. I guess I didn't think the average reader would appreciate something other than the standard game action we always give them. It definitely encourages me to continue. It also made shooting the society event tonight a little more bearable. Just a little.

Oh, Oh Its Magic

2008-10-14T18:01:00.003-05:00

I set out to shoot some "magic hour" photos the other night, and came across this guy hunting for small bait fish. I was running late and almost missed the hour completely, but there's still a bit of magic in these photos, I think.

Waiting For My Rocket

2008-10-13T21:10:00.003-05:00

I shot one of those rocket launches last week, where I had so much fun I threw together a little audio slideshow.

Sometimes I kind of forget how cool these can be, the marriage of audio and stills. They can sometimes feel trite, formulaic or just another chore in the modern world of a newspaper photographer. But for people outside newsroom (you know, those readers we're suppose to serve) these still have an impact. I got a nice little note from an instructor telling me what a good job I did and how much the students are going to "treasure" the slide show. It really made my day. Who doesn't want their work to have an impact like that? Yeah, its not some stellar multimedia piece on poverty or anything, but that probably doesn't make it any less important to these kids.

Band and Cheeleaders

2008-09-29T18:01:00.002-05:00

Viva Mexico

2008-09-19T13:20:00.005-05:00

Just a couple of photos from a Mexican Independence Day celebration held last night at a local high school. As usual, I was drawn to the band.

Tuesday Night Lights

2008-09-16T21:55:00.003-05:00

Another make up football game, and another creepy mascot.

Something about their absent stare gives me the willies. I ran into the female version of this Wildcat mascot eariler, and we had a brief stare-down contest. I couldn't look away until she lifted up too bells and started ringing them in my direction. It spooked me and I had to move on.

There was a nice little sunset towards the end of the first half. There was also about to be a touchdown. Should I shoot the play, or run over and shoot the nice light? Rather then shoot one well, I decided to shoot both sort of haphazardly. I thought this frame was nice though.

Monday Night Lights

2008-09-16T10:17:00.001-05:00

Hurricane Ike canceled several games last Friday. Last night I shot one of the make-up games. It was kind of odd, and I swear the entire time that creepy Brahma mascot was staring me down.

The Hurricane That Wasn't

2008-09-15T16:36:00.009-05:00

Yes, Ike was a very real hurricane, and for about two days last week it looked like it was going to be a very real disaster for Corpus Christi. And then things changed.

It had to hit somewhere, and unfortunately for the people in the Houston/Galveston/Surfside area, they lived in that somewhere. And while the infrared satellite images on CNN and The Weather Channel made it look like Ike was about to demolish the entire Texas coast, we didn't get a drop of rain down here.

It was about Tuesday night when the freak out began. The computer models were showing a Saturday landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas. I woke up the next day to the sounds of hammers and drills as neighbors put up boards and hurricane shutters. It was all a bit surreal.

My first assignment Wednesday was to go to Robstown, one of the evacuation pickup sites for people who needed help getting out of town. There wasn't a ton of people there, and several buses sat empty in the parking lot as evacuees trickled in. It made me nervous though. As a small group of people were tagged and lead onto the first bus, I pondered my own decision to stay and ride out the storm.

Next, I was sent out to hit up the gas stations and grocery stores. I was surprised how much food and supplies some people were buying. I had just put together my own little hurricane survival kit, which consisted of a variety of canned meats (ham, corned beef, fake spam), some crackers, cereal bars and some bottles of water. I just need enough to ride out the storm, I thought. I think in the back of my mind I figured that if I got hungry, I'd just go to Subway or something. I don't have the best survival skills, apparently.

The next day the hurricane was veering further and further north, but it was too late to stop the newsroom emergency train. By Thursday afternoon we were on voluntary hurricane staff and I was being sent to all sorts of random places looking for even more people preparing for the storm. Shoot video, get quotes, write copy. It was exhausting.

Friday came, and with it came the storm surge. The little effects that were felt in Corpus Christi were concentrated on the beaches and bayfronts. I was told to come in pretty late Friday. By then other photographer had been all over the beaches and the piers damaged by the high waves, so there was no reason for me to go. So I was sent to find some bay flooding. Oh, and shoot some more video while you're there, despite how un-thrilling this all is at this point. GO!

By nightfall there was no rain, and all the churning clouds in the sky did was provide a pretty cool sunset. This is as close to Ike as I was going to get.

Until Saturday, when I came face to face with evacuees from Houston. The ones that evacuated here were buying up all the generators and hurricane supplies that many people in Corpus Christi were returning. They were about to head to homes with no power, no food and water and possibly to no home at all. It was sobering. After Saturday my coverage of the hurricane and its affects would come to an end. I could go home and use my AC and cook on my stove and watch TV and return to normal. Yes, part of me is disappointed that I didn't get to cover a storm, but a lot of me is grateful we avoided all the devastation.

Good luck, Houston. Stay strong.

Wigging Out

2008-08-30T21:13:00.007-05:00

I'll admit, I was a little shocked when I arrived at an Irish step dancing competition today. I think my initial reaction when I walked into the room was, 'What is wrong with all these people?'

The reason for my reaction sat right on top of every little girls head. Aside from the unusual, armless dancing, each female competitor wore a tightly curled wig on their head. It was so bizarre. However, it soon became my favorite thing about the competition. For the next few hours I obsessed over those wigs. They were fantastic. I ended up really enjoying this assignment. Man, I miss working Saturdays.

There's a few more (non-wig related) photos from the event here if you are interested.

Football Parade

2008-08-28T13:45:00.004-05:00

There's only one thing I hate more than a slow-moving parade, I found out yesterday. And that's a really fast moving parade. Seriously, what's the rush?

I'm also not a fan of football booster moms. One conversation went something like this. Can you guess which team her son is on?

HER: Did you get a picture of the varsity team yet? They're right over here on this trailer.
ME: Oh, I haven't yet, no.
HER: Make sure you get the varsity team, that's why we're all here.
ME: I'll get them once the parade starts.
HER: What pictures have you taken already? Those other trailers don't have varsity teams. Did you take their picture, because you really need the varsity team.
ME: I haven't taken a single picture yet!"
HER: Well, make sure you get the varsity team."

It's gonna be a long football season.

Olympic Baseball

2008-08-26T22:41:00.013-05:00

So here's a game you can play at home.

Last week I was very burned out on baseball. It was the last full week of the Hooks minor league season, and I was ready for it to all just go away. At the same time I was obsessively looking at Olympic photo blogs. I was astounded, sometimes jealous, yet always inspired. As I drove to yet another game, I thought, why don't you think of this as an Olympic venue? Go in with a fresh eye and shoot it like you've never been there before. The actually game was secondary, and the spectacle of the event became the focus. Here's some stuff I got (pretend they are all Chinese and the Olympic symbol is everywhere, it makes them better).

Yeah, I'm no Sol Neelman or Scott Strazzante (unless you count when he talked about missing the shot while shooting track and field), but it was fun. It definitely made the last few games of the season bearable. Until we meet again, Hooks.

Creative Differences

2008-08-25T22:48:00.003-05:00

The best new comedy sweeping the nation premiered over the weekend. "Creative Differences," the short film me, my roommate Israel and our friend Phil made, had its debut at the Corpus Christi 7-Day Film Project screening on Saturday. Watch it and tell me how great it is!

There were a couple of rules for the films.
1) The film had to be 4-8 minutes in length (not counting credits and titles)
2) The film had to be totally written, filmed and editing within the 7 day time period.
3) A specific prop, a line of dialogue and a certain character had to be included in the film. They were: a tortilla, "You can go to (______) and (_______) for all I care," and a character named Beth, the victim of a recent tragedy.

I thought our movie was great, but unfortunately we were not showered with awards at the screening. Thejudges just didn't get our genius, I suppose. We got a lot of laughs though, and the audience really seemed to like it. That's all that matters. At least that's what I tell myself.

Smoke Break

2008-08-08T21:41:00.005-05:00

I was waiting for some smokers to take a break the other day at Whataburger Field. The designated smoking area had some beautiful light streaming onto the concourse, so I decided to shoot from above. It was also part of my sneak attack plan to shoot pictures of smokers without telling them why I was taking their picture. Something about embargoed news and what not. Whatever. I liked the angle, and the light was super fantastic.

Unfortunately no smokers showed. I had to shoot the game as well, so I eventually abandoned my post. I did shoot a few passers by as I waited. This little boy was the only one to notice me on the balcony above. I thought it made a nice photo. If only the kid had a stogie in his other hand.

Football

2008-08-04T21:34:00.007-05:00

It's almost that time of year again.

Football returned to the Coastal Bend Monday, with high school teams heading back to the field for the first day of practice.

It was so hot outside today. It was 95, with a heat index of about 237 degrees, I think. I can't imagine having to run and throw and work out in this heat. There's gonna be some warm Friday nights on the football field this year.

Time to put your game face on, I guess.

Skate

2008-07-30T18:08:00.004-05:00

"My name's Michael and I'm a photographer with the Caller-Times. I got a picture of you skating, you mind if I get your name."

"Oh, no, I don't want a picture of me skating in the paper."

But I like the shot, I thought. It has palm trees. It's not even a shot about you, you just happen to be in it.

He continued, "In fact, can you just delete the photo? I don't want to be in the paper at all."

I thought, I just spent the last half hour scouting out the scene and waiting for this photo. I spent even longer driving across this city looking for anyone actually doing something interesting outside. If you think I'm deleting this photo...

"Uhh, I guess." I said.

He skates off.

Dolly Disappoints

2008-07-23T19:46:00.005-05:00

All is well in Corpus Christi, Texas. Besides that little hurricane that landed about 130 miles down the coast, it was just another day at the office.

I bought some rubber rain boots yesterday, which came in handy for a few photos like the one above, but mostly I just felt awkward walking around in them. I was soaked by the end of the day, but at least my feet were dry.

We missed a direct hit from hurricane Dolly (thankfully?). It rained on and off all day as each squall from the hurricane's outer bands past over the area. There was some flooding in the usual spots and a lot of wind, but that was about it. No heavy damage reported in the area like there was down in Brownsville or Harlingen. I sort of stuck to the downtown area so I wouldn't overlap with the other photographers shooting in other parts of town.

It was pretty much a day of hunting for rain features. I was a little disappointed in how I shot today, but I think it was good practice if the real thing ever comes our way.

Hello, Dolly

2008-07-21T21:52:00.006-05:00

It's funny how quickly things can shift. I moved into a new place and had nothing but moving trucks, heavy boxes and decorating ideas on my mind all weekend. So I was a little caught off guard when I walked into the newsroom and people were buzzing about Dolly. I really should have picked up a paper or watched the news at some point this weekend.

As I walked to my desk, one of the other photographers asked if I was ready for a hurricane. My mind had a hard time processing as she went on to list all the items I should have in my car in case the tropical storm in the Gulf strengthens and swings our way. When she was done, all I could think to say was, "I really hope this doesn't delay getting the DSL set up at my new place."

I was soon sent out to get pictures of people preparing. As I drove away from the office, the reality of what could potentially happen over the next few days set in.

And I got very excited. I was also very anxious.

Back in May, everyone was sent a letter about volunteering to work the hurricane and given a copy of the company's Hurricane Preparedness Plan. They don't force anyone to work a hurricane. Once a solid threat heads this way the paper goes to an all volunteer staff. I wasted no time reading, signing and returning that letter. Why wouldn't I? Besides the potential for some awesome photos, you get hurricane pay AND you get to camp out at the office during the storm. Sounds like a blast! Now we just wait to see if anything actually happens.

This One Time, At Band Camp...

2008-07-17T22:15:00.006-05:00

(God loves Trombone players)

A couple of images from a day at a summer band camp. I loved it so much, I put together a little multimedia thing. I shot stills and gathered audio, and our intrepid intern shot video and some stills. Here's what we put together:

He Shoots

2008-07-16T18:16:00.002-05:00

I may not have scored with the editors on this one, but I still really like the photo. Its a slam dunk, to me at least.

I Will Not Be Ignored

2008-07-14T16:44:00.012-05:00

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

2008-07-10T22:18:00.006-05:00

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

2008-07-02T08:30:00.001-05:00

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

2008-07-01T22:09:00.007-05:00

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!