Louise and Andy's Wedding

So last Saturday I had the honor of being second photographer for David Yerby in shooting one of the coolest weddings I've ever attended. Louise married Andy at 6pm Saturday in First Methodist Church, on Dickson Street in Fayetteville.

Here are some shots from that beautiful day in their life.

And to top it off, a tribute to the photographer that got me started in the weddin' biz, Mr. Yerby-- don't let this shot fool you. He seems like a slavedriver but he's one of the most laid back and respectful guys I know.

Round Three

I was supposed to go visit the distribution room at TMN today, but decided that I should probably talk to a superviser about it first to aviod getting canned for documenting the place I like so much. So, I decided to revisit other areas and see if I couldn't get some different, or at least better shots than the first batches.

This is obviously a knockoff of anyone who has ever taken a photo of a flag in their entire life. Oh well, it's not exactly the composition-- it's the FLAGS that I like. Razorbacks, USA, Arkansas. I like how they're in that order, too. 'Nuff said.


These cans haven't moved since I started working here. Nor, seemingly, has the clock.

I always wondered what this trashcan was there for, anyway. Then, one day as I was leaving for lunch, I saw a co-worker dig some lint out of his pocket and shove it down the chute before hustling through the doors. It's a lint can.

Things can get hectic around here. Good thing we have wall art to soothe our souls.

I find it funny that right next to the water fountain is a fire extinguisher.

Another emo photo. I'm iffy about this. It's delivering the message, yet it's a little drab... then again, my message is kinda drab.

Sports writers are known for thier superior organization skills.

Another iffy shot. It's a pano!
And another! I like, though, in this shot, how the trash can is in the middle of everything.

Part two of The Morning News: After Dark

So follows the second installment of my little series on life in the pm hours of TMN. I can already hear the gentle critiques of my fellow photographers...I.E. "Are you sure this is what you want to do for a living?" etc., etc.

Runaround

So, today I decided to embark on a personal project that had been brewing around ever since I started working at TMN. I don't know a lot of people that have the amount of enthusiasm over their job that I do, but basically, it's a gig I've been wanting since I was about 11 years old. I know... a little creepy. Anyway, I'm finally here, and I knew I'd want to make some memories of whatever time I get to spend before Magnum finally calls with their offer. This is the first part in a four segment series. I have no intention of publishing, distributing or even printing this work (well, maybe printing some of them). This is entirely a personal endeavor.

From about 9:10-9:25 PM, I walked around the sprindale building and shot... stuff. Here's some of that stuff.

Two Images

"Coffee"

I call these kinds of shots "problem photos". There's always going to be people who look at that shot and don't really like it-- whether it's the blurry face in the right of the frame or the blaring lamp behind the subject. To me, though, it fits. Everything fits just fine-- not that it "wows" me. I just remember an editor back in the day at the Traveler going on and on about this shot because of its rich colors and "crispness" I think she said. Just goes to show that a photo can have all kinds of perks, (no pun intended) but if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. What do you guys think?

Also, I read Sherminator's story about the verizon tower being on the library in Rogers. Fayetteville recently had a big ordeal about towers being built and how to keep them from shaking up the landscape. I believe Mayor Coody wanted a tower that could "fit in". So in keeping with the idea that towers should be camoflauged with some kind of feature like trees.. I decided to make one that wouldn't really be noticed in the Rogers area, shown below. All thoughts are welcome.


Oh! And in case you guys haven't heard-- I was recently nominated Man of the Year by Gullible Magazine. I can't wait to get my gold-leafed plaque and engraved pen/pencil set. Awesome!!!

Word of the Day: Versimilitude, plus a bonus review of TransFormers!

verisimilitude - noun
the appearance of being true or real : the detail gives the novel some verisimilitude.
DERIVATIVES verisimilar |-ˈsimələr| adjective ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin verisimilitudo, from verisimilis ‘probable,’ from veri (genitive of verus ‘true’ ) + similis ‘like.’

Tonight, I had a hot date to go see Transformers. I challenged my date not to poke, prod, or otherwise molest me during to movie so that I could actually watch it. She did pretty well. In fact she rose to the challenge whole-heartedly and sat with someone else four rows in front of me. I was impressed at her resilience. The guy she sat with didn't seem to mind pokes, prods or molestation, however, which I find annoying. What did he pay $6.75 for if she's just going to pester him all night?? Anyway, I'm actually joking about almost all of that.

Transformers was a definite must-see, but because of its length, it would have been nicer to watch on a comfortable couch instead of the back-breaking seats at Razorback theatre. My sister's warning was very accurate-- they recruited a "hott" girl that does more ass-wagging than lip flapping. There were actually two "hott" girls-- the original one having what seemed like a southern cockney accent. I don't know what exactly they were trying to pull. The shallowness of these characters imply that there's not going to be a sequel, and if there is, it will be with a completely redux'd cast.

Sam, played by Shia LaBeouf, was actually pretty funny as a teen who can't be kept down despite his non-status in highschool and a very thin-paned crush on the school's 21-year-old-porn-star-in-11th-grade.

Bottom line, good movie.... as long as you're not expecting any oscar-worthy screenwriting.

Cheers, all.

Word of the day: Spawn

Spawn

verb -- [ intrans. ] (of a fish, frog, mollusk, crustacean, etc.) release or deposit eggs : the fish spawn among fine-leaved plants |
[ trans. ] a large brood is spawned. • ( be spawned) (of a fish, frog, etc.) be laid as eggs.

[ trans. ] (of a person) produce (offspring, typically offspring regarded as undesirable) : why had she married a man who could spawn a boy like that?

[ trans. ] produce or generate, esp. in large numbers : the decade spawned a bewildering variety of books on the forces. • Computing

[ trans. ] generate (a dependent or subordinate computer process) : from time to time it spawns two copies of the ip-up program, other times only one.

noun -- the eggs of fish, frogs, etc. : the fish covers its spawn with gravel. • the process of producing such eggs. • the product or offspring of a person or place (used to express distaste or disgust) : the spawn of chaos: demons and sorcerers. • the mycelium of a fungus, esp. a cultivated mushroom.

DERIVATIVES spawner noun

Air Hockey and Waffle House

Last night the young guns of TMN came together to answer the burning question we'd all been asking since that first night at Ryliegh's. Who is the best---of the best-- of the BEST at Air Hockey?

While no official rules applied and no real bracket system was enforced, Sean was the clear winner having at least 8 wins under his belt. I was, however, the only one to defeat him, not once-- but twice. We currently remain tied in our series, at a very risky 2-2. When we finally get a chance to finish out our best of 5, I believe it will be an epic battle-- and possibly dangerous for innocent bystanders. After all, I sent the puck sailing through the air at least four times.

Below is the epic battle between The Sherminator and Face-of-Steel.



The gang, minus me, since I'm taking the photo.


Zamora ordered a plate of steaming, disgusting looking dish called "Hash Browns: All The Way" It has everything.

Brandon. Cheeeeeese!

Melissa's younger brother, Cody-- apparently some sort of musical savaant.


Melissa "The Sherminator" Sherman
Me. Pay no mind to that blotchy looking area between my knuckles and my cheek. I had to photoshop one of my digits out since this is primarily a G-Rated blog.
Sean. A face of cold steel. The winner extraordinaire of Air Hockey.

A new series...

First of all, the word of the day is Recognizance.

recognizance noun
Law a bond by which a person undertakes before a court or magistrate to observe some condition, esp. to appear when summoned : he was released on his own recognizance.

I find this word particularly interesting because the sentence used to illustrate its context in the provided definition is essentially the only time the word is ever used, to my knowledge.

Didn't see that coming!

Just when I was feeling crabby about not being out, shooting assignments.. like a "real photographer" God cuts me a little break from desk work. It started with a call from the boss.

"Apparently," he said with a pause...
Oh no, I think to myself. What did I do to the website now? "What's up?" I say.
"Well, apparently one of the sports guys forgot to send in a photo assignment, and it's running on the front page of the sports section. Can you-- are you able to get out for a bit?"
"No problem. I was just about to go out on my lunch break." (putting forth my best play-it-cool voice)
"Great. It starts in about 20 minutes so you have some time to get out there."
"I'm on it." I say. I'm on it?? What am I, Robin? To the bat cave!

Anyway, here's some outtakes.

So I guess I am useful, after all. I know I'm probably not ready to jump into full-scale photography work at a newspaper. Now that I work at TMN, I see how difficult and taxing it can be for our guys. I still have a lot to learn, and today the storm in my mind was calm. I realize two things:

1. Photojournalism is absolutely what I want to do with my life.
2. I need to head back to school and finish up so that I can be qualified to shoot full-time.

I might be able to land some job, somewhere without a degree... but I realize now that it's not about having a piece of paper-- it's about being ready.

So, whenever the time is right, which I'm thinking is going to be sometime in September, I'm going to re-enroll at the U of A. I'll take morning classes, which I know is going to be brutal when coupled with working at TMN full time... but I'm sure this is what I want to do... I want to be absolutely ready when I make that leap.