Just finished with the 1st in a series about the goings on after-hours in Wise County!

Chose the wise regional Hospital as my 1st subject, these guys are on point.24 7. It shows the 1st image as if night going to day because that's,  exactly how I felt while shooting this. It became hard to distinguish between the two after a while, so the photo just seem to set up the whole series!

Check out the complete take at wise regional!

My hat is off to this guy! Presidential candidate John Davis came rolling through  Decatur this week claiming to fix America with his patriotic wrench! Davidson who is only on the ballot in 3 states claims that he will visit every County in the United States in his patriotic red white and blue bus!

For me, it was a chance to practice and impromptu portrait on a last-minute call, things change when you forget your flash and reflectors! As luck would have it Davis rolls up, and parks in the shade, sweet, all I had to do was pull him into the light and I had a minus-1.7 background made in the shade if you will. The hard overhead light gave him that harsh workingman, outdoors look, and his rolling billboard killed the busy background!

 From the set, portraits

It's been an honor to cover this legendary coach for the last decade of his career. He's displayed more love, care and passion for this sport than any coach I've ever met. It has been an honor to provide you with action from the sidelines in the field of this giant of a man.

As of Monday morning, Joe announced his retirement to Wise County and the world. When I got the call, I immediately started to figure out how to project this visually to the public. As anyone knows who has shot Joe, he's not always the easiest to capture on film when he is aware of a camera, but from 10 years of good standing and a relationship with this man, he complied in every way possible. From him I felt a sadness on one hand of leaving his comfort zone for years and on the other, a great joy to pass this on to the younger generation. I found the best photo to be something that conveyed both emotions. This is what I came up with.

The key to this was the simplicity of the shot, after all, Joe gets board with my camera pretty quick so this is nothing more than a flash on a rope strung out of view on the camera right down a narrow hallway to simulate the natural light almost as if the light represents the next step in life and he's just waiting in the wings until June.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

From the last 10 years with the exception of 2 rain outs I have shot  the Fort worth stock show parade. every year this thing seems to grow and expand unbelievably to the tune of almost 2 hours!

Never have been  that hip on shooting parades due to most of it being staged! On the other hand, there is a lot of writers and participants from my coverage area, so it gets me out of town and in the mix!

And then again, you find a shot like the one above! For me this shot made the whole trip worth it, although the participant wasn't from my coverage area. A visual moment where everything came together at one time, the Boca, the reflection, the light reflected from a building onto the tuba player, gave me the shot I needed for being there! 

I have found over the years no matter what your subject is there are little moments swirling within the big picture, you just have to learn to be patient and wait on them, and when the photo gods align, it's almost surreal!

 More stock show

In the photographic world passion is a main ingredient. When the eye of the prospective viewer comes in contact with the photo it does not matter whether it’s the Sahara Desert, Napa Valley or the infinite lightshow of the Universe; always “the passion”, revealed through the photo, rules.  When your natural lens surveys a photo and your heart and emotions are engaged the photographer has created something spectacular!

Passion, in its many splendid forms, appears as often as we are willing to embrace it and is paramount to living this life fully. It exists for each of us.  My father, who was a most passionate man, my dear friend and mentor, frequently shared one of his favorite sayings “whatever you’re doing on New Year’s Day you will be doing for the remainder of the year”. I have adhered to this for many years and found it to ring true for me.  Bearing that in mind, it was imperative that this year be no different. 

My birthday celebration was delayed until New Year’s Day and shared with three of my favorite passions; my lover, my camera and a fine bottle of red wine. The bottle of William Knuttel was a very thoughtful birthday gift from Alex & Henry. Upon the popping of the cork, my desire to share my deep appreciation for the form of wine making was born.

An overwhelming love for photography possessed me to create a tribute to this moment by using a Nikon D3X with one flash on a cord to camera, left of the image. The image came through with excellent balance of natural light enhanced by a minimal of artificial light. I cannot imagine a more colorful combination!

I say “Let passion rule”!

From the set " Drink more Wine" 

Maybe the pendulum has swung too far to the right after being at its high point on the left.  Beginning around Thanksgiving the pendulum, which has seemed fairly balanced since the Fourth of July, begins to swing to the left.  It continues its ascent on through the month of December and climaxes around New Year’s Eve.  The high energy of preparations to reconnect with family and friends leads us to an intensity reserved for “the holiday season”.  Our undivided energy downshifts into third gear and we are at full throttle … giving, sharing and focusing on others.  We let our hair down and give ourselves permission to eat more, drink more, shop more and generally allow ourselves to enjoy life more.  The “season” is in full swing.

Now the “holiday season” has come to a screeching halt!  There’s just one issue I have with that.  It seems as though one of my feet is stuck in 2011 and doesn’t want to step over into 2012 with any kind of exuberance.  After all I’ve just experienced one of my top five Christmas’s ever!! The last few days of “withdrawal symptoms” have been painful.  As my sons and their families return to their daily routines in various locations around the planet my mind is unwilling to accept this change. I find myself longing for more time, more hugs, more smiles, more memories …

As I drove around Wise County at pre-dawn this morning it came back to me.  Every event has a beginning and an ending.  My privilege to begin 2012 in Wise County and to record life as it happens here is priceless.  Each time one of you expresses gratefulness to me for a photo of a family member or of an event or for one of my columns – I am renewed and catapulted to a greater awareness.  Thank you! 

I’ve always said there are two types of photographers – the one who looks for an excuse to take a great photo and the one who looks for an excuse not to.  My switch lever appears to be stuck in slow motion as my quest for the perfect balance reassures me I’ll be back in high throttle soon enough.  Have you made the switch?