bofday

the missing posts of yester-month...

i spent my birthday outside of comfort, texas on the ranch with my dad and lucy. the three day trip was extended to five so i could shoot the Big XII game in san antonio the following saturday (thanks boss!).

i'd been missing my folks and the hillcountry. it was rejuvenating to reconnect with both.

my dad took me on a motorcycle adventure out to enchanted rock. i still think of all the ways i could die riding on the back of that thing, but the views and smells are stunning.



the hike up the rock was shorter than i ever remember. as a kid it seemed like hours before reaching the top. it's the first place i ever heard the word "false summit", and the first place my body recognized what that meant.



as a teen i'd go camping with friends at the base and spend the day wandering around the granite uplift, in and out of the cave, scaring tour groups of school kids with voices from the shadows.



we'd bring our penniless teen version of a high class picnic to the summit. peaches, salami, crackers, a 2-gallon jug of 7-UP or the occasional bottle of cheap wine. we'd divvy out the goods and watch the sky or the sunset. we brought a kite once that lasted a whole 5 minutes before being whipped off by a gust of wind. most of the time we would explore the tiny tide pools of rainwater looking for signs of life. and all the time talking, joking, telling stories.

the hike was quick this time. 20 minutes on adult legs. i sat at the top and had a long talk with my dad looking up into the blue winter sky.

i miss the big group outings to e-rock. i get nostalgic for the time when so many friends lived so close and we had endless hours to explore. the rock is always the same but the experience will be different every time.

and my dad will always be a dork, but that's why i love him.



winter fields along the river road.



i like to think the farmer used the beer bottle to space the wires, ummm, yeah.



i can't wait to take a nap on this rock some summertime. the stretch of river beneath the cabin has cut a deeper channel since the last time i swam in it, which was more like sitting in it. it might be cannonball depth. sweet.



annual birthday self-portrait. sometimes this feel like a self-indulgent bit of navel gazing, but if i can't do that on my own damn birthday, then when can i? most of the time it takes me an hour to get comfortable being in front of my own camera, to stop trying to project what i'm feeling and just be. it's an annual reminder of what i request of others, often strangers, everyday. but that's the PR reason i do it every year. it's just something i do.

end of a championship

It's been a great year covering MU football (sorry gerry). In my first season at the Tribune, the Tigers went all the way to the Big XII Championship and were ranked #1 for the first time since 1960.

The last two games I covered KSU and OU:

Chase Daniel points to Martin Rucker while celebrating after the tandem hooked up for a 1-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Rucker and Daniel connected for two touchdowns in yesterday's 49-32 win over Kansas State.


Fox Sports Net sideline reporter Jim Knox crowd surfs in the Kansas State student section for the cameras during the fourth quarter.


The last remnants of the Kansas State student section chants "Beat KU!" as the Tigers leave the field after the game.


Freshman receiver Jeremy Maclin takes in the view of the Alamo Dome on November 30th. Maclin had 2,713 all-purpose yards, an NCAA record for freshmen.


Mizzou fans cheer in front of the Alamo for ESPN Game Day cameras.


University of Missouri junior Rob Grotha cheers on the Tigers during the first half Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.


Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel wipes his face during the first half of the Big 12 Championship game. The Tigers and Sooners were tied 14-14 heading into the second half.


MU Quarterback Chase Daniel looks up at the scoreboard in the second half of Saturday's Big 12 Championship game.


Missouri's Jeremy Maclin rushes for 22 yards to the Oklahoma 25 for a 1ST down during the third quarter.


Marching Mizzou looks on as the Tigers fall further behind in the fourth quarter.


Stoic golden girls.


Chase Daniel is sacked during the Tigers last possession of the Big 12 Championship game Saturday.


Game Over.


I won't be covering the Cotton Bowl, so my 2007 Tigers season ends here. I hope 2008 is just as exciting.

"When we give in the world what we want the most, we heal the broken part inside each of us." - Eve Ensler

i've had some lyrics lurking in my brain since last winter. it's one of those songs that i listened to a dozen times before i really heard it, and when i finally heard it, tears poured out. sometimes the simplest observations can provide the most convincing hope that things will all work out.

This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't
You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath

No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood
And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again
  -Regina Spektor, On the Radio

interesting cast of characters as of late...

i spent a few hours with mike gamble on one of those "why didn't the reporter tell us about this earlier?!" assignments. he lives on the missouri with his two dogs and loves the river life. "It's like being on vacation everyday," he says, even though he lost everything in the flood of '93. he rebuilt his house a half-foot higher and hopes that will spare him the next time.

what was essentially a last minute portrait turned into a few hours talking about wildlife, old cars, the habits of hyperactive golden retrievers, and an addiction to home-improvement shows. there were long lulls in our conversation when we both just stared out over the water as the sun dropped beneath heavy gray autumn skies. there's something very peaceful and open about people who live in their own version of paradise.





richard williford was driving on Route B north of Hallsville when he struck a deer that leapt from the roadside. The deer totaled the car, and Williford had to pull an antler out of his mouth after pushing the deer back through the windshield. it caused some damage to his teeth as the deer rattled its head back and forth after impact.

"I don’t even know how to explain it to anybody when you realize after impact that you’ve got a horn in your mouth and there’s something alive attached to it."



brenda haynes was my "our town" earlier this month. she opened a kindermusik studio to spend more time with her kids. she hasn't levelled out financially and her kids struggle with sharing her attentions with others. "“My daughter knows she can control whether I succeed or fail if she acts out in class."



stefan melnick leans on his sword as director tammy walker gives the cast notes after a run through of Robin Hood. teens will be teens.



i came up with a crazy idea for a fashion shoot: wear fall color, literally. over a period of two weeks i collected leaves from columbia and tried every method of preservation known to man. for the scale and duration of this project i ended up using paraffin wax to keep the leaves from losing color. we enlisted the help of two awesome design students from the local college to sew the leaves to a basic dress we got at walmart.







i learned alot about expectations and communicating with the design and writing side during this ordeal. i didn't quite get the shot i was looking for, but i'm very happy i spent the time to give it a whirl.

cpoy

one of the priviledges of living in columbia is being able to sit in during the judging of two very prestigious photo contests, CPOY and POYi. in between assignments this week i sat in a darkened room and listened to four judges narrow the field for a dozen categories of entries for cpoy. it was neat to see familiar work from friends make it into the finals and win awards. it was inspiring to see interesting characters and issues flash on the screen by the thousands.

in the context of this particular competition, there are qualities of good photojournalism that make it into the top tier everytime. excellent photography won't always get you past the first round. a pretty picture without a story will fail against an equally pretty one with a story. in other words, it's about the story, stupid.

this morning's judging of individual audio-slideshow confirmed for me some thoughts about what "the story" is. there is a glut of bad storytelling in this format in general. at its worst it's a source of boredom, missed opportunities and misapplied resources. seeing the things that don't work, over and over again, will hopefully innoculate me against doing them in my own work.

• The story is not "Hello, my name is _____."
• The story is not the recited history of place, people or events.
  
• The story is not the summary of the story.
• The story is not the introduction.
• The story is not the interview.
• The story is not the process.
• The story is not people talking about other people's stories.

there's a much more helpful list to be made of what the story actually is. i'm still working on that one. haha.

barnstorm XX - back in black

last year i had the incredible opportunity to attend the eddie adams workshop in upstate new york. it will always be one of the biggest honors of my career. four days of sleep deprivation, inspiration, scortching critiques and induction into the barnstorm family. it's a lot to take in.

over the last year i've gone back in my mind to that first walk up the driveway to the barn. faculty and alumni line the gravel road, cheering me on towards the door that reads 'you've arrived.' i try to recapture that feeling of relief, that moment saturated with pride and humbleness and confidence. it was the complete lack of doubt i remember most.



sometime over that next four days the doubt crept back in, small but persistent. in the face of so much amazing work, by peers and mentors, the power of my own seemed so jouvenile, like baby steps to their ballet. those cheers on the drive hadn't all been for me. and with a few more careless thoughts i deconstructed the moment i had worked so hard for.



i still felt an incredible boost from the workshop and an imperative to use the talent so many had invested in. there was just a lingering doubt. until this year.

on october 1st i rode a bus into the catskills as a member of the black team, the alumni that run the behind-the-scenes of the workshop. for four days there is non-stop raking, weeding, mowing, painting, scraping, sanding, cleaning, dusting, mulching, raking, tacking, planting, sweeping, hedging, insect-bombing, stocking, raking, mopping, excavating, furniture arranging, stone laying, pumpkin carving and did i mention raking? it's the most meditative housework i have ever done and as close to church as i have ever felt.

day two, standing on a ladder, two stories up, scraping paint from a window frame, my triceps aching from a day of raking, my blisters stinging from the sweat, my sense of gratitude overcoming my fear of falling, it hit me. everyone on that driveway the year before had done just as much work for me. over 100 people. countless man hours in dedication, in service, in belief in the talent that walks through that door. and all at once, i finally felt like part of the family.



i hope i have the opportunity to go back again next year.

smattering

sports and festivals, old ladies with ice cream and a touch of the medieval.


first MU home game. first home game touchdown.




high school football just before half-time. this is one i want to revisit.




softball games can be excruciatingly slow. one of our local high school teams has an outstanding pitcher. she's been in the paper so much we are banned from shooting her for awhile. most of the game is her striking people out. with very little field action, i was glad to get an "almost" with this play at second.


these girls won the local civil war, volleyball match between the two high schools in columbia.


the tour of missouri sprinted through columbia. the staff spread out over the city. we each got one, maybe two pictures as the group hustled through. as i waiting, baking in the sun, for the lead pack to appear some of the local cycling team rode through the course in elvis costumes. sweet.


the heart of america marathon at 6am.


ice cream social. another almost. still dig the red hat enough to post it.


mulekicker cloggers. fanning away the heat before another polka.


columbia hosted a(n) (inaugural?) roots n' blues n' bbq festival a few weeks back. a local bank was celebrating 150 years and payed for it all. no one knows if it will be back next year. at least it was fun while it lasted.






an outtake from this week's our town. the father and daughter were the ones that spoke to me (click the link for the story), but this guy had a good one, too. he's a teen with amtgard, a sort of society for creative anachronism, but with fantasy role-playing elements. he won the title of "champion" for his group for the next year. which means he has to lead the combat exercises and know all the rules and keep everyone in line. a sort of "coming of age" in a video-game-dungeons-and-dragons-come- real-life-boffer-fighting-swordsman sort of way.


brittany, 14, and her father cecil.

from the dailies

football season is upon us. it'll be a tough season to shoot with only a quarter of nice light before darkness falls. sf prep teams played in the afternoon to avoid gang violence, so i never had to use strobe during a game. le sigh. let's hope all the important plays happen in the first 15 minutes of the game.



a local frat was hanging out in the front yard to cool down during a spat of 100 degree days. the guy at the end on the right gave me a fake name so this could only be published here.


local firefighters and emergency workers participated in a acute-angle rescue workshop. some of the rescuers needed rescuing themselves.






portrait of an artist.


this is my first contribution to our paper's weekly photo column called "Our Town." It's one of the longest running, maybe the longest running, photo column in the US. Photographers find stories around town and bring it to the reader in one photo and 300 words or so. This is a great outlet for the journalist in every photojournalist. I hope to go back and do some audio and more photos with this mother of quadruplets.