Can't think of a clever title

See, I'm back in less then two months. Hurray for me.

Since I've been gone from the blog I've been playing some games, using a few of them to actually connect with my friends who are far, far away. (Everyone move down here, it's warm!)

But I have actually spent the last few weeks with my mind obsessed with a possible business idea. I honestly felt like a genius, because I'd never heard about anything like it before, I even searched the internet and found nothing similar. So I spent the better part of a day frantically scrawling down details and plans, imagining what could happen if it took off.

The next day, first thing in the morning, I did another search and found a very similar idea. It broke my heart. But it looks like it's not exactly working for them...so I've adjusted my idea and we'll see if I ever actually get to the point where I seriously consider talking about it with people.

Anyway, on to some photos.


Swimming is fun to shoot, but I've said that before.
The one below I've been thinking about for awhile; getting someone completely underwater from over them.  It didn't work exactly like I wanted, but I think it's a good first attempt.  The water distorted her face, but I like the way it curved her and the lines.



I believe I've mentioned it previously, but my favorite sport to shoot is boxing.  Probably because it's just fun to watch from right next to the ring, but also because I don't cover it often.


The story is about the guy on the right, Terrance Woods. He will be boxing on ESPN2 or 3 on Friday, I believe.  He seemed pretty damn good.  They were having him box for eight rounds, with different guys every couple rounds, so they stayed fresh and he had to deal with it.   In his sixth or seventh round they put in a really big dude and after Woods got a few good shots the guy just kept running away; actually almost turning around to move faster a few times. I wish I had those channels.


A cool shot that didn't run because it was a junior varsity kid (boo!). Very intense.


This little girl was the first place female finisher in a local 10k and her dad still gave her a hard time about being slow. Sports parents are jerks.




She was playing a game where you keep a feather floating by blowing before it gets too far down.


Didn't run. Double boo.

That's it for now. I was going to post a shot I took so I could tell the story of how I almost got run over by a car.

But that's the story, I was shooting tailgating and was crouching in a driveway packed full of cars and the guy didn't see me and started to drive his Escalade into my back.
No harm though.

Glowing water & seeing the world

Part of why I love journalism is getting to learn things and see things that other people don't.

Since moving to Texas I've learned several things: Barbecue is not just a sauce, people here think I sound funny and you have to watch out where you step because fire ants SUCK!

I also learned that water can glow.

After seeing it I remembered Tom Hanks talking about glowing algae in Apollo 13, but I still kept thinking "this can't be real."

It would be a huge news story if it were from any of the chemical plants down here, but it is just bioluminescent algae.

One of the reporters had an article about it, but it ran before I got my pictures. I got to the beach pretty late, so I guess it had dulled down some, but it was amazing looking.

The fog kind of made it harder to shoot, but I tried.



A guy that was on the jetty fishing said that earlier in the night it was really bright. Makes me bummed it missed it a little.

I went back the next two nights to see if it would come back, but it was gone. With hindsight I realize I could have spent more time there, I was tired and hungry...sure, but if I had known it was the last time I might see something like that I could have sat there all night.
In the haze lit sick orange by plant towers in the distance, I was just sitting there, hearing the sounds of invisible black waves coming in from the wide, wide gulf. I would then see this pale blue eruption of light burst into existence as the wave crested and churned the algae into a dance that made them visible.
Seeing it was probably one of the more breathtaking sights I've ever witnessed.

I know I'm a photo guy, but cameras truly and absolutely do not do some things justice. If it wouldn't have been foggy, maybe I could have captured a closer comparison to what I saw, but that's not the point. I often see people looking at the world through their cameras, phones or whatever. That's not the way you do it!

You have to see the world, then you document it.
I want to just yank it out of their hands and tell them;
"Just look! Soak it all in, because your camera phone is not doing justice to the amazing thing you are seeing. Look at the world with your eyes, capture it with your memory.
Some things are too rare and fleeting for cameras to truly represent, only the unfiltered eye can appreciate the depth and width of the world we have that can be so pure and surprising.
Your pictures should remind you of what you actually saw, not just be a product of what you pointed a camera at and pushed a button.
Make a true and beautiful mental image of these scenes; your kids, a game, the beach, your true life.
Because if you use a tiny lens to truly see and remember your life when drop that phone in the toilet you are really going to be pissed."

Rumors of my death have been exaggerated

Yes, I am in fact still alive.

I've been a swirling mix of busy, bored to death not busy, completely engulfed by some video games and tired. Most of these situations have also had a nice coating of pain from a re-occurring back pain that makes me so angry that I attach the hate to what I am currently doing.

It has some complicated thoughts and evaluations of my lot in life. But in moments of pain or the sweet joy of...not pain I still take photos.

I have quite the backlog to post, but luckily I have just put together my end-of-year contest submissions. I have total control over my National Press Photographers submission, but the ones through the paper were chosen from my initial selection by people I will admit I don't entirely trust as far as photo critiquing goes.

I love having eyes other than my own to look at my stuff, so I can get a unattached opinion, but if it is someone that has told me to stop doing my job creatively...well, come on.

Anyway, things are progressing.

I will admit in the months since my last post my passion for journalism is waning, which breaks my fucking heart. But I'm not sure how much validity to give to my thoughts right now, because I seem to have lapsed into one of my angry Ryan phases. It's been a long time since I've been in one and I have to say I used to kind of enjoy the distance it provided me from real self evaluation. But this one is different and I don't like it. So I've turned back to one of my old favorite venting techniques (besides video games), writing. Which is partially why I am clicking the keys right now.

Even if I hold back some of what I want to say, the process of just writing what is currently running through my head is like opening a gate to release the flood waters. Because at any moment something stark and truthful might just appear on the screen. Usually I will backspace over it, because this is a public forum and I don't want the entire world (Hi, world!) to know everything I think. But it works like those letters you write and then never send. Venting.

Okay, so here are some of what I think are my best work from the year that I haven't already posted. As I'm loading the photos on I may describe what I did or the story behind the image, if it is interesting.

I'll start with what I think is my favorite shot from the year.


Shot an event for a bunch of Marines returning from Afghanistan, but got there an hour and a half before they actually showed up. So I had some time to wander around and find interesting photos. I like almost everything about this photo.

Firefighter training. I felt brave standing right under this mock roof that they were swinging an axe into.





This is was a freaking awesome event. This local taekwondo studio hosted a squad from Korea that did some straight-up Matrix kung-fu shit. Jumping off a couple dudes to kick a board held on the top dude on a pyramid of STANDING people! I got some sweet stuff I was out loud saying "holy shit" about every other setup that they did. Then I got back to the office and my memory card corrupted and I lost every picture except this one and another. It was LAME!




He was trying to choke the chicken...too easy


He turned 11 on 11/11/11




Ending with my favorite sports shot of the year. Trying to do this same effect with a different runningback but the shot never worked with that kid.

Well, that's it for now.

I've had some decent stuff in January, including driving to Houston just to shoot tailgating at the Texans playoff game. It was kind of tease, but then I almost got run over by a car...so there was that.

I'll get to that stuff soon...hopefully. Or maybe in six months. :D