...And now for something completely different

In the last week I have created six videos for the newspaper.

I was doing videos fairly regularly during football season but, due to both my work computer and my home computer being slow, making the videos became very annoying. My home computer was slightly faster, so I did most of them here...until it blew up.

Some stuff fried inside my computer, luckily I didn't lose any stuff on my hard drives, but I'm trying to be a bit more focused on archiving.

But I had to fix my computer. Luckily there was a credit deal at newegg.com, so now my computer fasterific! That's right, I'm making up words.

What I really want to do is make a true journalistic video about something that matters. I was hoping to get some help as far as subject matter, but it's looking like I'm just going to have to go it alone.

Anyway, instead of a pile of photos I thought I'd change it up and post some videos.  Enjoy.











Since I started posting videos I was looking at The Facts Video channel on youtube. I realized they aren't really credited except for at the end, not saying you shouldn't watch Holly's, but you are reading my blog...so just in case you are partial to my work, here are a few of my better ones.

This was the one I had the most fun shooting so far with actual voice interview describing the event to go along with the video and photos. And there is...ya know, ZOMBIES!

Go ahead, judge me!

Got to go to Houston on Saturday for work.

I tried to get in town earlier than I needed to be, and as I was starting to explore a bit I realize I had to leave. Oh well.



I'm trying to make more of an effort to enter work in monthly clip contests. I re-joined the National Press Photographer's Association. Also the Associated Press for my region sent an email letting members know that they are going to start a monthly contest, and if you send your stuff in to share on the wire they will add the photos in the contest. Which is cool, because I wanted to start sending my stuff out on the wire anyway. Two birds.

BUT! Stuff has to be published to be eligible for the NPPA contest. Luckily I've kind of got around the problem of cool shots not getting in the paper. Everything is uploaded to the print gallery for sale, but that doesn't count as "published" for contests. So I've started uploading them to the stories on the website.

Last post I put up my photoshop shot of the softball catchers. The next day I went in and re-did the lettering part on the jersey. I thought that really tied it all together.

And...it didn't run! Imagine that

On Saturday I shot the game this was meant to preview and showed one of the catchers and my phone disappeared for awhile into a crowd of excited high school girls. I thought I'd get it back and it would have been made over with curlers and lipstick, but it was fine.

In between games I had to drive about a half hour or so. The first didn't end until the second one started, so I was trying to hurry and I was also in a part of Houston I was not familiar with at all.

Yep. Got pulled over. Figured it would be for speeding, but as I was pulling off the expressway so the officer didn't have to stand on the tiny shoulder I realized he was coming up on me before I even got up to speed. What the hell?

Apparently there was a red light I didn't see and blew right through it. I really wanted to go back and see where it was, because I totally saw the yellow one I blew through, but it was yellow. But then I had to figure out which bit of curvy road crammed between overpasses, so it is possible there was a light there, but if there was I have no idea why it was there.

But I could tell the officer was pleased with my demeanor, behavior and genuine displeasure from having run a red light. After taking my license and insurance (and pronouncing my name right, which I told him I was impressed by) he just handed them right back and told me to have a nice day.

I was totally ready to eat a careless driving ticket, because I felt sick to my stomach after he told me my mistake, but he was a decent man and I behaved as I have been taught. Thanks, Papa Dush. :D

My Xbox finally died. :( I beat the story in LA Noire first though, so it wasn't as frustrating as it could have been.

Luckily, this month I am kicking ass at reprints. So I think I might be able to pick one up. I was going to just buy a used one from a pawn shop, but they are all the old ones like I have for about the same price as the new redesigned one. So if I take this months reprint money and do at all well in the next couple months, I should be able to swing it without upsetting my bill paying regiment.

On another money spending front I have been upset over the last couple months because I am flying up for a wedding in July and within a month's span of looking for plane tickets the prices DOUBLED! Frustration and desperation were all over in my head. I'm not going to miss it, but I really didn't want to put more crap on my credit card.

But luckily, I looked last week and prices have come back down. Probably because all those planes having cracks in them. I don't care if I have to hang on to the wing the whole way, just get me there.

I'm thinking of a plan for my next trip up, which will be in October for another wedding. If I can finally get a motorcycle endorsement I'd like to fly up and ride my bike back. It will be a hell of a ride and will likely cut my time in Michigan quite a bit short.

But I'm still thinking about it.

Short stop to write about softball...get it?

Had a few shots from one assignment today that I like.

Two local rival softball teams are facing each other in the playoffs to see who goes to state. It's pretty cool and we are doing a preview story the day of the game and I got to try some ideas for photos.

My first idea was to have a player from each team sliding toward the same base, from opposite sides. But I didn't want to get the girls dirty before doing other shots, so I worked on some other ideas. Had them face each other in a menacing fashion, which just turned into gigglefest 2011. I had also thought about cutting two players in the same position down the middle. So I shot that with the catchers, it kind of worked.


As I was splicing the two girls together I did the faces last. It started creeping me out, blending their masks together and the two different colored eyes staring at me.


I don't like to do "Photoshopping" that often, but with the right idea you can do something cool.


This was my first idea. It mostly worked, except the girl on the left kept going farther and farther away from the other girl. It was annoying.


It was funny because I thought the girls would be stand-offish with each other and all that because of the rivalry. But they were joking, having a good time and getting really excited as I explained my ideas for the photos. So that was cool.

***

On Sunday a few of us from the paper got together to play softball against some team from somewhere, I don't know. We had never played together, I've never actually played softball before, or practiced at all. So imagine the surprise when...we lost. Like, pretty bad.

We had some good showing, offensively. I think I had five at bats, got out once cause I hit it right to the pitcher, but I mostly did alright. Got a few RBIs and scored a few times.

But defensively we were in rough shape. I couldn't catch a damned thing, only a few of us could. But most of us had a blast and I hope we can actually start practicing before we try to play anyone again. I need to work on my fielding.

Before the game I was told the field was beer friendly. So I grabbed a few and a cheap cooler, just in case I needed to replenish some lost water and carbs.

Well in the third inning, I think, I sat down after scoring a run and cracked open a Shiner on the bench. The other teams girl on first looked at me funny and I was confused, but happy to have a tasty drink.

It wasn't until after the game that someone noticed the sign in the dugout that I had actually been sitting right under while drinking a beer. :D

Photo by Alex Ybarra

Pretty funny.