Yesterday I ended up in one of those photographic situations that always seems to make my palms sweat and knees knock, fingers fumble and warrant an extra swipe of deodorant. Shooting pictures of another photographer! All those scenarios run thru your head, are they gonna see I cant focus, question the background you choose, wonder why you are not using a softbox instead of an umbrella. There are a whole myriad of questions and dilemas and they all start rushing thru your head.

  I dont know if it makes it any easier when they are friends you have known for a long time, but my saving grace was that the real story was a dog. See there is this book coming out that photographer David Woo and his wife Susie have created titled Top Dogs, basic premise being leaders in their fields and their pets. It includes famous people from all over the country such as both Bush presidents, actors, journalist, fashion designers etc. even the famous dog trainer Cesar Milan.

   David has this really precious Basset hound named Chester who gave me enough of a distraction that worrying about he and his wife was the least of my problems. Turns out that David was probably as nervous as I was and all for naught. Great people and the dog was just a ham. Just goes to show that you can get so worked up about nothing. Thanks for everything and best luck with the book David.

Out of Place

  Crazy quirks catch your attention. It doesn't matter if they are large or small. Just throw something out of place in the mix and watch heads turn. Gorgeous metal shapes rusting away in a junk yard and everyone calls it an eye sore and virtually ignores it. Throw a model in the mix for a swimsuit shoot and watch all the stares you get.

   Works with food too. Sprinkle some paprika on a browned merange dessert or jalapenos with Ice Cream and every one talks about it.

  Cafe Nutt in the old Nutt House Hotel in Granbury has done the same with a simple Chicken Fried Steak. They skewer strips on a  pre-dipped stick, cover them with gravy and light the stick. A flaming steak, who would have thunk-it and just watch the people look. Just such a simple thing.

Climbing Mount Yale with Kimo

   Anyone that has spent time in Texas knows that the summers can be brutally hot. Part of the reason there is such a large scale exodus to Colorado in the middle of the heat for so many suffering Texans. Throw all the folks in the car along with all the gear you can cram in and off you are on an adventure in the cool mountain air. 

  Coaxed the dog and girlfriend to tag along with me in search of whitewater, mountain bike trails and some hiking in the collegiate peaks wilderness. After tricking everyone into a hike up Denny creek towards the peak, an overly excited dog finally made it to the top of 14,196 foot Mount Yale.

The whole trip was a hoot but what was really priceless was watching Kimo the dog hobble on his sore feet the next day as we stopped at numerous rest stops. He even ate a scrounged cinnamon roll holding one paw in the air because the pavement hurt his little tender paws. 

  I told him to stop chasing all those chipmunks and marmots since it made his trip about twice as long, in all the excitement he just wouldn't listen. Wonder if he learned his lesson, I really doubt it since he still ran off chasing cats when we got home.

  What a great way to beat a little Texas heat.