Since I live by the motto "see what I can see, do what I can do" I just returned from a river trip to the wild northwest. Idaho to be exact, the Middle Fork of the Salmon river which flows out of the Sawtooth mountains, right thru the middle of the Frank Church Wilderness.  Turned out to be a really long drive to get there, but well worth it to see a completely different part of the country.

   The mountains are completely different, much rockier with fewer trees since the tree line is much lower at those northern latitudes. A bit colder than I used to as well. We put on the 10th of June and the high for the day was in the low 60's and the low was in the 30's. Suffice it to say that my toes and a few other vital parts were a little bit chilled. 

  Launched into a river that is created by snow melt. Crystal clear and bitingly cold. The river banks are filled with a mix of ponderosa and other pines, many scarred by the evidence of the let it burn out fire fighting policy. Lots of dead poles, toppled trees and a few springing back to life after 30 years of a natural forest protection policy. It was really enlightening to see how forests can actually heal and restore themselves.

  The combinations of open grasslands and wild blooms mixed with the pines brought back memories of the open spaces painted by western artists such as Charles Russell and Fredric Remington. Open mountain spaces that I had never seen before in this country.

  The river has been one of the main avenues of travel for miners and hunters for years, with small placer mine cabins and homesteads. It was hard to imagine the brutality of a winter spent along that river. As cold as it was in June, January with multiple feet of snow would be life threatening. 

  I am still amazed at the beauty and ferocity that we can find all across this country, we just have to go out the door and look for it. Makes me want to head right back out again.  

Look Around You

  One of the fringe benefits of taking pictures for other people is that you end up in situations and places that you never expect. Don't think I would have opted to go to the W Hotel and hang out by the pool on my own, but a little coaxing with a check book and look where I spent my evening. Some times the best pictures have nothing at all to do with what you are getting paid to do. 

  Tonight was one of those instances. I looked away from the crowd in front of me for an instant and completely unnoticed is a gorgeous sunset over West Dallas reflected in the pool on the W Hotel's rooftop. Textured clouds with a wonderful mix of pinks, yellows and reds with an inky blue background for contrast.   

   It made a great view with the reflection in the pool of the colors and most of the people at the function thought the cloths were the main attraction. Just one more example that we should all look around a bit more and notice the little things that surround us every day. 

Simple Things

   I finally downloaded a camera card that had been hanging around a while, almost like those old film canisters you find by accident. Been in a drawer for years, have no idea where it came from. Not a clue what is on the film or even which camera it came out of. Just been hanging around, waiting for some Sherlock Holmes wannabe to try and figure out the novel.

   Then the anticipation while you wait for processing, you imagine what is on there. Hoping it isnt some nudie pics form when you were a kid, or something just as embarassing from a more recent party.  You think back if you really wore a lamp shade at New Years or maybe those stories about a streaking escapade were actually true.

   With the new digital age I guess those multi year waits are over but even a couple of months can cloud the memory and you really have no idea what you've got. Pleasant surprise to see old Kimo grinning at me from a field of Indian Paintbrushes. Now tell me that look doesn't say I know something you don't. It is those simple things that really give life all its pleasure. 

Pink is Not Just For Girls

   Pink is one of those colors that looks feminine. When none other than the Dallas Cowboys tried to increase their jersey sales they came up with a star emblazoned pink jersey to market to women. Makes you think that only a girl could appreciate the blooms in the garden that sport the color.

    Add a vivid orange center and a few tattered ends of leaves and it is feminine no more. The massive size and vibrant colors of the echinacia bloom catch anyones eye. The closer you look the more intricate it becomes. The centers of bright orange/yellow spines that look more like a sea urchin than a delicate flower has tiny yellow blooms on the ends of them. This creates a pleasing flower in flower juxtaposition. 

   Not only are they gorgeous blooms, they even make an herbal remedy that is claimed to cure the common cold among other things. Maybe the complexity of the flower is what makes it so diverse in uses. none the less, I think they are beautiful.

   

Doing Good

   I remember as a kid getting excited when it rained. Growing up in Texas it did not happen that often so when it started, you just went outside anyway and played all the same games but in the rain. 

   Yesterday was one of those days where it just started out raining and just wasn't any avoiding it. The Lifegift Fun Run was schedule to happen and of course the rain just wouldn't cooperate. After having tents blown into the Trinity River and a deluge of water at more than 2 inches an hour making mud puddles all over the place, Deborah could do nothing but make faces and have fun anyway.

   So the runners came and they ran thru Trinity Park anyway. Had a great time playing like 10 year olds in the rain and all for a good cause, to raise awareness of Organ Donation, www.donatelife.net. 

   Hope smiling thru the middle of a storm will get a few more people to consider alternative ways of helping someone else out, even if you don't know them directly.

Learning to relax

   One more example that dogs know more than we people do. My dog Kimo has perfected the art of relaxing. Does not matter where; in the front seat of the car, on the couch, in a grassy field with a beautiful view, or in the middle of the living room floor. He can sleep soundly in all of those positions.

   It is not just where he sleeps, but how. Some of the most contorted positions that just could not be comfortable, and he is out like a light. Head propped up on an armrest, neck bent at a crazy angle. He hangs his head off the couch, if we humans did it there would be permanent cricks in necks and blood rushes with disorientation, but not Kimo the lounging dog. 

   Completely comatose, with a smile on his lips, probably dreaming of chasing a squirrel thru the trees. Im sure in these dreams he can climb trees like a cat and fly from limb to limb with the best of them. Not a single furry critter able to escape his stealthy abilities. 

   Is it that a dogs life is so simple and ours so complex that gives them the ability to completely relax or is it just that they really are a more advanced culture? One of those difficult conundrums that science has no answers for. 

Mind enhancement

   As I walk into the yard on a rather gloomy and overcast Mother's Day Sunday morning, I am greeted by a truly appropriate site. The first of hopefully many blooms tops a datura plant growing in the back.

   An all white flower with four very delicate little curls on the corners of the bloom, the deep horn shape is open for only one night and they wilt as soon as the sun shines on them. The foliage is an olive green which is a nice enough ground cover but when the white blooms appear the plant just comes alive. 

  The first time I noticed one of the drought hardy plants was on my first visit to the Grand Canyon where they grow in the ravines and washes, taking advantage of the little moisture that flows thru periodically. 

  I was told a story by a kayaking buddy, that the anasazi indians used the blooms as dream enhancers by placing  them over their nose as they drifted off to sleep. By inhaling the pollen their dreams became vivid and surreal. With the fear of having to kayak down some crazy rapid in a semi-comatose state the next morning, I never tried the stunt but apparently some others have with rather mixed results.

  Just looking at the gorgeous shape of the flower makes one wonder if the Adam and the apple temptation is not at work here. Some day maybe, but for the moment I can just view the beauty and create dreams on my own, they seem weird enough as they are.  

   Nothing like working for your supper, so I spent Sunday afternoon getting a little smoke in my eyes next to the smoker. Lou Lambert and his crew at Lambert's in Fort Worth (www.lambertsfortworth.com) cooked a mess of chicken, ribs and brisket for the volunteers for the AIDS Outreach Center.

   It must be a guy thing but cooking meat on open flames makes it all taste better. Add a little of Lou's seasoning mixes and whatever you are cooking is gonna be that much better. The chicken got a little salt, paprika, cummin, ground coffee, and a few other special flavors to create a stunningly complex crust. 

   Best thing about shooting these assignments are that you don't go home hungry and scrounging thru the 'fridge. 

The Human Tree

  As a photojournalist you meet a lot of people from all walks of life. Some good, some not so good and a lot somewhere in the middle. It can make a person kind of cynical about the human race and how little regard we have for the plight of those less fortunate than ourselves. 

  Then you get the chance to meet someone like Gary Randle, who founded and is the Executive Director of H.O.P.E. Farm, Inc. in Fort Worth. An organization that tries to fill the void in inner city  youths who are missing a male roll model in their lives. 

  He has dedicated his life to making what most people would refer to as a low income community better with devotion of his time and energy to give boys their father figures back. He and his staff inspire, encourage and even discipline their "sons" to become better men in their community. He has become the six foot eight inch oak in the south side neighborhood that brings stability into families lives. 

  Makes me want to strive a little harder to do some good for the people in my community. Guess I can start just by saying thanks to everyone that cares at least a little. May "This" tree of a man inspire us all to do some good around us and make the world a little brighter and a lot more meaningful. 

Future Star

  I got an early call on Friday. The reporter that I was to meet for a photo shoot with an NFL draft prospect was stuck in Shreveport after his plane was rerouted on the flight to Dallas/Fort Worth. Seems the thunderstorms were too much for the plane as well as the roads around here. 

  This meant that I was on my own to try and get the images for USA Today.  A little minor shuffling of schedules and a lot of non-rain dances and I arrive at Carter High School in Dallas to meet with Allen Wilson, the schools football coach. Spent an hour talking football strategies with a couple of the most genuine coaches you could meet as we waited for our subject to show up. 

   We knew he was

there when all the kids in the hall started swooning. Amazing, and to think 2 years earlier he was one of the young faces in the hall. 

  Michael Crabtree enters the room, quiet and unassuming. With media and sports stars you never know what you are going to get, but he was really charming and still has the utmost praise for his former coaches, both high school and peewee. 

  Always delights you when players exceed their hype. Just makes me excited for what he can accomplish and wish him the best. 

Catching My Breath

  Thought I would keep it simple today with just a single image.

   I have a few patches of these wild onions sprouting up randomly in the yard that make these wonderful little blooms. They are coming out of what looks like an alien egg pod or something just as unusual. The flowers themselves are really interesting, with really delicate little petals, but before they open they look like a tiny tulip at the top of a thin stalk. 

  Astounding at the nuances I find in the simplest places if I just look close enough. One more example of the inter-connectivity you find in mother nature. 

Blooms Galore

   I think this blooming project may be getting out of hand, today I noticed that virtually every plant in my yard has some sort of colorful flower on it. There are yellow ones on the clovers, delicate white ones on the wild onions, dandelions even get a complex little yellow bloom before turning into the notorious seed heads that every gardener fears.

   Im trying not to be discriminatory in my selection, as I analyze plants the miniscule details start to show themselves. Tiny cellulose structures, the shape of the leaves, the veins on all the surfaces, every part of it is fascinating. 

  

My Backyard

  As I looked around my yard yesterday, I was impressed with the variety of colors and shapes of blooms that abounded there. For years I thought that it seemed like such a waste that they come and go so quickly and very few people really see the details and shapes of the gorgeous formations. 

  So in a flight of creative energy, I set about shooting images of all the flowers I could find in my yard. Needless to say I had no idea what I was getting into. Every time I walk out the door to go pick the next specimen I find some other plant that has sprung for spring.

  Im not limiting it to just the plants that I had anything to do with, some are the weeds, some native wildflowers that are just popping up and of course the dandelions too. Attached are a few of the examples, shall see how this all goes. Always thought about doing this but now I have actually started the project of photographing "The blooms in My Backyard". 

Spring Has Sprung

  A blustery wind is blowing outside, but the sun is shining. All around are new colors and everything seems to be growing like there is no tomorrow. The closer I look the more things I see that are alive and moving. Even those little things you probably don't want to see a lot of, like the bugs eating all those pretty blooms. 

   Of course that just means that you have to take the good with the bad no matter what it  is. Wind with the warm sun, bugs with the blooms, allergies with all the pretty flowers and on and on it goes. When you really think about it though, none of it is that bad so you really get nothing but good stuff. You just have to take into consideration your perspective. Here is to a really colorful scene around everyone. 

Car trips

   So this morning I hear that the Department of Public Safety closed down the interstates and major highways in the far northwest part of Texas due to a massive blizzard. Having just driven thru that part of the country brings back memories of big skies, waving grasslands that stretch to the horizon and some of the most beautiful colors in a sunset possible. I realize there are probably people stuck in snowdrifts along that part of highway now and it doesn't look anything like that. Never ceases to amaze me how quickly the weather can change.

  Also makes me appreciate car travel. Over the years of trips I've taken, and in every direction I have gone, it is awe inispiring the landscapes I have seen and would have completely missed had I been in an airplane. Untold sunrises, sunsets, scenic vistas and crazy weather passed outside the windows of the car I was riding in. I couldn't count the numbers of cookies, sodas and other junk food that were consumed in all those miles. Looking back on it though, I would not trade them for anything because they make the time spent at the destination that much more special and the memories of the trips so much more colorful. So at this point I hoist my  mug for a toast to the cars wind screen and may it continue to be my movie screen even if there is no script to go by.

Good from bad

I wake up Monday morning to a dark room, way too dark. All those little telltale lights of the TV and alarm clock are not there. The wind outside is still howling and then I realize, with all that wind a tree has fallen on the power lines running up to Taos Ski Valley. Im here trying to shoot pictures for upcoming ski stories and you just cant do that when the weather takes a dumper. This is going to be one tough day to shoot pretty ski pictures. The depression starts to set in even before the biting cold hits my face. I make the best of it but my heart is just not in it. I go to bed worn out and bummed because it just does not look as good as it could.

   Ahhh! Tuesday is a whole new day. Just amazing how a little sun can change my perspective. To top it all off, there is some fresh snow to boot. With those stunningly blue New Mexico skies to set it off and the pictures just come together. It is days like this that makes taking pictures so much fun.  I can not believe that this is still called work. Guess it makes up for all the bad days, huh? 

Learning experience

I think I re-learn every day that the simple things in life are the most important, and my teacher always seems to be my dog Kimo. Seeing a little snow, hanging his head out the car window,  letting his ears flap in the breeze, the sight of a squirrel or just running crazy fast circles. It doesnt matter if all he does is pee in a new spot, all of it brings joy to his world. Some day I hope to be able to see all the little things and be that easily amused. 

Corpus Christi beaches

Ahh, so I took a trip to Corpus Christi with the sidekick Kimo to hang on the beach and get a little surfing, kiteboarding and windsurfing. Lots of wind but crazy surf with some good size to it but really jumbled and lots of current. Had a great time anyway, and of course the dog really loved it. Does amaze me still by haw little it takes to find enjoyment. Seems that the less that is involved the more fun you can have with it