NASCAR Weekend

   Ahhh, the smell of race fuel and the stench of smoking tires in the morning. Smells like victory, at least for someone at Texas Motor Speedway as the NASCAR boys roll into town. Add some barbeque and a whole lot of beer and you got a real Texas party.

    Couple of big surprises with Kurt Busch winning in a fuel mileage duel and Jimmie Johnson making an early exit, and a whole lot of over promotion to go around. Seemed that most everyone had fun under some gorgeous weather.

New Museum

   After a couple of years of construction and a whole new look, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is in the final stages of preparation before opening the new building designed by the famed Legoretta & Legoretta architects.

   The coolest part is still the exhibits like the Planetarium and the Dinosaurs displays though. Got a preview of some of them and the capabilities of the new equipment. Pretty darn impressive for kids of all ages.

Breezy days

  Kiteboarding is really a visual sport so Im gonna keep this rather brief. Just a bunch of buddies at the lake on a windy day before the water really gets cold. Shaking out the cob webs from a rather windless summer and just getting a little wild at Benbrook lake in western Tarrant county. 

Wet Web

   Moisture hangs in the air, it drapes like a cloak weighing heavy on shoulders that are already drooped from the deprivation of sunshine. It sets the mood for a depressing movie. Damp, wet, moldy walls and ivy grows everywhere. 

  This is Texas. Land of cactus and horses and dry, dusty trails. It sure would be difficult to argue for global warming's lasting effects at the moment. Stock tanks are full, the rivers are exceeding their banks and the kayaking is like a western river in spring floods. Big water, big waves and lots of wood to duck. 

  I think I am going thru vitamin "D" withdrawal. I need the sun, and it would let me get some work done as well.

A Little Early

  I thought the stores breaking out halloween candy before the kids were even off to school was getting a little ahead of the curve, but shooting Turkey and dressing today makes me realize that I contribute to the process too. 

  The bird was a golden brown and the cornbread stuffing would have gone great with the rest of the fixins' but since it has not even been cold outside yet, I could not even get myself to try it. Call me scrooge but there is a time for everything, and this ain't it!

Day at the Deathstar

   I walked into Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones new stadium known around here as the Death Star on Monday to work for the first time. Shooting pictures of the Monday Night game against the Carolina Panthers. The place is huge, and after running around to shoot some pictures of fans before hand it becomes crystal clear how huge it really is. I was getting leg cramps from walking to the parking lot to shoot features. 

  The team however is something completely different. They pulled out a win, but I sure would not call it decisive. Lots of mistakes and the defense is what kept the offense in the game. Makes you wonder if the Cowboys are really just a sideshow now. At least Tony Romo was not the goat this week, with Tashard Choice having a big game and Felix Jones suffering an injury after a long carry. Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme was biting his tongue, hoping things would change, but they just didn't.  

  The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders carry on the tradition of showing off the house that Jerry built in their blue and silver gogo getups. 

  

The Desperate Riders practice

  Finally, a little wind blew from the south and the Desperate Riders Association got a practice session in. The crew showed up in full force, a little rusty from lack of time on the water. Created some spectacular crashes and a even a few new moves thrown in. Really was great to get out and ride a bit before the water starts to cool off. I think we all remembered why we started doing this stuff, then the crazy clouds came in and ruined all the fun. 

  Rain for the 5th day in a row and even the snails are up to their eyeballs looking for a dry place to hang. Funny to watch them squirm and not even leave tracks. It has been years since I sat and watched one slither over rough terrain.

   Even though they travel really slowly when you watch that closely it becomes apparent that they move pretty quickly for their size and mode of transport. Astounding when you think that they are carrying a one bedroom on their back even while climbing the equivalent of Pikes Peak.

  You go little guy, just dont eat my plants!

   So Montana is called big sky country, but there are definitely days when Texas gets short changed in that category. Most of the state is pretty flat so you have a great vantage point and a true 180 degree fishbowl. 

  Looking around you really take notice of the variations that you see. I've seen skies so blue in West Texas that it makes your eyes hurt and the clouds that form with an approaching storm can be everything from cotton balls to great balls of fire. I still get caught off guard once in a while with some crazy new color or pattern that I just haven't noticed.

  Other day, the ozone was kind of heavy and the sun was starting to go down with a pattern of little cotton balls. Shot this one as it appears, no color shifting or any funny computer stuff, just a little underexposure so that the sun wasn't completely blown out.

  Looks like a tobacco filter or something but just straight up mother nature. Still amazing after all these years. Wonder what Im gonna see today.

   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.

  Im sure everyone has heard that old wives tale, "if you wash your car that it will rain." That old guy Murphy can do you one better, schedule a photo shoot with a classic restored car in Texas in the summer and you will get thunder, lightning and rain in the midst of a drought. 

  That is exactly what happened on Sunday afternoon. Due to time constraints we had set the shoot for the evening and as the day got closer, the chance of rain seemed to escalate in accordance. A half hour before the shoot and a huge, ominous cloud appeared on the horizon. Contacted Chuck Nixon, the owner of the lovingly restored 1929 Ford Model "A" Huckster and he rushed over a little early. We got the car placed on the set, fired a couple of test frames and heard a thunder clap. 

  Rushed a few more frames off and shot some details as Chuck hoped in the truck and started her up, a couple of motion blur frames as he pulled away and that was it. I dont think he was there for a total of 5 minutes including introductions. I Talked to him latter and he said there were just a few drops on the pristine Hucksterwhen he got home and that he dried them with a towel. 

  I used to think it was just prima donna athletes that rushed you thru photo shoots. Guess that mother nature will do it too.

   News flash, its hot in Texas today. In case you have not noticed, those round puddles you so blithely danced over on the sidewalk are actually remnants of the recently imported northerners that just couldn't take the heat and melted away. Kind of like the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz without the screaming. 

   Sad part is I am a native Texan and I'm starting to feel like one of them today, just cant take it any more. As a kid I spent all day outside in the sun, even worked as a lifeguard on a tower getting baked. But these days all I can think of is cold mountain streams, snowbanks, howlin' winter winds, and drinking soemthing really cold. 

  Kind of funny that I post a picture of a Martini then isn't it. But this one was almost frozen, give you those ice cream headaches like a slurpee. The bar that serves it is this subterranean vault of a blues bar called Scat Lounge that is as cold as a meat locker. To top it off the bands crank out some of the coolest jazz and blues you can find this side of New Orleans. Bring it all together and you just got to cool off a little bit.

   Here is another great motto to live by, "Try and learn something new everyday" sometimes the things you learn are kind of unexpected. Like the fact that hops in beer is a natural preservative, and there are no bacteria in beer that will make you sick. One more reason that drinking the beer in Mexico is way better than drinking the water, even in the states. So here is to drinking more beer. 

  I learned this all from Tony Formby, Managing Partner at Rahr & Sons Brewing company (http://rahrbrewery.com/) in Fort Worth, Texas. The little home town craft brewer has a new line of endangered critters beer starting with the Blind Salamander Ale. I has a really smooth taste that works great to quench that thirst on a hot summer day. Got a chance to watch them bottle a few and taste a little recently and it just makes you understand whyt people will volunteer just to help stack boxes of bottles at the plant for a few samples. 

  Really proud of what they have accomplished and hope they continue with the tasty products they are now making. Ra Ra for Rahr!!

    Just another example of not remembering the beautiful things we have around us. I spent a couple days taking some pictures of a local park in Fort Worth that has been here long enough that it can be completely forgotten though hundreds of thousands of people pass it by every day. It was even the location of a Hollywood movie "Logan's Run". 

   The place is the Fort Worth Water Gardens and it makes for a perfect summer break from the concrete jungle and the heat it creates. Splashing, cascading, rippling water is everywhere drowning out the noise of the city and bringing you back to the tranquility of a mountain stream. 

  At night, lights create a completely different mood with much more dramatic flair. Pools of color and accents with the dramatic new Omni hotel next door. 

  Just another rose waiting for all of us to stop and sniff.

  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.