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.  

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.