Life is good...

Hank laughing in the front yard. This sums up my day pretty well.

bmxin'

I'm pretty pumped about riding again. It's been a while, but I'm giving her a go. Landing flat is where it's at. Here is a photo from yesterday at 9th street.

(click for lighting info/flickr page)

Now just to get Mitch out and riding again. Speaking of Mitchell, here is a photo of us two. I'll leave it at that...

Nike+ Human Race

I went out and shot a couple of quick photos of the Nike+ Human Race 10k in downtown Austin tonight. It was pretty amazing with all of the people running. Nearly 15,000 people in red shirts (except Lance Armstrong, who kept his trademark yellow going) flowing down the street.

(click for a larger view)

I finally got a Photoshelter account the other day too. Now if I can just get my website updated...The photos on there are so old...yikes.

And a special thanks to Jay Janner and Larry Kolvoord for showing me the ropes at Royal-Memorial Stadium on Saturday. I never would have found where to eat without them. :p

Sunday Debut...

So I wasn't totally up to par with my best shooting abilities last night for the UT game, but I got one shot that I liked. You can see the whole take over on the Austin American Statesman website...

I did, however, nab two front sections on todays (Sunday) paper. A 1A (above the fold) shot of Vince Young and another shot (6 damn columns!) on the Life and Arts section of the band Sounds Under Radio. Not to mention a few shots inside the Sports section and more inside the Life & Arts section as well...and a few in the Metro & State section of a new principal in Bastrop.

Normally I would never post something like this, but it is my first 1A cover for them. Pretty excited.
I've got one portrait this afternoon at 4:00 and a very large event at 6. Should be pretty exciting.

I'll post some photos in a few days....but in the meantime, here is a photo of Dusty at Ramp Ranch just outside of Austin.

Dusty, turndown over the box at RR skatepark in Liberty Hill

PM

Relaxing...

I whipped up a burger on the new grill outside......mmmmmmmmm

(Click for a bigger view)

A wild salmon burger complete with organic baby spinach, organic tomatoes, pepper jack and garlic cheese and topped with mayo and lemon pepper on a toasted bun. Washed it down with one of Amelia's LandShark beers...Which is surprisingly good.

I didn't set out to take a photo of my lunch, but it is good to take some photos of my own for a second. Speaking of, I was trying to catch this little butterfly gathering some nectar on these tiny little flowers but I scared him off. So here is a photo of the flower. The entire group is less than an inch wide...

(Click for a larger view)

I'm going to head out of here around 3 p.m. to shoot some pre-game stuff and to give myself an hour for traffic. I am listening to the radio and they are saying downtown is impossible to get around in right now. ouch. I can't wait...

Holy crap

So I spent this morning taking Amelia to ABIA (before 7a.m.) so she could catch a flight to Flordia, just in time for the hurricane.
I went to Taco Deli but they weren't open. It is seriously the best place to get tacos in Austin. Hands down. I've pitched the idea to do a feature on the place so we'll see if we can get the ball rolling. Sooooo good.

After I took the dogs to the dog park, I came home and collected all the rolls of undeveloped film that I have sitting around. 11 rolls. Not much compared to a lot of people, but I don't remember what are on some of the rolls....

I spent all last night shooting high school football in Leander. It was pretty awesome. I only got to shoot one quarter because of a rain delay and my deadline, but it was fun to be on the field again.
The D300 coupled with the Nikon 300mm AFS 2.8 is a dream. ISO 3200 is a breeze. No noise reduction needed. awesome. I'll post a couple in a few days. You can see them @ www.statesman.com under the sports section. The Leander vs. Pflugerville series. wooooooo

I should have a couple football photos in todays paper, along with a front page feature of a band that I shot the other day in the Driskell Hotel in downtown Austin. what fun.

University of Texas football tonight! I'm very, very stoked on shooting this. I picked up my credentials yesterday along with my parking pass. Sweet!

want to piss a photographer off?

When someone is taking photos please do your best to be a jackass.

• Look directly into the camera in every frame, especially if you aren't the one being photographed.
• Wave your arms in the air in the background while looking into the camera
• Make stupid faces when you see a camera

Not that I would have used this photo anyway, but this guy has single handedly ruined more than 10 photos out of the 50-60 I took last night as part of the Nike Human Race event here in Austin. It looks like he followed me around....I bet he is that guy who you see at the bar that hits on you....Then when you get up the next day and upload your photos to your computer he is in the background of nearly every shot, looking like he is either A) going to kill you B) having the best night of his life pretending he is your friend.

Keep up the good work johnny smith