Eatin' Oreos

Shocking Morning

2011-05-23T23:20:00.000-05:00

Today Paul and I headed out to the Tulsa Shock media day to photograph the players for the league and the team. It's always a little bit of a madhouse at these events with so much going on, so I thought I would post a little video to show you what it takes to make a successful media day shoot.

Enjoy the video and be sure to comment or email me if you have and questions. Also, be sure to catch the shock this year. They really stacked up a roster in the off season with Swoopes, Cambage, Pederson and more.

Summer Reading List

2011-04-24T22:28:00.004-05:00

Many of the years in the past, I have posted a reading list of sorts here for the year. This year I am a bit behind, but here's whats on my list for the dog days of summer. Enjoy!

1. Hemingway's Guns
http://www.amazon.com/Hemingways-Guns-Sporting-Ernest-Hemingway/dp/0892727209
I mean does this need anymore of an explanation? The stories of all of Hemingway's guns, how he acquired them and what he did with them. Brilliant idea for a book. I only hope it's decently written.

2. An Unfinished Life
http://www.amazon.com/Unfinished-Life-Mark-Spragg/dp/1400042011
A novel by one of the few fiction writers I read. I really liked Where Rivers Change Directions and The Fruit of Stone. Thanks to Tim DuBois for the introduction.

Red Stag
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Stag-Novel-Guy-Valdene/dp/1592281346
The only novel written by one of my favorite non-fiction writers, Guy Del La Valdene. His non-fiction books on woodcock (Making Game) and bobwhite quail (For a Handful of Feathers) are both brilliantly written and wildly informative.

3. The Fragrance of Grass
http://www.amazon.com/Fragrance-Grass-Guy-Valdene/dp/0762764147
OK, scratch Red Stag. I found out while penning this post that La Valdene has released his final book on hunting. It took him ten years to write. This book is getting moved to the top of the list. If you like the outdoors, hunting, fishing or just plain fantastic writing, you need to check this guy out.

4. For Whom the Bell Tolls
http://www.amazon.com/Whom-Bell-Tolls-Ernest-Hemingway/dp/0684803356
To revive my old tradition of reading a big heavy classic each summer. I plan to read it alongside #1. Although I should probably match the gun book with True at First Light, I am uninterested in posthumous publications after reading the last writings released by Edward Abbey's estate. Recently published books by long dead authors smell odd and leave a strange taste on the palette. Let me know if you know of an exception.

5. The Raw and the Cookedhttp://www.amazon.com/Raw-Cooked-Adventures-Roving-Gourmand/dp/080213937X
A food book... of sorts, by Jim Harrison, who I know more closely from reading about him in non-fiction Thomas McGuane and Guy De La Valdene.

6. Ruffed Grouse Society 50th Anniversary Book
http://www.ruffedgrousesociety.org/shoppingcart/magento/featured/rgs-50th-anniversary-publication.html
OK, here's one that's a bit of self promotion, but I do plan to read. I was published as one of many authors in this collection of stories about hunting Ruffed Grouse. Despite the fact I am included... there is some stellar writing in here.

There are a lot of short stories and magazines (mostly catching up on The Pointing Dog Journal and The Ruffed Grouse Society) I will read as well, but this is the list of the big ones. Can't wait to see what you are reading this year. Send your list along if you have a moment.

Relax, have a cool drink and do some dog work this summer and we'll see you in the fall to make stories of our own.

Better get a ladder....

2011-04-13T14:53:00.000-05:00

It's not often that I try to find a way to get taller to photograph my subjects.

In fact, usually I try to get as low as possible, often on my knees using an angle finder to get what I want, but yesterday was a bit different.

When Liz Cambage came through the door... she ducked... and I scrambled to find a ladder. Knowing that the client wanted a photo of her wingspan for a website banner I knew we had to photograph her at her level, so everything, c-stands, camera, me and more went up. My assistant Paul found a stool to augment his height for stand in lighting and we went to work.

We had Liz for a little less than an hour. Despite being glued to her twitter feed, chatting away with new found fans, the 19 year old was awesome in the studio. Super nice, professional yet unpretentious and had the look down perfectly. If she's half as fun on the court, it's going to be a great season!

We had a full lighting setup on the cyc wall and using pocketwizards on multiple channels were able to switch quickly from a white backdrop to a black backdrop from the camera position without changing anything except turning off a set of lights remotely. It gave us two different looks with the push of a button without taking any extra time.

After we finished inside we went outside where the raw power and low flash duration of a fairly serious Speedotron setup allowed us to turn midday downtown Tulsa into dusk and stop the action of a moving WNBA center at the same time. A few images from the roof and Liz and her crew were on their way.

All images in this post are the property of NBAE/Getty Images. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

Super Bowl Ad

2011-02-10T07:50:00.000-06:00

Saint Francis Health Grades Ad from Shane Bevel on Vimeo.

Hey Folks, check it out. This is a great ad with my photos put together by Flying Colors Media here is Tulsa. Not sure when it will run again, but it ran locally during the Super Bowl this year!

Have a great day and stay warm out there!

Words

2011-02-06T13:59:00.001-06:00

It's not very often I get to blog about something I have written, but today is the day it seems. Occasionally I am pulled away from my tough life as a photographer and get to spend a few days in the woods, the plains or the cedar breaks chasing birds with a dog you may or may not be familiar with. Brown Dog.

To justify these adventures I have taken to self assignments for publication. This is one from last year. A piece I sold to the Ruffed Grouse Society for their 50th anniversary literary piece. I have to say that I share paper with some of my favorite outdoors writers here so it's a pretty neat place to be. You can purchase the entire magazine here: http://www.ruffedgrousesociety.org/shoppingcart/magento/featured/rgs-50th-anniversary-publication.html of you can see just my article here: http://shanebevelphoto.com/BirdDogsAndCracklins.pdf

The Gents are in Town

2011-01-22T23:01:00.001-06:00

The Centenary vs Oral Roberts game at the Mabee Center each year always reminds me of my first visit to Tulsa. I was working on a story for the Shreveport, La. newspaper and had traveled on the road with the Centenary Gents to Tulsa. Seems a lifetime ago. Here’s a couple images from tonight’s game.

Ladies Home Journal/Baja Racer 2010

2011-01-12T19:06:00.000-06:00

I had a nice photo published this month in Ladies Home Journal of Osage County's super star Ree Drummond, also known as the Pioneer Woman. It's not the first time that I have photographed Ree, I shot her a while back for the L.A. Times and I have done some work for her personally as well. But this time was memorable.

Some of you Ree followers may have seen this blog on her site a while back: The Pioneer Woman. Unfortunately the two photographers were me and my assistant Paul McEntire. Fortunately we were ok! The truck got replaced, the shoot went on and the county even dismissed the silly ticket they gave me for losing control on a gravel road full of washboards and loose gravel from a motor grader.

Photo by Paul McEntire

It's been a few months (and 7k miles on a new truck) since we made the return trip to shoot the Drummonds. Needless to say they are some of my favorite people this side of the Red River. Ree is always a blast to photograph and I hope that I can show you some more of the work we did that morning soon!

PS.... for the record, I don't have photos of the Blue Snuggie... and if I did... I'd never tell.

Dancefloor Diva

2010-09-20T00:32:00.000-05:00

I like to shoot a few select weddings each year. First off they are fun. Second they keep my editorial eye tuned up and ready to go. Third... I get to make this photo! I heard recently of a wedding where no children were invited... what a shame.

Faces....

2010-07-29T21:50:00.000-05:00

..... Aren't they nice?

The Best Laid Plans

2010-07-13T23:17:00.001-05:00

As the official league photographer for the Tulsa Shock this year I have setup more remotes than I typically do during the summertime. I really enjoy the work. It's fun and challenging and makes me flex my brain a little. It's a skill set that sets the pros apart from the vast sea of amateur sports photographers and one that can really only be learned with lots and lots of practice. And for the most part I usually produce some nice images.

The thing about remote cameras is that they are awesome. The other thing about remote cameras is that they are.... well.... remote. Meaning you cannot access them during the game for the most part. So you have to get everything right the first time. I have a checklist in my head of settings I need to change on the camera and the remote equipment. I have threatened (usually after some type of screwup) many times to write it down and carry it in my remote bag, but it has yet to actually happen.

But like all things technical, there are bound to be new issues. You would think after more than a decade of shooting sports I would have a grasp on all the issues that I face, all the little things that could go wrong. But tonight as I setup to shoot the Sparks vs Shock game at the BOK Center, I came across a completely new issue. As Tim and I set up the overhead remote for some kickin' basket action we hung the 300mm 2.8 from the upper catwalk of the arena. This is where the problem started. The heat and humidity that Tulsa is experiencing seems to be concentrated at the top of the arena! The upper catwalk is placed just a few feet above the air conditioning outlets for the building. Meaning that it's like being in the attic of your house! The minute we crossed the last few steps onto the upper deck the 300mm (6 lbs of aluminum and glass) immediately fogged up. The problem is that a lens like this is not like your eyeglasses, it takes more than just a few minutes to warm up and unfog. With limited time, we guessed at the focusing and headed back downstairs.

After the first half we went back up and made some adjustments, refocused the camera and checked the take from the first half. Unfortunately it was just as I had feared.

The lens remained fogged for the entire first half of the game. Luckily the Shock were shooting at that end the second half and I made some nice frames, so all was not lost.

Big thanks to Tim Berry for helping out tonight. It's always a must for me to have a second set of hands when hanging things out over the catwalk for games. Sure, I could do it myself... but with so much else to go wrong... why take the risk!?

All Images in this post are by Shane Bevel/NBAE/Getty Images and used by permission of the NBA and Tulsa Shock.

Super Wide

2010-07-12T13:07:00.000-05:00

I have been shooting 360 degree panoramas for a long time for Quicktime VR web use. But with a new camera comes new inspiration. So armed with my pano head and 50mm lens instead of a 15mm fisheye, I headed out to shoot some property photos for a client. They wanted to show how large their campus is, so they asked about shooting a pano.

Shooting with the 50 requires a lot of images and with a 21mp sensor results in a magnificent file (the resulting TIFF file is well over a gigabyte. Here is a smaller version of what is a nearly 200 megapixel image. The resulting detail (below is a 100% crop sample) is almost unreal. Now it has me thinking about how to actually print these monstrosities. Any idea? Shoot me an email.

Fly Your Flag

2010-05-27T12:12:00.001-05:00

This morning I hung the flag. Memorial day is still a few days out, but the blue sky made me remember and today seemed a good day to put it up. As this weekend approaches and the boats, barbecues and bathing suits make their appearances I bid you remember the real meaning of the weekend.

Unfortunately we are still at war and although I wish that my cousin's death three years ago had been the last, it was not. Cpl. Ray Michael Bevel (above) was killed at the peak of the violence in April 2007. Today, icasualties.org reports that 4400 U.S. men and women have been killed in Iraq and another 1085 in Afghanistan.

I hope that none of you ever experience the sorrow my family felt and continues to feel. Now is not the time to discuss how or why. Now is simply a time to remember. Below is a repost from 2007.

Along the open highway roughnecks, ranchers and oil men all stop. Some get out of their trucks, hold their hats against their chest and stand at attention as the procession rolls past. Later, in town, eight thousand people stand along the road in total silence as the war-battered body of a young man passes into the city limits for the last time. School children are bussed to the short route to stand with flags and learn what it means to be a patriot.

As a father grieves quietly, the body of Cpl. Ray Michael Bevel makes it's final sojourn.

A Day at the Derby

2010-05-08T23:45:00.000-05:00

While the ponies were running that 1.25 last weekend over at a little track called Churchill Downs, me and a producer were out at Will Rogers Downs making the best of the on again off again rainy weather and shooting one of my favorite subjects. Here are a few of my favorites.

Big Fun in a Little Town

2010-04-22T08:09:00.000-05:00

After a couple months of some pretty heavy commercial photography I had started to really miss my roots. Luckily the folks at USA Today always come up with something great. This time they sent me to Barnsdall, Okla to tell their 1.9 million readers about Coach Joe Gilbert. He's been there for 50+ years and has coached 204 varsity seasons! It's nice to shoot photos of folks with such great faces.

You can see the full audio slideshow here: http://tinyurl.com/2fnjusb

New toy

2010-04-19T21:50:00.000-05:00

Just a fun random photo from the new camera. The detail this camera can capture is really unbelievable. Look forward to using it on assignment for USA Today in the morning!

I Like To Win Bets

2010-04-18T22:05:00.004-05:00

There are certain assignments I really enjoy for one reason or another. This was one of those. When I told my dad (a grocery industry exec) that I was shooting Doug McMillon, CEO of WalMart International, for the USA Today business section he thought that was pretty cool.

But when I told him the idea was to shoot him riding a bike through the store... he said he'd bet me $20 it wouldn't happen. I told him he maybe didn't quite understand the power of "Hi, I'm going to make your photo for the 1.9 million readers of USA Today, you know what would be fun?"

Fast forward a few days. Me, the media relations woman, my assistant and Doug McMillon are in the Bentonville, AR WalMart. I explained the situation and Doug looked me in the eye and deadpanned "So, what are you going to spend your $20 on?"

It turned out not to be my favorite photos, but the editors at USAT liked it enough to use it online. (the print version hits stands in the morning)

It's always the editorial goal to shoot executives in a way that doesn't look "executive" but it's really nice when you have a subject that is so willing to go along. Doug dodged shoppers, talked to the manager about customer complaints and rode the beach cruiser through the aisles of the store all at the same time. He gave us 45 minutes and we shot three setups with multiple lights and a few looks. Here are the three setups. Enjoy!

P.S. Pay up Dad. Shane needs a new pair of shoes.

You can see the online version here: http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/advice/2010-04-19-advice19_ST_N.htm and pickup a print version in Monday's USA Today.

Okie Photogs

2010-04-13T07:12:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, check out my interview on Okie Creative. Big thanks to Jeremy Charles for putting this all together and featuring some pretty great photographers. Honored to be there. Click here or the photo above to get there.

Firepower

2010-04-12T20:47:00.001-05:00

Both the lights and the talent were hitting hard on this shoot for an upstart tennis magazine. Shooting in complete darkness under light from a 2400ws pack with two heads. The client was looking for a high impact look to set his publication apart from the rest of the regional mags on the rack. Look for the first issue sometime soon!

My Helicopter Has Arrived!

2010-04-12T20:32:00.000-05:00

Just a short little video of some of the sights and sounds of a recent fun-as-heck shoot for an upcoming St. Francis ad. Helicopters, radios and flour.... good recipe for good photos.

Single Photo Assignment (kinda)

2010-04-09T00:23:00.001-05:00

As a newspaper guy for more than a decade, coming back from an assignment with only one photo wasn't looked upon too kindly! But I am finding that more and more my clients are looking for one single stunning image. This week the Tulsa World called on me to do something that not just every photographer does. A 360 degree full panorama both for print and for the web. Above is the print version and here is the web version.

When the editor there called me and asked me to do it, I knew there was only one moment that would really capture the iconic nature of Opening day at the new stellar Oneok Field in downtown Tulsa.

To over come the massive shade cast by the grandstands and not over expose downtown and the sky, I used a technique called HDR. I won't go into the technical aspect of the photo here, but I will say that the final image is well over 100mb and is the result of combining dozens of separate images taken using a special tripod head.

I thought the result was great and actually plan to have it printed full scale for sale in the Tulsa Mayfest Invitational Gallery.

Play with your food!

2010-04-08T23:31:00.000-05:00

Did a fun little shoot a while back for the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. They wanted some fresh fun images to use for marketing and advertising, but weren't happy with the stock selections out there. So we sat down for a day and shot their people (volunteers, staff and clients) in a clean simple style with lots of color and plenty of fun. On a side note... it's all fun and games until the intern drops a watermelon on the seamless!

Sleeping Beauty (Dish)

2010-02-04T01:22:00.001-06:00

I bought a 22" beauty dish with the thought of using it everyday for everything! HA! It really does throw some amazing light, but let's be real, hauling a 22" reflector around is not the easiest thing in the world to do. So I was pretty stoked when I got this little assignment for the Tulsa World. Me and the beauty dish were off... to photograph a real life beauty at the Tulsa Ballet.

Soo Youn Cho tore her ACL, typically a career ending injury, but she is back in the spotlight with the Tulsa Ballet's production of Sleeping Beauty. For more information on Soo Youn's story, watch for the upcoming article in the Tulsa World.

A little taste...

2010-02-03T23:22:00.002-06:00

... I did not have the time (only a few hours) to do this story right, but while I was in South Louisiana I was invited to a Cochon de Lait at the home of Barry Jean Ancelet. I can't tell you how excited I was, but Felipe and I were both exhausted, so we called it a night just as the party got started. Here are a few photos from the evening. I can tell you that without a doubt this story is already on the books for next year.

Quick trip to Paducah

2010-01-24T23:34:00.000-06:00

Well, after last weekend's woodcock trip to Louisiana, Brownie and I had healed up just enough to drive down to the family place near Paducah, Texas and give it another shot. We met my uncle and cousin and their young pointer Lilly and hunted on Saturday. We put up two coveys, one was a huge group of 40 or 50 birds that is always up at the top of the hill and the other was a small group of 8-10 that we found in a draw up north in pretty wild country. Lots of birds up there, lots of pigs and not a lot of shots to go along with them.

My cousin Matt and Brownie work the south pasture late in the day.

Brownie covered some serious ground in this new area that has just been cleared of mesquite and cedar this summer. A little work and this should be quail heaven. And it's secluded enough and surrounded by heavy cover that it might even keep the poachers away.

Brownie gets real serious about some birds. It's really interesting, you can tell the difference in a false point and the real thing if you can just get a glimpse of his face.

This dog..... good lord.... this dog... I don't even know what to say about this dog. They have given up on an e collar and just decided to go with the Garmin. I have never seen a dog get 300 yards away in 15 secs. Somehow she seems to do it. Great dog, good breeding... just maybe she needs to come equipped with a horse. Sweet as can be though. She's gonna be a great dog when she learns all the tricks.

Absolutely, hands down, the best time of day to be out in Texas. Just beautiful in the late afternoon.

End of the day back at the trucks... Lilly even showed back up eventually ;)

The long road back to town. This is really beautiful country... and despite what folks say, I think I would be willing to drive an hour to get to a steakhouse in order to live there. ;)

Cracklins and Double Guns

2010-01-19T11:15:00.000-06:00

Well, after getting an open invitation for five years I finally took my friend Felipe up on a woodcock hunt in South Louisiana. Brownie and I loaded up and made the 11 hour drive down on Friday, hunted Saturday and Sunday and then made the drive home today. It was really an unbelievable, although long, weekend.

Saturday we had a bit of bad weather and some really heavy cover, but Sunday was just more fun that a man should be allowed to have. It took Brownie (my English Setter) to catch onto what exactly Felipe's GSPs were so excited about, but he finished the day really strong with two rock solid points and held the birds till we got there to flush.

If only our marksmanship had been better. I have heard all the jokes about the difficulty of shooting woodcock.... but good gosh... I did some really horrible shooting! Good thing I am a bit better with the camera.

The land down there is beautiful and after the winter we have had in Tulsa is was good to see at least a little bit of green in the woods. We hunted some WMAs and also the Catherine sugar cane plantation (Felipe's wife is a stockholder and direct descendent of the original owners)

I learned a ton on the trip thanks to Felipe and his crackerjack German Shorthair Pointers Gypsy and Roscoe. Although I expected the trip to be a one time deal, I will be putting it on my calendar every year for the forseeable future, as well as seeking out some possible places locally to find woodcock next year.

Big Fun at ORU

2009-12-18T13:23:00.000-06:00

Well I finally got my lights and remotes set just like I want them at ORU and the results are turning out to be fantastic. Now if the team can just get healthy and back on track it will really be a great season. If you are here in Tulsa, come out and watch the guys and gals hustle.

On Bread... and the wonders of self-employment

2009-11-30T12:10:00.000-06:00

It's been nearly a year now since I was thrust headlong into the world of self-employment. At first I went reluctantly, but soon I realized all that the world had to offer someone with the talent and drive to work for themselves. It really is an amazing thing.

Today, I woke slow and early. I stood at the back door, drank my coffee and watched as the first real chill of late fall lifted from the yard. The blood red leaves of the japanese maple slowly floated to the ground one by one, signifying the end of the fall show. Then I cleaned up from a lighting test the night before and decided to make bread.

I got out all the vital ingredients, laid them out on the counter, rechecked the scrawling notes on the recipe card and then started. In silence I measured, mixed and kneaded and when the bread was put to rest, I sat back and began to start my work day.

Of course it's not a fairytale world. There are times I wonder when the next job is coming, and here in a few weeks I'll really start sweating the tax bill. And I'll do my fair share of work today. I have grading to do, and a class to teach tonight. Later this week I have to reset lights for the ORU basketball season and then I have two games to photograph. And there will be weeks like the U.S. Amateur Championship when I will work seven 12 hour or longer days.

But no man in a downtown high rise apartment, nor a midtown mansion will hold my fate in his hands. I will lose clients and I will gain them, but I will always be in control. There is always a job to be found and always a new client that needs work. So the rough times are never behind us, but for now I sit on the front porch as the sweet smell of fresh bread and self-reliance wafts out the front door and seeps lazily down the empty street I call home.

Recipe for bread below. Figure out the self-reliance on your own.

1 package of yeast
3 cups of lukewarm water
1 tablespoon of salt
1/4 cup of rye flour
1/4 cup of wheat flour
3 cups of regular flour

Dissolve the salt and yeast into the water. mix all ingredients except 1 cup of flour into the water (use a mixer if you have it) turn the dough out on a floured board and knead in the last cup of flour. Divide the dough into two loafs. Let rise (covered in a greased bowl) for an hour or until doubled. Shape into round loafs and place on top of sprinkled cornmeal on a baking sheet, sprinkle liberally with flour. With a serrated bread knife cut a cross or hash into the top of the crust. Place a cup of water in a pan on the bottom rack. Bread goes on the center rack. Bake at 400 for 30-35 minutes.

Old School/New School

2009-10-28T16:03:00.000-05:00

Playing again with a process to digitally capture images from an old 4x5 field camera. Interesting so far. The look of the 4x5 wide open is just beautiful, especially photographing people. Where/when will I use it? Who knows....

The New Lust

2009-10-08T15:35:00.000-05:00

OK, So this machine deserves it's own post. I spent Saturday afternoon chasing my buddy Rich, who owns Sonic Springs, across the ridges and through the valley's of the Ozarks. I was aboard my first generation SV650, a good friend who got me back into riding and has carried me thousands of miles on mountain roads with [relatively] few problems. But as glided across the pristine asphalt of Newton County, I realized... there is more to life than just function.

Rich's new Ducati 848 (with less than 1k miles on the clock) is as much a piece of performance art as it is a motorcycle. I have seen them in person, I have seen videos, I have seen thousands of photos.... but until you ride near one, you can't really understand just what the Italians are able to do with a little plastic and metal.

There is something about motorcycles that people either get... or they don't. Some folks run away in fear, others rush forward with an unparalleled passion. And different motorbikes yield different results. Rich for instance usually rides a V-Strom 650, a very utilitarian bike. Often referred to as "an appliance," the V-Strom is an amazing ride for the money and is capable of more than most people are. For instance, Rich took his and rode from Midwest City, Okla...... to the ARCTIC CIRCLE...... by himself. Now that's one heck of a motorcycle, and aboard it Rich is the safest, most sane rider I have ever known. Always tempered, always checking sight lines, always keeping the right hand under control. But aboard the Duc, Rich is a different man, a monster of the roads, still well in control, but more so with the right hand wrapped tightly around the throttle. When I finally caught him (at a stop sign in the distance) I asked him if that bike got in his head. His response was a big big grin.

A couple hours chasing rich reconnected me with my own bike, but also taught me where the limits of my front suspension are! It's not terribly common to see these bikes around, it's even less common to see them with an owner that it not an uber-rich poser who has more money that talent.

Anyhow, most of us will likely never ride a bike like this, but if you ever get the chance to follow one through the mountains on a 60 degree day in the bright sunshine... I suggest you do. The above picture is all you may see, but it's certainly worth the view.

One Great Weekend

2009-10-08T15:24:00.000-05:00

Twice a year I put together a what used to be a little gathering of friends and has grown into a fairly decent little weekend ride. This year we had about 35 riders gather and ride the roads near Jasper, Arkansas. It's really a blast to be able to go and chase some of the best riders I know though the amazing ribbons of asphalt that weave through the Ozarks. I always ride more than I shoot, but I usually haul out the cameras and make at least a few decent images.

As I edit (and wish I was back aboard my trusty SV650 in the mountains) Here are a few of my favorite images.

Shootin' Hoops

2009-09-30T10:08:00.000-05:00

Had a great shoot yesterday. I was in Dallas and got the call to be at the BOK Center that evening. We packed up, rushed back and made it in plenty of time. When I got there I was blessed with stellar light everywhere and a neat guy to photograph.

I met Nolan Richardson last winter when I photographed his grandson in the Lone Star Conference basketball tournament in Bartlesville, Okla. But it was brief and yesterday I got to talk with him whole we worked to shoot photos for an ad for the WNBA investors group in Tulsa. What a neat guy with a great story. His most recent gig was with the Mexican National team. Folks everywhere seem to love him and I sure hope they get the team here in Tulsa so I can keep making his photo.

Beautiful Days of Summer

2009-08-20T00:20:00.000-05:00

It has been way to long since I updated something here and for that I apologize. It has been a crazy summer, long and a bit drawn out, but here we are nearing the end. As fall approaches I have wrapped up one of my big projects this summer. A simple website and lots of photo work for client and friend Wade Jones at Greenstreet Landscapes here in Tulsa.

Wade's work has an unbelievable feel to it. Anytime I walk into one of his projects I can instantly feel his touch on it. Soft, lush, organic, natural. Landscaping may not always be thought of as an art, but Wade's work belongs in a gallery!

Check out the site when you get a chance and if you have any projects coming up, give Wade a call! www.greenstreetlandscapes.com

New Digs

2009-06-23T23:56:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, check out the new site! It's up and running at www.shanebevel.com. We were dragged kicking and screaming out of the 640x480 format of yesteryear and you can now actually see some detail in the photos! HA! Multimedia is gone from the site for now, but is replaced by a leaner, meaner portfolio with just four categories: Reportage, Portraits, Sports/Outdoors and Architecture/Industrial work. There is also a place for me to show work that might not make the portfolio, but is important to me, you'll find it under Personal Projects.

The format is clean and simple, but allows easy access to the images, which are the most important part. Websites for me are a living breathing being and I try to keep mine fresh (though sometimes I fail completely) I am sure there will be tweaks over the next days/weeks/years so I would appreciate any input here or at shane@shanebevel.com

Enjoy and pass it along!

P.S. The cover image is one of my favorite from our time in El Salvador, an impromptu futbol game on the construction site. Somehow almost all the workers produced a pair of cleats. Those who didn't played barefoot.

GOOOOOOO 'Pokes?

2009-06-12T16:26:00.000-05:00

Got a letter in the mail today... one I have been waiting on for a while. It's a letter from Dr. Derina Holtzhausen offering me a position as a visiting lecturer starting this fall at Oklahoma State in Stillwater. A handful of my former colleagues from the Tulsa World are teaching there currently and I feel like the school is on the verge of an upward trend much like UNT during my days there. I look forward to riding that wave again.

Teaching is something I have done before and something I really enjoy. So to get to do it at this level, even as a once a week adjunct, is pretty dang cool. I always had great respect for the professionals who took time from their busy schedule to come and teach us at the University of North Texas. Our careers would not have been the same without them, and they should all find great satisfaction in the level of success their students achieved.

Now I hope to pass that on to my students. To embed in them the passion of visual storytelling that was given to me. The journalism world is a much different place than it was when I was in school, but despite the uncertainty and the massive changes, it should be an exciting place for students with the drive to be storytellers.

Represented......

2009-06-11T00:25:00.000-05:00

..... and no, not by my congressman. One of my goals when I went freelance was to find an agency that I thought could help me pursue and sell my personal projects. Stories that otherwise might not see the light of day.

As of today, I have accomplished that goal. I am proudly represented by Zuma Press. Zuma has actually represented my work in the past as a staffer of the Shreveport Times and now represents the body of my work as a freelancer as well as future projects or essays I might undertake on my own.

Now this certainly doesn't mean my clients won't contact me directly for their needs, just that I have an outlet for stock photography and self assignments.

To take a look at Zuma's site visit www.zumapress.com www.doubletruckmagazine.com or www.zreportage.com

NCAA Softball Championships

2009-06-03T02:06:00.000-05:00

Just got done shooting the division one Women's Softball World Series for the NCAA and wanted to post a few images up here. I always enjoy shooting sports, but sports at this level are just even more fun. These girls can really play ball.

2009-06-02T02:24:00.000-05:00

Did a story earlier this week for a new client called Education Week. Good assignment, great editor. A win win for all! Here are a few of my images from a story about Western Heights School District in Oklahoma City using data, numbers and analytics to track everything from student mobility to dropout rate to numbers of kids on free and reduced lunches in the cafeteria. The extra chairs in the graduation photos are for kids who dropped out. Power visual to represent a 29% dropout rate.

Great Transformations

2009-05-29T16:18:00.000-05:00

One of the great things about my job is the people that I meet along the way. This last week I was able to shoot an assignment for Prison Fellowship, a non-profit that helps inmates transform their lives.

So I travelled to Wichita, KS to spend time with Butch Beckwith and his family. Butch was sentenced to prison for seven years for drug charges. I won't tell his entire story here, but through God and the help of Prison Fellowship he has truly transformed himself. My time hanging out with him and his kids and wife was some of the most rewarding I have had in some time.

Butch's relationship with his kids is great, his career is growing and his faith is rock solid. It's impressive to say the least considering where he was 10 years ago. It's nice to be able to help organizations like Prison Fellowship spread the word about their good work.

Memorial Day....

2009-05-26T00:03:00.000-05:00

In the waning moments of today's holiday I am sitting here in bed, thinking about this day. Fran and I blew off a lot of things that needed to be done, and instead did a lot of things we wanted to do. Mostly we worked in the yard. Did a little maintenance and then proceeded to finish a lot of projects that we have been working on.

It all turned out beautifully and when we were done instead of jumping in the shower and kicking back to look out at our work, we went next door and helped the neighbors who are leaving fora big trip and trying to get everything done before they leave. All four of us knocked the work out and then kicked back for pizza and beers as the last bit of light left the sky.

Lots of people do lots of different things on this holiday. Most don't understand it's meaning. Sure, they are aware of the holiday, aware of why celebrate it and even vaguely aware of the sacrifice of young men and women. For most of my life, I was the same. Then two years ago, late at night in mid-April I received a call telling me that Cpl Ray Michael Bevel had been killed in action in Iraq. Ray, my cousin on my father's side, was a sweet boy, soft-spoken and kind-hearted. Even though I saw him just months before his death, I mostly remember him as the goofy kid with the big ears. A boy my father called Ray-Bird. I boy who loved to help others.

When I look back to his funeral I remember the thousands upon thousands of people lining the streets of small town West Texas as we brought his body home from the airport. Some had small
flags, some stood stoic and watched at the line of dark sedans and limos passed them by. Others were awash in tears and emotion. I would guess that very few of them knew Ray personally. It was a hard thing to go through for our family and of course for Ray's parents and siblings.

I could go on for a long time about that weekend. It was an amazing show of support. The most amazing thing was the outpouring of support from my uncle's neighbors there in Andrews. The way they cared for him and his family when they needed it was uplifting in more ways than I can say.

So when I look back on today, I can't imagine a more fitting way to celebrate this holiday than to take a few hours to help out a neighbor.

Life is Work. Work is a Blast.

2009-05-10T23:24:00.000-05:00

This weekend I made my semi annual trip to Jasper, AR to ride motorcycles with a few friends. Actually it has grown to a bit more than that. It's really a full blown rally these days, but it still has a close knit group of folks who enjoy riding some beautiful roads, tossing back a few by the campfire at night and tell stories old and new.

In years past I have blogged about the bacon and french toast at the Ozark Cafe or the scenic views or the amazing roads. But this go round I have a little different perspective: I have an amazing life.

As I sat on the side of the road an old Pontiac came by carrying a canoe on a few old rolls of carpet. I laughed as it meandered around the blind corner. It reminded me of a buffalo rambling through a forest filled with nimble deer. Not belonging at all but not bothered by it at all either. As the car came nearer the sound of the 455 filled my ears and I saw behind the steering wheel a man late in years, grey of hair, long of beard with a grin that warmed my heart. I imagined him arriving at the river and plunging into the river head first the cold water soaking his worn white v-neck shirt and cut off Levis before even unloading the canoe and floating away alone. Windows down on the Bonneville, keys under the seat, a brown wrinkled paper sack with lunch stowed in the boat.

I have always admired people who give off that feeling of freedom. Those who live life on their terms. Those who can do as they choose. But the more I live this life of a freelancer, the more I realize I am closer to that dream than I know.

No doubt there will be times when I am scared about money or security or buying new gear or fixing old gear or whatever. But the fact is I can now really be who I have always been; a photographer, an adventurer, a motorbike rider and yes... even a bit of a writer.

So here's to the road in front of us all. Enjoy it while you can. We can only hope that the pavement is smooth, the curves plenty, the sky blue and at the end of it all.... the river cool and clear.

Ten years....

2009-05-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

Lately I have been sending out a lot of emails touting my experience as a photojournalist, the time I have put into my craft, the things I have seen, the variety of assignments I have taken.

In almost every one, I round out my experience in the field to "nearly a decade." Up until this morning I didn't spend much time thinking about what that past decade meant. I have certainly covered some pretty amazing stories in my relatively short career, and I expect to cover just as many in the future.

But today, as I walked into a gas station along the turnpike, a grainy, dark image of a massive tornado caught my eye on the front cover of one of the state's daily papers. It took me a minute to really catch the drift of the headline and then it hit me.

One decade ago today I was a student at the University of North Texas and I was scrambling around campus trying to find someone to skip class and go with me to Moore, Okla. to cover the massive damage inflicted by a series of tornadoes that sprung up across the state.

I couldn't find anyone to go with me, so I fueled up my truck (a 1979 Ford F100) and headed north on Interstate 35. When I got there I hit the streets, found ways to sneak into the damaged areas and went to work covering what was the biggest story of my then very short career as a college journalist. I spent three days in Moore, camping in my truck alongside the giant broadcast rigs and rented camper buses of the major papers. I slept in the front seat of that old Ford and, as with all the other major disasters I have covered since, lived on water, peanut butter and granola bars.

I wasn't nearly the journalist then as I am now, and the photos show that. But the things I saw, the stories I heard and the journalists I watched set in stone for me my path for the next ten years of my life. It was a great ten years.

So many things have changed. I am looking across my dining room now and marveling at the camera that I used to make the images. Yes, I still have it, it's on the "antique" shelf, along with the rest of my film cameras. Which is why the first photo has text on it. The only digital copy I have was used as a cover image for my portfolio for years afterwards. I still have the negatives somewhere with the rest of my college stuff. It makes me wonder what I would find if I dusted off an old loupe and looked through them. Who knows what I have already forgotten.

A Beautiful Wedding

2009-04-10T01:33:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I shot a wedding as a second shooter for a friend of mine. Here are a few of my favorites. It was a lot of fun and the couple was great. Congrats to Allison and Adam. The wedding was here in Tulsa with a reception at the Tulsa Country Club. Beautiful old club that over looks downtown from the northwest side.

New Work

2009-04-10T00:34:00.000-05:00

It has been way to long since I posted some work, so I thought I would throw some new stuff up here. These are a few of my favorites from a recent shoot at the Cushing Oil Terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma.

The terminal moves most of the oil that passes through the US in a series of pipelines. It's a pretty amazing place. Very difficult to give a sense of scale. I shot the assignment for Bloomberg and I know the Washington Post picked it up the next day. Not sure who else.

As I have said on this blog before I really like shooting heavy industry. It's a strange thing to appreciate, but the scale and look of things like this lend themselves to photographs... and strangely at the same time really challenge me to see the larger picture.

Starting next week I am going to try and shoot some stock images of some of Oklahoma's wind farms, ports, biofuel plants and other heavy industry and energy locations. Should be fun.

Light Testin'

2009-03-30T21:28:00.000-05:00

Sometimes your model isn't around when you need her. So you have to have a stand in... sometimes your stand in isnt around when you need her. So sometimes... you need a tripod.

I like this look. I really hope I can replicate it 5 more times over the next week.

BTW, the stand in finally showed up... she had a new hair cut.

Crazy Kids

2009-03-26T21:59:00.000-05:00

Wow.... it has been a bit of a whirlwind the last couple weeks. My apologies for not updating here. I've shot as varied a group of assignments as I would have in the newspaper industries. Everything from portraits to sports to fashion to architecture. One this that has popped up a good bit is kids.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't want to be the next strip mall kiddie portrait guy... but I do enjoy shooting the occasional custom in house or on site portrait of the occasional kid. The past couple weeks I shot a few, and man, it was fun.

It also helps to have cool parents who understand and appreciate the difference between what you get at Sears and what you can get when you hire someone who will come to your home and take their time.

Also, as always there were a few cool kids at a wedding I shot in Houston.

The Sweet Roar of Fandom

2009-03-01T18:22:00.000-06:00

Well kids, it is that time of year again. Time for basketball tournaments and screaming fans and pep bands and full body paint. I am not the world's biggest basketball fan, but I do enjoy the tournaments at all levels.

Last night I shot a fantastic game at ORU. They just lost to NDSU in the final moments but the fan's excitement and the near full Mabee Center reminded me of the things I like about this time of year and the work I have done for the last ten years. Next week I will be covering some Div. II games at the Lone Star Conference and after that? Who knows. A lot depends on where ORU ends up after the Summit league tournament in Sioux Falls, SD this week.

Let's hope for them (and me!) that it is some place great!

A Camera To Call My Own

2009-01-27T09:13:00.000-06:00

Well last week was a little crazy, but in a good way. Staff photojournalists are issued gear to use from their companies, so when I was laid off, I was in a bad spot. This week I bought some gear and shot a couple of ORU games. It's amazing the feeling of owning your own gear. For those who don't know, it's not cheap. Pros don't use the $800 cameras that you see in Circuit City or Best Buy. The cameras we shoot with cost about $4000 new and the lenses can be even more expensive.

For now I have what I need and the future is wide open for us here. All we need now are some clients. if you know anyone, please... send them this way.

New Stuff... And A New Day

2009-01-15T11:26:00.000-06:00

I have been holding off on this post now for a while. Wasn't sure exactly what to say. It has been a shocker of a week. I was laid off from my full time newspaper gig on Jan. 6th. So here I am a week or so later and I feel like I am headed for a better place. I have some freelance leads and more importantly at this point, I have a plan.

I'd love for you all to take a look at the portfolio site and let me know what you think. I have expanded the galleries and added galleries for Food, Portraits, Places, Outdoors and Fashion. There are of course still galleries for my hurricane work, sports and editorial singles.

www.shanebevel.com

Soon we will have an entirely separate page for weddings and I have already had some interest in booking weddings this summer. If you know anyone getting married in Dallas/Fort Worth, OKC or Tulsa, please pass my information on to them.

On a last note, please just keep us in your prayers. Its going to be a little crazy for a while and Fran and I need all the help we can get.

Iglesia El Rosario

2008-12-03T22:03:00.000-06:00

I meant to post this last week and things have gotten away from me, but on Saturday in El Salvador we went on a little sight seeing tour and one of the places we went was the Iglesia El Rosario. The church from the outside (seen above) pales in comparison to the cathedral across the Central Park in downtown San Salvador. In fact, barring the post-modern bell tower, you would never know it was a church. It looks much more like an aircraft hangar from the outside. But I cannot image that the traditional cathedral can hold a candle to the interior of the all concrete, glass and steel decor of the El Rosario.The architect designed everything from the exterior to the interior and even the stations of the cross and the stained glass that tells the stories of the Bible (you can see these in the Pano, they are very stylistic panels of steel over clear glass across the top of the doors and back wall) from the three simple materials.

The walls are fully ventilated in a way that is really too hard to describe, but let me just say that the outside air literally blows straight through the building. I counted only about a dozen small light sources that were not provided by God himself. Everything else was natural light.

The Stations of the Cross didn't actually show the entire body of Christ. For the most part they were just his arms, or hands. The entire space was truly a work of art. Although I didn't take my panoramic head and tripod on the day long trip, I did manage to hack together a panoramic that will give you a good idea of the space and its beauty.

HERE IS THE PANORAMIC

If you make it to El Salvador, please make a trip to see this amazing building. But please... take a tour guide or fixer. It's in a rather rough part of the downtown market area but is well worth the trip.

Little Dune Buggy.....

2008-11-23T11:17:00.000-06:00

On Saturday Fran got tired of laying around the lush gardens of the Rancho Estero Y Mar and decided to take out all her energy on the beaches of El Salvador. So we rented a dune buggy and hit the beach, it was a lot of fun. Here is a little video.
Little Dune Buggy.... from Shane Bevel on Vimeo.

Traffic Clowns

2008-11-22T11:47:00.000-06:00

As we were pulling across a particularly hairy intersection on the Pan American Highway we heard a whistle and looked out the bus window and saw a clown. When asked about it our tour guide simply stated... "Traffic Clowns... you know, police make you cry, but clowns make you laugh!" That was really the only explanation we got. And I suppose... the only one we needed.

Funerales

2008-11-20T10:41:00.000-06:00

This funeral home on the main street of San Luis Talpa is open more than any other business in town and is available 24/7. A stark reminder of how hard life can be for the people of Central America.

Sunset

2008-11-20T10:21:00.000-06:00

Being near the Equator, the light in El Salvador is brilliant. And the sunsets are even more stunning. The first day I went out to shoot a photo I thought it looked very different and really neat, but could not quite put my finger on it. Then it hit me.... the sand is black. Like other highly volcanic areas the sand in La Libertad is made from volcanic rock and therefore is black.

La Libertad Market

2008-11-20T10:03:00.000-06:00

After the fish market we walked across town to the main market. It was an interesting place with hundreds of nooks and back alleys and side stands. The merchants spilled out so far into the streets so far that they had to move their wares in order to allow buses to pass. We had already bought a hammock at the pier for the backyard, so we just browsed the hundreds of tiny stands and tried not to be overwhelmed by the number of people and merchants and buses. It's certainly eye opening to see how most of the world does their shopping.
After the market we headed down to the beach for lunch. Dozens of waiters stood in the streets trying to convince you that their restaurant was the best. Since they all had the same sign (provided by the El Salvadorean brewer of a great beer called simply "Pilsner") There wasn't much to choose by, so we selected pretty much at random.
For somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 total we had four beers, two plates of mussels on the half shell, two plates of small marinated shrimp, a Red Snapper served whole and pan fried with rice and vegetables and a plate of rice with calamari. Wow, what a lunch.

Puerto La Libertad

2008-11-20T08:54:00.000-06:00

OK, Lots of back posting to do here, but let's start with the Thursday that Fran and I spent knocking around in La Libertad, El Salvador. It's not exactly a resort town but is a beautiful city with lots of kids and smiling faces. We started out the day at the Puerto La Libertad fish market. The entire market is on a pier over the Pacific Ocean. The fishermen use a long narrow boat with a traditional outboard. The more sought after catches (red snapper mostly) are sold fresh while smaller less desirable fish are dried on the concrete seawall surrounding the beach.

When the fishermen return for the day the boats are hooked to a crane at the end of the pier and are hauled up and loaded onto carts. From there the carts are rolled to the fish market at the end of the pier and the catch is off-loaded and sold. Can't get much fresher than that!

Finally!

2008-10-15T16:18:00.000-05:00

Well, we finally closed on our house here in Tulsa. It was a long process and it's not totally over yet. We still have to paint and fix a few things before we move in, but it is really a neat house. Here are some before photos.

www.shanebevel.com/house/before

www.shanebevel.com/house/outsidebefore

Old Stories Never Die

2008-09-23T21:09:00.000-05:00

Nearly four years ago I set out for Houma, La. with a new reporter at The Times named James Ramage. Our goal was to look into the possibility of a serial killer preying on male prostitutes and drug addicts across South Louisiana.

Today that man was convicted for the first set of deaths and sentenced to eight life sentences in prison.

It's strange, I had nearly forgotten about the project until I read the headline today in a Houma Courier email (an email I had signed up to receive when we were working on the story and just never cancelled).

I still haven't finished reading all the back stories, but it seems that most of the men we suspected of being victims have been confirmed to be among Ronald Dominque's 23 victims.

In fact Octavia Jones (pictured above) is now said to be related to four of the victims. We originally only knew that her nephew August Terrill Watkins was among the dead.

It was a sad, creepy week. We talked to people who had lost friends years ago and those who had lost them recently. We even attended the funeral service for the most recent victim.

I am sad that my paper at the time didn't see the importance in continuing to follow the story, but at the same time I am thrilled that Houma and Terrebonne parish are safer places to be.

For more information on the killings visit www.houmatoday.com

The Photographed Photographer

2008-09-04T23:21:00.000-05:00

It is not often that the photographer gets photographed. So here you go. Fran and I, under immense pressure from family, finally broke out the iron and had some photos made in downtown Tulsa.

Big thanks to our friends James and Julia (Julia playing light stand at left) for helping out and making the photos. To see more of James' work check out: www.jamesplumee.com

If you desire to see more foolishness, please feel free: www.shanebevel.com/engagement

JPG Magazine

2008-08-21T21:21:00.000-05:00

Well, after reading the magazine for quite some time I have decided to try and contribute each month to a magazine called JPG. It's an interesting setup. You submit one image each for three themes for each issue of the magazine. It doesn't yield much if you are published, but it's a cool magazine and gets me thinking about my photography in a different way.

Anyhow, check it out.

Das Haus!

2008-08-06T18:09:00.000-05:00

Well, we did it!

We signed the contract on a house today. It's a cool little 1929 gingerbread house in Midtown Tulsa. Under 3 miles to downtown and across the street from TU, it's close to a lot of things that we like, including the apartment I am living in now.

This means that if each of you come to my house on Sept 14 and grab one thing and walk two blocks... well.... then we will be moved! So come on.

The photo above shows the house as it is now, the way it will look when we get the keys (they are replacing the awful pink roof before we close. And the third photo shows it with red brick. We hope to either sand blast the brown paint off the brick, or maybe just paint it red again.

We are so hot.... we're on FIRE!

2008-07-25T11:04:00.000-05:00

Just as we recover from the stolen purse and the dog having heartworms... Fran gets a call at work Monday that her apartment building is on fire and she should come and check in at the office so they know everything is ok.

Next thing you know we are both at her apartment looking over the smoldering remains of her apartment.

We were able to recover a few heirloom items that we will have to restore (bubbled varnish, smoke smell, warped and cracked tabletop) and a few nice outfits went to the cleaners in a vain hope they can get the stink out. And of course we found the photos soaked in char-water, but were able to take them out of albums that night and save them.

Amazingly, a month ago I had made her bring all her valuables to my house (which is insured) and just a week ago we gave my couches to a neighbor in need and moved her new couch and chair to my house. So really, on top of her not being there, we are very blessed.

In short my friends... if you don't have a renters insurance policy or homeowners... call and get one. NOW would be a good time.

Passport!

2008-06-27T17:20:00.000-05:00

Well, after all the nasty stories I have heard about people not getting passports or it taking months on end to get them, I was terrified at the thought of not getting mine in time for my honeymoon. However this afternoon, 6 days from when I applied, I arrived home to find my passport in the mail!

Fran and I are really excited about the prospect of building houses for people to celebrate our new life together. Not to mention the beach in El Salvador is supposed to be pretty nice ;)

Anyhow, here is a little video overview from The Fuller Center of Housing about the project at St. Joseph's Home for the Poor.

Thousands of Light Painters

2008-06-26T00:23:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we get to slow down a bit and have a little fun with our assignments. This was one of those times. With the Tulsa area overtaken by tiny flying lanterns I drew the assignment to make a photograph to accompany the story.

It took me more than two hours sitting in the pitch dark to make a handful of photos decent enough to turn in. Partially because of the frustration of focusing the dark, but also because the wee things are harder to photograph than you think. It took me so long that the interns who went with me soon tired of me standing around contemplating the assignment while they got bit by the not nearly as friendly mosquitos sharing the airspace with our green glowing subjects.

After they left I took a deep breath and then stepped off the deep end. I used a technique called light painting to make the two photographs you see here. Basically a long exposure (30 seconds) captures the movement of the bugs while bursts from a small flashlight are used to "paint in" the details the photographer chooses (hand, weed, boots etc)

Now I am off to fetch a little anti-itch gel and some sleep!

First Date

2008-04-06T23:14:00.000-05:00

Well, it is official. After a very long weekend Frances is now a Tulsan. It was nearly an 800-mile round trip with four vehicles making the return trip. But thanks to Fran's Mom and Gary it was easy going to get all the stuff loaded up and the old apartment cleaned.

So after I finished work today and Frances took a nap we set out on the town to find a place to have our first dinner date. A trip to Braums to pick up a burger, swing by the QuickTrip to wash the bugs off the windshield and the next thing you know... we were at the movies. I mean after all that driving, what's another two hours in the car?

Catch Up!

2008-03-30T16:37:00.000-05:00

Wow, So much has happened since I posted last. Lets run down the list real fast and get caught up.

1. I got moved and started my new job here in Tulsa. It's outstanding. The people are great. The paper is great. The assignments.... well I mean it's a slow time of the year outside of basketball, but things will pick up soon.

2. Frances got a job at the food bank here, which is an amazing facility and it's a great opportunity for her to do good work and still be here with me.

3. And the big one is that Frances and I are engaged!

So, now that you are all caught up (give me a while and I will backfill the details) I am going to post a little something about our trip to Eureka Springs, where we plan to get married on Nov 8, 2008.
First of all, if you have read my blogs before, you know that the roads in this part of the country are simply amazing, so if you ride, bring your motorcycle! This is the highway into Eureka Springs. The surface is often pristine and there aren't many straights to speak of. It was very foggy on Saturday. And rainy. And cold.
The scenery on the way in and around the town is just unreal. It's truly a step way back in time.The town itself is cleverly built on the side of a mountain with the streets being an interlocking, tangled mess of switchbacks and steep climbs. Whoever built this place really wanted to live here.
The hotel we plan on having the reception in is on the left here. The Basin Park Hotel. More about that later.
This is a limestone structure built around one of the towns many springs. I forget the name of this one, but it's a steep climb from top to bottom. So much of this town seems to be built of local limestone... including the sidewalks.Here Frances tries on a pair of socks and shoes at one of the hundreds of small shops that line the streets of the historical part of town. The main feature of said socks and shoes? They were dry.After lunch me, Fran and most importantly "The File" made our entrance to meet with the people at the Basin Park Hotel. The hotel is outrageously cool. With art deco touches and turn of the century architecture, we fell in love with it pretty quickly.The Barefoot Ballroom was much cooler than the photos we had seen. With windows all the way around and hardwood floors it will be a great place to see the people that mean the most to us during the reception.There is also this cool little billiards bar on the same floor. All of this is on the top floor of the hotel (7th I think) and the windows overlook the city and the mountains. Hopefully in November there will still be come color in the trees by then.
On our way out of town we stopped by the Thorncrown Chapel to see if they might be open (they are usually closed in the off season) and there happened to be a wedding going on, so we snuck down and shot a few photos, but didn't get to go in. If you want to see more of the chapel there is a great 360 degree virtual tour HERE.
This is what it looks like from the outside. I can't wait to go back this summer and see the inside.

Anyhow, the trip was a blast and it really got me excited about spending time with my family and friends in this amazing little town on what should be a very memorable weekend in Nov.

Engaged!

2008-03-08T21:02:00.000-06:00

The Road Ahead

2008-02-20T15:20:00.000-06:00

Before I came to live in Shreveport I had lived in three cities in less than a year. I lived in the heat and wide-open sky of North Texas, at the base of a great mountain in Virginia and in a small cabin on the swampy shores of Caddo Lake. During that time I could fit everything I owned in a one-ton 4x4 OD green Chevy Suburban. I had great adventures, met fascinating people, and even made a few decent photos along the way.
Six years ago I came to a sliding halt here in Shreveport and although it has been a great six years, I have been feeling that itch to hit the road again for some time now. The call for a new scene out my window, a new terrain to tackle and a new assignment for my vision has proved too great to ignore.

So a couple weeks ago when the Tulsa World called and offered me a job, I jumped at the chance to feel a little bit of that excitement again. Sure the paper is bigger and the staff is bigger and the town is bigger and the sports are bigger. But the real draw was for a new view from behind the camera, new people and cultures and history that provide the subjects for the stories I love to tell. I think I will find that and more in the hills of northeastern Oklahoma when I start at the World in a few weeks.

But for now, I want you to know that I will miss all of you. The people who make Shreveport what it is and the culture that surrounds it are priceless to me. I have loved hearing and telling your stories, making your acquaintance and your photographs.
I may never cover another hurricane. I may never again spend a morning watching men harvest shrimp or cotton or crawfish. I may never again hear the deafening, dull roar of an LSU home game. And I almost certainly will never fly in a B-52 again. But I will always remember the experiences that I have had here and the people I have met.As I move on to my next assignment in life, I hope that you will all stay in touch and keep me updated on your lives and the life of the city.

Read On!

2008-01-14T23:27:00.000-06:00

I thought I would put this in print... as much for myself as anyone else. The 2008 reading list is a few days late (15 to be exact) but what can I say.... I was busy.

So far this year I have finished Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy. (it took me nearly five years to get around to reading Cities of the Plain after finishing The Crossing) and quickly knocked off the Pulitzer-Prize winning The Road, also by McCarthy. So my first goal is to reread The Crossing. No need to reread All The Pretty Horses. I have read it twice and watched the movie countless times. Then I intend to try and figure out what the hell Cormac was trying to say with the dream at the end of Cities of the Plain

Not sure what will come next, but on the list (and the shelf for that matter) for sure are the following.

Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls
Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Garcia's Love in the Time Of Cholera
Thomas McGuane's The Longest Silence: A Life in Fishing

In addition I want to read two other Hemingway novels (I read three last year) and at least one Faulkner novel. I would also like to read Where Rivers Change Direction by Mark Spragg. A friend of mine recently gave me The Fruit of Stone and I enjoyed it immensely.

Faulkner is a challenging one for me. I find his work rewarding but very time consuming. The last time I tried to read A Light in August it took me the better part of ten minutes to get through the first page with all it's "southern" dialect.

So there's my list.... what's on yours? what should I add to mine?

New Years

2008-01-02T18:57:00.000-06:00

For the first time I can remember I didn't stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve. Instead I went to bed when my fire burned out and the temperatures dropped below freezing.

What I learned was that I liked watching the sun rise on the new year more than watching sun set on the old one.

I hope that you all have a wonderful year.

Dairy Queen

2007-12-12T00:23:00.000-06:00

Inspired by an essay on the loss of memory by a German philosopher, Larry McMurtry once wrote a book called "Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen." It wasn't the greatest book. It's an interesting look into McMurtry as a writer and told a little about growing up in Texas. But the thing that stuck with me were the passages about the Dairy Queens in and around Archer City, Texas.

In Texas (at least the part west of Fort Worth) road trips are measured by the distance between DQs. Children recount priceless memories based around the DQ in their grandparents town. Old farmers chat every morning over a Dilly Bar and a coffee.

So why should it be any surprise the parking lot at the DQ in Logansport has the strongest cell signal... and therefore became my press room for the basketball game I just shot.

Bayou Bliss

2007-12-07T15:21:00.000-06:00

Just like we did in 2003, the staff of The Times' Photo and Sports departments are producing a LSU National Championship book. Here is the website: www.bayoubliss.com

The book will contain a chapter for each game including the SEC and BCS championship games and will feature stories and photos by the Times staff.

The website is already up and taking orders and is offering a pretty decent discount for ordering your book in advance of the January release date.

Road Trip Part Two (Degrees Fahrenheit)

2007-12-03T15:47:00.000-06:00

Jeepers! It's cold up here, yeah?

Well we survived the storm and now are spending the last day in Minneapolis with tons of snow on the ground. In the in between, we have driven through the first major snowstorm of the year, spent a night on the shores of a frozen lake with Nancy and Bob (Fran's aunt and uncle) in the middle of nowhere.
We had our photo taken with a giant ridiculous fish at Mille Lacs (a giant frozen lake where all these people go to ice fish) and we had a little involuntary off road incident on the forest road to Bob and Nancy's cabin.

Hope all is well and warm there.

Road Trip Part One

2007-11-29T15:34:00.000-06:00

Fran and I have arrived in Minneapolis after a few days of camping at Lost Valley in the Buffalo National River in Arkansas. The weather was beautiful save for a 2 a.m. cold front this morning that shook me awake and left me half frozen when the sun came up.

Now for the photos. I just sent a few, but I thought I would give you all a taste...

First is Fran hiking on the Lost Valley Trail. It was a great 3.5 miles with lots of elevation change and a ton of cool rock features. Natural bridges, caves, fallen boulders, etc.Next is a shot from inside the natural bridge looking out over a spring fed pond. My not-yet weary feet are in the foreground.

Since it was early in the morning, there were deer scattered along the trail and most of them had a bit of interest in what we were doing in their forest.After finishing that trail, we packed lunch and headed to the ridge to hike the 3 mile trail to Hawksbill Crag where we had lunch. That's Fran standing on the crag... and yes... it is just as amazing as you would imagine. The view is well worth the big elevation changes to get there and back. We finished the entire trial and had lunch and shot photos in under two hours.
This morning we headed out of town. Watch out for the Ozark Road Blocks. ;)The final photo attached is the only interesting photo ever made of Iowa and sums up most of what I remember of the last 12 hours (AR, MO, IA, MN) with the exception of the stop at the huge Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, MO.
Now we are in Minneapolis at Fran's grandfather's house where it is a balmy 18 degrees outside. And after a good scrubbing are ready to hit the road again. Tomorrow we are headed to Grand Rapids,MN where the temperature is supposed to be 4 degrees with a wind chill of -13 degrees. On top of that, they are predicting a foot of snow........... Oh Boy. ;)

Wish us luck...more later.

Chronically Hungry....

2007-11-19T17:37:00.000-06:00

... Think about that term for a moment. Think about what it means to you. Try to apply it to yourself. When have you been "chronically hungry?"

How about that time you went camping and didn't take enough to eat. How about that week you worked so hard and didn't really have time to stop for lunch. Do any of them really apply? Do they really hold up to the reality?

Just outside my office, a few blocks down the road, but still in the deep shadow of the multi-million dollar downtown towers is a school... Ingersoll Elementary. At Ingersoll 90 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunches. Let me state it another way. Think of your 10 best friends when you were 8 years old. Now imagine that you were the only one who could afford lunch.

Now imagine that several kids in that same group not only got free lunches at school, but that many times that was the ONLY meal they ate before they went to bed. Maybe even the only meal they ate all day long.

That is chronically hungry.

Unfortunately there are more than 100 students at Ingersoll that were identified by their teachers and school nurse as chronically hungry. There are lots of indicators. Maybe they can't concentrate at school until after lunch. Maybe they stuff themselves on Friday afternoons. Maybe they come to school with a stomach ache every day. Whatever the reasons, they have been identified as consistently not having enough to eat.

Fortunately for these 100 students there is a pilot program called the BackPack Program that sends them home every weekend with a special backpack, one filled with foods that are simple so they can prepare it for themselves.

On this Thanksgiving week, I hope you will take a second to read the story that Diane Haag and I just published. Then I hope maybe you will take some action. Volunteer for a food bank, hold a food drive, make a donation... do something.

2007-11-08T17:25:00.000-06:00

I just got back from the scene of a shooting where 8-year-old Joann Bell's (above) uncle was shot by an 8-year-old's uncle after he broke up a fight between the two girls.

Think about that... Let it sink in... what does that say about us as a people? As a society?

MidSouth SV Rally

2007-10-22T16:00:00.000-05:00

First off the map. I think that we figured it was right under 500 miles
of beautiful twisty roads in the mountains. And those who rode it all,
did it in 2.25 days.
Choices, choices choices. There are so many great roads up there around
Jasper. Ryan told me when we were planning the rally that he could put
two hands on the map around Jasper and not touch a bad road and really
that's very true.On Friday after breakfast we headed east on 74 to 123 and then south to
Pelsor, which is nothing but a post office and a general store that is
only open on the weekends. However, on the weekend you can get the
world famous "sanwiche." I don't believe anyone tried one.

From there, we headed back up 123, which was a fantastic road. Big
sweepers, great scenery and a section of 10mph switchbacks that are
twice as tight as anything I saw in North Carolina. Seriously.

From there we took 374 back to town and shot some photos at the
overlook.374, Jack and I agreed, was one of our favorite roads. It was a
fantastic ride. Fairly open roads with some tight sections and one
bastard of a decreasing radius right hander. I would put 374 and 123 on
the "must ride" list.

After that, we headed back and hooked up with the rest of the people
who had showed up. Fil, Terri, Charles and Andrew all showed up midday
on Friday. Then most of the group headed off to Boxley Valley to see
the elk while I diagnosed a charging problem on my bike. (loose
battery cable)

Friday night there was a bonfire and beer and a few shenanigans. There
were bets on the lawn tractor and after hours a little motorcycle
shuffling care of the Dallas contingent (Shelby, Andy and Patrick) that
had arrived around dinner time. We all thought it was good fun and a
reminder to lock our triple trees. The guy who wasn't from our group
who had to hunt down his Daytona 675 in the morning... well... he
didn't think it was so funny. HA! Oh well, no harm, no foul.
I really can't say enough about The Hub. A stellar location with
stellar people running it. They really cater to motorcyclists and
provide beer runs and firewood for bonfires. Hell he even got after his
dog with a shock collar when he started barking at motorcycles.I have to give all the props to the Bike-Shufflers for showing up not
only to the morning ride, but also to breakfast after a long night of
polishing off Teri's vodka. They redeemed themselves and had a good
introduction to the mountain roads.

After breakfast we headed back down 374 to 123 and then across 16 to 27.

374 and 123 were brilliant again. 16 was beautiful and was on my list
of really great roads. 27's only real attribute was that it lead us to
341 (Push Mountain Road) But first we stopped for gas and drinks in
Marshall. It was about noon and we lost the late night riders to the
hopes of a nap at The Hub. Meanwhile Teri decided she had had enough of
people giving her hell for a dirty bike and she was off to the car wash
to hose it off.... mid-ride... ha!

The rest of 27 and 14 were great roads on par with the rest of the
weekend and finally we got to Push Mountain Road. The road is super
fast and smooth with no traffic. It's got great rhythm, but you can
really get in too deep too fast if you don't watch it. We stopped and
talked with the guy shooting photos (a la Killboy) and watched Ryan
make a few passes on his home road.

Then it was back down 14 for a short stop in Harriet. At this point we
lost a few more riders to fatigue and the short way home and the pace
picked up a notch.

Then things got a bit frustrating. Being Saturday afternoon the
Harley groups were out and there was one group in particular that was
a total whipping. I will just say that Teri has some some serious
skills and if those guys only knew that it was a 40-something year
old mother of two that passed them like that... well they would have
turned in their assless chaps and brake lever tassels in shame. It's
really too bad that some people just have to be like that. No one
owns the road and it's so much easier to let us pass and never see us
again than to block the road and ride so tight and so slow that no
one can get around you. Not all the Harley groups are like this.... I
met a lot of really cool Harley riders on our stops and there were a
ton of groups that let us by. But NONE of the other groups act like
this, BMWs, sport bikes, dual sports, Goldwings.... everyone else
always lets us by and we let everyone by that is running faster than
us. It's just a shame.

And despite what my father says, it's not about hating Harleys... or
their riders... it's about a distaste for inconsiderate people on
the road. People who would rather spend 20 miles preventing you from
passing rather than spend a 1/4 mile letting you pass and enjoy the
rest of their ride at their pace.

P.S. We have plenty of power on tap. You don't have to actually stop
to let us by. It's OUR job to make a safe pass and we can do it...
all you have to do is just hold your line, ride single file and not
be an ass.
Here is Teri fueling up after the Harley Incident.
This kid rode a 1000 miles round trip and slept in a tent and still
rode well. Hard core guy.

After the fuel stop, the remaining riders decided that our feet
wouldn't leave the pegs again till we got to the Hub. So at a blurring
pace we hit 14-235-65-123-74-7. It was a great ride at a great pace and
ended with dinner and another bonfire and cold beer at The Hub.
Sunday morning, we rode out to Boxley Valley on 7, 74 and 21 at pretty
good clip. We didn't see any elk, but it was a great way to spend the
morning and the photos were nice.
I did meet one really really cool Harley rider. This guy bought this
shovelhead brand new in 1981 and has put 75k miles on it since (in
addition to a few years where the odo didn't function!) You should
have seen the puddle of oil under this beast and it had only been
parked for a few minutes. HA!

Faith

2007-09-08T16:26:00.000-05:00

I have made a lot of nice photos on the issue of faith over the years. So many in fact, that I think I may add a section to my portfolio website. I always think about it when I am on the Sunday morning shift, but it may well happen this time.

Perspectives

2007-09-08T16:13:00.000-05:00

.... sometimes you find a new one.
Today I took a hot air balloon ride over downtown Shreveport. It's funny because I have made dozens of flights over the area shooting aerials over the years, but never have I seen the area from a balloon. It's a totally different view than an airplane. So low to the ground and so close to everything.
As a matter of fact, I have never ridden in a balloon.

B-52... Check.
Blackhawk... Check.
Careflight... Check
Tiny Private Plane... Check.
Balloon... Check.

Now all I have left is a rocket and the space shuttle... anyone know someone at NASA?

Fishin and Learnin

2007-08-31T10:58:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I posted a blog about heading down to the coast with some buddies. What I didn't mention is that most of them are photographers I have known for a decade or more.
Above are the photographers that made the trip this year (left to right). Jeremy is a freelancer and magazine photographer in Fort Worth. Mike is a freelancer and color tech at the Dallas Morning News. Gary is multimedia and online producer for the Dallas Morning News and Shanon is a freelance commercial and fashion photographer in Dallas.

For nearly a decade we have made the pilgrimage down south to chase fish and photos. And with five of us there it's always interesting to count up the number of cameras and photo-related toys that make the trip down to the coast.

This year was no different. I brought my first point and shoot. A Canon G7 which everyone agreed was a very cool little camera. It makes wonderful photos for such a teeny little thing and includes a lot of the features of my much larger DSLRs.
Jeremy brought a wireless TTL flash system that we played with (and I ended up buying from him) as well a plethora of used gear that he bought at a stupid cheap price.
And Gary brought the gear he uses to produce 360 degree panoramas. An 8mm fisheye, a Nodal Ninja and a computer software program called PTGUI.

Most of the day we lay around, eat, fish and have a few beers... sometimes a nap. But then at dusk a crazy thing happens. In those last waning moments of daylight when everything is golden and beautiful everyone seems to scramble. I snatch up my DSLR and wide angle lens to shoot the sunset. Shanon grabs his cameras and starts shooting stock images of fishing poles on the porch and Gary bolts down the long boardwalk to the pier with his pano gear.

Some years I shoot a lot of photos and some years I shoot none. But it never fails that on the trip I will learn something from my friends and recharge my creative batteries. Then I return... tired but rested, ready to take on the world of the daily newspaper again.

To see Gary's very cool pano of the fishing pier click on the photo below. You will need Quicktime, but it's free and well worth the time to download.

Two Years

2007-08-29T16:19:00.000-05:00

Two years ago today I emerged from a newspaper building in South Louisiana to find the world turned upside down. Over the next two months I was in and out (mostly in) of the southern end of the state covering Katrina and her sister Rita. It was probably the biggest assignment of my life and although it affected all of us who covered it in negative and positive ways, I don't regret a minute of it.
I wanted to share part of a short essay and a photograph that I made in November of that year on a trip back to New Orleans after the water had receded. It was an interesting trip and I remember hoping at the time that New Orleans would recover quickly. I still hope that, but I no longer see it as a possibility. New Orleans' problems lie outside the reach of it's residents. The Crescent City needs the continued support of the state, the nation and the world to be what it once was... or better.

All of my blogs from that time have been transfered to this blog and are now available in the archives on the right hand side of this page.

Portrait of a Young Survivor

Children run through the halls of a French Quarter Catholic school while nuns in flowing white habits try to slow the excitement. The warm, humid November air blows off the river and through the courtyard filled with basketball and four square courts. Guided by the enthusiastic cheers of Sister Mary Rose a group of children unload donated supplies and toys from a truck with Indiana plates while a young survivor gives an interview in the corner.

Earlier... a toilet overflows in a bathroom and a nun tells a group of children they must use the one down the hall because this one is flooded. Moments later a young girl, no more than five, tugs on the sleeve of the glowing white drape. In a worry-filled voice the girl asks "Sister Mary Rose... how high will the water get this time?" My heart breaks.

Photographing Faith

2007-08-27T16:54:00.000-05:00

It never ceases to amaze me how often I am allowed to waltz in and photograph some of the most intimate moments in people's lives. Yesterday I went with Diane Haag, the religion reporter here at The Times, to St. George Greek Orthodox Church. I really enjoy working on stories with Diane because she always seems to put me in places to photograph the core of people's beliefs. And I love working on stories about religion because I find it so fascinating how people of different cultures worship and that there is so much diversity in just the Christian religion alone.

I grew up in a Baptist church and still go to a Baptist church here in Shreveport (though copy editor Terrie Roberts would tell you not often enough) but I find it so interesting how other Christians worship and how they practice their faith. Here are a few more of my favorite images from my years here in Shreveport.

Time Away

2007-08-16T11:29:00.000-05:00

On occasion it happens. We get a little time to rest and relax. So this weekend I am off... headed to the Texas coast with some boys I have been known to hang around with from time to time. Friday and Sunday we are fishing in the bay and the Gulf and for the first time we will be fishing offshore on Saturday. Hopefully it will yield some nice images and an even nicer dinner. So until I get back, here are a few images from last year.

'Ball Is Back!

2007-08-06T18:35:00.000-05:00

The coach chants over and over "Twoontheendtwoontheendtwoontheend!" guiding his burgeoning players through a drill with the seamless noise, volume and pace unknown to humans outside the realm of the gridiron.

The players, drenched with sweat only 15 minutes into the afternoon workout, look at him with a confused, baked-by-the sun look and try to run the drill again... correctly this time.

August is back.... and with it the oppressive heat and two-a-day drills of high school football teams everywhere. It's a neat time of year and at the beginning it's exciting for photojournalists. It marks the end of a long, boring summer covering camps and "community sports" and the gateway to cool[er] fall nights, the stadiums packed with fans, young and old just clamoring to catch a glimpse of the hometown heroes. Old men finally have something to talk about when they sit in that tall reclining chair at the local barber shop.

Most photojournalists have a love/hate relationship with the fall. It indicates hard-worked Friday and Saturday nights, but it also provides us with great stories of young men fighting and clawing to win a battle that will be talked about for the next six days. A battle to prove to themselves, and their towns... that they are the best.

So here is to all our local heroes. As long as you can run drills, get laps and listen to your coaches in the maddening August heat.... I will tell your stories.

Muse

2007-07-28T01:12:00.000-05:00

How Quickly We Forget

2007-07-03T18:14:00.000-05:00

A year... A whole year I lived on Caddo Lake. No phone, no tv, no internet, no anything. Just me and a small boat and some local buddies. We spent countless hours on that lake, explored all of it's wonderful backwater channels and swamps. Hunted it's skies and fished it's waters. But in just a few short years I had really forgotten how incredibly amazing it is as a place and an experience. It took going with someone who had never seen it to really remember what it was like. Yesterday we went out and floated around a bit between storms, got stuck on a swamp island barely big enough for two, got soaked, got muddy, got happy.

Oh The Things You'll See!

2007-07-01T11:35:00.000-05:00

Was out and about yesterday morning and hit up a strange little rummage sale. First off it was private. You had to be on a mailing list to know it was happening. I am not that cool, but as it turns out some of the people I hang with are, so off we went. First thing we saw when we walked in the door was this.

Turns out there was a complete set with all the mayoral candidates at one time. But shortly after his election the Cedric edition was stolen.

I mean... who doesn't need a pair of Liz Swaine whitey tightys?

Le Brutale

2007-06-30T22:01:00.000-05:00

The half-naked ring girl sits ringside, her back to the fighters, and smiles nervously. The raucous music plays at an unholy level. The hammer strikes the bell with a ring that cuts through the thick sweating air. The fight begins.

Even in the most basic, brutal playings of a amateur martial arts fight night there is beauty. It's really strange to find it at the end of the day, when you least expect it.

The Misadventures of Chesley Roberts

2007-05-25T11:27:00.000-05:00

I have had more than one intern bail on a tough assignment. So when I offered our current intern the opportunity to help me out with a Preview cover shoot, I wondered if the desire the learn or the snooze button would win the fight.

But sure enough Chesley Roberts, a student at Western Kentucky and a Shreveport native, showed up right on time at 6:45 a.m. in the Willis-Knighton parking lot. It's always good to have an extra set of [dry] hands when you are shooting the cover of the weekly entertainment magazine... underwater.

After making sure I had what I needed, I got out of the pool, handed the camera and underwater housing to Chesley and told her to get in and shoot. After laughing at me for trying to stay on the bottom with no weight belt earlier, she got her own opportunity to give it a try and found out it wasn't so easy. But after a bit she got it down and made a couple nice images.

Although we haven't finished shooting... here are some of my photos of local Triathlete Joe Hinton.

And a couple by Chesley as well.

Sadness in the Wind

2007-05-02T10:18:00.000-05:00

The small plane stands out in the vastness of the blue West Texas sky. As the scream of the turbines dies, a somber silence blankets the air, only the uncontrollable sobbing cries of a grieving mother can be heard over the constant wind, buffeting through the bunched groups of family and friends.

An eternity passes before the door opens with a crack and six soldiers carried a seventh across the blazing white tarmac. The family touches the flag-draped casket as it glides into the hearse.

Along the open highway roughnecks, ranchers and oil men all stop. Some get out of their trucks, hold their hats against their chest and stand at attention as the procession rolls past. Later, in town, eight thousand people stand along the road in total silence as the war-battered body of a young man passes into the city limits for the last time. School children are bussed to the short route to stand with flags and learn what it means to be a patriot.

As a father grieves quietly, the body of Cpl. Ray Michael Bevel makes it's final sojourn.

Cpl. Ray Michael Bevel

2007-04-25T23:11:00.000-05:00

For those who have not heard, my cousin Ray was killed by an IED in Iraq over the last weekend. This weekend my family is all headed to West Texas for his funeral services. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Ray was a sweet kid with a big heart and big ears. He was quiet and polite and I don't recall him ever saying a cross word to anyone.

When all the other cousins had gotten to cool to hug... Ray was always the one to get in there and grab you around the waist and squeeze his goodbyes out of you. I will miss his shining face.

Too Much

2007-04-13T01:08:00.000-05:00

OK. Sorry guys... I went as long as I could... but the kid is just too damn cute NOT to be on my blog. I introduce to you my nephew...

I doubt this is the last time you will see him.

Empathy

2007-04-12T11:31:00.000-05:00

I have written before about the difficulty of covering funerals, it's hard to explain what it's like. Most of the time for us it's just another day at work. But on occasion it can be emotionally taxing. Military funerals are especially hard for me. I have a relative overseas in the war and it's always hard to lock that out.

Yesterday I shot Coach Eddie Robinson's funeral. I wrote earlier in the week about spending a day with him and his wife. So having seen the way they were together I knew the funeral might be difficult. For the most part it was a happy occasion, a celebration by thousands of people who had gathered together to celebrate his life.

But during the first song, Doris Robinson broke down and wept. The strength and composure she had shown all week left her in an instant. For just three minutes in a nearly four hour funeral we saw the grief and sorrow that strikes someone who has lost the one thing they love the most.

Watching through thousands of dollars of glass and mirrors, you can't look away and the camera is no longer a barrier. You are involved. You watch and you shoot and you are truly attached. For a moment you feel just a fraction of what that person feels and there is nothing to be done about it. All we can do is our jobs and try to understand what true empathy feels like.

Industrial Art

2007-04-05T15:34:00.000-05:00

I love shooting heavy industry. I don't know why, but it always seems to have a certain grit about it. There is very little color so when color does show up its always vibrant. Here are a few examples, one from a construction site and the other from the Port of Shreveport.

A Lifetime of Love

2007-04-04T11:43:00.000-05:00

Former Grambling Coach Eddie Robinson died this morning.

One of the things he always pointed out was his love for his wife. “The real record I have set for over 50 years is the fact that I have had one job and one wife,” Robinson said.

I had the good fortune to spend a game day with Coach Rob and his family a few years ago as his health was declining. It was a great day filled with warm people and old stories. Everyone knew Coach Rob and had a story to tell him. The press box was filled with NFL scouts who had been coached by Robinson in college. People just stopped by the Robinson's home before and after the game. Coach Robinson remembered some of them and not others, but was kind and welcoming to all of them.

Perhaps the thing that stuck in my mind the most was the obvious love between Robinson and his wife. You don't often see that kind of relationship these days.

I made this photo while setting up for a formal portrait in the Robinson's home that morning. It hasn't ever been published anywhere else. It's something I made just for myself. His high school sweetheart and wife Doris takes a just moment to adjust his tie and collar before the portrait and in that moment I can see 60-something years of love and dedication. Its a shame we can't see that more often.

When Dirt Turns to Mud

2007-04-02T11:36:00.000-05:00

Just a short update... my dirt road turned to mud.

When parts of Texas received up to nine inches of rain on Friday the Sabanna River rose up out of its banks and we had to go in the back way, which other than the 20+ feet of water is a much worse road. This was 18 hours after the rain had stopped and the bridge is still under 10+ feet of water. Two full days later we were able to cross with some effort.

Dirt Road Goodness

2007-03-30T01:07:00.000-05:00

Well, later this afternoon I will jump in the truck and head west. Texas to be exact. Saturday is the opening of wild turkey hunting season and at the crack of dawn I plan to be somewhere deep in the woods where the cell phone won't work and we can hope there is no internet access.

Every once in a while a man needs to just find a red dirt road and drive. This weekend I will do my fair share. I hope that you will find your road soon.

Love in the Quarter

2007-03-16T01:25:00.000-05:00

So I argued... well discussed... the other day with another photographer how cliche' this composition is.... and then I went and shot a photo using it. And worse yet, I like it.

The Quarter is a great place to be in love, I know. This couple stood outside a restaurant on Decatur for an hour and chatted and then, before she went back to her section at work... a brief embrace as his dog stood by, watching the traffic.

The way her hand touches his arm. That's the photo. The rest, well the rest is just background, without that light touch, barely skimming the hair on the back of his arm... well, then its just a bad photograph now isn't it?

New Orleans

2007-03-16T01:20:00.000-05:00

How I love this city.

I've had good times, bad times, hard times, times I don't exactly recall and times I wish I didn't. But I love the city. More than any other it has true heart. I sometimes wish I could move here, and then I think it might lose its magic; its strange luster.

But the more time I spend here, the more I know it wouldn't.

Self-Portrait in Green

2007-03-12T22:35:00.000-05:00

A photographer I used to work with made self-portraits incessantly.

He claimed they were the spirit of creativity. That it was his way to see inside himself. That they were the most sincere form of creation. He spoke about them all the time. Shot them all the time. But rarely showed them to anyone. He has since changed the last practice and has displayed huge numbers of intricate serial portraits.

On occasion I shoot one myself. I find some of the same release that some do, but don't shoot nearly the same number as others and not at the same level. Mine are usually just side thoughts. Random exposures on other assignments. A relief from my boredom.

Anyhow, here is one I shot recently while working on a department wide project called Green.

A Day In The Park

2007-03-07T02:33:00.000-06:00

Typically baseball is not my strongest sport. First off, I don't particularly like the game. Also, to me it is hours and hours of sheer boredom followed by mere moments of action. You have to concentrate on what's going on all the time, even through the boring parts, because if you don't, the action is over before you realize it has started.

So as the season gets started this year I have vowed to myself to make better baseball images. For me it seems the key is to keep my brain active during the game, always seeking some image or another. Watching the dugout, changing shooting positions between innings and even playing around with remote-mounted cameras seem to help me keep my head in the game. My goal is to shoot better action, but also to capture some of the quieter moments of the sport. These are just a start, but hopefully the plan will work and shooting baseball will become more than just a day in the park.