Its everywhere

I move 400 miles away and still there is construction. Yet another assignment from the yearbook. This is the old auditorium that is getting torn apart and a 15,000 sq.ft. addition put on. I found out about it yesterday and got up at 5 this morning to go shoot it. I was told when I got there not much was happening, figures. O well, the stuff turned out ok anyway. I was looking over the whole shoot and realized I had a bunch of stuff FROM the construction but nothing OF the construction (guy swinging sledgehammer, walls coming down, bobcat in action, etc.) I hope they don't mind. Worst case is i go back. Not terrible though, the light in the building was sweet plus I really like shooting that kind of thing.

Anyway here is what was the auditorium floor with all the seating. The bobcat is on the stage.
Two men taking a door out of the bathroom. Good thing I went before I got there.

This photo says nothing about construction, but I thought it sure was pertty.

And lastly, a dude carrying conduit out of the building. It's funny, every site I have been on shooting starts out pretty strict about being with me everywhere I go. Then they realize that I am not just going to take 2 photos and leave. I explain I have been around construction before and know where not to go, i.e. the boarded up door on the second floor with BIG first step. They stop, think, think, look like their thinking and then say something to the effect of, "Well just be careful and see me when you leave." That's right, the Pop in me is shining bright.


I also shot at the farm today, but its 1am and i been up since 5. Good night, morning, whatever.

She's one in a million...

Here are two more from the Drag night. The bottom one is just an oddball that I liked for some reason. I think it is the shadow and the deep red of the curtain. I don't know. Anyway The photo editor at the yearbook jumped when I told him about the 19 yr old queen that goes to western so hopefully "he" is still open to the idea. He said his grandma helps him make the costumes a.k.a photo heaven.

Sorry...

Here is a quick update, more to come later. I shot a drag show on saturday night and I don't mean the car type. So needless to say these are both dudes. Well, at this point its debatable but lets just say they have all the hardware of a man. It was an experience to say the least, plus I found a 19 year old drag queen that goes to Western so there may be a story for the yearbook there.

New post old Stuff

Theses are some older photos that I found looking for stuff to enter in the College Photographer of the year competition. Just thought I'd share, its new stuff to look at.

This one is in the city. I took it when Jordan and I were searching for her apartment.

This was on my way home from an assignment with the paper. It is in the field south of 75th and just west of book rd. I think it is part of the spring brook forest preserve over there.

The many faces of football

Last saturday was our first home football game against Murray State. I was supposed to shoot on the field but a mix up by the editors left me shooting in the new skybox. They just put up brand new stands on the visitor side with these fancy skybox's and they wanted shots of the happenings up there. Thats where these first two come from. This kid was just all over his grandfather who just wanted to watch the game. I'd imagine something like when pop would take me just about anywhere. (He never threatend the belt though.)


So I worked till 2 came home and then walked over the tailgating festivies. This whole living on campus, walking everwhere being by everything is getting kinda cool. I'm using almost no gas which is good because there is almost no gas to be had at stations down here.
Anyway, so the game didn't start till around 6 ish and I just wanted to shoot some drunk college kids. For me it's so much more fun to document the drunkeness than partake.

Here is the school band before the game. How very artsy, yes I know.

They had this blow up boxing ring with giant gloves set up and chaos ensued. This is a brother and sister, and lets just say he wont be bragging to his friends about the time he beat up his sister any time soon.


O how I love football. Sure the game is great but college tailgating is a thing of legend and Western's pregame festivies lived up to expectations. After 2 hours and 4 or 5 trips up and down the hill shooting crap images I finally found these guys. o ya, Jackpot. The Sigma Chi frat. Drunk, still drinking and no intentions of goin to the game. Insert loud music and dancing on a truck bed and you have yourself some great photographic subjects.


Thank god Nikon seals their camera's well becasue i think i got just about a case of beer dumped on me throught the day. Nice when you have to go shoot in a hotty totty skybox in and hour.

O ya, there was a football game too. And we won 50-9. Bonus.
I was pretty happy with myself at the end of the day. Tailgating is like a festival which is really hard for me to shoot usually. It involves blindly going into the situation and trying to butt your way into these people's party's. That's were the drinking helps. But I liked the stuff from the skybox and still managed to get some decent game action despite not having field access. Maybe my most productive day since I've been at school.

Warning...random ramblings from my head...

It was also the first time that I really had the sense that this was "my school." Since I have never liked school I have never had any vested interest in it or cared much for the school spirit thing. Being at the game though I finally had the feeling that I was part of this thing they called college and that this was "my school."

Soccer in Nashville

These are from the soccer game that I shot in Brentwood, TN. Its like 10 minutes south of Nashville. The game started at 2:30 and I wanted to give myself some time and I left at 10:00. Ya I got there just before noon. I found an REI tough so that killed some time.
Anyway, I shot with some canon gear from the yearbook and didn't care to much for it. The gear was really nice, I guess I am just so much more used to nikon's controls that it all seemed backwards to me. O well, its the shots that count.

Rap Music and Water Games

On tuesday night a rap group named Nappy Roots came to campus to perform under guthrie tower. Its the big one with the clock right by my building at the bottom of the hill. I guess they met and formed on campus when they went to school at western and now are really big. Cool.
Well I had just come from shooting a roll clinic(teaches you how to get back upright if you roll over in a kayak) in the pool right across the lawn from where they were performing so I stopped by to shoot a bit. I guess should have expected this and should get used to it, but there was other PJ kids all other the. Twice I stepped into this girls photo. Oops. but i guess when you are at a school with lots of kids shooting its goin to happen. She was cool about it though, I said "Sorry" and she just said "Thats fine, just make it better. Try to out do me." So if thats any indication this should really help to push me.


Here is two from the roll clinic. The diver is just someone I shot before the clinic started to get used to the underwater housing that I was using. It was my first time shooting with a housing, which was basically a glorified plastic shopping bag. Think old plastic rain coat material with a clamp on one end. I knew it worked because another photog had used it right before me, but I still had to talk my self into dunking $3,000 of camera into the water.

this clinic teaches you how to flip yourself back upright if you get turned upside down while kayaking. The teacher stood next to them so that he could turn them back over when they couldn't do it. This is the only kid out of the 4 that did it.

The oh so real world of Warcraft

I was on my way to shoot Volleyball on Saturday and I had left early with the thought of walking around and shooting my egg when I came across these guys. They were out on the lawn battling each other with homeade foam weapons. And they were dead serious. I asked for ones kids name and he told me "Yrathlazair."
They line up across from each other in teams and then charge each other full force.

Breakfast anyone?

This was my first Photojournalism assignment: an egg.

Ya, I had the same reaction at the beginning too, but it was kinda fun. The first one and the last one are from around campus and the middle one is on our kitchen table. Did you know an egg fits perfectly in the middle of a paper towel roll? Me neither but I do now. That was my mode of transportation for said egg. It worked well. I carried the stupid thing around with me for two days and no cracks.
I got some good looks shooting an egg in the middle of campus.

and then I found five dollars...

This is another photo that I found tonight just as I was about to delete a card. I remember scrambling around because I couldn't find my camera so I grabbed an old one and shot with that and must not have ever taken the photos off. Oops. Nice surprise though.
Anyway, this one might take longer to load because it is full size so you guys can pull it off the website and have a copy.
Enjoy!

whatev's

This is just kinda a random collection of images from school and one I found that I forgot I took.
This is Brian Masck. He is my Photo teacher and also the Photojournalist-in-residence at school. It is a two year position where a professional comes to WKU to teach classes. He worked at a paper in Flint, Mi for years a a Director of Photography. Here he demonstrates how to hold a camera. I kid you not.
Found this picture while looking through some old stuff. OOOOOOOOOO........pretty colors. It makes me miss the Camera's I had at the Sun.

And a shot looking back at the square. Kinda the downtowny area. It's cool, think downtown pana with a fresh coat of paint. If you haven't figured it out, it is a square block with a parky think in the middle. I used a tripod for this picture because I couldn't remember how to hold the camera.

Bears and BW's

And we begin tonight with more crazy images from the bowling alley. This time it was ben's turn to roll the 211. Kelly, Scott and Archie. Aren't they a fine bunch.

The closest i came to drinking something that wasn't dark and bubbly all weekend. Scott and kelly may have had one or two.

Kelly and Dempsey out front of Froggies before guitar hero happened...
...and after guitar hero happened.

Uncle Jerry watches the Bear's during the shaky first half of their season opener in Indy. Second half though was a different story- 29-13 bears. I found out that I need a urlacher jersey. all the cool kids have one.

Olympics, Kentucky Style

Barnyard Olympics; Another assignment for the yearbook. Events included the Hay bale throw, wheel barrel race, tobacco stick throw, all the sports that these finely tuned athletes have trained their lives for.




O ya, all over me and the camera. Worst part... he left and nobody knew his name sooooo i can't use it in the yearbook.

Tubing, not for the faint of heart

Here are the last of the photos from labor day. Finally.What a stud.

O Tiff, it's a tube, all you have to do is hold on. I guess with those two next to you, Id want to get out as quick as possible too.
Deede, "AHHHHH" Julie, "YAEHHHHHHHH" Jordan, "Whahhhhhhh?"
I do believe this is one of maybe two good pictures of us.