(5.24.09) The day I got back from camping with Chuck and Steve, Connor and I went to Lake Reba for some guy time. First we stopped at Dairy Queen and got some chicken strips… ate those while watching some soccer. Then we went “Fake Fishing” with his Pirates of the Caribbean fishing pole. I shot some video with the Canon 5D Mark 2 which I hope to post later. Natalie stopped by on her way to Lexington and took some photos of her own. After fishing we worked out on the monkey bars and went to the playground and tore it up.

Hola, everyone.  I’ve been a terrible blogger.  Site was down for a while.  Got hacked… again.  Been busy… distracted.  I’m not posting this for any good reason other than I just finshed editing the photo and I just got my site cleared by google… so it’s just timely I guess.  I have so many photos of Connor I want to share but that will take some more concentrated effort and perhaps a different time of year.

Julia Kosterman, a Freshman from Elora, Ontario competes in the 3000 meter Steeplechase at EKU

Even though Connor is showing evidence he’s locked tight in his terrible 2’s… he’s just toooo darn cute for words.  So, I’ll just show you some shots Nat and I grabbed today of our little punk.

Hello All!  It’s been quite a while since my last post.  You see… I have this thing about doing things in order.  And, I did so much in such short time that the list of things to blog just got crazy big.  In an attempt to kick that self-depricating habit… I’m going to post some images I shot this afternoon at Baldwin Farm (in the following post).  I’ll start catching up through the week.  Stay tuned.
-C

Just finished up a very last minute photo shoot with Session. They’re based in New York but, they are playing on campus again for the second time this month. We are happy to have them back. Please check out their website. The guys were great to work with. Listen to me, I sound like I’m trying to be a pro or something. The truth is they did me a huge favor by giving me some of their time. I tried to be quick, from the first frame to the last, exactly 10 minutes had passed. I’d never shot a band before. So, I just wanted to take a stab at it. I’m happy they agreed to go along for the ride. Hope they can get some use out of the images. Here are two slightly edited shots.

Yesterday (4.22.08), I convinced my longtime friend, ex-EKU track star, fellow Oldham Co. native, and Olympic hopeful, Dallas Robinson to allow me to photograph him for the Richmond Register, EKU and whatever other media outlet that may inquire. Below are a few photos from the shoot… also a couple different examples of varying color treatment.

I was watching “She’s All That” this past Sunday and one of the underlying conflicts of the main character is the pressure he feels to continue in the footsteps of his father. You see examples everywhere of fathers putting undo stress on their sons to do what they do… to love what they love… to continue where they’ll leave off. It’s easy for me to say I will never do that BUT, if I’m honest, I have to say that it is a powerfully moving thing when Connor displays certain aspects of my personality. Is it vanity? Probably. Is it Pride? Absolutely. Is it okay? Only with the strictest sensitivity I suppose. I experienced a moment of pride like this last Saturday at the Crocs Tour Concert Series featuring Fabolous, One Republic, a great new band from New York called Session and a local band, Solace. I had been trying to get Connor to look through the viewfinder of a camera for couple months and finally that day I just stuck the camera up in front of his face and he put his eye to it like he’d be doing it since birth. I couldn’t believe it. I wanted everyone to see it. With his eye pressed to the cup like a pro he started composing his shots and I just pushed the button. Now, Connor doesn’t have to grow up to be a photographer but in that instant I had his entire future planned out. I could imagine us shooting the Super Bowl side by side and bushwhacking trough a jungle eating bugs, climbing trees and covering a Michael Faye… esque explorer as he documents a new route through a remote region of Africa. My mind really works that fast… are you impressed? Below are two photos. The first is a photo Natalie took of Connor and I at the beginning of the night when he became a photographer. The second is a shot Connor took of Fabolous. It’s pretty well composed and low angle and dept give the viewer a very personal experience of the concert. It’s actually one of my favorite shots out of all 1,900+ images captured that night. Not bad for his first assignment.

This photo was taken yesterday (4.27.08) at the Spring Football Game by Nat on her phone. He was actually pressing the shutter release this time. He really liked the sound it made. BTW, pretty decent quality out of a phone.

The blog was down for a couple hours today while I upgraded to the latest version of WordPress. Probably could have been quicker with it if I would have used my brain.

Early this morning I was dreaming about Connor and just before I awoke he said to me… “All that I can ever be is a likeness of you… be gentle, be patient, be kind, teach me, hug me, love me… and show me you do everyday.” I began this Saturday morning, teary-eyed and thankful.

Connor’s first beach sunset. “Bye-Bye.”

This past Saturday we took a trip to Natalie’s home town of McCreary County and we stopped by a kids festival of sorts that was sponsored by a church from Somerset. We couldn’t miss an opportunity to let Connor have some fun doing his favorite thing, sliding. I wonder if he will be a professional slider someday. That would be cool cuz I’d probably get major discounts on some really rad slides.

This is a photo of one of Natalie’s high school teachers having a good time with his family.

I found this link on RobGalbraith.com It’s of special interest to me because I grew up right next to the Kentucky State Reformatory. I drove passed it everyday on my way to school for 3 years. It’s haunting to look at from the road. I always wondered what it was like on the inside. My friend Jesse is an employee at KSR and actually met Jenn Ackerman, the grad student behind this story, when she came to do the project. It’s a pretty grim look on the inside of something most people will never experience or even think about. Please check out the full project, Trapped: Mental Illness in America’s Prisons, by clicking on the link.



Trapped: Mental Illness in America's Prisons from Jenn Ackerman on Vimeo.


The story about EKU junior outfielder Dylan McMaine ran today in the Richmond Register. What a powerful story! If you have a moment please check it out online. Sports Editor, Nathan Hutchinson did a masterful job. He could not have done any better with this sensitive matter. I admire Nathan for being a human first rather than a journalist. I hope his words offer the McMaine family some peace and reconciliation. It’s a tremendous way to honor the memory of a father’s ultimate sacrifice. Dylan, rest assured that the answer to your question is a resounding, YES. It’s what’s in the heart that defines the measure of a man.

The photos below are of EKU junior outfielder, and Madison County native, Dylan McMaine. As of 3.24.08, McMaine is hitting .339 with 3 homeruns. In my three years of watching Dylan play I’ve come to know him as the guy that produces the runs when they are needed the most. I don’t know him well at all but, his focus is steady and unmistakable. This is my second shoot of this kind with one of EKU Baseball’s finest. Look for one of these photos to run in the Richmond Register soon. By the way, it was much colder that day than the photos let on.  My biggest regret concerning this shoot is that I did not produce more variety in the poses.  I was dealing with many variables… creating space between Dylan and I and Dylan and the lights… all while trying to keep everything from falling off the dugout.  One of my Alien Bees actually did take a dive but it survived by landing on it’s reflector.

This is just a cool test shot after I switched lenses. If you look to the left you can see my friend and Assistant Sports Info Director, Steve Fohl… hi Steve.

This might not be a great shot by many standards… maybe not even by some of my own. However, this photo represents a turning point in my sports photography. This is the best live action tennis photo I’ve ever made. I don’t have many opportunities to photograph this sport. In past attempts I’ve tried shooting from a hill that allowed me to see over-top the fences that surround the courts. For what ever reason… this time I decided to actually breech the perimeter and make myself at home right on the court. The main drawback to shooting from this location is having to crouch so low that it makes it difficult to maintain proper focus of the athlete because of the high horizon of the net. But, I didn’t want to stand and be too obvious. Also, I learned to just really let my shutter fly. Now, some of you that are photographers might say… “you should have learned that a long time ago!” Well, I did… but for some reason I’ve always held back a little. Not today. I let the Mark III do it’s thang and I got a lot more shots with the ball in a decent position within the frame. Funny side note about the ball in this photo is that I nearly took it off the 300 2.8 I was looking through. Actually, I never saw it coming… not even through the viewfinder. Because of that, I didn’t even flinch… which had to made me look like a badass.

Johannes John, EKU Sophomore Tennis Player from Dresden, Germany