Other portraits

The article ran a week ago, and I've been busy and out of town, so I'm just now posting the rest of the portraits. These aren't the ones that ran, by the way, but the ones I took, cropped even tighter, monotoned, and did some little tweaks.

The article was about various religions that have been moving in the Birmingham area. The article (which is unfortunately not online) ran A1 and jumped inside which is where the photos ran. None of these were revolutionary, but there are a few that I really like.

Because I'll be gone

Going against my normal protocol and posting something a little early here, mostly in apologies that I'll be away from my computer (and work) until this Thursday. Yep, I gotta work on Turkey Day -- sucks, huh? Anyway, as it was observed this morning by the Ed and another Editor, I don't whine. Ever. Maybe I should.

Anyway, against protocol, I'm posting this little tidbit from the series of portraits that'll be running on Sunday. When I won't be here. Sigh. I'll get someone else to hold me a copy of the paper, make sure there's one waiting when I get back.

I changed this to B&W before I got on my little kick, by the way.

So there'll be more later, but for now, I'm gonna head on home to see the much-loved family, euthanize some trees, and maybe eat some guilt-tainted turkey. 'Cause I know I'm gonna catch hell for having to work until Christmas Eve.

Oddly enough, I took some portraits of one Mister Scrooge this morning -- we got along quite easily.

Ciao, y'all.

Kind of want to buy some shoes

Very specific shoes, actually -- like the ones you might use to scale boulders and such. Why? Because I shot these guys the other day. And now I've had a hankering to start climbing. Some times there's only one way to get down. Okay, well, there are always different ways to get down, but some are quicker than others. Now like I can't do some climbing without the shoes, obviously. There you go, those are the shoes. Fashionable, no?

This stuff sets me from "Stun" to "Kill"

Came across SchmuckAlert via one of my RSS feeds this afternoon. Very little will instantly piss me off, but this kind of stuff sets me on edge automatically. For those who don't know: journalists can shoot whatever's going on so long as they stay on public property.

Cops and rent-a-cops who act like they have the right to boot anybody off public property are the ones who really piss me off.

... I wanna go pick a fight now. Dang.

Sigh

If you're gonna post something neither constructive nor grammatically pleasing, at least have the balls to leave your name. That's one of the things that I don't like about the Internet -- the death of civility due to anonymity.

Oh, the places you'll go ...

... and the completely random things you'll see.I've been on a black and white bent lately. No clue as to why.

An auto show, briefly

The Alabama International Auto Show: look it up. If you'd like more details, I might edit some more in later, but I'm about to get outta here to search for a feature. For which, by the way, y'all should wish me luck. Putting on his racin' face with Grandpa in the passenger's seat about to make an exit. Smart move, Grandpa.

Knee-Highs at McWane

The Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity Head Start Early-Head Start kids ... whew, lemme catch my breath ... took a short trip to the McWane Center to check out some of the science exhibits. I found out about it halfway through the gig, and arrived as they were wrapping up the painfully short second half of their stay. It was dark, it was rushed, and there were lizards loosening their bowels, but they were 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds, and I'm just an older dog around young pups, so I had fun. Yes, the turtle was a big deal.
Where's that damned fish? Otherwise, the caption has to read: "Kid looks at tank."
Bam, outta nowhere, there's a kid in my 14mm.

Actually it did kind of surprise me.

From pretty colors to b&w in one post

We did a spread on fall colors last week, so I took some photos on my way back from watching the ATF blow stuff up about which I still occasionally giggle joyfully. These were taken along some of the more scenic routes of Northern Alabama, including a winding mountain road up to Nat, Alabama, which I may have simply imagined. _____

And the following were from October 30th at the Delta Sigma Theta headquarters here in Birmingham. They're slated to run in January, but there were a couple that won't make it in, so here they be. Are. Whatever.
I had a helluva time with color correction on the photos I sent to the editors, but I figured I'd brush by the whole thing here with some black and white. In other words, I was lazy about this, shame on me. But come on, wasn't there enough color in the first two?

Walmart doesn't do layaway?

Seems a bit ... wrong, I guess, but Walmart doesn't do layaway anymore. One of the last strongholds of layaway items is Kmart, so I got to go rummage around in the back for a while, looking at all the Christmas toys.There's something about blatant and massive materialism that makes me squirm in a guilty, depressed fashion. I mean, I just felt my heart sink when I was in there, looking at all the toys, thinking about all the little kids who think they really, really, really want Tonka's new Plastic POS Dump Truck. Sigh, just thinking about it right now kind of gets me down. I know -- I'm a terrible American.Since they're one of the last places to do layaway (by the by: it's getting harder and harder to pronounce that word in my head), they do a pretty brisk business. All the department heads get into it. They've got a full upstairs storage facility behind the office filled to the brim, and were having to reorganize their storage loft (first picture) when I got there.
Joy Smith was Christmas shopping for her little girls. And apparently, that game, prominently displayed in her hands, is going to be the "big gift" for her eldest daughter. And that picture, in which Joy and aforementioned game are the focal point, ran on the cover of the Money section last week. And I just ruined a Christmas surprise for a little girl.

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch ...

Artists, Veterans' Day, and my new favorite magazine

These are both from a while back, but I'm having to shuffle out some backlogged stuff (as per my usual updating methods). This first set is of artist Paul Cordes Wilm setting up shop early at a local arts festival. There wasn't much else going on that morning on the grounds, but I liked the guy's stuff. Also, he seemed like one of those types with whom I'd enjoy sharing a couple drinks and talking bull. _____

Veteran's day at West Jefferson Elementary was pretty neat. I mean, it was nice and quite respectful and very touching at times, but I still got the feel that it was just another assembly to the knee-highs in attendance. It was mainly presentations and performances by the kids, with a couple slideshows tossed into the mix. I had to leave for an assignment cross town before it was over, unfortunately.

_____

Finally, I discovered my new favorite magazine, mental_floss. Being of that special caste of geek, the Quiz Bowl Clan, it had come into my periphery a couple years ago, but with one thing or another it got passed over a couple times. Then I had to shoot a group photo of their main staff one morning, and they gave me one of the latest issues with their names underlined so they wouldn't have to write them down ... sure ... anyway, I eventually got around to reading it one night as I did my laundry. Friggin' awesome. Did you know that Bob Barker (of "The Price is Right" fame) has a black belt in Karate and used to train with Chuck Norris? Or that there's a chef in Chicago who can make you a cheeseburger that tastes like spaghetti and meatballs? Or that Rin Tin Tin was one of two German Shepard pups brought home by an American soldier during WWII and was, for a time, the highest paid actor in Hollywood? I LOVE THIS STUFF.

More later -- ciao!