Dinner with Dale Watson

I’ve had some comments on the “Curious” post, so I thought I’d keep the momentum going with this shot from back in 2006.  Jana Seitz of the Texas River School coordinated and pulled off an incredible afternoon for a couple of lucky couples.  Dinner with Dale Watson they called it, and the auction winners received dinner and drinks on TRS’s homemade raft out on Lady Bird Lake.  Kate Lowery from Whole Foods put the goods together, and Joe Kendall and his TRS crew did the rest.  That’s Dale there on the far left.

Bridges on the Park

So I was going through the stock today and stumbled across this one of the lobby at Bridges on the Park, shot last summer for CLB Partners.  Really wish I had some dry powder about now.  I’d pick up a unit or two.  That’s a great spot.

Randal Ford

I am not Randal Ford.  Wish I were, in some ways.  Like when it comes time to shoot a Texas Monthly cover.  Randal is a supertalented shooter and a master of post production.  I think I’ve stumbled onto a small degree of his look here with this shot of Lacey, a volunteer at MOWAM, but I’m learning that when a magazine or agency goes looking for a shooter, their decisions have very little to do with what that shooter can do with his camera.  It’s really about what he can do with the entire scene.  A good still photographer has to be lots of things.  Technically sound, creative, a good director, well-versed in production, set design, lighting and wardrobe.  He can’t stink or cuss or violate the environment with personal opinion or political views.  And that’s if he’s just shooting people.  Those are just the basics.  That same guy has to be easy to be around and must have the ability to make his subject comfortable enough to emit the look he wants.  He also has to know business.  His business and his client’s business and his client’s client’s business.

It’s this little revelation here that gives me hope for my chances to be hired again and again.  With the digital landscape evolving so rapidly, it’s easy to question the future of photography as a business.  Unless you consider what really separates the pros from the amateurs.

Rain on Congress

Caught this one on Congress Avenue yesterday on the way to meet Ryan Young about our music/food show.  Feel free to steal this one for your FaceTwitterMyFlickrBookSpace.

On the tee

A few guys from the golf staff at UT Golf Club on the 18th tee.  This hole, in my opinion, is the best closing hole in the Austin area.  And all the times I’ve played bogeyed it, I always thought to peel a draw off that right fairway bunker.  GM Steve Termeer (there in the white cap) says no.  The correct line is at the left bunker.  Who knew?  I guess it pays to listen to a good player.

The fist pump

I don’t know who started it, but it was probably Nick Bollettieri.  I see almost every pro tennis player doing it after almost every shot.  Maria Sharapova does it after every shot, with different degrees of intensity, sometimes several times, even between the towel-off and the ball request.  Tiger brought it into mainstream golf, which will inevitably make it acceptable for junior golfers to do.  Maybe already has.

The problem I have with it is that in golf, it’s a reaction to something the player has done well.  In tennis, not so much.  Seems that tennis players do it also out of excitement over their opponents’ mistakes.  Imagine that happening in golf.  Your fellow competitor hits it out of bounds.  What do you do?  What would Ben Crenshaw do?  Now think of what Dinara Safina would do.

No matter what, it’s me, me, me in tennis, with little or no respect for the opposition (unless a net cord goes your way, in which case you hold up your racquet in the traditional contrived apologetic fashion).  There are some exceptions, sure, like in doubles.  Mostly because there are very few unforced errors in doubles.  Those guys are that quick, that good, and there are way more winners and forced errors than anything else.  There’s simply no room for the unsportsmanlike fist pump.

As you watch the Australian Open this week, think of each fist pump as another little bit of rust, eroding the foundation of a game created and built by ladies and gentlemen.  I wonder how long it’ll be before golf finds itself in the same place.  Maybe it’s already there.

The curious commercialization of CW

Sneak peek:  I’ve had some requests for prints from local businesses, and I figure if the groundswell continues, I’d best be ready.  Stay tuned for a microsite of available stock images.  This one here of the hike-and-bike trail is available now, up to 48″ x 72″.  Maybe I’ll have a show sometime.  I’l bring the food, drink and art.  You bring a bunch of cash.  It’ll be great!

Curious

Anyone know who this is?  I think he’s sorta famous, but not sure.

19th Hole

A peek into the bar at UT Golf Club.

UT Golf Club Clubhouse

Been out to see the new clubhouse at UT Golf Club?  Very nice.  Here’s a shot from the hall that connects the main lobby to the golf shop.  Stay tuned for more.

Texas Bourbon

Some people are into wine, horses, art, hunting, other stuff.  I like Bourbon whiskey.  I also like finding a new one, especially one that’s right down the street.  One that, when I buy it, keeps money here in Texas.  Nothing against Kentucky or Tennessee, I’ve certainly exported plenty of cash to both, and I probably still will even after Garrison Brothers opens the tap for good.  But maybe not.  If this stuff is as good as Dan Garrison says it is, there will be a noticeable imbalance in the economies of the abovementioned states.  Stay tuned for a sneak peek into Texas’ first legal Bourbon distillery.

West Pole

A dear friend of mine has a place he calls the “West Pole.”  He figures if there’s a North Pole and a South Pole, why the hell can’t there be a West Pole?  He has a collection of old Western and Texan stuff so large, he had to build a warehouse the size of an airplane hangar to keep it all in.  He rents a lot of it out to the movie industry for props and such.  This old wagon sits in one of the barns there at the West Pole.

Lensbaby Muse

Here’s a test from this new little toy I got today.  Pretty cool, the selective focus.  Since I’m shooting a wedding pretty soon, I might mount this thing on my backup.  Peas sat down and read some books for me while I clicked.

Name that hole

This one’s from way deep in the film stock (back when I was shooting Walgreen’s film), and I bet very few people even know this one exists.  So, I’ll settle for the course name.

Summer in South Texas

Since Old Man Winter has decided to skip a visit to Austin, I’m going to quit hoping.  Bring on the summertime.  These shoulder seasons suck when they come at the wrong time.  A friend from New York likes to say that Texas has two seasons:  hot and allergy.  I prefer hot, like it was when I shot this one at the Rafter R Ranch near Batesville.  South Texas is an acquired taste, if you’re not from around here.  I’ve acquired a strong affection for it.  The food, the people, the attitude, the lifestyle.  Weather is weather, wherever.  The people are what make the place.