Chris Livingston

Change is good

2009-10-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

Recently I sold off two pieces of equipment that had been with me for a very long time. My decision was due to the change in the market. No not the stock market but photography. If it's one thing that I've read over and over on being a successful business it's to recognize shifts in the market and adapt to those changes. Well I've recognized the change for a while but didn't want to change until now. My mentor Gary has been telling me for years to get away from shooting sports and other things that didn't generate the same level of revenue as the other aspects of my business (namely weddings and portraits). I would answer back, "yeah, yeah I know."

So in the last few weeks I've been really feeling the effects of the Great Recession and looked at where I needed to take my business. This is a necessity with any business and especially in these times.

Then a few weeks ago I made the decision to sell my 400mm lens. Yes the one that I use for most of my sports assignments. There are a couple of reason why I decided to sell it. For one it's so old that even Canon Pro Services won't touch it. I had to have a new lens mount put on it a couple of years ago and it cost me an arm and a leg to have a third party repair shop fix it because finding the right part is hard to do.

Secondly, I just don't shoot enough sports assignments that pay me a day rate. That is a client that will pay me to go and cover a college or NFL football game. That's where the industry is heading. More and more "weekend warriors" who have good paying day jobs are buying into shooting sports by buying pro gear and letting the camera do the rest. And they'll do it for free because what the really want is to be the guy on the sideline. Autofocus has ruined sports photography.

Lastly, with the cameras that have come out in the last 18 months you don't need the fast aperture of f/2.8 anymore. I would rather carry around a lens that weighs 2.5 lbs. instead of one weighing 15 lbs. for three plus hours. The newer Nikons and Canons make some great looking pictures at ISOs that were unthinkable just 3 years ago thereby allowing the photographer the option of shooting at f/4 instead of f/2.8.

So I sold the lens I bought 11 years ago and made some great images with in order to move on with my photography.

The other thing I did was to sell my Canon EOS-1D Mark II. This was my main sports camera and it was 5 1/2 years old. Now for some that's not a big deal but the odometer read 261,000 images had been snapped with this camera. That's a lot of picture taking.

My rationale for this move was that Canon was about to announce (and as of this morning they did announce) the new flagship pro camera the EOS-1D Mark IV. Yeah I missed a couple of updates to mine but it was a sound camera and made great images. I just needed to sell it and recoup as much of my investment as I could before it depreciated any more with the release of the Mark IV.

So with the sale of both pieces of gear I was ready to set out on a different direction. I redesigned the wedding website, had business cards printed for my wedding business and now I'm in the process of meeting with wedding coordinators and bridal shops in the hopes of attracting new clients.

My old editorial business is still there it's just that I want my business to grow and I can do that better by focusing more of my resources towards weddings and portraits than shooting on spec at a game.

There are some interesting things happening in the world of photography. Almost every digital SLR being manufactured today has the ability to shoot HD video. Combine this with the breakthroughs in low light photography and it seems to be one of those points where you can either change with it or be left behind. I for one want to be on the front side of this wave.

Sometimes Bigger Isn't Always Better

2009-10-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it was me or just the section we were sitting in but I felt a little unfulfilled as we left Raymond James Stadium following last night's U2 concert in Tampa. Don't get me wrong. I'm totally biased as a fan and still loved the concert but I didn't grab the same vibe that I did from the previous two arena tours.

For the lesser U2 fan, the U2 360° Tour's main draw after the band is the stage which has been called "The Claw" and was inspired by LAX. The reason for The Claw was that the band wanted to play in the round at football stadiums but needed a way to rig sound and lighting. Hence The Claw.

I gotta tell you I've read the reviews and the most talk about how The Claw doesn't take away from the band and that it almost blends in to the darkness at times during the show. Well let me tell you when you're in the top deck of a stadium it's all you CAN look at. The band was so freaking small I felt like The Claw was performing the songs.

(As a side note to future concert reviewers. Try sitting in the third deck for part of the show. It'll give you another perspective to include.)

I've seen the boys play concerts at stadiums before. In fact I've seen 5 of my 9 U2 concerts at stadiums but this made them seem too small. That could also be because we were closer to the stage than the 737s landing over at Tampa International at the other stadium shows.

As for the setlist, they seemed to stay with more of their songs from this century than older material. Not bad but come on I've heard those songs before. Dig in to your catalogue and pull out some more gems. I did like that they played Unforgettable Fire which was the first time I'd heard it live. I just would've also like to have heard songs from the Boy or War albums that maybe they haven't played recently. In the end like Cathy said after the show, "They've got so many hits it's hard to choose which ones to play for a 2 1/2 show."

Now let me get down to the heart of what bothered me. Section 342 was filled with casual fans. I was the only idiot who didn't sit the entire concert. Usually at U2 shows everyone around us stands and sings every song. But then I'm usually closer to the stage where I'm surrounded by other U2 freaks such as myself.

Around us were lots of families who brought their tweens or 8-year-olds with them. The row in front of me must've been sponsored by Geritol. And the jerk behind me was just there for the beer apparently as he slurred his threats for me to sit down.

I do have to brag for a second. Because I had done my research on the concert I knew that the song Moment of Surrender would be the conclusion to the concert. And when the closing cords played I grabbed Cathy and said, "let's go."

We made our way to the exit tunnel, hit the john before the long car ride home, and made our way to the secret exit. It was a side stairwell away from the pedestrian ramps that everyone else was heading.

A lone security lady started yelling at us to go the ramp. I just continued down the stairs while Cathy paused. I looked up and yelled, "Come on. What's she going to do throw us out?"

We got out of the stadium and down Woodlawn Avenue where we had paid a private lot to let us nose our car facing out. My iPhone's Maps helped me navigate the small residential roads leading away from Ray Jay and get me out ahead of the traffic. In fact, as we turned onto MLK Boulevard I could see the traffic behind us. We made it home in an hour and 25 minutes which is the normal time when there aren't 72,000 people (btw it broke the stadium record for the most people to attend an event at Ray Jay which was set at this past January's Superbowl) clogging up the roads.

It was great to see the band again and hear the songs but I think next time I'll try and get general admission tickets and stand on the floor with the rest of the U2 crazies.

Back in the Burgh

2009-10-09T06:23:00.000-07:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: This entry was supposed to be written earlier this week but with Cathy out of town my time was limited.

Last week Benjamin and I joined Cathy on the road as she taught a group of bankers in Pittsburgh. It gave us a chance to see the city we loved and lived in as well as reconnect with old friends.

It was hard for us to believe that it's been almost a decade since we resided in the City of Bridges. As we exited the Fort Pitt tunnels we saw downtown and were reminded why we will always have a fondness for this town. It's neighborhoods give it a small town appeal but still feels like a big city.

Our first stop was lunch in Oakland at one of our old spots Fuel & Fuddle. Located one block from the law school we grabbed a bite before the students piled in for lunch and walked around Pitt. Benjamin really loved the lawn and hills around Pitt's Cathedral of Learning. He ran up and down them for a while.

While Cathy taught her seminars Benjamin and I took excursions to various places around Western PA. The first morning of Cathy's classes I took Benjamin up to Rochester, PA to visit the graves of his great grandfather and great, great grandparents on both my mother's sides.

It was a cold, wet morning at the Sylvania Hills Cemetary but Benjamin didn't seem to mind he just wanted to run around like the boy he is. The cutest thing was whenever we would leave one of my relatives' grave sites Benjamin would turn around and say, "Bye bye."

On our second adventure I took the Mino to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to look at dinosaurs. He was pretty impressed by their size. We looked at some of the museums other exhibits like their mineral and gems collection and the plasters of old cathedral doors but the highlight took place in the basement of the Carnegie.

The museum has a discovery room where children can touch and learn about many things on natural history. This one particular exhibit allowed children to pick up and touch furs, skulls and petrified woods. It was the plaster replica of a small dinosaur skull that caused us problems. Benjamin grabbed it and slammed it on the floor. Now I think it was broken beforehand and the fact that it was a replica and not an actual artifact didn't give me concern. We just quietly put it back on the shelf and walked away.

The last night of our trip we had dinner with the Pritchards. We haven't seen Matt and Korey since we left and they now have two beautiful boys who could pass as Benjamin's older cousins.

The whole week Cathy and I talked about how much we missed Pittsburgh and the city's character. I got tingles as we drove past the old apartment building and saw our coffee shop. The city has changed a lot since we moved away but still felt like it was ours. As much as we would love to live there it's hard for us to be that far away from our family.

So to all of our friends still in the Burgh we'll be back again to see yinz.

Achieving my Goal

2009-09-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

It's now official. In the last 28 months I have lost 60 pounds and now weigh in at a svelte 165 lbs. I went from a 38-inch waist to 31-32" (depending on which brand). I don't think I ever thought I would get to that goal weight but I have and am proud of it. I look very different and feel very different.

When I first made the decision to take control of my health we were expecting our first child. Since that time a lot has happened and yet I was able to "stay on target." (Star Wars reference for the geeks in the crowd.) I remember during the first few weeks talking with Cathy and both of us thinking that 185 lbs. would be a good goal weight for me. "Anything less and I would look unhealthy," I can remember justifying. Plus that would've been 40 lbs. of weight loss. That would be good, right? Wrong!

At this point I kind of forget when I hit various stages. I believe I was at 185 around Christmas of last year. Not bad but Cathy would say to me, "Honey I think you could lose another ten pounds and look better. Then at 175 she said, "Maybe another 7 pounds would be your ideal weight?"

Well I decided that if I was going to go from 175 lbs. to 168 lbs. I might as well just hit the 60 pounds of weight loss mark. And I have.

In the beginning I did research and found that a man of my height would be considered overweight if he were 168 lbs. or more. Cathy and I both laughed this off as extreme and out of date. Now looking at it I guess it wasn't too out of line.

I know in the past I've rattled on about my progress and how good I feel but I honestly do. Being able to go out and think nothing of running 9 miles or biking 37 miles gives me great confidence that I can complete a difficult task no matter what. Also the fact that I've lost 60 lbs. shows me that the mind is an amazing thing when you harness it.

Alright now where are the Dunkin' Donuts? I'm starving!!

It's Becoming an Addiction

2009-09-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

It felt better the second time. My hobby of triathlons is becoming an addiction I think and Saturday's race in downtown Orlando solidified it for me. The race itself was slightly longer than my first one back in June and my training for it was even longer.

The OUC Downtown Orlando Triathlon consisted of a .25-mile swim in Lake Underhill, then 11.5-mile bike ride and finished with a 3.7-mile run from the Lake Underhill to Wall Street plaza in the heart of downtown. I smashed my goal time by five minutes to 1:15:22.

The swim segment is still my strongest of the three disciplines (shocking I know) but this swim was much different than the first race. The main reason was that it was an open water start as opposed to a sprint from the beach. I kept getting kicked and hit for the first half of the swim but when I got away from the pack I really kicked it into high gear. I was the 8th person in my grouping to get out of the water which I thought was really good.

The best way to cut your time in a triathlon is to tighten up your transitions which I did very well. I cut my transition times by 2 1/2 minutes this time around. The biggest reason for my time improvement from the first race was knowing iPods are prohibited. I din't have to waste time putting it on and then taking it off.

The bike course was more tactical compared to Clermont's scenic ride around the lake. This was city biking with 90-degree turns along the way. I did have to yell at one participant as she didn't know the meaning of pass on the left. She just kept peddling her little beach comber while I screamed, "LEFT!!!!"

It was during the run that I started to feel the temperature. The wind that was in my face during the bike was absent as I turned on to Robinson Street for the long run to downtown.

Looking back, the only thing I would've changed would have been to increase the pace of my run earlier. During the home stretch I had way too much left in the tank. I had a kick that felt like I was at the NFL Combine timing my 40.

In the end I placed 11th out of 42 for my age division and 121 out of 505 overall. I felt great after the race and now want to find another to enter. I am making a goal to enter and finish a half Ironman next year. I already have done the swim and run distances of 1.25 & 13.1 miles respectively. All I need to do now is see how I would do with those and a 56-mile bike thrown in. Who's with me?

Back to School

2009-09-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

As you may remember I joined up with Panasonic a few years ago to be one of their instructors for a program they called Digital Photo Academy. I taught a class in Tampa and really liked the whole experience.

Since then we've tried to find a similar venue here in Orlando for me to teach. Then this past summer we came up with the idea of holding the classes in the community room of my subdivision's clubhouse.

So now, once a month, I will be teaching Beginner, Intermediate and Understanding Composition classes. Panasonic has other classes through the DPA program but I prefer these three as I can teach all of them in one day.

This past Saturday I had a group of three attend the Intermediate class. The course description says that the class is four hours long but the last few times I've taught it I only needed three. The class is not too technical but it helped explain to students how to use their cameras to capture the picture they wanted by using the aperture, shutter speed as well as other features found on most of today's digital slr cameras.

It was nice to be back in a classroom environment and showing others how photography can be an outlet for them. If you're interested in finding a DPA class near you click on www.digitalphotoacademy.com to sign up.

Circle of Life

2009-08-25T06:44:00.001-07:00

It's official. Summer is now over and my weekly schedule has returned to somewhat normal. This morning I dropped off Benjamin at his new school and headed back to an empty house. How nice.

So I have to tell you about another one of those moments of parental realization for me that happen last week.

I took Benjamin to school to meet his new teachers and talk with them about how he is as an active boy. For the most part it went well. He seemed like he would do fine when school started and he gave his teachers a warning shot of his active nature.

While Benjamin was busy playing with the new toys he found in his classroom the teacher asked me to fill out the emergency contact info and other last minute forms. I didn't think much about it and took the forms to one of the tables in the classroom and squatted into one of the miniature chairs to fill out the information. Then it hit me. Wait a minute. The teacher got me into a midget chair.

At this point my mother is laughing loudly while reading this entry. There is a story that she likes to tell about how I got her into a midget chair when I was in second grade.
Back in the day, I was known as the class clown. I know shocker. Well apparently I considered music class my chance to dazzle my classmates with my stand-up routines instead of learning my do, re, fa, so la, ti do.

So when it came time for parent/teacher conference day all of my teachers lined up for an inquisition of my mother. To this day she still talks about how when she walked into the room there were three big chairs and one midget chair. That's when she was hit with a barrage of attacks on how I wasn't taking the lessons seriously. She said she felt so belittled just by the simple fact that she had to sit in a midget and take the attack I caused.

Fast forward 27 years. As I was writing down my cell phone number a wave of memories hit me. And the feeling of being a parent settled in. I was now sitting in a midget chair in my son's classroom. Thankfully he hadn't been there long enough for me to endure what my mother endured with Mrs. Boone, Mrs. Gonzales and Mr. Campbell.

Counting My Blessings

2009-08-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been self-reflecting. You see a very good friend of Cathy and I's is showing true Grace through a very difficult time. I for one have hugged Benjamin more often because of what Sylvie is enduring and have felt blessed for having a child as I do.

Sylvie is one of those people who is such a beacon in this world. You probably know the type. She is one of the most optimistic persons you know. Sylvie is a sorority sister of Cathy's and I shot her wedding a few years ago.

When she told us that she was pregnant last Fall we were so happy for her as we knew she would be a great mother. She was so looking forward to seeing her baby girl.

When Sydney was born March 14th she was 7 lbs. 7 oz., 20.5" long. The doctors at first didn't know what was wrong with her right lung and how it was effecting her heart. Eventually they found out that she suffered from Scimitar Syndrome which effects these organs.

I'm by no means smart enough in this area to break it down into laymen's terms but to put it simply Sydney had a lot of obstacles from the start. The doctors said that she faced some serious corrective procedures. Some surgeries would take place in the first months of her life and continue well into her childhood.

Cathy and I have kept up with Sydney's progress be reading Sylvie's journal on Caring Bridge. It seemed that with every step forward there were two steps back. Then came Saturday's entry.

In Sylvie's entry she informed us, "On Monday, the doctors indicated that Sydney is having multiple organ/system failures. It breaks my heart to tell you all that she will not ultimately survive. There is nothing the medical team can do for her except offer comfort, dignity and loving care. Yesterday we had a care conference with her doctors and nurses where we decided the goal of her care is to keep her comfortable."

After reading this I wanted to hold my son in my arms and thank God for the blessings he has given me. Sylvie deserves nothing more than to care for her child like most of us do everyday. She wants to provide for Sydney. To change those diapers and rock her little girl to sleep in the middle of the night.

Cathy and I have talked several time over the last couple of days about this. Words can't describe what we feel for Sylvie nor can they come close to what our dear friend is enduring. As Cathy said to me, "for her to come home and see the nursery that Syndey will never see must be heart-wrenching."

I don't know how I would react if I were in Sylvie's position but I admire her for her strength. As she puts it, "I don't know how much time there is left. My goal is to be with her as much as possible. Family and friends can pray for our family, pray for her comfort. Hope is still around us. It's only changed form. I appreciate all of you going through this journey with Sydney, and I offer my love and compassion for your feelings of sadness and loss. She is a light in all of our lives. No one will forget this precious little girl. Our lives are better because of her. She did have purpose. I will never know how many people prayed for her. How many became closer to God because of her. How many held their own children a few minutes longer each day because of her."

Mad Men Season 3 promo shoot

2009-08-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

For those who are addicted to the AMC series Mad Men you already know that the new season premieres this Sunday. You may have also seen the promo poster for season three where the lead character Don Draper, played by Jon Hamm, is sitting in his office surrounded by water.

When I first saw the ad I thought that the water was photoshopped in like most imaging in today's ads but it wasn't they actually had Hamm in a water tank for the shoot.

Anyways I thought it was a pretty cool behind the scenes video to watch how an ad is created.

Twittering Myself

2009-08-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

Yeah that's right. I broke down and created a Twitter account. For the uninitiated Twitter is a way to post quick thoughts, pictures or links for the world to read or see. It's essentially the same as Facebook status updates just through a different source.

Some friends of mine sync their Twitter and Facebook accounts so that if it goes out to one it goes to both. I haven't done that as I want to try using Twitter for something a little different. I guess I post more thoughts to Twitter than I do for Facebook for now. Some of my Facebook friends have complained about the frequency of my status updates.

One of the things that has surprised me about Twitter since joining are the random people who have added or "followed" my feed. I get an email every so often saying @JoeSchmo is now a follower of yours. Who the heck is Joe Schmo and why did he decide to read my tweets? Who cares join my bandwagon.

In the process of getting more acquainted with Twitter I've found the page called Trending to be insightful especially on Fridays when new movies come out. Last week I wanted to see the thoughts of those who went to see the new G.I. Joe movie. I had low expectations of the movie but a lot of people on Twitter were giving it favorable reviews.

Then this past week the wife of Twitter CEO tweeted during the birth of their first child. It started with this tweet:
"Dear Twitter, My water broke. It wasn't like Charlotte in Sex and the City. Now, timing contractions on an iPhone app." When the contractions became too strong she handed the phone over to her husband Evan Williams to update followers on the baby's progress.

Kind of cool how some of this technology is changing the way in which we communicate. Like I said this is just something I'm dipping my toes in to for now. I'll see if there comes a time in which I'll take the dive. If you would like to follow my Twitter feed you can see it at http://twitter.com/livingstonphoto

Kayaking- Behind the Scenes

2009-07-31T13:46:00.001-07:00

As you may remember I shot a story a while back on Kayaking in the Florida Keys for the New York Times travel section. I spent three days paddling around different parts of the lower and middle keys with my good friend and travel writing partner Christopher Collier. We got to go to some pretty interesting sites such as paddling through a forest of mangrove trees as well as uninhabited areas off the main keys that many don't know about.

Originally I wanted to have more video footage but considering I was doing this as extra I'm still happy with the footage I got.

For those who look for continuity errors or other oddities in movies (i.e. the "ghost" behind the curtain in Three Men and a Baby), if you look closely in the opening scene you can see the digital audio recorder I'm trying to hide in my hands. I had to record a separate audio track for that shot because the handycam was about 20 yards and prevented me from getting clean audio from it's internal microphone.

And if you wish to see this at a better resolution you can watch it at YouTube.

In-touch at 34,000 Ft.

2009-07-20T04:52:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I flew up to Milwaukee with Benjamin to see my grandmother on Orlando-based Airtran. I had never flown Airtran before and was unfamiliar with their new program of offering wireless internet on board their flights.

Traveling with Benjamin on a 2:40 flight was different this time than it was when we flew last summer considering he runs around now. I didn't think having WiFi during the flight would be anything great. I mean who has time to watch silly YouTube clips at a cruising altitude of 34,000 feet when Mr. Crankypants wants to run up to first class to see what all the fuss is about.

Well count me a fan of airborne WiFi. That is because I realized how valuable it was on the way back. The flight up was a bit painful for my mom and I because I didn't correctly transfer Benjamin's TV shows over to my iPhone and he needed some entertainment.

While we were flying back I gladly accepted the $6.95 charge to use the WiFi just to access YouTube and fire up some clips of the Backyardigans. Since I always keep my phone fully stocked with media I had no room left to purchase and download shows directly from my iPhone before boarding the flight so YouTube was my only option. And it worked.

Yeah yeah I know electronic babysitter but have you ever enjoyed being on a plane with a screaming baby?

Well I wasn't playing the Backyardigans for the entire flight as Benjamin kept turning around to play peek-a-boo with the little boy seated behind us. During those times I was able to try out the rest of the internet including talking with Cathy via a Facebook chat session. She was driving back from a babyshower in Tampa and was able to check in on how Benjamin was doing during the flight which I think made her feel better.

I was also able to send out some email which I couldn't do earlier on the ground as I was running around with Benjamin at our gate.

I did try using Skype to make a call but the sound was horrible. I first tried calling my friend Robert who was online but it went to his voicemail. I then called Skype's test call number to hear how my voice sounded to someone on the other end. While I was able to clearly hear the British woman's voice recording informing me to speak after the beep to check for clarity I could only hear burps and bleeps of my voice on playback. So fear not travelers who don't want phones to be used on flights. It's still not there.

Overall the WiFi feature onboard Airtran is nice for those who would like to be able to conduct a little business. The good news is that you aren't completely accessible to the world. So business travelers who want to be productive but undisturbed for a couple of hours can now do so.

Now can we just get a children's play area with sound proof walls on all flights?

Out of Commision

2009-07-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well for the last 10 days I have been nursing some injuries. You see the morning of Independence Day I went for a workout and had an accident during the bike portion. I'm getting better now but the three stitches are still in and the road rash is still visible.

Needless to say it kept me from entering my second triathlon last weekend as well as limited my exercise.

To answer the question of what happened it's simple. I should have pulled off on the side of the trail and not try to clear out someone's text messages while riding. In the quickest of moments I had veered into the side rail of the wooden bridge I was crossing and was thrown off the bicycle. I never hit my head (which thankfully was protected with my helmet) but suffered a deep wound in my left elbow. Yes the same elbow I needed stitches in two years ago when crossing the street.

The ER visit only took 3 hours and Cathy took care of me the next three days. Since then I have found new ways of coping with everyday life using my right hand a majority of the time.

I'm scheduled to have the stitches removed in the next few days and hopefully will be back to training. Since the accident I have gone on a 20-mile bike ride and didn't seem to suffer any flashbacks when crossing the bridge.

So there's the reason why saran wrap has been at the top of my blog for way too long.

That's a Wrap

2009-07-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight was an unexpected passing of a friend who has seen us through a lot. It went off to law school with Cathy, returned to Central Florida three years later, moved in to our first apartment with us a newlyweds and helped us with Benjamin's meals. Yes I'm getting sentimental over our restaurant-sized roll of Reynold's saran wrap.

It was originally purchased by Cathy's folks along with a lot of other apartment supplies in August 1997 when she left for Pitt. It has been moved all over with us and finished it's last job tonight wrapping some thawed chicken to be cooked later this week.

If you are reading this and thinking to yourself, "Why is Chris wasting a blog entry on saran wrap?" Well then you aren't one in on the running joke.

Cathy and I had our doubts if we'd ever finish the roll. It just kept giving and giving platic goodness to out leftovers. We wrapped Thanksgiving turkey, bowls of salads, and even some rice cereal when Benjamin was just learning to eat solids. For the Pitt crew as well as our folks they know what we're talking about. It got to be like a member of the family because it was always at our house in good times and bad. Holidays, weekends it didn't matter Reynolds was always there.

So tonight I say thank you for your 12 years of service. And I wonder, "My god how much leftovers does a restaurant have to need this type of roll?"

Something Different for Father's Day

2009-06-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

First of all Happy Father's Day to all. This being my second Father's Day I wanted to make this year as memorable as my first. So I decided to enter a triathlon. I know weird.

Yesterday I competed in a spring triathlon that consisted of a 1/4-mile swim, 8-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run. I've been training for the last six weeks varying my distances to help my endurance as well as time of day to factor in the heat.

Standing on the beach at Clermont's waterfront park I could feel the adrenaline pumping as I looked out at the buoys in Lake Minneola. I was in the mountain bike division which meant I was the last group that started because those type of bikes are slower than racing bikes.

I decided that I wouldn't run full steam into the water but instead jog and try to make it as far out as I could before diving into my swim. The water was extremely warm which slows me down. It was also very brackish making it difficult to see any swimmers ahead me.

I knew I was doing well as I only saw one neon green swim cap in front of me (different divisions had different cap colors). As I rounded the second buoy I aimed for the exit chute and navigated through a sea of slower swimmers from the division that started before mine.

Going into the first transition I felt pretty good. My breathing was down and I was able to get out on the bike quickly.

The bike route took us around the lake to places that I used to patrol looking for feature photos when I worked at the paper. The only time I was ever passed during the entire triathlon was at mile two of the bike segment.

My second transition time was quicker due to the the fact that I already was dressed. All I had to due was rack the bike and head out to the run.

Going in to the race I knew my strengths would be swimming and biking thanks to my years on the high school swim team and my Poister thighs cranking the bike along.

The run was the grueling part for me. It had more to do with the heat and lack of breeze more than the physicalness of it. Last week I purposely trained later in the morning to get acclimated to the heat and humidity. It was a good thing because it helped.

The last mile I really felt the heat. I kept my pace slightly slower than I normally would have just to give myself a kick at the end.

With .2 mile left I picked up to a full sprint for the finish line and crossed it with a time of 1:08:07 which was good enough for third place in my division.

I'm very proud of the fact that I made the decision to enter a triathlon but more proud that I did well enough to place. It was great to see Benjamin along the route cheer me on. Behind my sunglasses my eyes welled up seeing my son point at me and yell whenever I ran by him.

It was because of Benjamin that I started swimming, biking and running which led me to race yesterday. In the process I hope that I showed him by example that if you put your mind to it you can accomplish any goal you set for yourself.

Happy Father's Day!

Covering the Finals

2009-06-17T12:11:00.001-07:00

So here's a video I produced during Game 5 of the NBA Finals this past Sunday with the help of Cathy. I've been thinking about shooting this video for a few months but never had an opportunity to have an extra person for scenes that would require someone to follow me around.

This video gives some insight as to what I do when shooting a basketball game. It shows that I don't just show up an hour before tip-off and sit on the court to take pictures. It's usually a 10-hour day and rigging remote cameras. The remote camera help me hedge my bets that I don't get blocked during the key play.

After editing the video I've developed a drinking game for it. Man I say the word "so" often during the video. I may also have to upload the blooper reel. The opening was shot over several takes as Cathy kept cracking up every time. Eventually I had to make her go down to the court until I was done.

Anyways, hope you enjoy.

Capturing a Champion

2009-06-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

What a game. To document the Lakers' 15th NBA Championship was simply amazing. And shooting pictures of Kobe doing what Kobe does was astonishing. There were some shots he would take that I was certain there would be no way he'd make it and he did.

Watching the Lakers celebrate on the Magic's home court was disheartening to me as a fan but great to capture as a photographer. Photographing basketball history in the making was special. Getting images of Phil Jackson holding the Larry O'Brien trophy for the tenth time and surpassing Red Auerbach is something I know I'll always look back on say, "Yeah I was there."

I also documented Magic center Dwight Howard sitting on the bench and watching the Lakers' pump their fists and celebrate their title. That had to be rough for a player who wanted to carry his team to the stage and hoist the O'Brien trophy himself.

Covering The Finals was a great moment for me professionally but those three games were exhausting. I'm glad to say that the basketball season is over and I was able to work the final game. Hey doesn't NFL training camps open in four weeks?

Putting the Wife to Work

2009-06-11T05:05:00.000-07:00

After the Magic beat the Cavaliers and advanced to the NBA Finals, I got an email from my editor at EPA asking me if I could find someone to help run digital cards from the shooting positions back to the editing room during the games in Orlando. Wow talk about a tough find. It's not like I had everyone and their brother calling or emailing me after Game 6 asking if I needed an assistant.

I knew I better call and offer it first to Cathy before calling my buddies up. I told her that two of the three games in Orlando didn't start until 9pm and that we probably wouldn't be going to bed until 2 am. Didn't matter she was in.

We made some logistical arrangements for Benjamin as well as for us to stay with my mother during Games 3 and 4 so we could get as much sleep as possible following the game.

Cathy's responsibility was to retrieve the cards from our two photographers on the floor who were shooting while I had a separate runner for my position in the stands. She said following the game that she developed a series of signals with John and Larry to communicate if they needed a card picked up or not from her position just off the court. So she was able to watch most of Game 3 from an area that people were paying close to a $1000 to do the same thing.

It was funny listening to her after the game talk about the celebs that she saw and literally ran into during the game. (Apparently Charles Barkley collided with her coming out of the bathroom. Don't worry he survived.)

I have to say that it was nice that I was able to get Cathy into the Finals. I know that most of the games I cover she could care less about attending but this is special. I mean The Finals only comes around to Orlando every 14 years.

photo taken by Phelan Ebenhack

FINALly

2009-06-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

Last night the Magic were able to do what previously they couldn't. Win an NBA Finals game. Yeah I know it's not winning a Championship but for this town last night's win was huge. The frustration of the previous six losses was apparent.

So here I am still shooting basketball and it's June! It feels a bit strange but I enjoy it. In the last seven months I've shot my first World Series and now my first NBA Finals. Not bad but it's still just shooting a game.

I will remark that shooting last night's game was a little different. For starters I'm shooting from what is commonly referred to as the "up" position and not the floor as EPA's staffers who are shooting all the games are in the floor spots. I am in the upper bowl of Amway Arena which is kind of nice because I don't get blocked by players, refs or ABC cameramen as they scramble onto the court during a timeout. Nor do I have to worry about the guy sitting behind my spilling his beer on me and my gear when Rashard Lewis hits a three-pointer.

The game in general seemed to fly by for me. I don't know if it was the play of the game or because I was running down to drop off my digital cards to the runner. I think it was also because when covering the Finals you are always looking to make images no matter what's happening. there is no down time especially during the game because the game changer could happen at any moment.

It was a very long day and didn't end until early this morning. With just a few hours of sleep I'm back at Daddy Daycare and in a couple hours I'll be off to another shoot.

Now that I have my first game of the Finals under my belt I think I'll be able to enjoy shooting game 4 more tomorrow night. Go Magic!

Where was this 20 years ago?

2009-06-07T16:39:00.001-07:00

So I stumbled upon this video on the WIRED RSS feed and thought it was pretty cool how far video gaming has come. I mean I thought The Legend of Zelda was cutting edge when I was growing up but this is mind blowing.

I've been a fan of Tony Hawk for almost 25 years. As a teen I skated all around Temple Terrace with my friends. We would buy the Powell & Peralta videos whenever they'd come out (I still have my VHS tapes including The Search for Animal Chin.) and watch them endlessly.

Watching Tony transform himself from professional skateboarder into a household name was interesting. He really hit it big when he started designing and producing skateboarding video games and the latest is incredible.

In the video Tony shows how gamers will be able to use a special deck to perform tricks in the new game and accumulate points. It's kind of like Tony Hawk on the Wii.

If only I'd had this 20 years ago I could've probably saved myself the pain of a lot of scraped knees and elbows.

Slam Cam Setup

2009-06-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Last week during the NBA Eastern Conference Finals I was informed that I would be responsible to set up the pool remote for all of the wires that goes behind the glass backboard during Game 4. This wasn't a problem as I've done this for years at USF basketball games. The main difference was that this was the NBA and not USF. I knew that I would have to get approval for where I positioned this remotely fired "slam cam" so as not to block TNT's cameras. At USF I was the only one who ever clamped a remote behind the backboard so I had carte blanche. Now it was a little different.

Only the NBA and Sports Illustrated are allowed to set their cameras behind the glass at every game in the playoffs. All the others had to share a pool camera. Well it was EPA's rotation and I was the person in charge of rigging the camera as well as firing it during the game.

Tipoff for the game wasn't until 8:30pm which meant I needed to get my remote installed around 2pm. No joke. Because you have the teams practicing in the morning, then rehearsals for all the performers during the game and halftime before the players come back to warmup the only time I could rig was six hours ahead of time.

The key to rigging any remote is safety. The camera is locked into place using a special clamp that screws into the tripod socket and then clamped to one of the support arms connecting the backboard to the stanchion. Once you have it locked down, a safety cable is connected to the camera and support arm in the event the clamp fails the camera doesn't come crashing down on someone (specifically a multi-million dollar athlete).

The next part is to focus the lens to where the anticipated action will be and shoot a couple test frames to see if it's sharp. Finally you have to connect the camera to a remote triggering device. In this case I use a Pocket Wizard Multi Max to fire the camera. Once the shutter release cable is connected to the Wizard and the camera I do anther test fire to make sure the remotes are receiving the signal and then I turn everything off.

About 40 minutes before the game I had to scramble up a ladder to turn on my remote camera and double check everything. This was important as it would be the last time until halftime that I would be able to change any settings.

Now during the game I have two cameras in my possesion. One is used for the times when the action is at my end of the court and the other had a long telephoto lens attached for the times the action goes to the other end. It is on the down court camera that I attached the remote trigger for the "glass cam".

The Pocket Wizard transmitter fits into the flash hot shoe at the top of the camera. This is so that I just have to follow the action and fire whenever something happens. Thus allowing me to have an action sequence from both the camera in my hand and the one behind the backboard. I don't have to make a snap decision which camera might have the best angle I can see both angles later to decide.

At the end of the game I took a look through the hundred of shots I got and felt pretty good about what I captured. It was just a little stressful because I couldn't tell if it was firing during the game and I was responsible for more people photo feeds. And that was the last thing I needed. Someone else's picture editor yelling at me when I don't even work for them.

Now on to the NBA Finals. Go Magic!!

LeBron Who?

2009-05-31T16:03:00.000-07:00

So like the Reebok debacle of Dan vs. Dave before the '92 Barcelona Olympic game Nike has the Lebron vs. Kobe gaff for the '09 NBA Finals with their puppet commercials. With all the hype surrounding the network droolfest for a Lakers v Cavaliers Finals I was thrilled when the Orlando Magic defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers last night.

Since the end of the regular NBA season all anyone has heard about is the "Dream Final" between the two mega basketball stars. Even while the Magic took a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals all ESPN and TNT wanted to talk about was how LeBron James would turn things around for his team to make it to the NBA Finals. Guess what he didn't!

Even this morning it seemed like the coverage of the Magic winning their first title since 1995 was mainly about LeBron. Get over it!! They lost. You don't get the "Dream". You get Superman and his super friends vs. Kobe.

I will say this about last night. It was amazing. What a difference it was covering the Magic winning the Eastern Conference title compared to the Tampa Bay Rays winning the American League pennant last Fall. The celebration last night was different mainly because of the proximity of the fans to the playing surface compared to baseball.

With 2:42 left in the game it became apparent that the Magic were in fact going to win Game 6 and play the Lakers for the NBA Championship. The crowd kicked it into an even higher gear and cheered on Dwight Howard and his teammates as time expired.

In the last minute, security brought out a yellow rope for everyone to stay behind during the initial celebration which allowed me to get some images but not great ones. Then came the trophy ceremony at half court. I was somehow able to sneak my way into the secured zone to get up front pictures of the team as they hoisted the trophy in front of the fans.

So I now have the next nine days off from covering basketball which is nice as I have a ton of office work to get done. I will be part of a four-man crew for the European Pressphoto Agency covering the Finals when the series returns a week from Tuesday for Game 3.

I'm kind of excited that in the last seven months I will have shot my first World Series and now my first NBA Finals. It's also pretty cool that in Benjamin's life the Rays have gone to the World Series, the Magic have gone to the NBA Finals and the Pittsburgh Penguins have always played for the Stanley Cup. This kid is my good luck charm.

Go Magic!!!

Getting Away from the NBA

2009-05-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

The orginal plan was for us to drive to DC the Thursday before Memorial Day to see friends. Then we'd drive to Hitlin Head Island for a few days at the beach.

That all changed when the Magic beat the Celtics and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

After shooting Game 4 against the Cleveland Cavaliers I packed up the family and drove to Hilton Head for four days of rest during an otherwise busy week.

As some may remember we came to Hitlon Head for our "babymoon" when Cathy was almost seven months pregnant. We stayed with my cousin Amy's in-laws Lynne and Blaine Lotz.

The Lotzs have always welcomed us and we've appreciated their hospitality. This was very true this time around considering we brought the monkey man with us. Benjamin was all over the place and let everyone in the house know it.

We had a very nice time while on the island but wished the Magic could've won Game 5 so we could've stayed until Sunday.

Benjamin loved his first trip to the beach. He couldn't get enough of playing in the sand or feeling the waves crash over him.

So here I am writing this entry while riding back to Orlando to shoot Game 6. All I can think about is sitting on the beach, listening to the waves while watching my son play. It's great to be a dad.

This King Needs a Team

2009-05-25T04:39:00.000-07:00

Last night was Orlando's turn to host the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic. After the Magic took Game 1 Cleveland was able to split the series when their franchise player and media pinup girl Lebron James nailed a final second three pointer.

In Cleveland's other two playoff series they swept both Detroit and Atlanta without any problems and waited while Orlando grinded it out with Philadelphia and Boston. And while they waited ESPN and TNT cranked up their hype machines for a ratings dream matchup between Lebron and Kobe for the Finals.

That was until the Magic came to town. Let me just say this. After watching Games 1 and 2 and shooting Game 3, I don't think the networks are going to be happy. I know some may discount my opinion as being a homer but I just see Orlando as the better overall team. They have more depth on their roster where the Cavs are Lebron and four other guys.

Don't get me wrong I think Lebron could will the Cavaliers into the Finals but he looked exhausted after the first game in Cleveland and last night I caught him bent over sucking air. I don't think if this series goes long he'll be able to last.

Also when you think about it. Had that last second three rimmed out Orlando would be looking to close things out tomorrow night. I just can't see King James beating the Boys in Blue.

On a side note, it was interesting to see as a team goes deeper into the playoffs the more the sidelines become celebrity row. As usual I was next to Tiger but also in the crowd were rappers Lil' Wayne, Usher, NFLer Ray Lewis, and everyone's favorite domestic violence poster boy Chris Brown. I wonder if the Magic make it into the Finals whether Jack Nicholson will be making the trip to see his beloved Lakers.

Go Magic!!

Still a Loser

2009-05-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

As some of you may have seen on my Facebook status the other week I've officially lost 50 pounds over the last two years. It feels great and I would like to shed about 5 more pounds to reach my goal weight of 170. The Body Mass Index charts say that a man of my height and age should be around 167 but I think 170 will be just right for me.

So now that I've been running and swimming to help with the weight loss I also borrowed a friends bike to get some miles cycling. Then one day it hit me. Why don't I enter a triathlon and see how I'd do. So I'm entering the Central Florida Triathlon Series in Clermont next month. It's a sprint style triathlon where the segments are shorter.

The race will consist of a 1/4-mile swim, 8-mile bike and a 3-mile run. A couple of weeks ago I did a test run with mileage a little longer than the race to see if I could complete it and how I would do in the transitions.

Well I didn't die. In fact, it was pretty cool. I think I'm going to like triathlons because of the different elements. I like running but the long distances can be a little boring at times. When competing in the triathlon there's more strategy involved which I like.

So here I am 50 pounds lighter (the equivalent of the two dumbbells I'm holding in the picture) and gaining more confidence. As a side note, now when I walk around with the dumbbells it's amazing that I used to do that every day. I'll let you know how the race goes.

And BTW I always give credit where credit is due. Cathy shot the portrait of me so thank you honey.

Haircut or Torture?

2009-05-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

This morning we took Benjamin down to the place where I get my hair cut to give him his first official trim. In the past Cathy had cut his golden locks but this time we thought it might be best to have Denise do it.

You would've thought we were plucking the kids toenails out by the way he cried. To also be fair he had just fallen asleep in the car and only got a 15-minute nap in when we got him out of the backseat.

He squirmed and cried making it very difficult for Denise to do her job. I was amazed at how well she was able to cut the mullet away into a nice hair cut. He no longer looks like an unruly surfer kid but instead like the adorable little boy that we love.

I made sure to tip Denise very well and apologized to everyone in the salon for his crying but they seemed to understand. It also didn't hurt that he tried flirting with more than one of the ladies in the store.

Back to Boston

2009-05-16T04:57:00.000-07:00

Yes the Magic won ugly the other night and sent their series with the Celtics back to Boston for a deciding Game 7. The game Thursday night was physical and made for some nice pictures on my part. I hung two remotes for the game. One was in the my usual spot on the basket to get the picture above and the other was off to the side of the court.

The second remote is what I attribute to the Magic's win. You see going into the game I knew that if Boston won they'd advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland and I needed to make sure I got a jubilation picture of them.

After Baby's buzzer beater in Game 4 I watched the highlights on SportsCenter the next morning and saw Celtics coach Doc Rivers reaction to the win which was euphoric. I thought I need to have one camera just on the bench in the event I was unable to make a picture due to all the people on the court.

So right before the start of the fourth quarter I went up to the bench camera and double-checked everything. Well I guess expecting the Celtics to win and devoting one camera specifically for jubilation jinxed them and sent this series to a Game 7.

I just hope Sunday night someone has a bench camera set up for the Celtics inside the TD Banknorth Garden.

Fly Fishing in North Carolina

2009-05-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

If you have a chance check out my latest travel story I shot in today's edition of the New York Times in their Escapes section. It's a story I shot with my favorite travel writer Christopher Collier. We traveled to the western part of North Carolina to do a story on fly fishing.

Now I've never been fly fishing but I quickly learned how much of a passion it is for many. This was the third time Christopher and I teamed up on a story and it lived up to our usual adventure. Previously we worked together on stories based in Florida (Florida's natural springs and kayaking in the Florida Keys) but this was our first story outside the state.

I shot this story last month and it was one of those stories that was more like a good road trip than work. We flew in to Greenville, SC and made the quick drive into North Carolina where the story would be written.

Over the next three days we drove all around the area in search of a good fishing hole. What I found was a hole in my waders which was no fun. I eventually ditched the waders at the end of the trip but before I did I made some good pictures.

Christopher was able to secure some nice accommodations for us at the High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, NC where we stayed in a relaxing cabin that could sleep 12. If I had more time I would've played the gorgeous golf course they have on property but our time was very limited.

Just to burst everyone's bubble about travel photography, it's never as wonderful as you think. In the end it's work. Plain and simple. You stay and see some of the most beautiful places this world has to offer but you aren't on holiday. You are there to make pretty pictures and once that is done you move on to make more pretty pictures.

Check out Christopher and I's story on fly fishing either by picking up today's copy or going to their website (http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/travel/escapes/15fly.html?ref=travel).

Big Baby's Buzzer Beater

2009-05-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

Last night's Game 4 between the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic was one of the more intense games I shot in the past few years. This playoff series is emblematic of playoff basketball. The two teams are grinding it out on the court every game. Granted the first three games were one sided but game 4 was incredible and came down to the last second.

I didn't have much from the first half but neither did the other photographers. It was a sloppy first half and I only sent 5 images at halftime.

Then the game's intensity grew during the third quarter. The Celtics never seemed to put the Magic away. One team would go on a run and then switch. The play was physical and emotions were getting the best of some players heading down the stretch.

With 15 seconds to go in the game Magic forward Rashard Lewis saw an opening and drove to the basket to get fouled. After hitting both free throws Lewis and the rest of the Magic headed back down the court with a one-point lead.

Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers called a timeout to draw up a last play. The fans knew there was too much time to feel comfortable with the lead.

The inbound pass went to Paul Pierce who held the ball to allow his teammates to run their routes and see who would take the final shot for the win. It would be Glen "Big Baby" Davis.

I choose to shoot the final play a little on the loose side with my 70-200mm at 200mm in order to get everything in the frame. It may have been a little loose but I was guaranteed to have the pivotal moment.

I followed Baby as he jumped and released the ball towards the basket. Rashard was too late to block the game winner. As Baby came back to the court I stayed with him in order to get his reaction. I was in luck because he was in front of the Magic bench. If Baby missed I would have the Magic's reaction or if he sank it I could get him running back to the Celtics' bench. Either way I was getting something good.

Big Baby watched the ball go through the net and exploded with emotion. He ran through the crowd of Magic and fans gathered along the side of the court. I just left my finger on the shutter as Baby broke through the crowd at the end of a good game. He just continued running towards me screaming in victory.

Whew! What a game. After looking over what the other photographers got I felt like I had some of the best shots of the key moment. I can't wait until they return on Thursday for Game 6.

Glad I get Boston and not Tiger

2009-05-09T13:40:00.001-07:00

This weekend I'm covering the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals of the NBA playoffs between the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic. If I weren't I would probably be up at the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra near Jacksonville.

I told Cathy the other night that I was glad to be doing the NBA for two days and making slightly less money than four days of golf. The main reason is because this weekend the high temperatures are in the mid 90s and I'll be shooting inside air conditioning.

I've covered the Players in years previous but that was when it was played at the end of March and not in May. There were times where I can remember shooting in freezing rain while walking 18. That won't be the case this weekend for my friends at TPC Sawgrass. Nope they're probably out there right now huffing it up and down the stadium course getting their pretty pictures of Tiger while trying to stay hydrated.

Me, on the other hand, will be courtside in my chair shooting the Celtics going at it with the Magic in comfy 68-degrees air conditioning. I'll also have a beverage case close to my laptop and munchies to snack on during the game.

The other part of why I'm pleased to be covering the NBA playoffs and not the unofficial 5th major is that golf is the most physically demanding sport to shoot I think. A typical day last 12 hours, your outside in the elements and your humping 30-lbs. of gear with you.

Tomorrow I'll get to the arena around 5:30pm, set my remote camera, dine in the media room, shoot the game and get home around midnight. I won't have to sleep in some motel bed either and when I wake up I get to see Benjamin. Bring on the Celtics. Sorry Tiger.

Sample Sale Shopping in LA

2009-04-27T05:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend Cathy and I took a mini vacation for us. We dropped Benjamin off with his grandmas and we went to Los Angeles.

Today's entry is about the main purpose of our trip, sample sale shopping. Since I've lost almost 50 pounds I've found that I only have a limited amount of clothes in my wardrobe. So Cathy suggested a while back that we go to the sample sales in Los Angeles' fashion district. Cathy had gone previously with her girlfriends and talked about how you could get designer clothes that normally retail for $150-$200 for $30 or even less. So off we went to LA.

Every Friday the designers open their doors and sell off the sample merchandise they use to show wholesale buyers from the previous month. At the end of the month most designers just want to get what they put in for materials.

My overall impression is that sample sale shopping can be fun but for the most part it's for women and children. I was one of the few men who could be found roaming the buildings looking for clothes designed for men.

Meanwhile Cathy was hitting every office/shop in two buildings and finding great stuff for very little. I got frustrated after the first building. The only thing I could find for men in the California Market Center building were designers selling their sample suits. Considering I have one suit and it's 10 years old I left and went next door.

Over in the New Mark Building I found much more to my liking. Again the majority of the stores were for women but I managed to find mens' shirts and jeans.

I first picked up a pair of Tommy Bahama swim trunks for $10 and normally they go for around $60. They had some other things but size was a big issue in a lot of the stores which I will talk about later.

I was about to pass this one designer's store when the woman behind the counter waved me in to see what all they had. The men's shirts were in the back which is where I found the designer Georg Roth helping customers. Georg was a very kind and helpful man who took one look at me and knew I was a medium in his shirts. He then went over to some racks and pulled out some styles he thought would look good on me. I ended up buying four shirts and a pair of jeans because he took time and found things that complimented me and fit me the way I like. It was also cool to have the actual designer style you.

I caught up with Cathy and took her around to some stores I thought she'd like. We tried on some jeans for me but nothing seemed to fit. I'm a 33x30 and most of the jeans were 32x32. (You know because only male models shop at these things.) The shirts were sized large for the most part which I'm a medium. The only things I could do was find a limited group of shirts in medium and a pair of jeans that will now have to be tailored for my length.

Now the really bizzare part of this kind of sale shopping is that these designers don't have any fitting rooms. That's because wholesale buyers aren't buying for themselves they're buying for department stores and boutiques. So the only thing you can do is drop your drawers in the store to see if the jeans or shirt fit.

The experienced shoppers (women) will either wear lycra bottoms or a skirt (like Cathy) to try on bottoms without exposing themselves. Some women just don't care because it's by and large other women or the occasional gay man.

One of the stores I went to with Cathy was a bit uncomfortable. Most of the women were walking around in their underwear trying on various outfits while I held Cathy's bags. She headed over to this one rack to look at a shirt and there were two other women practically naked and I didn't have to pay a cover charge. Very weird.

At the ned of the day Cathy and I were fruitful with our shopping. We both felt like we found some great clothes and didn't spend a lot in the process. I have to say that I think I have found some better deals on better fitting clothes at the outlet malls in Orlando but it was a fun adventure.

And by no means do I have to surrender my man card.

Excited for Poop

2009-04-18T03:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we noticed that Benjamin was giving us signs that he might be ready to start potty training. We found that he would take the small basket in which we drop his wet diapers and set the basket on top of the garbage can in the kitchen. Another time he went into his room and came out with a new diaper to show us he needed to be changed.

So Cathy went out and got him his first training potty which was of course Elmo. We sort of just left it in our bathroom not really knowing how we would introduce it to him. Then he started to go to it and sit down if he saw one of us go in to our water closet.

I tried sitting him down a couple of times and mimicking the grunts he makes right before one of his dirty diapers and I think he got the concept he just wasn't ready to go.

Well yesterday morning I decided that I was going to have a breakthrough with him right after breakfast. This kid is like clockwork every morning. About five minutes after he finishes breakfast he always starts to squat and grunt. So I decided that Friday morning we'd go straight to the potty after his breakfast and wait for nature to take its course.

I sat there with him and turned the pages of his Elmo book while he sat on the potty. He seemed entertained with the whole reading on the potty part. In fact, Benjamin took the book from me and looked through it all by himself trying to figure out how Elmo got back to Sesame Street.

Then I noticed him tinkling and it was going into the potty. And then I saw the poop. I had never been so happy to see poop as I was at that moment. I lifted my naked man up in to the air and he and Daddy celebrated.

As I took him back to his room (I forgot to bring the wipes over) I kept giving him positive reenforcement of what he'd just accomplished. "Yeah, Benjamin! Yeah, you used the potty," I said lifting him up in the air as he smiled.

Wiping is so much easier with the potty compared to when it's in the diaper. And the best part was I got to put the old (still dry) diaper back on him.

It was yet another point in my life where I realized that parenthood is so different than my life before. Nowadays I get teary-eyed over a little pile of poop in a little potty that doesn't even flush. Before I'd be equally excited about getting second row seats to U2 (don't get me wrong I got excited earlier this week when my tickets for U2's Tampa concert came in the mail). This just feels greater because I'm impacting my son's life and not just my own.

A Great Easter

2009-04-13T05:16:00.000-07:00

Cathy and I hosted Easter lunch for my parents at the house yesterday. It was nice to see my step sister Gina and her husband Jose who drove over with my Dad and Sylvia. Needless to say Benjamin had a built in audience for his new performance which I captured on video.

He started doing this flipping thing this past week while sitting on the couch with Cathy and I. We don't know from where he learned this but he keeps doing it and yesterday my dad (no pun intended) put a new twist on it.

Here's the video. Enjoy.

Technology is Cool

2009-04-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

I saw this video and thought it was way cool. It's shot using a Canon 5D Mark II which replaced the 5D which is my main camera. Anyways the new 5D is capable of shooting HD video in 1080P. Combine that with some of Canon's fast lens and the video almost looks film like.

This video by the folks at Timescapes.org and has a bunch of nature time lapse video set to the tune of Pink Floyd's "Learng to Fly". Anyways, just wanted to update the blog with a video I thought was pretty cool considering it's from a still camera. If you'd like to see a bigger version of this video you can go to www.vimeo.com/4038064.

Meeting a Star

2009-04-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those days since becoming a dad that were special. I took Benjamin to Epcot so we could spend some time with Cathy's cousin, Orietta, and her family while they went around the park. Right as we entered I saw guests lined up to have their picture taken with the character Stitch. How perfect.

For some reason Benjamin has always been drawn to Stitch. It's one of those mysteries of the world. He has two little Stitches at home that he takes everywhere with him and always has to go to bed with them. His Baka and Nono also bought him a medium and large sized versions as well. So he is a huge fan of Stitch and for me to be able to introduce him to his buddy was special.

We waited patiently in line to have our pictures taken with the blue alien when all of a sudden Stitch walked away. I guess it was time for a break (ya gotta love those union rules). About five minutes later he reappeared which was a big relief for me.

The family in front of us finished having their photo session when Benjamin looked up and saw a live version of his best buddy. I can't think of a time when he had a bigger smile on his face. You could see it in his eye. He couldn't believe he was with the real Stitch. He kept wanting to touch him and hold him. To Stitch's credit he was patient with him as well as me. I had Orietta's son Pete snapping pictures on my iPhone so I could email pictures immediately and his dad Richard taking better resolution pictures with my point and shoot.

After a few minutes I realized I was turning into one of THOSE dads who hogs up all the time with the character and doesn't allow the other families to get their moments. So we wrapped the photo shoot and that's when I traumatized my son.

Benjamin couldn't understand why he had to leave his buddy. I know he was thinking, "Come on Dad we just met Stitch. I want to hang out with him for a while."Then the crying began. Fortunately he was quickly distracted with something else.

Yesterday was definitely one of those days where I created another memory with my son. What a way to start my week.

Travel Day

2009-04-02T13:00:00.001-07:00

Today I flew to Greenville, SC for a couple of travel stories I'll be working on this weekend. I'll let you know when the stories run later but for now I thought I'd of go over how I pack for such an assignment.

First of all, since I was flying to this assignment I had to consider a few things when packing. Camera gear always flies with me and is never in checked luggage. I can always go to Target and buy some clothes but I can't afford to lose equipment.

I have a roller case for my cameras and lens that fits in almost all overhead bins. This is my primary carry-on and if need be I'll carry on a backpack with other essentials as my "purse". If I can I prefer to not check any bags and just roll from the plane to the rental car. The worst is waiting around for your checked bag(s) to come around on the carousel.

For this assignment I'm borrowing Robert's underwater housing for some pictures I'd like to get during this assignment. This things is bulky and takes up more space than I'd like it to but kind of essential for what I want to capture. The key with a travel story is to pack light. Zoom lens and two bodies is the norm along with some other tricks but not too many.

As you can see from the picture above I've packed two camera bodies along with my 17-40mm and 70-200 lens. In addition to those pieces and the housing I have a couple of specialty lens rounded out with a flash and transmitter. I also pack into the case my laptop and necessary cables to download and edit pictures while on the road.

My checked bag holds everything else which leaves clothes, toiletries photo fanny pack and hip waders (Just to clarify the last one doesn't come with me on every trip but for this one they'll be of great use.) I have way too many experiences where the checked bag didn't make the connection or something was removed from my bag to leave anything to chance.

Another thing I like to do is board the plane ASAP. With today's flight I had to pay an extra $15 for priority boarding which allowed me to board the plane first. Even before old women in wheelchairs. The airline's policy also says that passengers who have priority boarding have the priority in the overhead bins. So if another passenger can't fit their carry-on above THEY are the ones who have to gate check their bag while my bag has dibs on the bin.

So this is what it's like to travel with me when I've got gear. I'm sure Cathy and my father can tell you all the anecdotes about how I fought the security people in Stockholm about hand inspecting my film or stashing my photo backpack under the seat in the hopes the Nazi flight attendant wouldn't force me to gate check it. It's always entertaining (and heavy) when a photographer travels.

A Complete Turn Around

2009-03-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

So it's now official. I've changed my bad habbits of eating whenever and whatever I want to making healthy choices and seeing the benefits. As you can see from the picture above I really was letting myself go. That picture was taken while covering Hurricane Katrina in September of 2005.

As I have mentioned previously, around the time Cathy found out she was pregnant I had a close friend suffer a heart attack. Those two events were the catalyst for me taking a greater interest in my health. I wanted to make sure I would be around a long time for my child.

I didn't truly know how bad I had gotten until the insurance exam came back in the Spring of 2007. I weighed 225 lbs., my blood pressure was 142/80 and my cholesterol was 211. This was definitely not the way to start fatherhood.

I immediately changed my diet and started a cardio regimen. Gone were the red meats and fatty foods like McDonalds. In were green veggies and chicken. Out were the times I'd sit on the sofa and watch 90210. That was replaced with biking and eventually jogging (although it was more of walking with a little running in the beginning).

I called my financial planner in January and told Eric I wanted to option the re-examination clause of my life insurance. I had two years in which to be re-examined to determine if I qualified for a better premium status which I knew I would.

A few weeks ago the nurse who had examined two years ago came back out to the house to do it all over again. When I answered the door she said she remembered the house but thought it was because she examined Catherine. When I told her that she had examined me she replied, "That's right! Wow I didn't even recognize you."

So yesterday I received the letter that confirmed I had changed my ways. My blood pressure was 110/70, cholesterol was down to 160 and as of yesterday's weigh the scale read 178. I think I would like to get my weight down to 170 but I'm pleased with where I am currently.

As I was out on my 7-mile run yesterday I thought about how much better I feel when I'm exercising and how I feel like crap when I eat like crap. I have more energy these days to keep up with Benjamin (although he has that unlimited source I lost when I turned 30).

With the weather warming up again I've gotten back in the pool and swim 2 km a couple times a week which helps offset the 15-20 miles I run. Later this year I hope to enter and complete my first half marathon. All of this is in the hopes I never have to see Fat Chris again.

Being my Best Man's Best Man

2009-03-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my best friend Robert married Angela in a beautiful ceremony at the Powell Crosley Mansion in Sarasota. Angela and Robert selected me to give the Best Man speech during the reception.

Needless to say I was a bit nervous. What would I say? What should I say? And so I did some research online. Most suggested to start with some light humor before delving in to something more sentimental.

I got up early one morning last week and wrote my speech. I tried to keep it to under four minutes in duration.

The following is my speech:

For those who don't know, Robert was the Best Man at my wedding. And after 8 years I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get to return the favor.

First of all, I want to congratulate the parents of Angela and Robert. I know they must have a great sense of pride in watching their children today.

Robert and I have known each other for 20 years and in that time we have seen each other change from reckless teenagers into the men we are today. It is truly an honor to stand next to you today. I will have to say there were times when I wasn't sure you'd ever find the right woman. I think about some of the conversations we had over the years and thought that maybe you were setting the bar too high.

Then four years ago it happened. I was covering the Terry Schiavo story along with Robert and remember one night Robert telling me about this reporter he'd met. I thought, "You were trying to pick up a chick at Terry Schiavo?" So I had to go check her out the next day. I returned to Robert's house the next day and gave him my assessment that not only was she pretty she she was nice to talk to.

In those four years the two of you have endured many experiences and taken many journeys together. Those experiences and journeys will be the foundation upon which your marriage will be built and it is a strong one.

I would like to say to Robert, while I may have thought at one time that you set the bar too high you have managed to find a woman who goes beyond your expectations for a wife.

Angela you have taken my Best Man and made him into a great man.

To Angela and Robert

Block Party Weekend

2009-03-16T02:55:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we had a block party in our part of the neighborhood. This was the second time we as neighbors had done this with the last one occurring well over a year ago. It gives us a chance to visit with old friends as well as meet new families who have moved into our little section of Westyn Bay.

Cathy and I have always felt like we lucked out when we built our home as we have made great friends with our neighbors. It reminds me of my neighborhood as a kid. If I was going out I would tell my mom that JR and I were going down to Jimmy's to play. She knew JR's parents as well as Jimmy's mom. (That and because Jimmy's mom was also my 2nd grade Language Arts teacher and then there was that whole "little chair" incident but that's for another time.)

Back to the party. Barb and Pablo always host it and provide the tables, some refreshments, entertainment and traffic control. They live at the end of the street that is more cul-de-sac than corner. The rest of us bring a dish and we usually end up with more food than we all can eat.

At the last party Benjamin only stayed out for maybe 30 minutes before he went back to the house but that was because he was only a month old. This time he was all over the place. He wanted to mainly play with the older boys in the bounce house but we kept him outside of the "house" for safety.

The party was supposed to run from 4:30-8 but everyone was having such a good time and the kids seemed to be occupied with one another that it went later. We ended up taking Mr. Exhausted home around 8:45 so he could go to bed. When I talked with our neighbor Lisa on Sunday she told me the party was still going when she left at midnight. That's what will happen when Pablo makes his sangria.

I've told Cathy this many times before that this is the type of neighborhood in which I want to raise a family. You see on the news frequently when the police make a drug bust or worse the reporter asks neighbors to describe the person arrested. They usually respond with, "I dunno he seemed like a nice guy. I'd wave at him when we were going out but I never knew him."

That's not Cardassi Drive. If we're heading out and we see Chuck or Kathy walking the dogs we usually roll the window down and start a 15-minute conversation. That's how neighbors were when I was a kid and that's what I want for mine.

Gainesvile- A Surprise in Culture

2009-03-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

If you pick up today's copy of The New York Times and turn to the Escapes section you'll see my travel story on Gainesville. The basis of the story was that the little town in North Central Florida isn't just a college town. Gainesville has some interesting places for visitors to see that have nothing to do with the Gator nation.

I spent one very long day hitting six locations around the Gainesville area. They included botanical gardens, art museums, butterflies as well as a Lady Gator basketball game.

First on my list was the state park created around the historical home of Pulitzer Prize winning author Marjorie Rawlings who wrote "The Yearling".

Rawlings' home hasn't changed much from the time when she wrote that book back in 1938. It was interesting to tag along with a tour and listen to the stories of how the home and it's 52 acres helped to inspire the author.

Next I headed to the University of Florida to capture some images of students on campus before heading to the women's basketball game against South Carolina. It was a bit of a struggle to make it look like a campus on a Sunday but luckily students were walking along the tree-lined campus. (So much for their reputation as the number 1 party school.)

Funny thing though at the basketball game. I had the Times request a credential for me so I could roam around the O'Connell Center to make my pictures of fans during the game. The school's Sports Information Director approached me and asked if I needed a roster. I told her I had already grabbed one in the media room when I entered. The reality was that I could care less about the game and who was wearing number 12. I needed fans with orange and blue painted on their faces.

After the game I headed over to the museum area of the campus. Inside the Natural History Museum I saw a beautiful and large living exhibit on butterflies. In fact it was so large that the volunteer warned me before entering to watch where I stepped as I might be stepping on a butterfly.

The last stop on my list was the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens off Archer Road. The Gardens has the region's largest collection of bamboo which seems to grow everywhere. It was a nice way to end my travel story. The place was very peaceful with lots of areas to sit and collect your thoughts or just zone out. I wish I would've had little more time there as I felt like I could sit under one of the oak trees and read a book for a few hours.

Well it wasn't kayaking in the Keys but it was an interesting to shoot. I'm finding that I enjoy travel photography more these days. I guess it's partly because people bend over backwards to assist you in getting the images you want to make. Whereas when I shoot a sporting event I have more hassles than it's worth. Besides wouldn't you prefer to be in a relaxing garden or on a warm beach rather than making sure a baseball isn't getting ready nail you in the nuts?

Moment of Impact

2009-03-05T08:18:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago my friend Gary called me and said he noticed one of my pictures in a Sports Illustrated book called The College Football Book at Barnes & Noble. Gary told me the picture took up the entire page. He described the image to me and I knew exactly which one it was.

I shot the picture during the 2007 football season when Cincinnati played USF in Tampa. In fact the picture stands out to me for many reasons not just because it made it into an SI coffee table book.

On that particular play I was in the North endzone and focused on the quarterback, who was in full sun, while he dropped back to pass. As he turned to his right and released the ball I started turning to the receiver who was straight ahead of m. As I turned my lens to the area of the catch I began to rack the shutter speed down to help open my exposure up because the receiver was in the shadow of the stadium.

I fired off about 10 frames as the ball entered the receiver's hands and never expected to see what I saw in between frames. The receiver's helmet flew off upon impact with the cornerback who was tackling him.

After the play I reviewed the sequence on the back of the camera to see if I got the hit. "Holy Cr@p!" was my expression when I saw the frame. I zoomed in to make sure I had gotten the focus in time as everything happened so quickly. It was dead on.

The reason why this images stands out is not because of the impact but because of the format. I know you're probably scratching your head and asking, "What?"

You see while I was able to open my exposure up a stop it still was under exposed by another 1-2 stops. In other words it was dark.

Because I shot the picture in the JPEG format I was only able to "fix" the image to a certain degree. Had I set the camera to capture in the RAW format I would've been able to get more detail and color balance out of the file.

Because of the that image I now shoot everything in the RAW format. You just never know when you'll need it to save your butt.

{If you are interested the book is available on Amazon or if you're at B&N check it out in their Sports section of Non-Fiction. The picture is on page 131.}

Taking One for the Team

2009-03-04T11:15:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I covered an exhibition game between Team USA and the New York Yankees over at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Team USA is gearing up for the World Baseball Classic next week and was getting in some innings against the Yankees. My client was most interested in the feature and candid aspects of this exhibition game than the actual game action.

I headed to the field during Team USA's batting practice to get shots of Derek Jeter palling around with his American teammates who are normally his opponents.

Now for anyone who hasn't been to a baseball game, batting practice is just that practice for your batting swing. Players stand inside a cage of netting around home plate and hit patsy pitches from one of the coaches. It's a way for them to work on their mechanics. There are also screens around the infields to protect the players catching the balls on their return to the coach on the pitching mound.

At Steinbrenner Field, you enter in right field and walk down the first base line to get to your shooting positions. As I walked the line I made sure I knew where the balls were being hit and when I was behind one of the infield screens. Well apparently I wasn't directly behind the first base screen.

CRACK! "BALL!!!" screamed the players behind the batting cage. I looked up and saw a laser line drive heading right at me. In my right hand I had my big 400mm lens and slung over my left shoulder was my other camera and zoom lens. I wasn't agile enough to jump as I had about 25 pounds of gear on me.

In a split second I decided I was just going to have to take one for the team. I tensed up my core muscles in anticipation of the impact.

WHAM! I took the line drive right between the family jewels and left hip. I kind of bent over in an effort to catch the ball in my waist but the ball fell to the ground.

I winced slightly and kept walking. As I past the dugout I heard players yell out, "Holy @#%&!" And, "Are you alright?"

I merely looked at Team USA and replied, "What? Just because I'm only shooting baseball I shouldn't wear a cup? You gotta be careful out here. It's dangerous."

Many of my colleagues came up to me after and asked if I really got hit by the ball. Or if I was hurt. One even said he thought I was wearing a fanny pack where the ball hit me because I never broke stride. I told Al that I didn't get hurt because of all the core strengthening I do.

BTW, I have a very slight bruise where the ball hit me. Also I was only kidding about wearing the cup.

Missing at Sea

2009-03-02T17:06:00.001-08:00

Last night Cathy and I were watching television while she was surfing the web. She piped up with a news story about some football players missing at sea a couple of which were former USF players. They went fishing Saturday in the Gulf of Mexico and never returned.

At first I didn't think much of it until late this afternoon when the U.S. Coast Guard found one of the missing men. Then tonight while watching Charlie Gibson I saw an update on the story and it hit me how much of a national story this was turning in to.

I ran to my office and began searching the web for information on the remaining USF player. I found out what year Will Bleakley played and his jersey number. Then I pulled the first USF game I could find for the 2006 season which just happened to be a game here in Orlando against UCF.

I scrolled through the 800 images I had from that game and didn't see anything pop at first. But then it jumped out at me and screamed. I had shot a few frames of some USF players waiting in the tunnel to enter the field before the game. There on the left side of my frame was Will. It was a great frame to have of him. He had nice soft light on his face and a dark background behind him.

I checked the box score for that game and Bleakley only caught two passes the whole game. I had shot one of them. Actually I had an entire sequence of him being pulled down by half of the UCF defense.

Then at the end of the game I fired one frame (and only one frame) of Bleakly celebrating the Bulls' 24-17 victory over the Knights. He was jovial and smiling. Perfect!

I tagged about six images in all and emailed my agent to notify them that I was moving some file images for this story.

After I typed the captions for the images I uploaded them to Icon and let them know when the transmission was complete. Sell baby sell!

It looks like I'm the only one out there right now with any action images of Will which should hopefully garner me some sales to news outlets. More importantly all three remaining men missing in the Gulf have my prayers.

This is another reason why I stay away from bad contracts where I don't own the rights to my own images. I would've never guessed 2 1/2 years ago that those "throw-away" images would have any value but today they do.

Say a prayer for Will, Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith.

My Lefty Legacy

2009-02-20T09:45:00.001-08:00

I am a very proud lefty. It's who I am and I've always felt I was special for being left-handed. My grandmother was a lefty. My great Uncle Doug is a lefty. So it's only fitting that I would want to pass that left-handed gene on to another generation.

Over the last few months I've noticed Benjamin beginning to show a bias to his left hand when picking up objects or throwing (which thankfully he hasn't broken anything...yet). He likes to pick up his whiffle ball and throw it with his left hand. When he wants to show us an object he presents it to us with his left hand.

There has been much research on southpaws over the years. Studies have shown that many Nobel winners and U.S. Presidents have been lefties. In fact, 6 of the last 14 Presidents have been left-handed dating all the way back to Herbert Hoover in 1929. (My Uncle Ron is smiling right now.) Considering lefties make up 7-10% of the population that's a pretty interesting statistic on Presidents.

As Benjamin was starting to show this bias I piped up to Cathy, "See he's doing it with his left."

To which she replied, "Honey, I don't care if he's left or right-handed."

So typical. You righties don't care because you're not left-handed. You don't know what it's like to live in our world. To have almost every tool or object designed for you're non-dominant hand. To not be able to work on an art project in elementary school because they can't buy one pair of left-handed scissors for the weird kid. Or learning to catch a baseball at PE with a mitt on your left hand, hold the ball in your right so you can quickly toss the glove off your left hand and throw it home.

We are special in many ways. Many artist and creatives are left-handed. So are intellectuals. I just hope that I can share my specialness with my son. That and develop a mean slider so he can get a fat, guaranteed contract and Daddy can retire early.

The A-Roid Circus

2009-02-18T06:28:00.000-08:00

If you're not a baseball fan than you probably haven't been bombarded with the saga going on inside the Yankees clubhouse. The team's expensive third baseman Alex Rodriguez admitted last week of using a banned performance enhancing substance during the 2001-03 seasons while he played for the Texas Rangers.

Yesterday was his first pubic comments since the SI.com report and ESPN interview came out. Sportcenter was hyping the press conference all morning saying that the team was even turning away some media.

As I backed out of the garage to take Benjamin to school my cell rang. One of my clients called with a last-minute request to cover the presser which was scheduled to begin in 4 1/2 hours. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

I quickly turned the car around and headed back to the house to devise a plan of coverage for Benjamin. Luckily for me my mom was able to take off the afternoon to pick him up from school and watch him until I got home.

I arrived at Steinbrenner Field about 45 minutes before the event started. I could tell it was the usual "Made for TV" event that follows the NY media. There were over 150 members of the media shuffling around the stadium waiting for A-Rod to walk out.

I will give the team credit for one thing. They decided to pool the video feed of the actual press conference which gave the still photographers a little more room to get their shots.

My feeling on the whole story of Rodriguez getting caught (which is really what it's all about as so many players at the time were taking PEDs) is that I don't think he really came totally clean. It seemed to practiced and prepared. He reverted back to what seemed like scripted responses that could easily fit several questions. He left somethings unanswered which isn't smart to do with NY writers. They like to irritate the soar.

Look I think that MLB, and professional sports in general, are guilty of being greedy. In the late 90s all sports were enjoying huge successes and didn't give a damn about the fans. They kept jacking up the rates on everything from tickets to jerseys because they had a monopoly. Now that everyone's disposable income is either gone or closely watched the sports leagues are nervous. They now realize that they aren't as recession-proof as they thought.

I hope that all players have changed their ways but I'm not naive. The bottom line is it's a business and everyone is trying to get an edge over their competition.

Mr. Big Head

2009-02-11T11:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Benjamin's 15-month birthday (yes we're first-time parents and count every month) which meant we were going to the pediatrician's office today for his checkup. Cathy and I had a feeling he'd be low in the weight percentile and close to the 50th percentile for height.
We weren't too far off. Benjamin's statistics were:

Weight 21 lbs. 13 oz. 10%
Height 30 3/4" 40%
Head Size 48 75%

The doctor suggested we try adding some Carnation instant breakfast to Benjamin's milk to add some calories as well as key vitamins to his daily diet. I told him how he sometimes eats like a bird and then like a wolf. The thing that keeps his weight mostly down is his energy level. He goes full-tilt every waking minute. I think he also gets Cathy's metabolism.
What I wasn't expecting was his ranking on head size. 75th!!! The doctor said that they measure that to make sure he doesn't have water on the brain but not to worry he's fine. "Just tell your wife it's because he has a developing brain." (Again I hope he gets his mother's brains otherwise I'm going to be making several trips to see the music teacher at school.)

Just a Little off the Sides

2009-02-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we finally gave Benjamin his much-needed first haircut. Lately he's been looking a little trashy with his mullet. Cathy wanted to do it after a bath but needed me to help to distract Benjamin while she snipped his golden locks. He has really beautiful, soft blonde hair and we didn't want to lose that. Now looking at him with it trimmed up he looks so much better.

We put him in his high and brought it in to his room. I grabbed some pictures of Benjamin at the beginning while Cathy trimmed around his ears. He had looks of concern about what exactly was going on around him but seemed alright. Then it came time to cut off the mullet in the back.

I put down the camera and started to play with my son. Nothing too exciting but enough for him to lean forward and allow Cathy to cut the hair around the back. He watched Daddy kiss his foot and laughed as he tried to stick his finger in Daddy's mouth.

Once it was all done, Cathy and I stepped back and evaluated her beautician skills. "Not bad," I told her.

It kind of made it special for us that we gave Benjamin his first hair cut and at the same time scary at what the potential outcome could've been. Cathy thinks it accentuates his attractive head. (I know it sounds weird but he does have a good looking keppellah.)

Thankfully his first haircut wasn't traumatic to either Benjamin or his parents. And in the end our good-looking kid looks even better.

Sick Day

2009-02-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I caught a cold and it festered over the last couple of days. Last night it spread to the rest of the family. Cathy for the most part is fine but it's only the first day of what will develop into a head cold. Benjamin however kept waking up last night because he couldn't breath and was tired.

So today I've resolved that I will not get any work done and my main priority is to keep Benjamin entertained and comfortable. This morning while he was running around the house in his usual monkey man demeanor I decided to record his funny faces.

He's always been fascinated with the little boy in the mirror but recently it's been more entertaining to watch him. So forgive me for not writing about something more interesting but I thought this was cute.

My Superweek

2009-02-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers on their 27-23 win over the Cardinals yesterday. I would've liked to have been there at the stadium documenting your sixth championship but I was at home spending time with my family after working my butt off last week shooting all the festivities leading up to the Superbowl.

A friend of mine Donald Miralle called me a few weeks ago to see if I'd be interested in helping him shoot some of the events for the NFL Players Association. He mainly needed me to shoot the feel and scene of some of the parties they host the week before the game. I told him I'd love to help out.

My first day shooting for NFLPA was spent going around to some of he bay area elementary schools to take pictures of players reading to students followed by an evening seminar for some high school players.

The reading assignment was a breeze. I'd covered these type of jobs at the paper. The only difference was that I was being compensated better.

The evening event was at Plant High School and the players talked to the Florida 5A champs about how football can be many things in their lives and that it takes a lot to make it from high school to the NFL.

The really interesting part of the evening wasn't the seminar but the fact that it was at the high school my parents attended. Just strange to think I was walking the halls they walked as teens.

Thursday evening was the first of the NFLPA parties. This party was held at the Performing Arts Center and was mainly for their corporate partners. I'll say this, the Association puts on some great parties. The nice thing for me was that I got to walk around and take pictures of different players while sampling some delicious snick snacks.

We wrapped at midnight and headed back to the hotel to unload and grab a drink. I couldn't get over all the traffic around Tampa. Even at 12:30 in the morning it was crazy.

Friday morning I headed over to the Sheraton in downtown to do a side job for the Walter Payton Foundation. They host the NFL Man of the Year Award luncheon and I was the only photographer in the room.

The luncheon was nice and small. They invited the three finalist along with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and a couple dozen others but that was all. It was nice to see the Commish again after photographing him the night before at the NFLPA party.

Friday night would be the longest night of the week because it was the night of the Players' Party. I arrived at the Ala Carte Pavilion around 8 pm and started shooting all the different rooms they'd set up for the party. The theme was the four seasons and it they put a lot of thought into it.

The main room had bars scattered around the outside with a raised stage area in the middle that was made to look like a pool for Summer. In the front corner of the main room was Winter complete with partition made out of blocks of ice and included a breath mint bar.

A side room was my favorite and done in an Autumn theme. I liked this room because it was quieter than the main room and had warm colors. Outside on the deck was Spring where they had light colors and comfortable couches to relax on for guests. Also outside was a woman who would make hand-rolled cigars for party-goers.

Every room had it's own costume for the cocktail waitresses who were serving themed drinks and food. It was absolutely incredible the thought that went into this party. They even had beautiful women on swings suspended over the crowd.

The party was MC'ed by actor Chris Tucker who did a very short stand-up routine. They DJ was especially good at getting people on to the dance floor during the night.

Towards the beginning of the party I was standing around with Donald when all of a sudden it looked as if a bus had pulled up and unloaded models and starlets to the party. (We talked with our red carpet photographer Tom later and he said that in fact a charter bus had pulled up and all these gorgeous women got off.)

I guess we walked out of the Players' party a little after 3 am. I didn't go to sleep until after 4 am, back up at 8 am and drove to final event of the week. I had to cover the art auction brunch. It's a good thing it wasn't tough as I felt like I was doing it in my sleep (which I probably could've.).

You know they always have great food at these NFL events so I never went hungry during the week. I grabbed an omelette and some fruit along with a big cup of coffee and shot my party pics before heading back to the hotel to download.

A few hours later I was stuck in traffic on I-275 looking forward to getting home and seeing my family. It was good to work that much after not having anything the three weeks before but it's also tough on the body.

A few friends asked me if I was disappointed about being pulled off of covering the actual game. To be honest I was at first but looking back now I'm glad I got to do what I did this week and not the game. You see I had more fun doing all these parties for a lot more money than had I shot the game. If I was shooting the game I would've had to arrive at the stadium yesterday at 9 am and waited around until it started. Then I would not have gotten back home until probably 3 am all for very little money.

Now I get to do this all again next year in Miami. Go Steelers!!!

Kayaking in the Times

2009-01-30T04:08:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are on Facebook with me, you'll recall I was twittering about being in the Florida Keys working on a travel story for The New York Times last month. Well the story finally ran this morning in the Escapes section. Check it out if you have a chance either at the newstand or online (http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/travel/escapes/30keys.html).

I'm in the middle of a marathon of Superbowl events and don't really have time to write more about my adventures in the southern most part of the Continental United States. I had a great time in the Keys and will blog about it later this weekend along with all the festivities I've been shooting this week in Tampa.

Now I've got to get a little more rest before heading out to shoot Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner at lunch and then on to my next NFL party tonight. BTW, Go Steelers!!!

Fine Dining

2009-01-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

Last night Cathy, Benjamin and I met up with my cousin Darryl and his wife Charlotte for dinner. We decided on Maggiono's on International Drive as it was convenient for us both.

Darryl and Charlotte flew down from Delaware for her birthday and so Darryl could attend the PGA Show this week in Orlando. It was just nice to be able to visit with them as we haven't seen them since their wedding in Boston four years ago.

I have to say that Benjamin for the most part was a well-behaved 14-month-old. He ate like a horse through the entire two-your meal and I only had to take him for a walk twice. In all not bad.

Benjamin got some special treatment and of course flirted with all the ladies. (I mean come on no one can resist those blue eyes of his.) I had the server quickly bring out the chicken fingers with mash potatoes and broccoli while the rest of the table decided what they wanted for their dinner.

He loved the chicken, mash and broccoli. Eventually when Cathy and I got our entrees he wanted to try what we had before eating his dessert cookies (which daddy had to try).

When it was time for Benjamin to stretch his legs I quietly took him to the lobby and let him run like the monkey he is. He would run down the banquet room hallway before turning around and head for the front door. To his credit he never yelled out while running past the booked banquet rooms.

By the end of dinner though he was ready for bed. He had an exhausting day at school, Gymboree and dinner with family. I signed the bill, picked up my little boy and headed for the door. At the table next to us were a party of eight who looked like they were in town for the PGA Show. One of the gentlemen said to me as I was passing, "He's a really good boy."

"Who? My kid?," I replied. "Were you in the same dining room as us because I thought he was disruptive with all the squaking."

The man responded, "No he was quiet."

So I guess I was overly sensitive to Benjamin's noises during the dinner.

It was really good to see Darryl and Charlotte and to introduce them to Benjamin. Hopefully next time won't be so far in the future.

Helping to Remember

2009-01-21T08:18:00.000-08:00

Dear Benjamin,

I know that you will never remember for yourself what happened yesterday but I wanted to let you know what you were like on the day of President Barak Obama's Inauguration.

The day began routinely for you. It was very chilly and you had your normal waffle and milk for breakfast. Afterwards you ran around the house like the wild man you have turned in to recently. Around 10:30 you had tired yourself out and went to bed for a nap. For the next hour I wondered if you'd be up in time to watch President Obama take the oath of office.

As 11:30 am rolled around I called our neighbor and your friend Bella's mom to let her know that you were still napping and that we wouldn't be over until later for your playdate.

At 11:45 am I decided I needed to wake you up out of your sleep to witness history. For the record, I did feel a slight bit of guilt as I know how much you need your rest.

Boy were you bewildered when I woke you. You had this expression as if you wanted to say, "Dad, what's going on? Why'd you wake me? To watch TV?"

We went out to the living room and sat on the ottoman and watch the live broadcast of the Inauguration. You actually sat very still for once. Usually you squirm and want to be let down to run around like a monkey but you politely sat there and watched the television.

During the ceremony cellist Yo Yo Ma played a piece that was beautiful and you stared at the TV. As the song ended you started to clap without any coaxing which kind of stunned me. You looked at me as if to say, "Come on, Dad. Clap!"

It was really neat to have this moment with you. I wasn't at a job or shooting some assignment. I got to witness history with you in my arms.

You will have many sad days that are historic during your life. Your grandparents will tell you precisely where they were when Kennedy was assassinated. I will tell you about how I called your Great Granny to make a lunch date with her only to have her inform me that a jetliner crashed into the World Trade Center. But today was truly a happy day in History.

There will be so many things that happen in your life that you will be able to remember on your own but I know this will not be one of them. And for that I will serve as your memory with this entry. It is because I want you to be able to say with conviction that you watched the day President Obama took the oath of office of the Presidency. I guess it's also a bit of selfishness on my part because I hope that you will tell your grandchildren one day that you watched it with your dad.

Magical First

2009-01-19T17:32:00.000-08:00

Saturday we took Benjamin to Disney's Magic Kingdom for the first time. Sergio was able to get us in to the park for free like he has done at the other parks for Benjamin. It also allowed me to have him take a picture of the three of us which is a rarity for me as I'm usually the one taking the picture.

The park was packed but wasn't bad for us as we weren't going on any of the rides. We ended up walking around the park and enjoying the wonderful weather.

Almost right after we entered the park Benjamin was hungry. We grabbed hot dogs for us and corndog nuggets for Benjamin and found a table outside. It was during lunch that we discovered that Benjamin requires dinner theatre in order to woof down a meal. He was fascinated with the ducks surrounding our table and just kept eating anything we put in front of him. I just wish he'd do that for me during the week.

After lunch we found a hidden gem inside the Magic Kingdom. Around the corner from Main Street USA Disney has set up a baby center. The center is there for newborns as well as older babies complete with a heated changing room, nursing area and rocking chairs. Heck if you run out of diapers or need a new pacifier they have those too. Cathy and I felt like we could've stayed just in the baby center for the afternoon.

We took Benjamin through the park and wound up at the Winnie the Pooh playground. This was perfect. It had stuff Benjamin could crawl around and under including Pooh's house. The ground was a rubbery pad that wouldn't hurt if he fell which is always a possibility when it comes to my son.

The playground pooped him out as well as us. We walked around tomorrow land for a little while before heading out after a good four-hour visit. To our delight he ended up taking a 3+ hour nap that afternoon.

We had a fun time with him at the park and feel very fortunate that we don't have to pay admission. It's one of the gifts that my father-in-law can give Benjamin whenever. I look forward to a day when Benjamin will be big enough to ride on Splash Mountain or be bored when I tell him about the first time I rode Thunder Mountain railroad with Mimi and Grandpa. But all those times will come after his first time and this time was great.

Thanks for the Lomardi Gruden

2009-01-17T04:16:00.001-08:00

So six years removed from standing on a riser and hoisting the NFL's Vince Lombardi trophy following his Superbowl XXXVII win Jon Gruden is unemployed. Late yesterday the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired it's head coach after a disastrous end to it's promising season.

I have to say my take on Gruden's firing is one that I've been expecting for two years. In fact following the 4-12 effort of the 2006 season I took the picture above at Gruden's final post-game press conference thinking he was going to get the axe the following day. He didn't.

Over the last six seasons I watched how my childhood team played on the field and the way Gruden captained our ship. When I shot for the team I had the chance to be around the coach and found him to be very much off the field as he was on the field, intense.

That intensity and what his former players have said about his coaching philosophy and demeanor left me with a bad taste. It wasn't the attitude the team held when Tony Dungy was building them into a dominant team. It sounded like Gruden was not a good role model period. But as long as your winning those things can be brushed aside. I guess after starting 9-3 for the season and then tanking the whole month of December to no post-season appearance will change that.

Along with Gruden the Bucs also fired his puppet of a General Manager Bruce Allen. The way Gruden ran Rich McKay out of town and brought in his Oakland buddy Allen just didn't fly with me. The two of them seemed to go after the troubled players and questionable types. That thinking also doesn't fly in Tampa. Tampa ain't Dallas, Oakland or New York.

So it looks like the team has decided to give Raheem Morris a double promotion in one month from Defensive Backs Coach to Defensive Coordinator to now Head Coach. That's pretty good considering he's only 32. And the Glazers appear to be naming Mark Dominik, 37, as the new GM of the Bucs. With these two very big changes it seems like the Glazers are saying, "We want to invest for the long haul."

As a fan I'm expecting some rough waters the next couple of seasons. There will inevitably be rookie mistakes made by Morris but hopefully Dungy and Gruden have left a good enough foundation that it won't crumble like it did during the Leeman Bennett era.

Taking care of the customer

2009-01-14T06:34:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to write a quick note about a company that cared about this consumer. This past Christmas Cathy got me a cordless grill brush from JLR Gear to replace my old and very worn out manual grill brush. It looked intriguing as it ran on AA batteries and was compact in size. Not to mention a cool gadget for me with which to play.

I headed out to the grill on Christmas day to remove all the caked on gook from my many cookouts. Well I guess the grill was no match for my gook as it stopped rotating soon after I started. Now looking back on it I probably could've helped my cause by heating up the grilling surface first using the burners. I have also learned that you don't have to press to firmly on the grills for the cordless brush to work effectively. These two things may have lead to my brush's early demise.

Like a kid who just broke his Millennium Falcon soon after unwrapping it I went inside to tell Cathy the upsetting news. She calmed me down and said she'd see what she could do. I whimpered away to go play with my Legos .. err I mean my Apple TV.

Cathy found JLR Gear's website and wrote a letter explaining what happened. A few days later she received a response from the company who apologized for any inconvenience and said they were sending a brand new one to replace the old one. NICE!!!

So yesterday my UPS guy dropped off the new one and I quickly broke it open, inserted 6 AA batteries and headed out to the grill. Yes I turn on the burners first and yes I went lightly around the grills with the brush.

The cordless brush is amazing to watch. I know it's probably like watching a dental hygienist polish the plaque off of teeth but it was way cooler. All the gook came off so easily. I probably needed to flip them over and get the under side but that would have to wait until later as I had chicken to grill for dinner.

So as I've written here before, I always like to highlight when a company gives good customer service. Thank you JLR Gear you took care of me.

Now I wonder what Mattel could do about that Millennium Flacon I broke back in 1981.

Date Night

2009-01-12T07:28:00.000-08:00

This wekend I had a chance to go out on a date...with my WIFE! Yeah I know been there, done that but it was nice. I called my mom earlier in the week and asked if she wouldn't mind having Benjamin stay the night at her house Saturday knowing full-well she wouldn't have any problem.

We went out for dinner at Carrabba's where we had a gift certificate from my step-sister and husband. We made an agreement to not discuss certain things Saturday night. Topic number one we were not to discus was the cutest, Benjamin. And topic number two was money. Both of these were to be avoided and allow us to have conversations that we normally don't talk about.

We arrived a few minutes early and had a drink at the bar before being seated. Dinner was really nice. We told the server that we weren't in a rush and wanted to take our time through dinner. We ended up having a four-course meal and enjoyed each others company without the thought of where were the "Goldfish crackers" or "did he just poop?" We talked about what we wanted to do with decorating the house and doing some landscaping. In other words it allowed us to catch up with what the other was doing and give the person our undivided attention.

Then the table behind us was sat with an adorable 11-week-old boy. And I broke the pact. I told Cathy to turn around and look at the little guy drinking from the newborn bottle.

"Remember when Benjamin use to drink like that," I asked. The little guy was almost asleep but still drinking his milk just like our Mino used to do when he was that little. You forget how tiny they were and the little things they used to do. Now the little booger runs around and grabs every item available to his sticky fingers. And we haven't even gotten to the terrible tw... Never mind we were on a date and I wasn't supposed to be talking about him.

No we had a great time and looked forward to not having to make the nightly trip across the house to retrieve someone's pacifier. We could sleep in as late as we wanted without the alarm clock of a hungry child to wake us.

I think we'll do this once a month. Even if I still wake up at 6:30.

Making the Switch

2009-01-07T16:34:00.000-08:00

Last week I found a story on one of my Apple blogs that AT&T was running a special until New Year's on refurbished iPhone 3Gs. Brand new these cell phones would cost you $199 but AT&T was selling them for $99. Not bad I thought.

I told Cathy about it as I know that once her current cell contract expired with Verizon in July she was jumping over to the iPhone and AT&T. At first she didn't want to pull the trigger but it soon changed.

As she was coming home last Tuesday I got a call from her asking when the special expired as her current phone was acting on its own. I told her that if she pulled the trigger now she would actually save money because the cancellation fee along with the purchase price of the iPhone would only come to $153. If she waited until July to be out of contract she'd have to buy it brand new for $199. The next sound I heard was the trigger being pulled.

So yesterday our UPS guy showed up and asked me what was in the box. He said, "I've been delivering these things all day." I told him what it was and the light came on.

I made sure that the phone was completely charged for Cathy when she got home as I knew how excited she was about the new cell. She spent the weekend reviewing which applications she wanted on her newest cell phone. She had everything from a software that would call a cab to one that turned the phone into a level. Like she's going to be doing carpentry or something.

Well after Benjamin went to bed last night we plugged in her phone and began the process of switching her cellular service over from Verizon and her possessed phone to the almost perfect iPhone with AT&T.

Once the switch was completed I showed her a couple of tricks and tips with her phone. Things such as how to view a satellite map of where she was as well as how to use Fring for VoIP calls (Uncle Ron's eyes are rolling again.).

I did see that Cathy used the Facebook application on her iPhone today to update her status to say she was loving her new iPhone. Ahh I love converting people. Ask Rob.

Final Game of the Season

2009-01-06T06:59:00.000-08:00

Well Sunday night was my last football game until next season. Usually my football season concludes with either a college bowl game or an NFL playoff game but this year was a little different. It ended not with a pro or college football game but a high school one.

Yes that's right my last game of the season was the Under Armor All-America High School Football game. It basically is a three-hour Under Armor clothing ad on ESPN but they like to call it a showcase of future talent. They bring in most of the nation's top high school recruits to play in an all-star game.

The big player of the game was quarterback Matt Barkely out of California. This kid could whiz the ball on a slant pass like you see in the SEC. Too bad he's staying home and playing for USC. As if they need another in a long procession of QBs at SC.

The game was long and at times boring like most all-star games. There was way too much passing which stopped the clock and dragged it out even longer. There were long TV timeouts (Hey ESPN has to make something out of it.) And there were breaks in the action where the TV cameras would show a player with his parents and give his oral commitment live on the air.

Last year the game was played at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in the afternoon with a running clock. This year ESPN changed it up and held it at the dump we call the Florida Citrus Bowl and at night. Translation: long game under really bad lighting.

Most of the pictures that I shot were of individual players and mainly of them on the sidelines. I made some decent sales from last year's game which caused me to go out again this year. The bulk of my sales were just getting a lot of players in isolated areas or waist up with their helmet off. This is because most of the images out there of these players aren't great or clear. So if you have nice clean image of Matt Barkley it'll sell.

I just wish my football season would've ended in February. Oh well, on to basketball.

New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

This is not a blog entry about my New Year's resolutions but about those of others. I'm writing this as it was somewhat humorous to me yesterday to see everyone's resolutions so blatantly obvious.

On the weekends I like to run 9 miles as Cathy is able to give me the time away from Benjamin. It seemed like the West Orange Trail was more crowded this Saturday than my previous runs. Then it hit me. I was witnessing the obligatory "Get in to shape" resolutions.

I'm not chiding their efforts but simply observing that by February it will be remarkably quieter on the Trail than it was this weekend. Look I remember what those first runs were like. I thought I was going to die. I kept asking myself, "What the frick are you doing?" But I continued on with running.

I saw people yesterday who received beautiful new bikes for Christmas, people who dusted off the old ones, people on something that resembled a stand-up Big Wheel, people roller blading and people who just looked like they were in cardiac arrest. All types, all sizes. All of them had one thing in common though. They made the same resolution.

I hope they all keep with it. I'm glad I did and feel so much better for it. Today I'm at the same weight as when Cathy and I met (Although I look a lot older now than when we first met almost 14 years ago but that could be because we have a son and mortgage which both drain any energy I may have had as a 21-year-old.).

When I first started running I couldn't go half a mile without stopping. I remember reading about how Tiger and his wife Elin would go out for 6-mile jogs and think that was insane. Yesterday I ran 13 miles for the third time in my life. Don't get me wrong my quads are feeling it this morning but it's the fact that I was able to do it that excites me.

So for anyone reading this entry who has made the "Get in to shape" pledge I congratulate you for thinking about your body. But I also know that making that decision is the easy part. Sticking to it from now on is the hardest part. Now hope on that Big Wheel and get out there.

Unexpected Comedy

2008-12-31T08:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had to do some grocery shopping and took Benjamin to Sam's to pickup a few things (which for anyone that's been to Sam's that's next to impossible to only get a "few things").

Well before we head off in search of a palette of dental floss I had to make a pit stop in the men's room. The only option I had was to hold Benjamin as I stood at the urinal. I thought it might be a good introduction to potty training for him. "See Benjamin this is what big boys do when they have to tinkle."

My idea wasn't well thought out. I never thought about how he would react to the situation. Let's see. First he was fascinated what Daddy was doing at the urinal. (He loves to be around water. Loves to splash in the bath or pool so you can imagine he being fascinated by this.)

Then the chrome of the urinal flusher grabbed his attention and he wanted to pull on it. I quickly pulled him away from the flusher while keeping my aim accurate.

While he was trying to flush for me a man walked in to the restroom and took the urinal next to us. Benjamin leaned over to see if he recognized the gentleman and then realized he was doing the same as daddy with the splashing. He got excited about the whole encounter until another man entered and went for a stall.

This captured his attention as he heard the man fumble around and make noise from behind the door. He kept looking down at the man's feet which were viewable under the stall door. Then switched back to watching our urinal mate. Yeah it was a bit creepy.

All of a sudden there was that shiny chrome handle and Benjamin went for it and flushed daddy's urinal. He had so much fun making his own splashing from the flush that he repeated. By this time I was finished and made my way for the sink.

The one-hand sink wash is an accomplished skill let me tell you. Benjamin couldn't get over all the water splashing that was going on inside the restroom. I just hope it was a positive introduction to the bathroom and that he'll one day be excited about using the toilette like big boys. Until then I better lay off the coffee.

A New Start to an Old Friend

2008-12-27T03:19:00.000-08:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS A TECHNICAL BLOG ENTRY AND MAY BE BORING TO SOME. BUT FOR THE GEEKS IT'S PRETTY COOL.

Well now that I've written about our Christmas let me tell you about one of the toys I got on Christmas. My mom gave me something I've been wanting ever since it came out almost 2 1/2 years ago. The gift was Apple TV.

Now I know I wrote about this already but that was from an observers stand point and not from an owner/user standpoint. Now that I've had it for 48 hours I can give some better impressions about the unit.

I guess I should explain for those who are unfamiliar with Apple TV. Essentially what it does is store your digital media on it's hard drive as well as access other digital content via it's wired and wireless internet connections.

The very first thing I had to do was to figure out how I should wire it into my home a/v system in the family room. As you may remember we upgraded our receiver back in August and it has been wonderful ever since. And after a little research in the owner's manual (yes I actually read it from time to time) I figured out a way to wire in the digital audio without having to buy additional hardware or wires.

The next step was to transfer part of my digital media library over to Apple TV's 40GB hard drive. Bare in mind that I have 3500 songs, 160 movies, 20+ TV shows and 28,000 images currently in my library. Not all of that would fit on the hard drive so I had to decide which would go and which I could stream if necessary.

I went through my library and selected a dozen movies and all of my television shows to send to the media server in my living room. I decided that I wanted the Apple TV to have more video content than pictures or music as it's main selling point is that it's connected to your HDTV. Might as well make the most out of that.

Here's one of the draw backs. It took over six hours to wirelessly transfer the 16 GB of content from the iMac in my office to the set top box in the family room. Now if I had the faster WiFi router (802.11n) it may have only taken three hours.

So right before Cathy and I went to bed the transfer was completed. Man I didn't want to go to sleep after that. I had all this cool stuff that previously I could only watch on the computer, iPods or iPhone. Now it was on my 56" television. Nice!!

Another draw back is that unless your video is stored as 720p or higher (here's were my Uncle Ron's eyes roll back if he's even made it this far on my blog) it's going to look shoddy. When I was ripping my movies from DVD to iTunes I did so with the idea that the resolution would be for my iPhone. This was mainly because the files collectively wouldn't take up as much room on my iMac's hard drive. A high-def movie will weigh in around 12GB compared to the 370MB my "ripped" movies take up now.

So my DVD collection doesn't look great but I can always pop them in to the upgrading DVD player if I really want to see it in it's full splendor.

Another feature to Apple TV is the ability to purchase or rent movies on iTunes all from your living room TV. It even allows you to buy or rent movies in HD. Granted their HD is 720p with 5.1 audio and Blu-Ray is 1080p with 7.1 surround sound (stay with me Ron) but the clips I saw were pretty good.

It also allows me to watch things such as trailers for upcoming movies, access the full YouTube library or watch a slide show of my various photo galleries.

In the last two days I've watch more video using the Apple TV than from my Brighthouse cable box. That could be attributed to the fact that it's the new toy or that we've already watched every show saved on the DVR.

As a quick side note, I read a story in The New York Times a few weeks ago about people who watch a lot of TV shows but don't own a television. They watch all the shows on the networks' websites or download them from iTunes. It's interesting to me that I could essentially do the same thing with Apple TV. The drawback is that I don't feel like spending $35 for a season of House nor do I really want to own all those episodes. Maybe in the future you can pay a smaller amount to "rent" the episode.

I told Cathy that I could see movie studios in the future distributing first-run movies through something like iTunes and Apple TV. My prediction was based on the fact that movie audiences are shrinking annually and the number one movie this week likely won't be number one next week. So my theory is that studios will still premiere the movies in the theaters but starting the third week or so they'll open them up for premium rentals on iTunes for $25.

This could be a boom for studios and especially ones that release family movies. Families with many young children would probably prefer paying the $25 premium for the rental of a first-run movie over trekking out to the mall and spend maybe twice that for the tickets. Not to mention if one of the kids (or Dad) has to use the bathroom or grab a snack from the fridge they can hit pause and not miss a moment.

So for those still reading, I am very enthusiastic about my Christmas gift from my mother. Apple TV is simple to use and enjoyable to watch. It does have some drawbacks but I can adjust to those for it's features.

It Wouldn't be Christmas Without a Cold

2008-12-26T06:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had an enjoyable Christmas as a family. Benjamin developed a cold this week and it seemed to really get worse on Christmas Eve. So much so that it felt like Christmas Eve 2007 as we were getting up every two hours tending to our little guy.

So Cathy and I were a little weary when morning came around. We ate breakfast together as a family before going to the front room to open gifts. I don't think Benjamin understood what was going on as he just wanted to run around the house.

We had fun exchanging our gifts and watching Benjamin play with the toys he received. I think his favorite toy was a train that my Aunt Dorothy sent him. He was a bit impatient as Cathy tried to remove it from the box. Eventually he went down for a nap and allowed Cathy and I to prepare for the grandparents.

By the time the in-laws and my mom arrived Benjamin was up from his nap and had a hearty lunch. He came running out to see his grandparents as if he was a fit of health. It looks like this kid already knows how to work his grandparents.

The lunch was a nontraditional one. Cathy baked a lasagna and we had the grandparents bring some side dishes. After lunch we headed back to the living room for round 2 of gift-giving.

We told everyone not to buy Benjamin any toys this year as he has too many already. But that didn't stop the grandparents from getting him things for him with which to play. Thankfully he did receive clothes and books which were on the gift list.

Last night was a bit rough trying to get Benjamin to go to sleep. It too felt like last year as we headed out to look at Christmas lights in the hopes of calming Benjamin who was exhausted and unable to go to bed due to his stuffy nose and coughing.

It worked thankfully and in the process I think solidified our family's first tradition. You see I've been thinking about what traditions I wanted to start with my family. When I was a kid my mom and I had a tradition of going to the movies on Christmas day. My dad and I made a tradition of going to watch the Bucs' training camp every August. These traditions are sentimental to me as they help me define my childhood. These types of traditions are things I wanted to try and create with my family. I just never expected it would be Benjamin who would be the one to establish the first tradition. Life is truly special when it's unexpected.

The Human Spirit

2008-12-25T06:23:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick note about a man I photographed last week for a Times' story. Reggie Williams is a remarkable person and what he's endured is truly amazing.

Reggie played 14 seasons in the NFL and was in two Super Bowls before he retired. Then about a year ago Reggie resigned his VP position at Disney's Wide World of Sports to focus on rehabilitating his knees which were badly injured during his time in the NFL.

His knees were so bad that doctors thought that they would have to amputate his right one due to infection. Reggie decided to drive his Lexus to the New York hospital where the operations would take place using his left leg in case the driving leg was amputated for the ride home.

After several operations last summer, doctors were able to avoid amputation and save Reggie's right leg. After months of recuperation, Reggie was able to drive the Lexus back to Florida with that driving foot.

While following Reggie around last week we got to talking about what has changed for him. He told me that through it all he found out something about people and himself. He found that always being positive is a very hard task. He thought that people gravitated towards the negative too easily.

Everyday is tough for Reggie as he slowly hobbles to his corner Starbucks to grab his coffee. It seems like life, which 20 years ago was at an NFL pace, is now more about appreciating ever day.

In the Times' story columnist George Vescey asked Reggie what kept him going during the darkest days. George said it was the love from God.

Merry Christmas

Testing the Water

2008-12-17T13:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had to do some testing of equipment for a travel story I'm doing this weekend (you'll have to wait and read about it laer.). The story entails me getting wet. And for that I needed to borrow Robert's underwater housing for my Canon.

The housing is more like a big plastic bag that allows me to put the 5D and and flash inside and take underwater for up to 100'. Not bad but I only need it for waste deep water. And actually I don't know if this will be totally underwater. It'll be more of what they call over/under which is like the above image where you capture what's under and on the water.

So I needed to make sure that I knew how to use the housing properly and decided to head to the neighborhood pool. Yes I'm aware that Christmas is a week away but we've been having highs in the 80s (and yes I'm bragging).

The camera fit securely inside the housing once I propped it up a bit using Benjamin's rubber building blocks. The bag is clipped on the side and sealed using screws that clamp the opening of the plastic tightly.

With great reservation about putting my $2,700 digital camera in the pool I slowly submerged the rig in the shallow part of the pool. I looked to see if I noticed any big bubbles rising to the surface. None. Whew!!!

Then it was time for the big test. I first dipped myself in the chilly water before taking the bag way under for a true test. Holy crap the water was chilly. I don't know if it was my body acclimating to the temp or just hypothermia setting in but I eventually got used to the water.

I waded over to the camera sitting on the side of the pool awaiting its fate. Sploosh!!! It was fine. No water anywhere inside the bage. Now it was time for some fun.

I set the camera to time delay and watched the front light blink for eight seconds before going under and doing something fun. I tried a few different angles and faces to see what I got. It was just so cool to take my camera under the water for a change.

Now I can't wait to leave for my assignment Friday morning. Should be lots of fun. Stay tuned.

A Slow Death

2008-12-17T03:35:00.000-08:00

Twelve years ago this week I graduated from USF and looked forward to starting what I thought would be a career as a newspaper photographer. The next month I was hired as the staff photographer at the Leesburg Daily Commercial. Three years later I got out and haven't regretted one day.

You see as most people have read or heard newspapers have been suffering from declining circulation for years. And with it they also were losing on advertising revenue. Now factor in the tanking economy and you can imagine the slashing that is going on in the newsrooms these days.

Call it divine intuition or dumb luck on my part (and that is always likely with me) but I'm glad that I made the decision 10 years ago to resign my staff photographer's position at the Warren Tribune-Chronicle and go it alone.

I know the primary reason for my leaving Warren was I was unhappy with the job and the area. I knew that I wanted to be in Pittsburgh with Cathy and that was my future not Trumbull County, OH.

But in the back of my mind I saw that this career would never afford me the ability to achieve the financial goals I had set for myself of homeownership, secure retirement and providing for my family. At the time, I was making $23k a year and with hard work and moving to a big city paper I might be making $45k by the time I was 35. Might! This wouldn't do.

In my opinion, newspapers lacked the vision of how integral the web would be to today's newsreader. They should have been pushing hard for it ten years ago. They should have taken the attitude of every minute is a deadline on the first day they wrote html code.

Instead they viewed it as a supplement to the printed edition at best. I remember most editors' opinions in the late 90s was that it should appear first in the paper and then on the web. Now news breaks the opposite way. Had they taken the approach of getting it out on the web first and then the printed edition maybe they would be in a better situation now.

In the last few years newspapers have jumped on to every internet news bandwagon there is. They have anyone associated with the newsroom write a blog (Which I hate as it goes against journalistic teachings of objectivity. Let columnist write blogs and not the cops beat reporter. It compromises the reporter's objectivity.). They make staff photographers shoot video (Which I think is good but give them time to tell a story not make a YouTube video.). And they promote the hell out of celebrity news. (Come on. If I want to know what Brittney is doing I'll go to TMZ.com not orlandosentienl.com)

So now Detroit's two major daily newspapers are cutting back to three home deliveries a week and transitioning more to a web presence. I think you'll find this trend continue to most of the nation's papers. It just makes since that the incoming generations are accustom to reading their news on websites and RSS feeds.

I've said for a long time that I think you will also see newspapers come in and do away with their staff. Like the magazines did in the 70s, some bean counter will realize that journalist are scared of unemployment and they'll take whatever you give them. My guess is you'll see a major newspaper tell their remaining staff of photographers, reporters and editors that they are all fired and the paper will now allow them to bid for a contract. This will help reduce a significant piece of overhead for the paper which is labor costs.

The paper will no longer have to worry about certain taxes, benefits and other costs associated with labor. Everyone will be on contract and be responsible for making those payments.

Knowing the people in the industry who are presently trying to fly low under the radar in the newsroom in the hopes of not getting axed they'll take the contract. Some of those I know who have been let go from the paper where they worked for years have told me they don't know what they're going to do.

"I guess I'll go freelance," is usually their response. The problem is that it's just not as simple as that. Trust me I know. It takes years to build up a clientele that'll keep you busy throughout the entire year.

So here I am ten years after leaving the newspaper industry reflecting on the road I didn't take. I feel that I made the right choice in my life. It's kind of funny when you think about it, I've been unemployed for the last ten years.

A Sad Finding

2008-12-13T04:32:00.000-08:00

I turned the television on a little bit before noon Thursday to watch the local news while I made lunch. Instead of seeing the tail end of The View I saw our local ABC affiliate already on the air. I found out that the reason for their early broadcast was that the Orange County Sheriff's Office had discovered the remains of a small child. The bones could be those of Caylee Anthony a missing Central Florida three-year-old who has made national attention now that her mother was indicted last month for her suspected murder.

For the next two hours I watched the reports, ate lunch and began planning my next move. If I was going to cover this as a one-man band I needed to form a plan of action instead of just rushing to the scene.

I've covered enough of these types of news events to know that it will move very slowly and since it was raining there was no need to get out there just to stand in the rain. Around 2pm I decided to drive over to the scene which was down the street from the Anthony's house which was kind of near the airport. I could get my crime scene pictures, roll over to shoot stock images of the family home and then head to the airport in the hopes of getting pictures of the grandparents as they returned from the west coast where they were interviewed on the Larry King Show the night before.

It wasn't hard to find the area with all of the traffic, news helicopters and police flooded in to this suburban neighborhood. The sheriff's deputy checked my media badge and told me I'd have to park on a side street.

I grabbed my long lens and other gear from the back and walked to the police tape to set up shop. I stood next to my friend Red Huber who's been covering this story for the Orlando Sentinel since it broke in July. Red got me up to speed with the who and what and I updated him on what I had heard on television before I left.

It wasn't long after I arrived that the rain stopped and the real images were made. The Medical Examiner was easy to spot as he kept walking back and forth underneath a tent where he was collecting forensic evidence.

I got pictures of the ME carrying out brown paper bags from the tent and putting them in the back of his van. Then came the real pictures.

The ME descended in to the wooded area with a smallish, white bag. In my experience this was a small "body" bag. He came back up a few minutes later with a fuller bag and made his way to the van. That was the shot.

I made some other pictures of the players in this story. Sheriff Beary, Lead investigator Sgt. Allen and others before heading down the street to the Anthony house.

The house was a very quick shoot. I got some overalls of the home as well as some shots of the deputies who were placed in front of the house to secure it before the search warrant was issued.

After getting my house pictures I headed to the airport to meet the media herd I knew were already there waiting for George and Cindy Anthony. I really didn't expect that the grandparents were going to walk through this gauntlet of media and airport spectators in order to retrieve there checked bags.

And they didn't. The plane was met by police who took the Anthonys off the plane at the gate and drove them off in a squad car.

I felt bad for George and Cindy who found out about the discovery as they were boarding their five-hour flight back from LA. That had to be torturous for them. Finding out that remains of their missing granddaughter had been found close to their home and then being out of touch with developments for five hours. The flight must've felt like an eternity.

This case has been a very strange one in deed. I'm not surprised that it's so strange as I've always said weird stuff happens in Florida. But this story is just plain sad.

As the case has ridden it's roller coaster over the last five months I've had opinions about it. But today knowing that the skull found is likely Caylee and watching those videos of her makes me sad.

Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. That's the way our judicial system works. But I will say this that if a jury decides, based on the evidence, that she did in fact decide that her partying was more important than being a parent than she should be left to rot in a prison cell until she dies. Given the fact that she's 22-years-old, that's a pretty long time to think and have nightmares about researching chloroform and neck-breaking on her computer, putting tape over her daughter's mouth, putting her dead body in the trunk of her car and then tossing her in a wooded area like unwanted trash.

Makes want to hug Benjamin that much closer so he knows how much he's loved.

The Host with the Most

2008-12-11T04:04:00.000-08:00

Last night Benjamin and I hosted his friends from Gymboree for a little Christmas get together at Westyn Bay's Clubhouse. This was brought about because of the Halloween Party.

Some of the moms and I were talking at class a few weeks ago that we should try and do something during the holidays instead of attending the Gymboree Christmas party. We felt that while the Halloween party was fun, it seemed like it was geared more to the two-year-olds than our one-year-olds.

So Melinda and I started talking about what options we had for throwing our Alt. Gymbo Xmas Bash. I suggested having it at our community room in our subdivision. That way none of us had to host it our our homes. Listen the last thing I wanted to to do on a week when Cathy's away on work is to clean the entire house for a party. All I had to do was fill out a reservation form and give them a security deposit which was totally refundable if we didn't trash it (which is always in the realm of possibility with a baby).

Melinda spearheaded the email list and coordinating the potluck portion while I handled the location.

In total we had nine of our Gymbo babies come to the party along with their parents. It gave the parents a chance to visit while our little ones got to play which wasn't possible at the Halloween party. Not to mention the room only had one outlet and indoor/outdoor carpet so it was essentially baby proofed.

Each parent brought a dish and a play toy so that our little guys (and it was all boys at the party BTW) could be entertained while we stuffed our faces.

I baked some mini pigs-in-a-blanket which were a hit. Others brought food from Panera or made cookies and spinach dip. Benjamin ate like a horse having four of my hotdogs, some chicken tetrazzini and part of a banana.

By the time the party was slowing down Benjamin was running out of gas and I had my mom take him back to the house for bedtime while I helped clean.

In this busy season of holiday parties and friendly get togethers, it was nice to have one less formal with a lot of screaming, crying and spitting up.

Spiderman?

2008-12-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

Ever since Benjamin started crawling and subsequently walking we improvised a containment strategy. The plan consisted of using the sectional sofa, entertainment center and sliding glass doors. By sliding the ottoman over to the sliders and end table as well as using his pack-n-play as the other gate by the sofa and entertainment center we successfully made a play area for him that was safe large enough for him to play with his toys. That was until this week.

As I was working in my office I heard Benjamin playing in what has come to be called the Kiddie Corral. Then what I heard was part scary but it also made me proud. I heard giggling and footsteps. I turned around to find Benjamin standing in the doorway of my office smiling and clapping. He had freed himself from the Corral.

I wondered how he'd done it. I looked and the Kiddie Corral was as I had left it. He must've climbed on the sofa and walked to the end before climbing down. But how?

Last night I watched in amazement as he demonstrated. He either pulls the throw pillows on the floor and uses them as his booster step or his pack-n-play like the picture above.

I have a sense of pride about how smart and innovative my child has become. He's resourceful and physically adept at tackling challenges. He has learned how he can pull himself up on the pack-n-play with his arms and feet and then climb on to the sofa. Once on the sofa it's an easy climb down to freedom.

Like I said I'm fascinated by how smart he is. I just wished it was because he was solving algebraic problems IN the Kiddie Corral not because he's learned how to spring himself from the pokey.

Championship Weekend

2008-12-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

This weekend I covered the Division II Men's and Women's Soccer Championships for NCAA Photos. The Women played Saturday afternoon and the men on Sunday.

The women's game featured West Florida vs. Seattle Pacific and kickoff was slated for 3:30. The weather when I left the house seemed to be a little windy but overall I felt I would have good shooting conditions during the game. Boy was I wrong.

Some mysterious front moved in off the Gulf and took away my beautiful late afternoon light and left me with a dimly lit Pepin/Rood stadium on the campus of the University of Tampa. And by the end of regulation it started to drizzle. The two teams battled through the first overtime still tied 0-0. (I know. What a complete bore of a game. I asked the TV guy if these ladies were here to win a title or have frickin' tea. Let's play!!)

During the second overtime it was pouring. I brought no rain gear but the cameras are pretty weather sealed for moisture. I felt like this was the variable to end the game and avoid penalty kicks. Finally Seattle Pacific scored with 2:19 left in 2OT and the team went crazy. I got my trophy shot and ran back inside the press box to dry off.

The men's final was less anxious. The Toros from CSU- Dominhuez Hills beat Dowling 3-0. I was thankful that the Toros scored a goal and gave me a great jubilation shot at 1-0 in the first half.

They followed that up with two more goals in the second half which deflated Dowling. I was so happy to avoid OT for the men. I just wanted to move my 12 images and get home.

I like shooting a couple of soccer games a year but couldn't see doing more than those. It's a tough sport to shoot because you need a lot of lens to follow the action around the field. But this weekend gave me the fix for another year.

Listening to a Legend

2008-12-05T02:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was shooting a story for The New York Times at the Del Webb Father-Son Challenge here in Orlando. The Father-Son is a non-PGA golf tournament that pairs pro golfer dads with their sons, daughters or grandsons. Kind of a neat concept I guess. It's a more laid back tournament and features the likes of Arnold Palmer, Paul Azinger, Nick Faldo, Lee Trevino, etc.

One of the Father-Son teams I followed to 18 was Jack Nicklaus and his son Jack II. Jack "Dad" was the first in the group to come in followed by Jackie.

As the All-Time Majors Winner (until Tiger surpasses in 2011) walked off the 18th green reporters gathered around the stands to talk with the Golden Bear. He began to talk and I couldn't help but listen.

It was an opportunity to hear from a player who helped write a lot of golf's history and any fan would've welcomed this story time.

Jack talked about a wide range of subjects. From where he stayed the first time he went to the Masters to Tiger's pending passing of his record to his grandson who plays high school football. It was all fascinating to me.

When asked about how the game has changed, he said that the equipment has done a lot to how he designs golf course these days. He now has to make the long ball hitters equal to those not so adept when laying out a course.

He talked about how he watched a hobbled Tiger win the U.S. Open last summer with his knee injury and was amazed by his ability. He said after the round he called Tiger to congratulate him. A reporter asked Jack what Tiger's response was in the hopes of getting some new insight of Tiger Woods.

Nicklaus said that Tiger replied,"Thanks!" That was it. Nothing more. Typical Tiger.

It was a cool moment for me to just hang out with Mr. Nicklaus and listen to him talk about the game and about his life. The Times reporter and I walked with Jack to the clubhouse and talked with him about our story. Jack wanted to talk about how his grandson, a highly touted tight end, was going to play in the regional finals.

In the end I was grateful to have had the chance of walking and talking with a legend. I'm sure I'll embellish the story over the years... "You know there was this one time I had a chance to play a round with Jack Nicklaus.."

Dad..who's the fat guy with the beard?

2008-12-04T03:44:00.000-08:00

Last year we abstained from taking our one-month-old down to the mall to have his portrait taken with Santa Claus. First of all, it wasn't because we feared germs or long term psychological scaring on Benjamin. It was selfish actually. We just wanted to get some frickin' sleep.

So this year we thought it would be nice to get his picture taken with Santa so we could torture him with embarrassment for years to come. We chose to do it on a weekday at the Altamonte Mall figuring no one would be there. We were actually right this time on our assumption.

Catherine and I met up at the Santa stand around 1 o'clock on her lunch break. We thought this would be a great chance for her to spend the middle of the day with her son and make a nice memory in the process.

"Wait a minute. Where's Santa going," I thought.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir Santa takes lunch from 1-2 pm," the helpful elf told us.

What? When the heck did Santa join a union? I mean I know he has to keep his signature physique and all but come on can't he just eat in between kids? It's not like they had a line full of parents trying to contain their children or anything.

So we walked around the mall for the next hour killing time in stores we had no intention of purchasing any items. (Side note: I found the Yankee Candle Store an excellent place to go if you have to break wind.)

Finally it was time for Santa to punch back in from lunch. We were first in line, of course. We opted for the CD instead of the prints. (I mean come on. I need this in jpeg form so I can blog about it, import it into my Benjamin folder in Aperture for future uses, and other foolish reasons.)

I sat Benjamin on the big man's lap and he just gazed magically into his eyes trying to figure out who this man was and why on earth would his parents leave him in the lap of a stranger. He couldn't stop looking at Santa. I think it was the white beard and hair that drew his attention.

Meanwhile Dad is off to the the side saying his name in a prepubescent, high-pitched voice in the hopes of drawing his attention towards the camera. But he just kept staring up at Santa.

We shot three images right away but I wasn't happy with them. (Look I'm not a typical parent. I know what my child is capable of doing in front of the camera and that wasn't it. KEEP SHOOTING ELF!!!)

The second batch of three went better mainly because I resorted to tickling Benjamin on the foot and quickly jumping out of the frame. And so instead of turning into one of those parents I conceded that the fourth of his six was the one.

I grabbed Mino off Santa's lap while Cathy paid for the CD. I have to say I was proud that Benjamin wasn't ever scared like some kids with Santa. He's a very curious kid. Now elevators... that's scary but a jolly fat man with a big, white beard in red velvet. That's interesting to Benjamin.

Pictures I like

2008-12-03T05:51:00.000-08:00

For the last week I've been working with a company to design my new website. All of this is in an effort to take my photography in a new direction. I've been going through my archive and pulling more recent images to put on the website. I have to say that it's amazing that I haven't updated the site in something like four years.

Looking at the old site versus the new one, I have much better images to display of my photography than what's currently out there. I guess that's how it's supposed to work. As time goes on you take better pictures.

So as I was putting together my portrait gallery for the new site I selected some images ranging from corporate to sports. This one portrait in particular I especially liked. Not only was it one I was found of but it was one of the easiest and cheapest I've ever done.

It's the above portrait of USF defensive end George Selvie. I shot it during Media Day (or Portrait Day as others may call it) this past August.

I set up two different portrait sets to shoot the top players for the Bulls. One was the bigger set with a background and three strobes with the main light being a beauty dish.

The second was a quick, artsy set to get something different in the hopes of catching the eye of an art director/ picture editor. After setting up the first set I only had about five minutes for the artsy one as my players were coming down for their pictures at any minute.

The inspiration for the second set came from a job I did assisting Gary a few years ago. He was shooting a portrait using Kino Flo lights. It was a cool looking portrait and had a certain look that was different than the usual softbox portrait.

These lights are essentially daylight balanced fluorescent lights that portrait photographers use as well as video and film production companies. They generally cost $1000 for one light and I needed two for this setup which I couldn't justify spending $2k for a portrait. Instead I opted for the DIY approach and headed to Lowe's.

In the lighting aisle of the home improvement store I found some fluorescent strip lights that could be plugged into a standard household outlet. Granted this is not nearly as bright as the Kino Flos but it would be possible to emulate the look for the second portrait without breaking the bank. I think the lighting for the second portraits cost me less than $15. Nice!!

I attached the strips to light stands using a couple of superclamps and placed the two lights on either side of my subject's face. I was so rushed that I didn't even have time to gaffer tape the black background over the concrete block wall.

I had Selvie watch his step around all the extension cords lying on the ground and asked him to put his face in between the two strip lights. It was key for me to use a tripod as I had the ISO up to 800 and had a relatively slow shutter speed.

I grabbed about two dozen portraits of George at the second portrait set before whisking him to the main one during my five minutes with the Bulls' DE.

I don't know why but I'm drawn to this portrait over the other set. I think it's because it's so different of a style for me. I even like the concrete wall in the background. The image was processed slighting in the computer to enhance my vision more but it's not too different than what was captured in camera.

In the process of combing my images I keep finding treasures. This was just one that I wanted to share.

A Quick Word of Thanks

2008-11-29T03:21:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who made Thanksgiving special over the last two days. Thursday, of course, was the big day but we also have our annual Friday party.

Cathy and I really enjoy having all of our family over to the house on Thanksgiving. It just makes it a little easier I think for everyone, especially Benjamin. This turkey day was much different than last year. As you may remember, last year we gave thanks just for getting some sleep.

Cathy does a great job of delegating culinary responsibilities to our guests. We take care of the bird and stuffing along with some other fixin's but our guests help fill the table with the other traditional side items of Thanksgiving.

We had my mom, dad & stepmother, Cathy's mom and our neighbors Lisa and Bruno show up around 1:30 in the afternoon with the intention of sitting down to eat about an hour later. This would give everyone some buffer time if they were running late. It was also to give Benjamin enough time to wear out his grandparents.

Overall it was a nice dinner. It gave us all a chance to catch up with one another. More importantly it was a relaxing afternoon of food and conversation.

Now Friday night is completely different. The night after Thanksgiving has turned in to the annual Livingston Leftover Party (no family allowed). We started this a few years ago and liked the idea of having friends over to help finish up the leftovers the night after Thanksgiving.

So last night Lisa and Bruno came back over. Our friends Adam and Amy brought another friend James with their leftovers. The Leftover Party is a little more relaxed than Thanksgiving which is saying a lot. It's like having a small, intimate dinner party for friends where you don't have to cook that afternoon. Just throw it in the microwave. Voilá!

So there you have our Thanksgiving wrap up. Thank you to all that came through our front door. You helped make our home warm (not to mention the refrigerator but we won't go there) this holiday weekend.

Expanding my Digital Library

2008-11-25T14:40:00.000-08:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS A TECH ENTRY.

As I blogged about a couple of months ago our Samsung DVD recorder broke and the company did not want to offer any assistance. And so we went without a DVD player. That is until this week.

I liked the ability to burn shows from our DVR to DVD and then rip the shows to my iTunes library for posterity. It was great that I could archive some of my favorite 90210 episodes and watch on my computer, iPod or iPhone whenever.

So this week I went to Best Buy and purchased a new Toshiba upgradable DVD player. (As a side note: I read many reviews about the pros and cons of going Blu-Ray vs Upgrade DVD players. The conclusion with some tech writers was the DVD had more bang for the buck but Blu-Ray was better just not by much. My thought is that in two years it won't matter Hi-Def video will be all on servers and hard drives.)

(Back to the story) So after hooking up the new DVD player to the home system I pondered whether I made the right choice by not going the DVD recorder route again. And so I started researching how I could record the shows off our DVR to iTunes. What I found out was there was a way to hook up my laptop to the Bright House cable box and pull off the saved shows.

The only thing I had to actually purchase was the MPEG-2 component for Quicktime for $20. The other two pieces of software I needed to accomplish my goal were free off the internet.

I used a Firewire cable to transfer the video from the cable box to my Macintosh laptop. Once the video is saved to the laptop I then use another software to convert the file to another format that iTunes can recognize and won't take up a lot of space on my iPhone. Then I can pull it into iMovie and edit out the commercials before archiving it to iTunes.

I know that many readers are looking at this and thinking, "Man Chris has a lot of free time." Probably true but I'm just looking to the future. And in my future is apparently 90210.

Taking Care of the Customer

2008-11-24T17:29:00.000-08:00

So I have to write a quick blog about a company that actually took care of this consumer. You see in this day and age it's rare that a company goes out of it's way to make sure it's customers are happy and satisfied.

During the MLB postseason I was wearing my iPhone on my hip utilizing the Contour Showcase's holster. The case itself is one of the best I could find when I purchased my iPhone. Contour uses acrylic for the majority of the the Showcase with the edges wrapped in rubber to help protect the cell if you drop it (which isn't out of the ordinary for me.).

Anyways, during the ALCS I was walking around when the case caught on something which caused the clip portion of the holster to snap. I was no longer able to put my iPhone on my hip. Not that I wore it there frequently but I liked having it as an option especially when shooting games where the ambient noise would prevent me from hearing the ringer. In those situations I would just put it on vibrate and feel it ring on my belt.

OK so it's been a month since the incident and I had gone to the Apple store as well as other retailers to see if they sold a replacement holster but to no avail. The only option I had was to purchase a whole new Showcase and holster. I really didn't need a new case just a holster in which to put my iPhone.

So this weekend I went to the Contour website and emailed their customer service department to explain my situation. Then this morning I received an email from Julie of Contour asking for some additional details about which model and my address. She informed me that Contour was sending me a new holster for my Showcase.

It was so refreshing that a company was going to go out of it's way to make sure that one of it's customers was satisfied with it's product. Just for the record I asked Contour to help me find a retailer who just sold the holster and they offered to replace my broken one free of charge. I really feel that my money was well spent when I purchased the Contour Showcase. Not only is it the best case designed for the iPhone, in my opinion, but the company stands behind their product. Thank you Contour.

What Was I Thinking?

2008-11-20T17:30:00.000-08:00

Well I haven't gone running since Saturday's 5K and I was feeling a bit out of shape. That was probably due to the pizza and inordinate amount of bread I had Wednesday with my tomato soup.

So I decided to go for a longer than normal run after dropping off Benjamin at school today. I got back to the house and scarfed down a banana and four Ego waffles to build up some carbs for my long run.

After some stretching I plugged in my Schure earbuds in to my iPhone and headed out. I figured I should be reachable if I'm running for over an hour. The last time I went out running I lost an assignment for USA Today.

I hit play on a couple of podcasts and headed out to the West Orange Trail. I usually would go running between 3-6.5 miles previously. On the last couple of runs I felt I was ready to extend my distance. And why not? The weather was gorgeous out there today. The temperature was around 65 degrees and hardly any humidity.

I quickly worked in to my pace and tried to keep it a little lower in anticipation of a longer run. I thought I would go to downtown Winter Garden before turning around which would give me a 9-mile run for the day. Not bad I thought. That was until I got to Winter Garden.

As I approached my potential turn around point, I assessed my status. My breathing was good. My legs felt great and not showing signs of fatigue. I felt like I could maybe stretch it even further and if I over did it I'd simply pull up and walk a little bit. No biggie.

I ran all the way to Oakland before turning around. This new point would give me a run of 13 miles or roughly half a marathon. The thought of me completing that run was inspiring. Now all I needed to do was keep a good pace.

Honestly I was doing great with everything until mile 10. It was then that I felt some twinges in my going muscles. This then worked in to some aches in my lower back and my right calf. All the while I never felt winded which was pretty good I thought.

I am proud to say that I completed my impromptu half marathon run in 2 hours and 10 minutes. It's odd for me to say that I ran 13 miles today.

Upon my return I soaked in an ice bath and took two Aleve to stave off any aches. Let's just say I don't want to know what it would've felt like if I hadn't taken those actions. My legs hurt so much right now.

Today was a test for me. I'm considering racing in next month's Florida Half Marathon in Clermont. I just wanted to see if I could do it. Apparently I can. Now all I need to do is to do it again. In the meantime I will maybe keep my runs to 9-11 miles for the next few weeks.

I'm still impressed that I was able to run 13 miles. I guess it's the whole setting my mind to accomplishing that goal that's pretty cool to me. By the way, no one called me while I was running. Figures!

Seeing the World

2008-11-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

Well with the OK from Benjamin's pediatrician we decided to make the big purchase of a forward-facing car seat. To this point Benjamin was getting to be a handful putting him in to his car seat. He fought us like an Olympic wrestler. He would twist and turn in his infant carrier.

So Cathy and I drove down to Babies R Us and picked up the new seat as I hoped it would in some way distract him while I buckled him in to the seat. Hey at this point if flaming baton torches could distract him enough to get him in to the seat I'd had done it.

OK I have to give some advice to the uninitiated. NEVER TRY TO INSTALL A NEW CAR SEAT WITHOUT THAT FIRST CUP OF COFFEE! Believe me I speak from a frustrating experience. I mean whoever wrote that stupid instruction manual must not have a kid. Really!!! And the whole "let's bungee strap the booklet on the seat" is warped. Who really needs to be able to read that at arms' length anyways?"

The end result is that Benjamin loves his new seat. In fact, he really likes to look out the front windscreen to see the action. Seeing the world as his parents see it is interesting to him. I think he just wants to be treated just like the other big people.

Some other observations I've made are he thinks his main source of entertainment is Daddy looking back at him in a peek-a-boo way. Also trying to find his travel buddies is probably not the safest way to operate a vehicle. And lastly I find it difficult to hand feed Benjamin in this new position. Just give him the whole container of Cheerios already.

It's such a different world for both my son and I. I think it's such a different perspective and one that I have to get used to.

Continuing a Tradition

2008-11-17T16:17:00.000-08:00

Today I took Benjamin to Tampa for lunch with my Dad and stepmother. The bigger news was we were taking him to have his first hot dog at Mel's. For those who don't know Mel's is an institution in Tampa. They serve some of the best Chicago-style hot dogs around.

My dad and I used to go there when I was a kid. Usually it was Friday nights when I was spending the weekend at his house. I look back on those dinners as some of the best times with my dad. We would have those father-son talks over a couple of Mel's Special Dog baskets.

Mel's was also a favorite place to go with my grandmother. Granny loved to go up to Busch Blvd. and have a dog with me any time we had the opportunity. She loved to go for lunch and suffer the wisecracks from no other Mel himself. He always would put a smile on Granny's face.

Back to the lunch at hand. We got to the dog stand right before the lunch rush. My dad and Sylvia had already gotten the order at the table when Benjamin and I walked through the door.

Dad had the high chair setup for his grandson along with a kid's basket as well as a Special Basket ATW (All The Way) for me. I got Benjamin set up with his high chair cover and Sylvia started cutting up the hot dog and French fries for him.

Let me tell you this kid can eat some Mel's. He gobbled up some of the dog, chewed on the fries and scarfed down the bun. Then top all that off with some juice and I had a great diaper change this afternoon.

Overall it was a great lunch. I think I got more of a kick out of taking my son to Mel's than my dad treating his son and grandson to lunch. I look forward to taking Benjamin when he's older to have the some of the same dinner conversations that my dad and I had.

Middle of the Pack

2008-11-15T07:59:00.000-08:00

For the first time since the 1978 USF Bull Run, I ran a road race. While it was only 5km it was a start. I've gotten back in to running recently and decided to enter the Winter Garden 5K race with our friends Ryan Kelly.

I felt a little intimidated as the Santurris have run marathons previously and I ended up chickening out of my second race, the 1979 Gasparilla 5K (Hey I was 5 and it was cold, loud and scary. Sorry Dad for making you take me back to find Mom.).

So I made Cathy and Benjamin my personal cheering section and gave them a map of where to get pictures of me to document my deterioration along the route. I joke about that as I felt I kept a solid pace throughout the race. Heck my usual runs at home are around 10km.

The horn sounded and everybody around me just stood there mildly walking. "Get out of my way people," I thought to myself. I wanted to run this race in under 30 minutes and they weren't helping me.

The first mile of the race (for the metrically challenged that would be about 2km) I had a great pace going. It also didn't hurt that we were running downhill but hey I'll take my breaks where I can.

Then my left shoelace started giving way. "Dang it! I thought I double-knotted." So a quick 5-second break to tie it and I was back in the race.

This is the point where the hill went from down to up. I gradually rolled back my pace and tried to get my breathing in check. Meanwhile kids were passing me. Stupid kids.

I got to the second "shooting" spot and Benjamin was looking at the trees and didn't have a clue that Daddy was running past him. Cathy got some shots of me as I dramatically (for the pictures of course) grabbed a cup of water and threw it over my head. (Hey I needed blog material people it was a slow week.)

Now the road was leveling out and it gave me a chance to keep my pace low to start a second wind for the end of the race. The route meandered through the surrounding neighborhoods of Winter Garden. There were some residents cheering from lawn chairs and then there was this one guy.

There he stood. Wearing a bath robe, t-shirt and ratty shorts. Drinking his coffee and picking up the morning paper. As if we were an impromptu parade to gawk at for a little while. Dang it I wanted that coffee.

As we turned back towards the direction of downtown and the finish line I felt good. That was until I saw one of the top runners from the front of the pack now cheering me and the rest of the hacks on and running in the opposite direction.

"OK either we were getting close or he's taunting me," is what I thought as I hit fast forward on the iPod shuffle. (BTW, for some reason my iTunes that it would be humorous and shuffle in some Harry Connick Jr., Bob Marley and other mellow tunes for my run. Not funny!)

The course took a right turn and in the distance I could see the finish line. I started ramping up my pace. Big Audio Dynamite was playing in my ears and gave me some added energy to finish strong. I felt like I had some stuff left in the tank to pass a large group of runners ahead (Stupid kids. I'll get you back.).

"Uh oh Maybe I didn't have THAT much left in the tank," I thought to myself with around 2/10th of a mile left.

I quickly hit the volume up button on the iPod and gave it my all. I ended up having something in the tank for a good kick and crossed the line with the clock reading 28:49. Not bad. I did better than my goal and didn't embarrass myself.

The final result was that I was 81st out of 300 and 11th in my age division. Ryan was first in his age division and was awarded a first place medal. Kind of cool. Then I heard my name called for the award of "Middle of the Pack" for the 35-39 division. I received a $10 gift certificate to Tri & Run. Ryan was jealous. VERY COOL!

So it's been 30 years since my last race. A lot has changed since then but it's still putting one foot in front of another. But I gotta say I don't remember it being that stressful when I was 5.

Happy Birthday Benjamin

2008-11-11T03:21:00.000-08:00

It's funny how to a one-year-old his first birthday it just another day. To his parents it's an incredibly special day. Or that's the way it felt to me yesterday.

Benjamin rustled awake earlier than normal around 6:30 a.m. and wanted something to eat. I made a bottle of whole milk (I can't tell you how much I won't miss going to the store and spending $24.98 every fifth day for formula.) and some Cheerios.

I went out for a quick run so that I could be back in time to celebrate his birth at 8:24 a.m. It was all we could do to keep him around until then as he wanted to take a nap around 8:22 a.m.

"Yea! Happy birthday. You were born at this time. Ok let's put him to bed," was about how the celebrating went.

Later in the morning we had a date with the pediatrician for Benjamin's one-year check-up. He is right on track at the 50th percentile. He weighed in at 19 lbs., 12 oz. and was 29 1/4" long. The doctor said he was a little under the 50th percentile for weight but still fine. They attributed that to his activity now that he walks. And boy does he ever walk/run/fall down and do it all over again.

Cathy took the day off and we had planned to go to Sea World after his doctor's visit but the shots did in Benjamin. He was tired and just wanted to go home to sleep which he did for two hours.

Once he woke up we packed up the family and drove down to the community center to shoot some portraits. Well the talent really didn't want to sit still and have his pictures taken. He wanted to chase his shadow around the soccer field (it was so cute watching run after his shadow).

Later in the evening Ryan and Kelly invited us over to their house to help finish with Bella's and Benjamin's leftover cakes. The two toddlers had a ball playing while the parents visited. It was really a great way to end Benjamin's first birthday.

It still sounds awkward to say, "I have a one-year-old."

If There's Smoke there's a Party

2008-11-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

Today was Benjamin's first birthday party. Even though he turns one tomorrow we celebrated with family and friends today.

Cathy and I decided that we would have a cookout-type of party with hotdogs and hamburgers. In theory that sounded great but reality was much different.

We had so many people come to celebrate Benjamin's birthday. All the grandparents (with the exception of Sergio who was in Croatia) were in attendance. Let's just say Benjamin didn't need to walk if he choose. There were plenty of people who wanted to hold him.

Once the guest arrived I had put burgers and hotdogs on the grill. My dad took over on the cooking in order to free me up for hosting duties.

In defense of my father I hadn't thoroughly cleaned the grill in a while which lead to heavy smoke pouring in to our house. Thus causing the smoke alarms to go off all throughout the house. Seriously it was laughable the noise in the house. We ended up having to pull all the batteries from the smoke detectors as well as pull the breakers. The noise was deafening.

I have to say that even though it was a baby's party I think that the adults had fun. Cathy and I tried to make it as entertaining as possible with the toddlers running around the house.

Thanks to all of Benjamin's grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends and loved ones who came to his party. We appreciate every one of you.

As I am typing this I remember a year ago. I was driving my very pregnant wife to Winnie Palmer and we had just settled in to our delivery room. It would become the longest day of my life. I never felt the fear I did that night and never felt such joy when the sun rose and my son was born. This has been such an incredible year for me. I look forward to all the years ahead of us as parents.

Back in the Pool

2008-11-06T16:56:00.000-08:00

Today I went back in to the pool for the first time in a year. Before Benjamin was born I used to go down to our community pool and swim laps as an alternative to the biking and running. It was a great cardio workout.

Back in high school I use to swim a lot as the sole diver on the school swim team. It was lot of hard work but very fun. Our practices usually started off with a 500 yard warm up. Then we would have other exercises with varying yardage for the remainder of the two hour practice.

So today I decided to give my legs a bit of a rest and head back to the pool to swim today's workout. I told myself that if I could complete the 500 I would be satisfied. I felt that getting 500 yards in was decent for someone who hadn't swam laps in a year. It'd give me a good entry back in to the swim of things (pun intended).

I started out the set a little sluggish and slowly worked in to my pace. By the time I kick turned at 300 I felt good. So much in fact that I almost forgot where I was in my routine.

You see with swimmers there's a lot of thinking time involved in workouts. When you go out on a run you can put on some good tunes or a favorite podcast to pass the time. Not really an option underwater (although they do now make waterproof headsets and cases for iPods). All that you have are your thoughts.

I think about many things swimming. "Did I mail off the power bill? Shoot we're out of bunny food. I've got a great idea for a movie." Swimming allows you to get out all of the stupid stuff in your head.

So here I was now kick turning 800 yards and still going strong. I felt great. I had a good pace going. My breathing was efficient. The only thing truly stopping me from going to 1,500 was time. I had to pickup Benjamin at school in a little over an hour and I was starving. "What do I feel like fixing for lunch? We've got that sliced turkey breast..." See what I mean about thinking time.

I completed 1,000 yards and called it a day. Over half a mile of swimming I felt was beyond my expectations for the first time back. As I walked around the pool in the 68-degree water I remembered that back in high school we used to do somewhere between 2,000-2,500 yards in a practice. Not what I used to do back in the day but that day was 20 years ago. Man that sounds old. I guess at this point I should feel fortunate I didn't forget to breathe.

A Witness to History

2008-11-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: AS MANY ALREADY KNOW I TRY TO SIDESTEP POLITICS ON MY BLOG. I FEEL THAT THERE ARE TOO MANY POLITICIZED BLOGS ALREADY OUT THERE AND I DON'T NEED TO ADD TO THEM. HOWEVER I FEEL I WOULD BE REMISSED FOR LETTING THE OPPORTUNITY PASS AND NOT TALK ABOUT THE ELECTION.

Last night we hosted a small, quiet election-watching party. Our friends Brian and Christina brought their 6-month-old son Joseph over to eat dinner and watch the returns. As we flipped around the networks we watched states turn red and blue. Eventually the Equis left around the time the networks were trending an Obama victory.

Benjamin didn't even make it for the first state to be called for either candidate. He had enough of all the campaign commercials and called it a night.

Cathy and I stayed up to watch as all the major news organizations called the winner of the Presidential race at 10pm. Cathy was able to make it to Senator McCain's concession speech but headed to bed soon after.

I stayed up and watched as 200,000 people listened in Grant Park to President-elect Obama talk to the country. I listened to the 44th President talk about how he came to this point and more importantly where we as a country needed to go.

No matter if you are Republican, Democrat, Green Party, Nader lover or none of the above you had to take in what was happening. A new chapter in our country's history was being written.

After turning off the television, I walked into my son's room to make sure he was sleeping comfortably. I looked down at him, rubbed his back and told him, "You will never remember this night but you'll always be able to say that you were there when President Obama was elected."

Crazy Anthony

2008-11-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

Last night was our friend Adam's annual Halloween party. Yes it was the day after Halloween but it was still fun.

In years past we went as Drs. Livingston. Last year Cathy went as a drunk and pregnant Britney Spears while I dressed again in my surgical scrubs (Just in case Cathy went in to labor early.).

This year I started planning our costumes back in August. I thought Cathy could go as alleged child murderer Casey Anthony and I would go as Casey's father George. The costumes could be made with stuff we already had and would be comfortable.

If you don't know who Casey Anthony is allow me to fill you in. The national story first broke back in July when Casey was arrested for child neglect when she waited a month to report her daughter Caylee missing. Since then her soap opera-like story appears nightly on the Nancy Grace show. If you need more info just Google Casey Anthony and read all about it.

The party was a lot of fun as always. Adam went above and beyond last year's effort. Guests entering through the garage found themselves walking through a scary maze and I hate things that scare me. Inside the Avitable house Amy and Adam decorated the walls to look like the inside of a tent to go along with the theme of the Neverwas Fair: A Sideshow of the Forgotten.

The catering was yummy with meatballs, bacon-wrapped chicken and Halloween mixed drinks. In one of the guest rooms Adam had a photographer shoot portraits of us in our costumes.

Well we couldn't stay all night as my mom was watching the sickly one. It kind of felt like I was back in high school and had a curfew. I had fun at the party but was glad to get home and wash the baby powder out of my hair.

PS- Benjamin is much improved since Friday night. The medicine seems to really be helping.

A Croupy Halloween

2008-11-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well Benjamin's first Halloween was not what we planned. Instead of dressing him back up in his monkey suit and trick-or-treating in the neighborhood we stayed at home and ran the humidifier for our barking seal.

Yesterday morning he woke up with a congested sound. I would've taken him to the doctor but I wanted him to spend the day with Cathy's folks before her dad left today for Croatia. Tell me I didn't feel guilty about that decision last night.

I have to say our pediatrician, Dr. Yarckin, is very patient with first-time parents. He talked me down and let me know that he'd seen this hundreds of times over the years and it was nothing new. (It also didn't help that we were watching House.) Dr. Yarckin told me he'd see us in the morning.

So with a little Vick's and some Robotussin we put Benjamin in his humidified room for the night. Cathy decided she'd sleep on the floor while I took up all of our bed. Throughout the night she refilled the humidifier and gave him Robotussin.

We were the first ones in the office this morning. Dr. Yarckin gave Benjamin a steam treatment to help open his breathing passage and told us that he had Croup. He sounded so much better after the steam and fell asleep in the car on the way back to the house.

So now I've gotten through my first real bout with sickness and Benjamin. It was a bit stressful. I felt a little helpless as I rocked my sick little boy. All he wanted to do was breath more easily and sleep. I just wanted to do what ever it took to help him. Just like any parent.

Thank You Rays

2008-10-30T16:39:00.000-07:00

As I watched the Philadelphia Phillies close things out in the World Series I felt sad. I was sad that my home town team didn't win the game and bring the Series back home to win it.

That sadness was short lived. You see my Rays gave me a season that every fan will look back on with great admiration. Kind of like the '79 Bucs who turned things around after going 0-20 went to the NFC Championship.

The Rays to this point were looked upon as all of MLB's farm team. It was the team that aging players went to to finish careers and the team up-and-comers played for before hitting it big somewhere else.

This season I shot more games at the Trop since then their 1998 inaugural season. I shot 15 games in St. Pete which included a great end of the season series against the Red Sox. I spent two nights covered in Champagne inside the Rays lockeroom. I shot an incredible Game 7 and saw my Rays win the Pennant.

And finally my Rays allowed me to shoot my very first World Series. Thank you Rays!

Introduction to Democracy

2008-10-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

Today Benjamin learned about what makes this country great. Today he watched Daddy vote in the 2008 Presidential Elections. In Florida we started early voting last Monday and ever since the news has talked about the record turnout at the polls.

This morning I gave Benjamin a very brief Civics 101 course while he drank his first bottle. I told him about term lengths for our elected officials and why it was important for citizens to participate in the democratic process. He just looked at me and probably wondered why Daddy still had a piece of oatmeal stuck on his cheek.

I told him how his mother got her undergraduate degree in political science and that she was fascinated with how the U.S. and state governments worked. I also informed him that if he ever had any questions with regards to names of certain Congressmen or Presidents in our nations history he'd better block out a couple weeks if he ever asked Uncle Ron. (It may take a while. TRUST ME!! We all speak from experience.)

I chose to early vote at the West Oaks Library a few miles from our house. Luckily our neighbor Kelly had decided to take Bella to vote at the same time. This came in handy as it took an hour and a half to make it to a voting booth.

Once we made it from the parking lot inside the library Benjamin wanted to run around. He couldn't stand being in my arms any longer. So off he went screaming down the stacks. (Apparently the librarians waived the whole no talking policy.)

So here I was in our little voting booth holding Benjamin in one arm and making sure to bubble in my votes correctly (Let's not revisit the whole hanging chad portion of Florida's history.) with my other arm. He could've cared less who I was voting for in the hotly contested Orange County Soil Conservation race. In fact, he kept grabbing for the partition between us and the gentleman voting next to us.

We turned in my ballot and got our "I Voted" stickers and headed for the door. I held great pride in showing my son one of our country's highest responsibilities. I can remember going with my mother to the Temple Terrace City Hall and watching her vote. It was a very cool feeling to now be doing it with my son... oh crap he just spit up in the library. Now what did I do with those wipes?

Monkey Business

2008-10-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

Last night was the unveiling of Benjamin's Halloween costume at his Gymboree Halloween Party. Cathy found a great monkey costume for our little monkey on the internet. It's so cute and he looks adorable in it.

Growing up in Florida I can remember Halloweens were painful if you had a hot costume in which to go Trick-or-Treating. I can remember one particular Halloween going as Casper the Friendly Ghost and sweat pouring down my face underneath that plastic mask.

So you can imagine my horror putting my son in a thick monkey outfit when it's 78 degrees. Once we got him in the car and blasted the AC he was fine. Plus they won't remember a lot of this stuff later on unless a therapist drags it out of them.

He had a great time at the party. It was a lot like his regular Gymboree class. They had games and exercises along with a costume parade. His friends were there but I think it throw him off a bit. Benjamin could sense that this wasn't the usual.

For starters he must've thought, "What a minute it's not Tuesday. And second why are we here at night?"

He played along for most of the hour before finally running out of gas. By the time it parachute time he was ready to check out. He reached for Cathy and wanted just a bottle before falling asleep in his car seat.

It was nice that we could use his monkey costume more than once on his first Halloween. I just can't wait to see what he'll do Friday night.

PS- Happy 8th Wedding Anniversary, Z! I Love You!!!

Doing Something Else For a Change

2008-10-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

It felt so good yesterday to go out and do something other than shooting a game for a change. I've been looking forward to the Florida Land Rover Club's annual Fall Rally for weeks now. Ever since I did it last year I've been telling Cathy how fun the event is and how she'd like to see what her truck could do while on a trail ride.

So we decided to send Benjamin off for the day with Mimi (my mom) while we drove to Lake City and went trail riding with other Rover lovers. Besides Benjamin had a very busy social calendar and I didn't have the energy to keep up with him.

I did all the driving through the Osceola National Forrest and Cathy watched. She said she found the rally to be very relaxing. We actually had the whole day to just catch up with one another while we climbed over fallen trees, ran up dirt hills and forded waist-deep mud waters. It's the little things that bring romance back into a marriage.

Now We're Even

2008-10-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

Well I have to say that I'm more pleased with the result of last night's game as opposed to how Game 1 ended. The bad part of it was that I spent more time in the workroom than I did out shooting on the field. We just had more images coming in that needed to be uploaded to our editors due to the fact that there was more action during Game 2 than the previous night.

As for my cold, I felt better than I sounded. A friend of mine told me that if the photography thing didn't work out I could go in to radio with my new, cool voice. It sounded like I had smoked three packs a day for 20 years. And yes I had my hot tea with lemon last night.

At the end of the game I grabbed a few images of the Rays players celebrating the franchise's first World Series win and scrambled through the crowd to file the jubilation images on the wire before grabbing my two remotes.

Finally I got something worthwhile on my remotes. A play at the plate involving Tampa Bay's Rocco Baldelli and Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz got me the above image on both my remote cameras. I like how Rocco flew up in the air and decked Ruiz hoping to pop the ball loose and score a run. Ruiz held on but it's still a nice frame.

My feeling is that they'll come back and play a game 6 where the Rays will win it. (I'm knocking on wood right now like you wouldn't believe.) But for now I have the weekend off for a change and I'm really looking forward to not shooting baseball.

A Night of Running and Hot Tea

2008-10-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

Ugh!! I feel horrible this morning. I got this cold during the ALCS and have been fighting it all week. Well it won last night. I lost my voice right before the start of the World Series which made it difficult for my editors to hear my voice annotations on key images during the game.

I got to Tropicana Field around 3 pm yesterday and set up my remotes. Once those were locked into place I decided to go find some hot tea in the Press box upstairs. I think I squeezed a whole lemon into that cup but boy did it help. I couldn't talk but it helped sooth my throat.

During the World Series I drew that up position which meant I was responsible for running back to the photographers' workroom throughout the game to dump cards to our editors in San Francisco and Boston. So after the first inning I began my game-long relationship with the Trop's stairwell. Once back in the workroom I dumped my card and three others from my two shooting mates. Ran over to AP to grab the "pool" card of the pitchers, dumped them and ran back up to the Whitney Bank Suite.

Stayed there during the third inning to run back to dump more cards. This continued about three more times during Game 1. I will say that the seared ahi tuna was exceptionally good last night.

By the end of the game I was drained. I forgot how many images I dumped to the editors but for just three shooters I think we held our own against AP, Reuters and Getty who always overstaff these events.

After packing up our gear Rhona, Matt and I headed to the post game party inside the Batter's Eye Box which is a restaurant in centerfield that gives patrons a great view of the game. We talked about the game over drinks and what the shooting situations were like. I grabbed my commemorative shirt and headed to my car to drive back to my hotel room.

And now I get to do it all over again. Game 2 here we go!

Ready to Go

2008-10-22T06:26:00.000-07:00

While I'm fighting this cold I picked up during the ALCS (I think it was from the night Cathy had the AC cranked at the hotel after Game 6.) I'm packed and ready to go. I spent this morning thinking about how I wanted to shoot my first World Series and where I wanted my remotes. Last night our staffer in charge of baseball sent out the shooting assignments and I drew the up position which is good and bad. The good is that I like being the up shooter and have a little flexibility to move around during the game. The bad news that I'm responsible for dumping all the card the three of us shoot.

I'll try and explain what I'll be doing during the next two nights. We have three photographers, including myself, that'll be covering the games in St. Pete. After the first inning I'll head back to the workroom under the stands to download the compact flash cards to my laptop and then drop them in a FTP folder to our editor in LA. (For those unsure what a FTP folder is it's where I connect to a remote computer and drop and drag the pictures from my laptop to the remote computer.)

After doing that I have to obtain the "pool" images of the starting pitchers. Usually one of the wire photographers is allowed behind home plate during the first inning to get straight on shots of each team's starting pitcher and then make them available to everyone. (Look for it tonight in the first if you're watching the game.) After transmitting those images I'll have to check to see if the our photogs sent any more cards back and move those.

Then if there's time I'll go back to my position and shoot for another inning only to return to the workroom and continue making the donuts (and by that I don't mean Dunkin' Donuts I mean taking disks and dumping them to the editor.).

Around the 8th inning I'll head back out to the up position and finish shooting the game. Then all three of us will return to the workroom and move a few images each from the end of the game.

I plan to stretch before the game so I don't pull anything. I'm very anxious about shooting my first World Series. I shot my first National Championship a few years ago down at the Orange Bowl when USC won the BCS but this is a pro championship. A little different but in the end it's still just a baseball game. Go Rays!!

Back with Barak

2008-10-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

So with 3 1/2 hours of sleep I rolled back from the ALCS to cover Barak Obama in Orlando. I first had to drop off a camera I borrowed at Rob's house before picking up Benjamin at my in-laws.

After I got back to the house I had just enough time to download my stuff from the weekend and pack the necessary gear for the rally before dropping off Benjamin at a neighbor's house. On the radio I learned more details about the political event at Amway Arena. For starters it was going to be outside of the Magic's home arena on the North side. Secondly I found out they were expecting 40,000 to show up (50,000 actually showed up.) for the 6pm event.

Everything kind of fell my way. I drove to the arena through the Parramore part of town which isn't really the safest way but I figured it was the quickest. Once there I asked a police officer where media was parking and showed him my credential. He told me to go on through and pull in to the lot directly behind him which was adjacent to the entrance. Once through security I scoped out the positions. They had the standard two camera platforms with much of it was reserved for the traveling press corps.

I found a spot that was open and immediately marked it for myself with a Sharpie. It was on the "cut-away" platform and utilize the stairs leading up to the entrance of the arena as its main backdrop. I knew the stairs would fill with people helping to illustrate the size of the crowd.

By the time Senators Obama and Clinton took the stage the light was really nice. The auxiliary lighting the campaign brought in really complimented the ambient.

I was able to move around to the various positions, including the buffer area around the stage, to get different shots of the Democratic Nominee. It was nice to be able to make a variety of images during the 45-minute rally.

As Barak made his obligatory hand shaking tour of the crowd I got my pictures and ran back to my car to get ahead of the crowd. I remember what traffic is like after a sold out Magic game so doubling that I didn't want to get caught. Besides I had to get home to transmit as the campaign didn't offer wireless internet access which was unlike my previous experiences on the campaign trail.

I got home and rushed to my office to transmit. luckily I had already downloaded the pictures off the cards and onto my laptop while driving home from the rally.

After moving 12 images to EPA I grabbed a glass of Merlot and took a long, hot shower to relax. I was finally home and could sleep in my own bed for a change.

World Series Bound

2008-10-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

I'm still in disbelief that my hometown Rays are not only the AL Champs but they are going to the World Series. More importantly I'll be on the field with them Wednesday as they host the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. Wow I'm shooting the World Series!

Before the game last night I could feel a buzz around Tropicana Field. The problem was I couldn't tell if it was a buzz that the Rays would win or if the Red Sox would hold the momentum and not let it swing back to Tampa Bay. We all felt anxious for an end to this grueling series and knew that these two teams would take it to the end.

I made the decision yesterday that I was going to help my Rays win this by throwing all of my photo support to the Sox. Yes you heard me I was going to set myself up to shoot great images of the defending Champs which meant that I was actually jinxing myself and not the Rays.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog entry I adjusted remotes for game 7 after Saturday night's game. I decided I wanted to set up a Red Sox "high-five" cam right next to the dugout where Francona stands to get images of Red Sox players returning to the dugout after scoring. I thought it would be a win-win situation because I would either have some cool wide angle shots of jubilation that the other photographers wouldn't have or I'd get nothing but a trip the World Series. My jinx worked.

As the Rays dugout ran onto the field to pile on relief pitcher David Price and catcher Dioner Navarro I followed. After a few moments of celebration pictures I headed to the clubhouse for the obligatory Champagne spraying images.

I didn't have to wait long in my poncho with a camera inside an underwater housing. The players streamed in to the locker room and almost instantly had corks popping before shaking and spraying. I didn't care I had all my gear protected and a change of clothes... bring it on!

At one point Fernando Perez sprayed me with the bubbly and got some in my eye which burned. I ran over to a counter where the clubhouse manager had set out Nike swim goggles to put on to protect our eyes. So here I was soaked in Champagne running around a locker room taking pictures with an underwater rig of baseball players spraying each other. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

I got back to my hotel room this morning around 3 and slept for a few hours. Now I've got to get some things taken care of, pickup Benjamin at his grandparents in Kissimmee, drop him off with a neighbor and head to Amway Arena to photograph Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton.

I'm exhilarated and exhausted. I'm looking at some long days ahead of me this week but it doesn't matter. I'M GOING TO THE FRICKIN' WORLD SERIES!!!!!

One More Game

2008-10-19T14:23:00.001-07:00

It now officially feels like Groundhog's Day. The days definitely run together and feel alike. I get to Tropicana Field around 3:30 pm and have my bags sniffed by a yellow lab. Then head to the photo workroom down the hall from the Red Sox clubhouse.

After setting up my laptop and making sure all the settings for transmitting are working I head out to the field and try to feel my remotes. By that I mean that I try and take what I got from their positions the previous game and adjust taking in to consideration what might happen in the next game.

Yesterday I had trouble with the remote camera set to fire at home plate in from the back of the visitor's dugout. For some reason it couldn't receive the signal to fire when I was in my field position but if I were in the Whitney Bank Suite it fired all the time. So after I was done transmitting last night/early this morning I moved the dugout remote in front of the TBS cameras and tested it. It worked.

In addition to the home plate camera, I also rigged a remote tonight near the hole of the Red Sox dugout to get Terry Francona or other players high-fiving teammates as they come back to the dugout after scoring a homerun.

I have to say that if my post season ride ends tonight it has been a fun one. I've covered NFL and NBA playoffs previously and this was interestingly different. It came with it's own unique obstacles that challenged me. All that's left for me to do is to go out tonight and have a good game. Go Rays!

Benjamin's first Bulls Game

2008-10-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

Cathy and I took Benjamin to this afternoon's homecoming game between USF and Syracuse to show him what the Bull Nation is all about. Cathy and He sat up in the third deck with her Delta Gamma sisters while I shot the first half of the game for my stock.

I dropped the two of them off for a little tailgating before the game and headed in to the stadium to set up my gear. From what I heard all of the DG sisters loved the newest Lambda Chi legacy.

I packed my gear up after transmitting at halftime and made the trek up to Section 338 at Raymond James. Cathy said that Mino ate a whole hot dog and grabbed for a nearby beer. Sounds like he's learned the finer points of college football watching.

I guess the first half wasn't interesting to our little Bull or he did too much tailgating beforehand because he slept most of the half Cathy said. But when he saw Daddy come walking up the stairs I could see his eyes light up and those little teeth smile at me.

As we walked back to the car (and btw he loves escalators) I told Benjamin that he would probably see more games over the years but this was his first and I was glad I could share in this day.

Howard's Back!

2008-10-16T18:08:00.000-07:00

Last week I received my weekly XM bulletin in my Inbox and noticed that I could now subscribe to the Best of Sirius with my XM subscription. Nice!!! After all this merger talk I could now get Howard on my XM. How cool?

I was an avid listener of the Howard Stern Show when he was on terrestrial radio but had already subscribed to the competing satellite radio service well before he decided to go exclusively with Sirius some three years ago.

Over the last few years I've had rental cars that came with Sirius and was able to catch up with Howard and the Whack Pack. It was always fun to hear how Howard carried out his show without the oversight of the FCC.

Almost immediately after reading the XM bulletin I called up their customer service line and subscribed to the new package. So now I can hear Howard as well as all the NFL games, Martha Stewart (not interested) and NASCAR. Not to mention hearing Bubba the Love Sponge in the afternoons.

So for the last week I've been hearing about Howard's recent wedding as well as Robin's take on the news. I've laughed my butt off at Artie's comments and think Fred's drops are always timely. Ah it so nice hearing old friends.

First Day of School

2008-10-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

Since Cathy and I learned that we we're expecting we started a discussion about what we would do about child care. We both felt it was important to utilize my working out of the house as the primary means of childcare for the first year supplemented by having Sergio or my mother watch him in cases where I had a job.

A month ago our friend Kelly heard that the First Presbyterian Church of Orlando had a program for toddlers at their Little School two days a week for Benjamin and her daughter Bella. The class would be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays and last from 9-2 which was perfect for us.

Until FPCO's Little School we had done some research and found that there weren't any part time day cares in Orlando. Or let me clarify. You could send him part time but you were still paying for full time. Ouch!!

When FPCO's Little School came our way we knew we had an opportunity we couldn't pass up. For starters it only costs us (for all my friends with toddlers or little ones in daycare don't throw anything.) $195 a month. I know! How could we NOT pass it up. Not to mention we hold a priority slot for there very popular 2-3 year-old class for which all the Winter Park parents clamor.

So Kelly and I carpooled Bella and Benjamin to their first day of class. We were both anxious about how they would react to the new surroundings and new people. We decided that for the first day we would hang out with them for 90 minutes to help stem the anxiety (more for us and not the kids).

So around 10:45 we left our two 11-month-olds and met with the school administrator to turn in all the required paperwork and checks. We got our photos taken for the issued security badges to access the classrooms. (As a side note: FPCO has a lot of security measures in place from access controlled hallways to guards around the church's campus. It felt very reassuring to me.)

When we returned to the nursery room Benjamin was crying out of exhaustion. It's tough for him to calm down for a nap in a new place. I wanted to go in and try some of my proven techniques but knew I needed to not involve myself in order for him to accept his new routine. It was difficult but Kelly and I walked to Starbuck's to get some coffee and give Benjamin and Bella some time without us.

When we returned Benjamin was asleep in a crib snoring while Bella was trying to fall asleep in a swing. I felt better about leaving him and thought that he'd adjusted. In fact I felt guilty to wake him and take him home so I suggested to Kelly we have her husband Ryan, who's firm is next to the church, meet us for lunch. I hadn't had an adult mid-week lunch where I wasn't working since Benjamin was born. It was refreshing.

Lunch didn't last long as we had to haul butt to make it for our weekly Gymboree class. Yes we were shuttling kids from one thing to the next. Kiddie cab already.

Gymboree was laborious as always. By the end of it I felt like I had put in my cardio time for the day. Benjamin was somehow still awake after school and Gymbo. Meanwhile I just wanted to nap like Rip Van Winkle.

Overall it was a very big day for Benjamin but he's so adaptable and resilient. My little man impressed his teachers with his abilities to walk and traverse obstacles in the nursery. They admired how happy he was and couldn't get over his speed.

I'm pleased that I was able to care for my son as long as I did. I think he will be better because of the close time we had together while he was little. This is an exciting time for our family and I can't wait to see what this new opportunity will bring us.

Completing the Trifecta

2008-10-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

Ok last week I talked about shooting three games in 30 hours. Well I decided to do it again this week with two ALCS baseball games and an NFL game. What the hell was I thinking?

Friday night I shot Game 1 and got to bed around 2:30 am and was able to sleep in a bit before getting in a run. I followed that up with a marathon game the next night that went 11 innings and into the next day. I didn't get to bed until close to 4 am Sunday morning.

Five hours later I was up and heading to the Bucs' game at Raymond James Stadium. What was I doing? It's one thing to shoot back to back games in air conditioning but it's another to go shoot a game that had field temperatures in the triple digits.

I decided to only stay for three quarters in order to beat the traffic and get home safely. It was freakin' hot. I mean at one point I asked one of my colleagues if it was still August because it sure didn't feel like October.

The Bucs beat the stuffing out of the Carolina Panthers which made me feel better about leaving early. I was able to get several different images for my stock before heading out.

In all I had a busy week but I was glad to get home and see my family. Benjamin just smiled when I walked through the door as if I had only run out to Publix for a gallon of milk. I guess I should be grateful that he recognized my exhausted face.

Oh What A Night

2008-10-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

Game 2 is the reason why I hate how MLB panders to primetime TV. I mean who in their right mind if they aren't a diehard fan of either team would stay up until almost 2 a.m. EDT to watch a baseball game?

Last night's ALCS started half an hour earlier than Game 1 but finished two hours later. I didn't walk out of Tropicana Field until 3:30 this morning and didn't get to bed until 4:30 am. That's crazy. I haven't done that since college.

I will say this though that I felt like I shot a better game last night than I did Friday. Partly because it wasn't a pitchers' duel. It was also a result of several lead changes during the game.

I started at my first base position and lasted until the third inning when I thought I needed to change things up a bit. I walked over to our other shooting position which is directly behind the Red Sox batting circle. From there I was able to get Pedroia's homer as well as some stuff of "Big Papi".

Then I needed a snack so I headed up to the Whitney Bank Suite to.. ugh... shoot. Yeah that was my main reason for going up there. To shoot. And of course grab some of the Ahi tuna.

I don't know if it was the tuna or not but I started getting some nice action images from up there and the Rays started showing they had some life left in them during this ALCS.

By the seventh inning I went back to my original spot behind first base to shoot the remainder of the game. Had I know that meant another four innings I might have walked around a little more.

The photographers sitting next to me and I couldn't believe we were still shooting a baseball game at 1 in the morning. It seemed like it wouldn't ever end. So by the time BJ Upton hit his sacrifice fly in the 11th to win the game I was ready for bed. Unfortunately I still had to download 1500 images to my external drive, grab my remotes and pack everything up.

When my head hit the pillow this morning at 4:30 am all I could think about was getting back up in a few hours to roll to the Bucs' game. And so Groundhog's Day continues.