Scruffs was the last survivor of the five critter children who moved with us to Florida.
He was a rescue, and complicated, a product of abandonment and abuse early in his life. He was a product of the physical illnesses that hunted him. He suffered from spinal meningitis, diabetes, sudden onset cataracts, back pain, KCS (dry eyes) and finally, lymphoma.
He was also a product of great love. Jaime Wilson was his North Star and he basked in the glow of her love. Somehow he knew she saved him. He saved his best for her.
Abused by a man, Scruffy distrusted me. But, he opened his heart as much as he could because we shared Jaime. We ended up loving each other from a distance.
Jaime traveled to the NCORE conference only days after Scruffy’s abdominal lymphoma surgery. During the week she was gone, I sent her a barrage of photos and videos to give her a visual diary of his days. Photos of silly things: lying in the grass, a trip to McDonalds. My phone is full of the quick grab shots.
My phone is full of photographs and memories. Without even considering it, I’ve spent the years creating a visual history of my life, conveniently saved on a small device that rarely leaves my side.
There are moments of great happiness like our wedding anniversary trip to Africa.
And, like the photos of Scruffy’s last lunch with Jaime, there are moments of sadness.
Photographs without memories are history. Memories without photographs slip away with time. Together, they weave the rich tapestry of our lives and can almost carry us back to the moment. The loved, and lost. Smiles and tears. Photographs and memories.
Go in peace, little man.
]]>
As a photographer on sideline and courtside, invisibility is a friend. If coaches notice photographers, trouble sometimes follows! But in 2018, I had three amazing coach encounters that have become instant career classics!
Roger Hughes, Head Football Coach, Stetson University
Stetson University plays home football games at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium in Deland, Florida. There is a small interview/media room that adjoins the team locker rooms. Shortly before kick-off, I was alone in the media room filing pregame images to social media. Coach Hughes burst through the door, striding towards his team's locker room, head down and deep in thought.
Short of the locker room door, he made a sharp turn, walking to me and introducing himself, "Welcome, I'm Roger Hughes. We're glad you're here. Do you have everything you need?" Minutes before gametime, Coach Hughes becomes gracious host, checking on the well-being of an anonymous photographer. Extraordinary.
(Above, Coach Hughes celebrates with quarterback Colin McGovern.)
Jennifer Hyde, Head Women's Tennis Coach, Florida State University
The Florida State Seminoles and the University of Florida Gators are cross-state rivals and the women's tennis teams met in the 2018 NCAA Division 1 Regional Tennis finals. The matches were played on the Gators' home courts in Gainesville, Fl. With a trip to the 'Sweet 16' on the line, the match was decided on the last point of the last singles contest. FSU won and the tension exploded with a release of emotion.
Coaching is big business and naturally Coach Hyde was happy her team advanced. But I have rarely seen a coach "absorbed" into the body of a team with FSU surrounding It was thrilling! Below, Coach Hyde (in the FSU hat), embraces her team.
Fred Applin, Head Women's Basketball Coach, Charleston Southern University
The University of Florida basketball teams play home games on campus at the Exactech Arena. In basketball and volleyball configuration there is a press/media section in one corner, one level up from the court. It is a relatively steep climb of about 30 steps to reach the media section. This is where I was set up to file pictures for Charleston Southern following their game against Florida.
While working, I look up from my laptop to see coach Fred Applin slowly climbing the steps towards me. Slowly. When he reaches me, Coach Applin introduces himself, thanks me for shooting the game for them and tells me how much he appreciates photographers and their work. He made me feel so good.
We're both North Carolinians and shared stories. We talked about Charleston. And he mentioned he had knee surgery just a week before following a car accident.
Here's the measure of the man: He took the time to find me in a basketball arena. He made the climb and endured the pain. All he wanted was to say thank you.
]]>The dogs didn’t fall for the diversion created by the adult warthogs and immediately pursued the weaker, slower juvenile pig running the other way.
During the attack and while it was still alive, the warthog screamed. The humans in the Land Rovers bore witness and cried long after it was dead, a National Geographic special played out in real time, without commercial breaks to shield us.
The incident was raw. It would be easy to hate the dogs until you consider the stakes involved in the hunt: The survival of a species.
African wild dogs are critically endangered with an estimated population of 6,000 animals left in the wild. The Tswalu Kalahari pack consisted of five adults and five puppies. Ten dogs. In one afternoon we saw .16% of the entire African wild dog population in the wild...in the world.
The alpha dogs leading the hunt immediately ate at the kill and were the first to leave. Only about a kilometer away from the den, the alphas made the run to the puppies in exactly the amount of time it took us to drive.
The puppies swarmed and ate as the adults regurgitated the kill.
Another adult returned. And then another. And another.
The last adult - slowed by an injured leg - returned to the pack...and to the puppies...to the survival of a species.
Goats and yoga. Two words rarely used in the same sentence. What can possibly be learned from this odd mix?
Danielle and Kristen Crisp, the owner of The Sanity Gurus Yoga Studios and Wellness Center teamed up this weekend for a combo yoga, therapy goats extravaganza!
As I expected, the goats travel from the farm to yoga class in a big pickup truck. But do the goats travel in the bed of the pick-up truck? No, no they don't. Yoga goats travel in the plush, air conditioned truck cab with their humans. They're in travel carriers, of course. (The goats travel in carriers, Danielle and her husband in the front.)
Like a rock band arriving fashionably late for a concert, the goats can be heard bleating, just off stage....the yoga class quiet in anticipation. Then, they (the goats) burst on the scene in a blur of legs and floppy ears.
A little known fact: baby goats can't (or won't) walk or run in a straight line. Nor can they move more than a few steps without kicking up their heels. They move with amazing speed and agility, seeking the high ground...be that a chest cooler or human body in the middle of a yoga pose. They also ate almost every plant in Kristen's yard.
What great life philosophy: Play hard, act silly, don't care what people think about you while you're doing it. Meet strangers, immediately love them. No judging. Try new things: maybe goats, or yoga, or Yoga goats really are for you. Cuddle when you're tired. Rinse. Repeat.
Photo Stuff: Images shot with Canon 7D (mk I) and 1Ds mkIII. Lenses, Canon: 10-22mm, 28-70mm, 70-200mm.
]]>During the user group meeting, Michael Taylor (@MTaylorisms) made the point that smartphones are the "secret weapon" in any organization's web content delivery strategy. We are an "always on, always connected society."
On my way home, I took a seat in the British Airways departure lounge with an hour to go. Within all the compass points in my field-of-view were people engaged and engrossed in their mobile devices. The scene was a revelation...even for those of us dealing on a daily basis with content strategies to engage new customers and content consumers. Anyone producing content - including professional photographers - who underestimates the power of mobile is setting themselves up for disappointment.
So from my seat in Oslo's Gardermoen Airport, I began to photograph my fellow travelers. I steadied my Canon 7D (mk1) on my knees and shot using Live View to avoid attracting attention. I basically just swiveled the camera on my knee, in an arc. In other words, I didn't leave my seat while shooting the images in the gallery below.
A classic Canon 28-70 F/2.8 was used for all the images.
]]>