under construction

a walk in the woods

Today I was introduced to one of the most amazing people I’ve met since I came to Owensboro a month ago.

Meet I.E. Badger, a former art teacher in Hancock County.

Badger lives with her dog, Fella, in a small cabin in Hawesville. Her house is full of colors and trinkets, and lit by sunlight. It was one of the most beautiful and cozy homes I’ve ever been in.

Badger and I talked about our dogs while I played with Fella and his blue bunny (seen on the floor in the photo above).

“I don’t know what I’d do without him,” Badger said. “If he goes first, I tell you what… I’m going to grab his tail and go with him.”

graduation

I never thought about it before I got here, but May is a month of graduation after graduation. This is the fifth graduation that I’ve shot. It’s a challenge to find new material every time, but I’ve managed somehow!

rainy days

My memorial day was spent finding a sports rain feature to make up for the afternoon of canceled baseball tournaments.

crawdad kids

I was shooting Hancock County’s graduation the other day, when I stepped outside to wait for the reporter that was covering it. While outside, I ran into a couple of kids that had caught a crawdad in the creek in front of the school.

from sea to shining sea

Yesterday was the first memorial service in Owensboro to honor those who have fought or are fighting for this country. I’ve never been one of those “God bless the USA!” types, and I’ll admit… I have been one to snicker at people all decked out in their American flag t-shirts, hats and bandannas… but I have never been so proud to be an American as I was yesterday.

Lonely days

Yesterday there wasn’t as much to do around the office as there usually is, so I found myself lonelier than I have been in my entire stay in Owensboro. It’s not for a lack of meeting nice people, because I’ve met plenty, including Jason Rose:

It’s just a matter of working the city, then coming home to no one. At school I had roommates and friends, and the Kernel on top of all of that. But here… there’s just no one. Oh, well.

I seem to take a lot of pictures of kids. These kids were really cute. They were all dressed up as historical figures, and pretended to be wax statues that would come to life when you pushed a little “button” on the table beside them. Pictured below is Leonardo Da Vinci (right), Ludwig von Beethoven (center) and Elvis Presley (left) and two kids that were walking around viewing the exhibit (far left).

shaken engagement

I was scrolling through a few photoblogs when I found this picture:

No big deal, right? Well, this is what happened a few minutes later when the earthquake ripped through Sichuan, China.

Obviously this was horrific for the bride and groom, but… man. Photo-wise, does it get any better? These shots are awesome. For more of this guy’s photography, visit: http://lelandwong.wordpress.com/

another shot

Today I got another shot to shoot girls softball. I did about as well as yesterday, so I’m really just hoping to get plenty more practice in.

I also spent the early afternoon on another feature hunt, when I ran into a fisherman. He taught me the basics of fishing, so now I’d really like to get a license and a pole and take a stab at it. It looked fun!

the right place, the right time

It’s amazing to me how much feature hunting is really good luck. Obviously knowing where to go and what kinds of things to look for is helpful, but… for the most part, it’s luck. If you go to the park, hoping to find someone playing on the playground or fishing in the pond, it’s all chance if there’s someone there or not. I’ve been fortunate enough to find kids on both occasions. Whoever says taking pictures of kids is cheating, you’re wrong. Kids are tough to shoot, especially since they won’t stop looking at your camera.

Yesterday was also my first encounter with a softball game. Shooting softball games requires practice, so I’m eager for another chance at it.