I'm back home in Bentonville this weekend.
Earlier this week, a football mother had called me, asking if I could go to the Tiger Football game this weekend, and shoot pictures of her son, the quarterback. (To you non-locals, the Bentonville High School mascot is the Tigers.) I asked if she could come up with a few other players for me to focus on (no pun intended), and she said she'd try. One thing leads to another, and I end up with over 30 requests. From football parents and grandparents, to a dance team dad, and finally, the marching band fans. It grew to much larger of a job than I could have ever dreamed, and I loved it. It grew so large, that I ended up calling a photographer friend of mine, from here in town, to help me out. Mike Cole came through for me (on rather short notice) to double-team the game with me. Mike has got to be one of the most talented photographers in the region (check him out at here). I also asked my brother Caleb to be on the sidelines with us, helping us out by keeping the roster straight of who had ordered the disc, telling us which players to concentrate on.
I wanted to provide the parents with an incredible deal, so I kept it simple. Mike and I would shoot all night, halftime show and all, and then put nearly every photo, unedited, on a disc. I promised to have it in the mail in less than a week, for $10.
Right now, I'm writing this while taking a break from the post work that comes from shooting over 800 images.
Travis Cottrell released his Christmas CD on Tuesday. iTunes had it on their store, showing up at 11:57pm the night before. I had to have been the first one to purchase that CD, because it somehow let me download and buy it three minutes before it was released, worldwide. The CD rocks. I love it. It really brings out the true meaning of Christmas. Travis flew to London, to record the London Symphony Orchestra for, I think three of the tracks. I'm pretty sure he recorded in that studio that the Beatles recorded in, maybe you've heard of it, Abbey Road. He also got one of the best producers in the industry on board. Plain and simple, the guy did not mess around on this project. He did not mess around. Go get it, and listen to it in order. Tracks one and two blew my mind before I even got to the rest of the disc. Track two, Ring the Bells, is amazing. I love it. I usually burn a Christmas mix CD for the relatives every December, and Travis' track two will be our track one this Christmas.
Chad is out of town this Sunday, so he asked me to run FOH (Front Of House, to you non audio nerds) for him. I'm pumped. It's been awhile since I've been behind the console at First Baptist Bentonville, it'll be great. The church family there is so nice to me. Too nice. What a body of believers, and a body of true friends and family members to me as an 18-year-old punk. Ken is out of town (the worship leader), so Rick Mangrum will be leading in the morning. Rick has always been very nice to me as a sound guy, and I look forward to mixing for him in the morning. Chetley will be at monitors, of course, which will make my life about 16 times easier in the morning.
Aubrey and I have a two-year anniversary rapidly approaching, so planning for that is consuming the majority of my TV time. However, I did catch some show where a fire caught loose at a welding supply place in TX, and tanks of gas blew up one by one. It was sweet. I can't discuss details of the anniversary to ya'll, as I fear that she might actually read this. That would make at least two us that are somehow interested in what I have to say.
The radio show has been going pretty good. Really, it's been going great. I've actually got a few listeners, and shining an hour of light in the 23hrs of darkness for that station, every Thursday, is comforting. If for some reason you are crazy enough to read this, you might actually be interested in the show too. You obviously think I'm slightly interesting, enough to read this goofy blog, so why not check out the show? You can listen to the broadcast online, 24hrs a day, anywhere in the world. (Although I would only recommend listening on Thursdays from 3-4pm) The radio station's website has a tab on the right, to listen. (It's windows media player, sorry, fellow mac-lovers)
Well, it's late. Lilly has already gone to sleep, and pugs don't sleep quiet. Her snoring is usually my signal to come to my senses, and come to my bed.
That's it for tonight, thanks for reading (if anybody is actually reading, that is). I'm trying to get better about posting, as this is only my second post.
