The Longview Poet’s Society hosted The Outspoken Bean at Books and Barrels for a free poetry workshop and reading on Wednesday night (February 15th 2023) and I am thankful to have been invited to be a part of it! It was wonderful to see so many people turn out to support art in East Texas!

The kid’s first away game was in Pittsburg, Texas and they won 14/0!

Two games in two days!

Started off and on sprinkling, was hoping to take a lot more photos but we mainly just made the circuit and talked with just a couple of people working stands (Easley Haus, Apothecary & Oddities gave The Child a free soap sample), might make the rounds again tomorrow!

Kid did an entire softball tonight! Then we celebrated with Sonic and Chipotle!

It was an absolutely stunningly beautiful day for a downtown event, and despite the city of Longview having a boil notice for the water supply, Arts Longview’s ArtWalk April went forward. It was supposed to be the biggest yet, but I’ve been to three, maybe four and never could find parking unless I’d go to …

Got to watch The Child play her first game today! Link: Website, Facebook Second game started at 7PM, you could tell everyone was tired.

Before we moved to Dallas we volunteered at the Longview Animal Control and Adoption Center to socialize the dogs by walking them and giving the animals regular human interaction, we also fostered kittens. We’ve adopted two of our menagerie from them and absolutely adore the people who work and volunteer there. For the past few …

As much as I enjoyed shooting last night and editing photos until late in the evening, I was exhausted today but still wanted to run amok in historic Longview and see some of the arts! I ended up mainly chatting up artists, briefly reuniting with friends, oogling other photographers work, and looking down back alleys …

Everything I know about poetry pretty much comes from Redd Foxx and Andrew Dice Clay, which isn’t to say I can’t appreciate poetry… I’m just not inclined to be able to do more than listen and know what I like. Regardless! I do like Brendon, I’ve known him for quite some time, longer than anyone …

This was the last photo I took from our vacation, watching the sunrise in Walsenburg Colorado.

The second trail we hit in Colorado was absolutely gorgeous, but a lot more challenging (well for me who has never really “hiked” before. I’ve been on flatland trails in quite a few states but never on the sides of mountains or in valleys, it’s stunningly gorgeous and I can’t wait to go back!

We did our first hike in Ouray at Box Canyon Park, Perimeter Trail was short but stunningly gorgeous but a bit scary for anyone that’s terrified of heights, which my wife is. But after that we spent the rest of the afternoon walking through up and down Main Street and looking at the same Poop …

We took Red Mountain Pass into Silverton and it’s a gorgeous drive!

This snow reminds me so much of Virginia, so it’s nostalgic for me, but man oh man is Texas not prepared for this… not at all.

Zoe and I went on our first vacation, our first camping trip, and our first long-distance road trip with friends who invited us to go camping with them and their family! I got to try my hand at astrophotography for the first time!

First bout of 2020, things have been super weird with folks getting sick at work, but we moved to work at home (which is how I’ve worked for the past ten years until working at a brick and mortar at Assurant) and I probably moved 40 computers for people that needed help getting their stuff …

I was invited back officially as a ACRD photographer! Which really what that means is that I’m actually just welcome to come and shoot any time rather than asking/being asked. ^.^ Which is great! Links: ACRD Website, ACRD Instagram, NTRD Website, NTRD Instagram

I was invited back officially as a ACRD photographer! Which really what that means is that I’m actually just welcome to come and shoot any time rather than asking/being asked. ^.^ Which is great!

Glory agreed to a shoot with me to test out my new Canon EOS R5! It’s hard to take bad photos of her, she’s just professional through and through, and well, a legitimate honest-to-goodness professional model. Link: Instagram

Zoe is getting her masters, and we wanted to do a graduation photoshoot at UTD!

Glory was available to shoot at The Fabrication Yard and I wasn’t going to pass up on the chance!

My second time shooting with ACRD, and I have to give big huge thanks to Wicked for inviting me and reminding me that I’m more than welcome! There are some amazing photographers here too, I seem to roll in right as things are starting and they’re all set up with c-stands and remote flash units, …

Feels super awkward shooting a new league, the handful of times I’ve shot Dallas Derby Devils it was closed practices and this feels official, well… because it’s actual “We’re selling tickets!” games. I met Wicked through Jayne (Hexa Dessie Maul) Ochoa who skated for ACRD and then for DDD, and I met Jayne in Photography …

I’m always intimidated by using the studio by myself because I always have so many questions. But then I find setting up the Dynalite and strobes by myself feels easier than when I have help. Carla is in my Studio Lighting class here at Richland College and was kind enough to sit for portraits!

Spent the night in Studio Lighting preparing for finals. Anaïs was kind enough to model for us and did an absolutely amazing job!

We have a Rembrandt Lighting assignment coming up and Louis brought her to help all of us out! She did an absolutely amazing job putting up with an entire classroom full of Studio Lighting students that don’t know what in the actual fuck we’re doing.

Spent the night up at the college working with strobes, beauty lights, the soft box, and working the Dynalite Power Pack and the Sekonic light meter. It’s a lot to go through, but we have a lot of good people in our Studio Lighting class and a really awesome professor!

One of the few assignments that I thoroughly loved the concept of, finding two objects that were either similar or conveyed the same message.

We got extra credit for shooting this, honestly I feel like most of the shots were super, super annoyingly pedestrian except for the very last one. Spending a good three hours walking around my old neighborhood (we used to live a block away from Half Priced Books, where this all started) taking photos of drunken …

Just a day in the life! As hard as my wife is working on her masters, about the only thing that is as close to zen for her as humanly possible is time with her (and strangers’) puppers!

Sometimes for assignments I go through the thrift shops here in Dallas to see if anything “fits” or “clicks” with what I need, a perfect synchronicity is getting this assignment for sensuality then finding a perfume bottle in the shape of a woman’s body that has iridescent flowers inside. The piece isn’t really about bodies …

Second time actually able to dink around in the studio by myself, was working on some of the principles that Gary McCoy was teaching us about light modifiers. There are things I’d change that I didn’t even see or visualize until I was at home during post, but for a single-light setup and one of …

You could not ask for a more perfect spot for a dazzling display of everchanging colors and imagery! Visit The Fabrication Yard’s official Facebook page.

Aztlan Arts Tattoo hosted a fire show last night! I’ve never been to one and it was pretty amazing to watch! I was grateful for having done some limited time lapse night time light painting at Richland College because I just wanted to go to this for funsies but I feel like I took some …

This is the third or fourth scrimmage I’ve been to, and I have to admit I find it difficult not watching the action and taking photographs, but I honestly feel that roller derby photography has made me a better photographer! Helps that this is an amazing sport full of amazing people! Visit their official: Website, …

One of the assignments I had for my class was reflections, my wife was amazing enough to help me on her birthday for this!

Jayne Ochoa invited me to photograph a roller derby practice session with the Dallas Derby Devils, and I have to say it’s amazing, I found my limitations real quick shooting indoors and with my cropped sensor equipment, and lenses. Oh man though, watching them glide across the floor like sharks and then burst through a …

America Ferrera and Alicia Keys visited Richland College to encourage students to vote, it was my first time dealing with crowds and trying to keep my mind on my camera settings over the sound was overwhelming at first, but after I got used to just (mostly politely) pushing through on past people it was enjoyable …

One of the worst things I’m at is actually directing people on how to pose, I feel like I’m a lot better at nature photography because I just “see” it and photograph it, I need to get better at directing people because I genuinely enjoy portraits. I’d like to move into photographing more people. My …