Behind•The•Lens

Students finished up the dorm move-in process yesterday on the campus of the University of Arkansas. The University developed an efficient way to help the students move- parents and students drove through the parking lots outside the dorms, dropped all the belongings off curbside, and drove away to avoid a build-up of traffic congestion. Volunteers then assisted the students by carrying the clothes, mirrors, posters, etc. up to their dorm rooms- often times in only one or two trips. It was much more efficient than when I moved into my freshman dorm. We had to fend for ourselves moving into a 21-story dormitory with 2 elevators, thousands of students, and Arizona August heat. It was not a pleasant experience. But yesterday everyone seemed pretty relaxed- I even caught one girl taking a nap on the parking lot pavement. She was sound asleep- and after I shot a few pictures I couldn't bring myself to wake her up to ask for her name. I hung out for a while, and luckily a few minutes later she woke up and I was able to get her information.

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From time to time a photo that we shoot for the newspaper doesn't get published. This is usually because of space restrictions in the next day's edition. A tragedy unfolded in Little Rock yesterday that altered the amount of space we had for Thursday's paper. The photo pictured above was set to run but was witheld due to the big story from Little Rock. That's what is so great about The Morning News' website and the Behind The Lens photo blog. When photos are witheld from publication due to space issues we can still show them to our readers here. The cutline for the photo follows below...

Chaz Mabra of Bentonville, right, Claire D'Aubin of Bella Vista and Carter Ellis, 15, of Kansas City, Mo., work to create silk screened T-shirts Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2008, with the message "Free Candy" on the square in downtown Bentonville. Mabra and more than twenty teens gathered on the square and sang songs and made T-shirts to celebrate the return of his sister and their friend, Candy Mabra. Candy had to move to Florida in June with a family member and is now being allowed to return to Bentonville so she can finish school and graduate with her friends at Bentonville High School. She is an active member of BHS' choir and forensics team. 

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Arkansas kicked off its fall football season last week. I was on duty for Hawgs Illustrated for the week and spent each day shooting practice. Here is a collection of some of the photos from last week. The image above is from Saturday morning. Coach Petrino had the entire team running sprints at the start of practice as punishment for a handful of players that were late for morning meetings. Bet nobody will be late for meetings again. I'm sure the seniors will see to that. 

Seniors and team captains Casey Dick, left, and Jonathan Luigs report for the Razorbacks' first day of practice on Aug. 4.

Arkansas senior strong safety Dallas Washington, right, wraps up teammate Elton Ford while running coverage drills.

Quarterback Casey Dick passes the ball during practice. 

Junior tight end Andrew Davie hauls in a pass during practice. 

Highly-touted freshman Joe Adams turns the ball upfield after catching a pass during practice. 

Arkansas backfield coach Tim Horton hands the ball off to junior tailback Michael Smith. 

Senior defensive end Antwain Robinson cools off as temperatures for the Razorbacks' opening fall practice pushed up to 100 degrees. The heat was brutal for the first couple of days of practice, but things have cooled off making practice more tolerable for everyone involved.

Shooting practices gets a bit redundant after a while and I can't wait for Arkansas' season to kick off on Aug. 30. Preseason predictions for the Hogs haven't been very favorable, but that really doesn't matter for me at this point. I'm just ready to start shooting some games. Aug. 30 couldn't get here fast enough if you ask me.

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Tonight Strike almost got two kids, that's right, two children for dinner. I have yet to see him catch the kids at any game this season. He must be very hungry.

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The Fayetteville Farmer's Market, pretty morning light and sunflowers. How could I resist? 

Enjoy! 

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This Saturday, I had to shoot the 2008 South Central Regional Water Ski Championships at Cedar Creek Water Ski Park in Elkins. While waiting for something to happen in the shade of a tree, I noticed a dragonfly caught in a spider's web. Being in the shade, it made a nice silhouette against the plain background of the
lake.

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I shot this little guy yesterday during a golf tournament. I used a 300mm lens stopped down to about F/5.6.  The dragonfly was perched on this rope and the background is the green grass of a fairway. I love the way a long lens completely distorts the background of an image. I shoot with long glass whenever it is possible; I find a 300mm lens make for really great portraits, people or insects.

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