Almost Pool Time

I started off the day by heading over to Lake Fayetteville where 15 colleges have converged for the 16th annual Solar Splash. Engineering students design, build and race solar-powered boats around the lake.

Following that, I had to go to the Wal-Mart Optical Lab in Fayetteville for a re-grand opening after their recent expansion.

Then I went over to Holcomb Elementary where first-graders were showing off their new climbing wall.

And finally, I found myself at Wilson Park where the lifeguards were finishing painting around the pool for the upcoming summer swimming season.

And another week...

I've had a few things going on outside of work in the past week, so posting to the blog has been moved down the priority list.

So, once again, here's what's been seen through my lenses over the past week.

Falling Behind Again

So, I'm packing three days worth of photos into one post again. I'll try to break down each day without boring you too much.

Sunday is comprised of the first two frames. The first is from a production of Alice in Wonderland at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks in Fayetteville. And the latter is a step/dance team at First Baptist Church in Springdale practicing for an upcoming performance.

Monday is filled by next five frames. First, after a little tracking, I chased down some Springdale Police officers carrying the torch for the Special Olympics. Next after that, I covered a fire heard over the scanner that turned out to be nothing much at all. Next, you'll see a couple portraits followed finally by the Naturals hosting the Tulsa Drillers. A little side note to the Naturals game: playing second base for Tulsa was Rex Rundgren (not pictured) who used to play shortstop for the Carolina Mudcats who I used to cover back in N.C. Fun fact: Rex is Todd Rundgren's son and Liv Tyler's half-brother.

And finally Tuesday is represented by the last frames. I started off the day chasing down a "fully involved" structure fire in the Wheeler community. However, it was mostly doused by the time I arrived. After that, I went to shoot an advance story -- I'll definitely be posting that later as it's rather different. And the final two frames are some enterprise art; both of which are rather self-explanatory.

Hold Fish Here

Started off the day joining a plants in history tour at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks. Unfortunately, reporter Evie Blad and myself accounted for half the tour group -- not counting the infant. However, it was interesting to be introduced to a plant that after rubbing the leaves, your fingers smell like peanut butter (really wish I could remember what the plant was).

Later in the afternoon, I headed up to Rogers and the John Q. Hammons Center for the daily weigh-in for the FLW professional fishing tour. I know I covered this last year but I'm still overwhelmed at the production value that goes into these shows.

And finally on the evening I revisited my good friends, the Naturals, as they hosted Springfield for the last game of the series.

Abbey Road

This post combines Monday and Tuesday.

On Monday, I first shot construction on Dickson Street in Fayetteville which will close a portion of the street through the summer.

After that, I went to Wilson Park to find some enterprise art and ran across this mother and daughter playing around the castle there.

Today started off visiting the Springdale Municipal Airport where a single-engine plane crashed into a hangar the night before.

Then I went to the Humane Society of the Ozarks to shoot a portrait of their executive director.

And finally, I went to Ramay Jr. High where a pair of UA architecture students were giving presentations to the students there. Unfortunately, the school has an established policy of not photographing any students. So I had to tilt the horizon a bit in order to cut off their heads in the frame.

Tons of softball

Started early in the morning with UA's graduation. I needed to come away with a stand-alone for our paper and the NWA Times as well as fill an online gallery. So getting in and out quickly was not on the agenda.

Softball was my cut from the high school state championships this weekend. I covered three more today in the 3A, 7A and 4A divisions -- the order played and posted.

What's a day off?

Due to WAY too many things going on that needed coverage, my normal "Sunday" was spent on the clock. But for a change, I'll be off on an actual Sunday. So that will be nice.

The first frame posted was mentioned in an earlier post as an advance assignment. It's a preview for UA's graduation on Saturday. The mother and son will both receive their degrees on Saturday.

Posted next is a portrait of David Banks for our profiles section that I shot on Wednesday but never got around to posting.

And that brings us to today where I started in Johnson where I live to shoot some local flooding from severe storms that passed through the area.

Following that I covered the Joe Martin Stage Race. Pictured in the first frame is Floyd Landis. You may recognize his name as the 2006 winner of the Tour de France. He was later stripped of the win after failing a drug test.

And then there was the AAA 1A softball championship between Scranton HS and Nemo Vista HS.