Happy Turkey Day!

What's normally labeled as the "busiest travel day of the year," was rather lackluster this year.

I went to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) this morning to get holiday travelers for our annual day-before-Thanksgiving-travel story. Unfortunately, due probably to the struggling economy, not as many people are traveling this year. So I made what I could and got out of there before the parking time ran too high.

I'm leaving for Little Rock in the morning to go visit and meet my girlfriend's parents and sister; so I won't be posting anything until I return to work on Sunday. Sorry, Beth. :)

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers! And just remember there's only 242 shopping days left before my birthday.

Fishin' up some photos

I only had one assignment today. I went to Hickory Creek Marina on Beaver Lake to cover the Central Junior High School Fishing Club participating in their annual striper fishing tournament, the 19th annual Ann Martin Memorial Striper Tournament. These kids pulled in a few very nice stripers -- the biggest being 15lb, 2oz.

And after that, I drove around Tontitown for almost an hour trying to track down a fire I heard over the scanner. After driving aimlessly with no visible signs of smoke from over the horizon, I bailed on the search.

Then I went up to Bentonville to just grab a quick shot of the lowest petrol price I've seen in the area (it was $1.49/gallon on Sunday at this location) just in case we needed to run a fuel price story. Who knows if it will see the ink on the page.

Solo shooter

Well the other photographer who works with me on Mondays took today off so that left me as the lone shooter on the ADG team (for our office, of course).

Only had one assignment today and that was for Profiles section which meant I was wild-art hunting for the B section. Fortunately, my photo editor had a few things lined up for me, so what could have been a bitch of day actually ran rather smooth.

So the first and only assignment was a portrait for our Profiles section.

Following that fun, I moved over to the Fayetteville Library in hopes of finding something fun.

Today was the last day of early voting for our run-off elections so I went over the Washington County Courthouse. Boring photo, I know.

And finally, I went to First Baptist Church of Springdale for their annual Blessing Basket give-away for Thanksgiving.

Boring drive

I only had one assignment today -- travel up to Springfield, Mo., to cover the Razorbacks basketball team against Missouri State. And let me just add that the drive there (about 2 hours one way) is a boring drive with NOTHING between here and there.

The Hogs lost a tight one to the Bears, 62-57. But, to find a bright spot on the evening, I felt like I came away with some decent frames. And, if nothing else, head coach John Pelphrey still adds the fun that photographers love. And he picked up a technical foul less than five minutes into the contest.

And for all you photo nerds out there reading, this arena had some super sweet light. This was the first game in the new JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo. I shot the game with settings of 800ISO, 1/500th sec @ f/3.2. I just popped a custom white balance before the tip and everything came out beautiful (if I do say so, myself). It's a rather small arena, but quite possibly the best available basketball light I've ever shot under.

Finishing off the week

Today finished off the week much better than Monday and Tuesday started it.

I started off at Jones Elementary in Springdale for the announcement of their ESL program for Hispanic parents of children at the school (along with three other Springdale schools).

Then I went over to Butterfield Elementary in Fayetteville for an advance story. While I was there, I hung around for a while to try to find something fun on the playground. I couldn't really decide which one I like better, so I posted both here.

During my lunch, I went over to Wal-Mart in Fayetteville to pick up a couple things. While I was there, however, I found something else to shoot. Ozzie "the Wizard" Smith, one of my childhood heroes, was there signing autographs.

And I finished up the day with a portrait of the superintendent of Springdale Public Schools.

Two days full of misses

For those that have been complaining about missing blog posts (yes, I'm talking to you, Beth), I'm back. I had a four-day weekend so I didn't have any new photos to post. And I was very rushed after work yesterday, so I'm posting today for both days.

Unfortunately, both days provided several missed opportunities that seemed better before I got there. I started off Monday rushing over to Farmington HS after hearing of a fire over the scanner. Units from four different stations were responding, so it had to be something big. Right? Nope. Turns out someone set fire to a toilet paper roll in one of the stalls in the boys bathroom.

After the blaze (or lack thereof), I went to UA campus for the International Education Week Bazaar. This actually provided for one of the not-misses on the two days.

And finally for Monday took me to a press conference for UAMS. Enough said.

I started Tuesday at Elmdale Elementary School in Springdale where Gov. Mike Beebe was scheduled to visit. I know what you're thinking. Governor at an elementary school? That's gotta be fun art with him interacting with the kiddies. Nope. There was zero, zilch, nada interaction with the students. I didn't know until I got there that his visit was not intended to be with students.

I was scheduled to go back to UA campus following the fun with the governor but I got called to drive directly to Fort Smith as the feds were raiding properties owned by Tony Alamo Christian Church. This gave me the final miss on the two-day span. All the raids happened WAY before I got there and they all turned up nothing.

Here's hoping tomorrow (my Friday) turns a little more productivity.

Thank you, veterans

I went first today to the VA Medical Center for a Veterans Day ceremony.

After that, I had to go to the Springdale School Board meeting where local legislators were meeting to discuss ideas with the board members.

I couldn't stay there long as I had to shoot a portrait for our Profiles section a mere half hour later.