College Bound

Not a typical photographer, nor am I a typical writer. This spring I have been helping a rising high school senior follow his dream of playing Lacrosse for a well known college. He has not signed as of today, but this kid has what it takes. Taking photographs, video footage and creating a gallery will only help him succeed. His resume should do the rest! His 2009 season has been phenomenal!

William Waters

Height: 6’2.5” 40 time: 4.58

Weight: 190 Mile Time: 5:53

High School Lacrosse: Darlington School (2010), Rome, Georgia

2009 Adidas All America, selected to the Team Georgia Regional team to play in the National Lacrosse Classic

2009 Selected to the Georgia All Star Rising Senior Invitational

2009 Varsity Most Valuable Player
2009 Varsity Top Varsity Midfielder Award

2009 Georgia All State – Second Team

2009 (Varsity) Goals: 46, Assists: 12, Groundballs 198 (12 per game),

Face Offs (223/316) Percentage 71 %, 16 Games

2008 Georgia All State – All League

2008 Varsity Most Valuable Player, Top Varsity Midfielder Award,

2008 (Varsity) Goals: 19, Assists: 18, Groundballs 171 (10.68 per game),

Face Offs 158/236 Percentage 67% 15 Games

2007 State Playoffs, Primary Face-Off Midfielder, Starting Varsity Midfielder as freshman

Following young athletes through my photography is rewarding especially when I am called in to take pictures of their college signing day!

Check it out:

http://actionphotosplus.smugmug.com/Videos%20to%20watch%20or%20download%20for%20free/767019

May Rewards

Pack the camera bag with recharged batteries, lenses, empty memory cards and flash/lighting equipment. Rush out the door double checking the equipment needed and finding my way to the shoot, making sure to arrive early to scope out the set. Knowing every detail and observing the light that this new day brings. Hours later the intensity weakens, several flash cards are filled, batteries are used up and I load the car for my journey back home to the office. Downloading the pictures, cleaning the equipment and recharging once again, as I continue to edit, rename and organize the images from the event. Burning CD’s and uploading to my website I relive the event, the occasion, and the memories of the day.
Now this would be a typical day of one photo shoot, but the month of May makes that day feel like a walk in the park. My part time photography job at Darlington School becomes a full time, month long 24/7 job in May. There is no time to get sick, my son’s birthday gets pushed aside, and kids music lessons and soccer practices are missed because I can’t get away from the shoot in time. My hands callused, my memory cards are all filled with thousands of photographs, my back screams in pain, and my eyes burn from staring at the computer and only sleeping a couple hours a night. How I crave for a one hour nap.
The reward is simple, pure and pleasurable. After the full year of weekly school visits, getting to know the students. Not just as subjects in my lenses, or faces on brochures, but as new friends. They “friend” me on Facebook where I can see, especially the seniors, grow to be wonderful young adults. They post my pictures from events at school. Sharing the great memories they created. Seeing the picture published once more I learn how joyous the occasion with the words in the captions. I helped capture the memories they can treasure forever, with a simple picture.
My month of May … crazy! My reward … Priceless!

Commencement Day

I stood at a tree, with cameras in hand, taking photos of the commencement at Darlington School. It was a beautiful day, a picturesque setting with tears from the families and cheers from the grads. I focused, snapped snapshots and captured memories of people and many faces from all over the world. Grandparents, siblings, cousins, parents and friends all came to observe and rejoice the graduate’s success. I observed the expressions of the crowd, while listening to the commencement address given by Raymond Murray a distinctive and well loved English teacher. His words were not only genuine, they were actual and absolutely bona fide factual. He quoted speakers and authors such as Emerson, Shakespeare, Disraeli and even Albert Schweitzer (the great doctor and Nobel Prize winner). The common denominator is simply the word, think. Murray spoke of Albert Schweitzer was being interviewed and was asked, “What is the matter with people today?” He was silent for a moment and then he said, “People don’t think!” Other quotes such as; Buddha: All we are is what we think about. Emerson: A man is what he thinks of all day long. William James: The greatest discovery of my generation is that people can alter their lives by altering their attitudes and their states of mind. George Bernard Shaw: People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get ahead in this world are those who if they don’t like the circumstances they find themselves in, they make new ones. William Shakespeare: Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
Murray concluded with these words. “As you commence – and please remember that word means to begin – remember two important things I learned. First, you are going to be very much more in charge of your life than you ever have been, and it’s your life. Don’t forget that. It’s not your parents’ life, or your grandparents’ life, or your boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s. It is yours – literally. You must make critical decisions about how you live it. And you have to be responsible and mature about the impact of your decisions on the lives of those around you. It is especially important because YOU will be responsible and accountable for those decisions – no one else. YOU own your successes and your failures – no one else. There will be no one to check to see if you are awake, or get you to class, or to monitor your academic progress. You are going where there are no work details, no detentions, and no suspensions. There is jail! And that’s the reality. Trust your instincts to make good decisions in the future. Don’t expect to get every decisions right; no one does. We’ve all made a few bad decisions along the way. And remember it is perfectly acceptable to ask for help. Sure it’s your life and trust yourself but remember those who care for and love you will always have a supporting hand held out for you, and it is OK to hold it sometimes.”
Reaching a broad spectrum of listeners, I think he achieved a home run, a touch-down and even a golden goal.
Focusing my camera on his face, hearing his commencement address, and feeling his sincerity, was like the picture I produced that day, real. His words are heavy on my heart now as I am preparing for my first son, to commence – graduate, leave home. I pray we have prepared him enough for what lies ahead. To think, trust, to be responsible, believe, have faith and above all, not to worry. Keep calm and happy. One more thing I hope he remembers, not to let small stuff frustrate him. I will hold his picture close to me and let him spread his wings and fly.

Twitter Mania

I’ve been sucked into the fascination of Twitter.

Do I dare Tweet? Write something in my ‘status’ using only 140 characters per Tweet. Who will read it? Why would they read it? Catchy, interesting, upbeat, but what do I Tweet?

I found people to follow. Feeling like a Tweet-ofile, I sit here lurking. Famous people, writers, TV shows, news reporters …. Ooooh now tech people, Twitter tech people. They post links and I open and read everything. Info-overload, but strange enough – Loving It!

Now people are ‘following’ me. I don’t know why. I finally wrote a Tweet, someone Tweeted me back. Not sure if I am using the correct terms, but I still did it! Now it is a living attraction. Maybe an addiction, I’m not sure if I will press my friends to Tweet, we might have to start a group called Twitter-Anonymous.

Twitter You Later … Oh I have so much to learn.

No page will be unturned!

Over one hundred and fifty attendees and I win the grand prize raffle! Normally I have to work my butt off to win something. Maybe I did! There was smoke coming out of my ears, my eyes were spinning around and my fingers typed on my truck's steering wheel as I drove home Sunday afternoon. New and old friends ... my characters, danced inside my head as I knew they would consume my life and come alive in a matter of hours, days or weeks.

Springmingle was inspiring to say the least. I made a grand exit carrying a twenty five pound box of books. What library will receive these treasures? The choice was simple, for me. A small independent school located in Rome, Georgia called Darlington. The lower school campus resides, in and around, the historic 1847 Thornwood house. The library is tiny but has life because of one wonderful librarian, Ann Glass. These new books and their characters will LIVE again through Mrs. Glass and the children at Darlington Lower School. No page will be unturned!

THANK YOU Southern Breeze Springmingle 2009!

My first Little Note ... from me to you

I have lived several lives, like a cat, not sure about that?

As a toddler, Belize was home. The natives intrigued with my golden locks and my best friend was a brown pelican.

Perched on a horse ranch in southern California my preteen years and surrounded by beach going friends. In love with riding horses I learned to compete nationally.

Swept away, feeling trapped, aboard a sailboat my teenage years began. No phones, tv and missing friends we hoisted our sails and voyaged from Miami to the BVI's. A whole new world was introduced ... even under the sea.

Relocating and reunited with the horse world, now in Blue Grass country. Rising to win world championship titles and world record ages, lifelong friends were made and life lessons learned. Its high school, it's expected.

Yearning for sunshine and long sunsets, college years belonged to Florida. Skipping classes to go to acting workshops, landing just enough commercials to see stars in my eyes. Stars shimmered but my heart was carried away.

A pilot's wife I became with three wonderful boys. A small farm of our own, horses, cats and a dog named Cat. Time to run kids to sports, music and hours spent volunteering.

The first born, on to college, two and three yet to go, treasuring the moments ... every one!

Now I am ready to tell my story ... it's no ordinary story, just wait and see...