I realize just how absent I've been from my blog postings. I've been telling myself that I will try to be better. With all the beautiful spring weather that has befallen upon Davis, I have been distracted and have spent most of my free time outside. So to bring it up to speed, I want to show you what I have been up to. For the last week I have been down in Los Angeles attending a sports photography workshop called The Sportsshooter Academy. It was a week long hands on workshop where not only did I get to work with some of the leading sports photographers in the country but I was able to ask questions, get my work critiqued by them and overall try to grow as a photographer. I found it to be a worthwhile experience and left it feeling inspired. During my week there, I was lucky enough to be able to stay at my cousins home with his family in Irvine. His kids, Tucker, 8, and Piper, 4, I had only previously known when they were infants and through the family grapevine. It was a lot of fun getting to know them now that they could have a conversations. I was quick to learn that these conversations would usually happen early in the mornings when at 6 am sharp they both would spring from there beds and go wake up their cousin Mike. I didn't get much sleep last week between the long hours at the workshop and the interupted rest at my cousins home. Still, they were a lot of fun. I learned how to lose at handball from Tucker and was re introduced to drawing with crayons in the early morning hours with Piper.
One of the nice things about working at a newspaper is that the assignments tend to be very random. This past couple of days definately fit into that mantra. It started off with a story on a women's whale boat rowing team. These women were training in the Bay for an upcoming race paddling 80-year-old whaling boats with massive oars. They were pretty intense and a lot of fun to shoot. Grunts and all. From there I ended up shooting some portraits of retiring teachers/coaches and a preview picture for the upcoming Wizard of Oz musical opening up this weekend in Fairfield. Baseball season is in full swing. Top off the list with a wine 'n' dine, an airforce spouse home makeover and a kids fishing derby. Never a dull moment in the news biz. Things are going well. -M
