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Some days are good.

To quote Ice Cube, which I think I’ve done in the past (of course I have, I’m as hood as grillz and the University of Miami), “Today didn’t even have to use my A.K. …  Gotta say it was a good day.”

I arrived at Central to shoot prep of the week Dillon Karajanis, set up my lights, he came in with a dummy model (some guy named Lee or Gus?), I shot 10 frames or so and let them go.

Them fools was lucky I didn’t get too gangsta. Guess I gotta say, today was a good day.

This was a simple in and out shoot. The only real difference in the 10 frames was the positioning of the lights behind D.K. For the first few frames, I mounted them behind him and then I moved them to his sides. I liked the look from behind, so that’s what we ran in the paper.

I really have nothing to add to the shoot, other than it ranks as my fastest of the decade. I know, lame, but the photo is pretty cool and Karajanis is a good wrestler. In addition, I don’t think he cheated on his wife amidst great success, so that’s a plus, I suppose.

Below is the alternate from the shoot.

Not too much to say about the State Silver Gloves boxing event other than I saw a 51-pound child who could probably bloody my nose, and likely my kidneys, too.

Of the eight or so bouts I was able to watch, I would have lost nine. Seriously, after watching these kids I began to think my body was made of cotton candy and Jonas Brothers tunes. After thinking about it and trying to reassure myself that I was manly, I decided that I could at least grow a better mustache than the kids… Not so, an 11-year-old looked like Tom Selleck and Burt Reynolds had a kid — so much for my lame mustache theory.

Aside from their facial hair — girls excluded — these kids were bad as  Bad Santa, but more bad if that’s at all possible. Just typing about them is hurting my kidneys and I’m pretty sure my nose is bleeding.

I hope I can shoot the event again as it was humbling and a good learning experience.

Thanks for looking.

James Johnson is the coolest local guy I know and I don’t even know him. He looked in my general direction once while I took photos of him playing basketball. And every person I know that played high school basketball against him has at one time or another said, “James Johnson… He dunked on me once. Hard.”

As an NBA rookie, I imagine his life is a lot like mine, but with a few minor differences.

Firstly, his job is awesome. That is difference No. 1.

Secondly, his job has the slogan “I love this game.” I think the slogan of journalism is, “Hey, you suck!” or “Keep ‘em comin’ barkeep… it’s been a long day.”

To put it into perspective, he is 22, I am 25. He plays professional basketball for a living and I play the piccolo poorly. His job is arguably the coolest of anyone I know who is about my age. The second coolest job belongs to my friend who married a pharmacist — she works and he plays with his dog all day.  Nice, but not NBA nice.

The above photos are from Saturday’s game when Johnson’s Bulls lost to the Nuggets in Denver. Of all the players not named Chauncey, Birdman or Melo, Johnson may have had the most fans in attendance. I think a quarter of Wyoming’s population (237 people) showed up to the game. After all, how many times will someone from Wyoming make it to the NBA? I almost chose a career as a hall of fame center — naturally — but I chose the life of a grunt instead…

God, what was I thinking?

As for Johnson and his amazing pituitary gland, things are looking up despite his early lack of playing time. For one, he’s not me or anyone I know. That’s always a step in the right direction. And two, he’s got his foot in the door — that’s an important step in making it in any business.

Hopefully, for the sake of all of us Wyoming natives who fell short — literally — of making it as professional athletes, James Johnson will succeed.

And maybe one day, if he does, every NBA player I know will say, “James Johnson… He dunked on me not just once. And it was always hard.”

Thanks for looking.

Let me preface this entry by saying that anyone who doesn’t give thanks to and/or think about the original Matrix on a daily basis is a fool. Period. There is no excuse for not doing so. It is your mind’s right for giving you the ability to do things like, well, live and breathe.

Anyway, if you haven’t seen the aforementioned film, go out, buy — not rent — buy it and watch it seven or eight times… I’ll wait… good. Great film, huh?

Now you know the scene when you think Neo is about to smoke one of those suited fools on top of the building only to find out that the guy has the kind of agility and quickness that make Barry Sanders and Fred Astaire look like Barry Manilow and Fred Flinstone as he dodges bullets? If not, here is a picture:

Well, that’s just dandy and drool inducing. And since this is precisely the scene that kept me on the couch in my parents’ basement for the better part of a decade eating Rasin Bran and living out my prime, I decided to pay homage to it with a Prep Athlete of the week photo.

My subject, Kyle “Did he just do that?” Grott. His ability to make opposing defensive backs look like my dad on ice skates was good enough reason for me to want to make him look Matrixesque.

The above photo is the final version. To read more on how the shot was made and how my assistant’s foot speed  played a crucial role, read on by clicking “continue reading” below.

Thanks for looking.

(continue reading…)

Why is it that the biggest cop out of conversation –weather — is always a non-cop out of conversation in Wyoming? On Thursday night, I said to a co-worker, “I hope the weather stays nice for the two days of state football I’m going to shoot.”

The next day on I-80 between Cheyenne and Laramie, my Jetta was tossed around like an American tourist in a Turkish prison.

Thursday was beautiful with no snow… Friday was more like the movie Alive — you know, rugby team crashes in Andes and resorts to munching on each other to survive. The only major difference was my lack of human meat. It was cold and miserable and I’m pretty sure I would’ve eaten my meaty brother had things not cleared up before Saturday’s games.

Despite bad weather, the games were actually pretty good on Friday. One upset in 2A and a success story in 1A as Southeast won their fourth title in a row.

On Saturday, the nice weather (less snow) resulted in three games with a combined difference of 115 points. That of course was skewed by 6-man dynamo Guernsey-Sunrise’s 76-16 win over Kaycee. The other two games ended in a 25-point win for Sheridan and 30-point win by Douglas.

I had fun and am glad I didn’t have to eat anyone.

Congratulations to the champions and the runner-ups for making it to Laramie.

Thanks for looking.