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Best of - Happy
December 31, 2008Without question, emotion can make or break a photo. If there is not an emotional connection to what you're looking at... it may as well not even be there.
Here are some of my best positive emotion photos from 2008...
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Christian Lerma, 2, squeals with delight as he rides a float during the Fiestas Patrias parade in downtown Wichita Falls Saturday morning.
This hilarious little kid was having sooooooooo muuuuuuuuch fun riding on the float. He was just smiling and screaming and waving his little flag all over the place. Parades are a total crapshoot when it comes to taking pictures.
I call it a target-rich enviroment... you just have to have both eyes open and searching for something that will make a good photo. I could hear this kid squealing from about a block away, he was that loud.
Once I had him in my sights... I just walked along with the float and bided my time until I got him doing exactly what I wanted for the shot.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Windthorst's Carmen Stallcup (4) reacts after killing a shot for a point during their volleyball playoff match against Petrolia Tuesday night at the Wichita Falls High School Gym.
It wasn't that hard to get a shot of the Windthorst volleyball girls celebrating something. It seemed like after every point they scored, it was a state title moment. It's not like it took longer than about four seconds to realize that I needed to get a shot of that kind of emotion.
So, I forsake the traditional spot of shooting volleyball and decided that the best chance to capture that kind of emotion was from behind when the forward players would turn and scream toward their teammates.
Easy as pie....
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
The Wichita Falls Wildcats celebrate a goal in front of the Texas Tornado bench during the first period Saturday night at Kay Yeager Coliseum.
Nothing like scoring a huge goal right in front of the other team's bench. I didn't realize until later the expressions on the bench faces... I wish I would have zoomed out a bit to see the fans in the back also.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Best of - Light Show
December 24, 2008You can ask just about any photographer the question "What's the most important thing to a photographer?..." and the answer is usually light.
Light is was allows us to shoot photos of anything. Sunlight, Flash, Fire, you name it. Without light... we've got just a plain black photo. The better the light, the better the shot. Now, that's not to say the brighter the light the better.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Dozens of people wait in line for the ferris wheel as it spins with a blur of color at the Texas Oklahoma Fair Thursday night at the MPEC.
Light is what you make of it and how you use it. This shot was done completely with the low lights at the carival. A long exposure (several seconds) were used to achieve the blurred ferris wheel spinning and luckily, the people in line were still enough for several seconds to be clearly in focus in the shot.
This sort of photo isn't particularly unique, or difficult for that matter. Simply, being in the right place at the right time and knowing what you are doing to make a good photo like this. It came out perfect.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Lauren Knight and sister Sierra (right to left) sit on top of a truck and watch several fireworks bursts before the big 4th of July fireworks show during Freedom Fest at Sheppard AFB Friday night.
Out of all of the fireworks photographs I shot this year... this is by far my fave. Oddly enough, it's not the big huge bursts of light that make it so high on my list. It's the little bit of light that is illuminating the arms of the girls.
I was set up in a parking lot near Sheppard AFB with the singular goal of finding somebody sitting on the top of their vehicle so that I could get a shot silohuetted against the sky and lights.
I was lucky in that I found my perfect setup and then it was just a matter of time until the big show started. Of course, there were dozens of small displays going on from the hundreds of folks along Sheppard Access Road... and I decided to frame a shot where I knew several were firing.
The blue tinge in the sky was nearly invisible to the human eye, but a long exposure brings out all sorts of surprises... just as I was shooting, a car pulled into the same parking lot and hit the girls with a little bit of light from their headlights. It help set them apart from the background and everything else just fell into place.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
A flash illuminates a rider during as he warms up before the mass start of the 2008 Hotter'N Hell 100 in downtown Wichita Falls Saturday morning.
Sometimes it's all luck.... like this one.
I was really just messing around shooting long time exposures of riders in the pre-dawn streets of downtown during HHH. I wasn't really trying to do anything but kill time.
So as I'm tracking one of the riders, I see a bright pop of light go off down the street on the same side as me. It was a camera flash... somebody else took a photo of the same guy.
I quickly checked the screen on the back to see what it looked like.. and amazingly, it worked. Just like any off-camera flash that I've used before, the rider was perfectly lit from the side against a crazy blurred background. It was just different enough for me to want to include it in my best of.
I had never seen something quite like that before.... I guess you can still learn a few tricks.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Best of - The Animals
December 23, 2008Sometimes... animals make just as good a subject as a person. Actually, most of the time that is exactly the case.
One of the great tricks of photographing animals is to humanize them. Make a photograph that people can see and smile at because the animals have a human-like quality that they admire. More after the break...
That is the case in this shot...
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Sadie, a collie, dons a pair of motorcycle goggles at a press conference for Motorcycle Safety Awareness/Ride to Work Day (which is Wed. July 16).
I mean, this collie is freaking hilarious. Look at those bike goggles, and the owner says she'll just sit there are ride along on the motorcycle. How could you pass up taking a photo of that.
Another trick is to take a photo that relays an emotion to the viewer... be it happy, sad, scared whatever. Make the viewer connect on an emotional level. That is exactly what I attempted with this shot...
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Several Great Pyrenees peer through the door of a transport trailer at the Wichita County Humane Society after a Montague County woman voluntarily turned over 31 dogs and 18 cats from her home.
The sad part for me is that I know the truth behind the photo. These dogs weren't happy although that's how I wanted them to appear... they were terrified and mentally distraught from their situation... that's why they were rescued. Virtually all of them had to be hand-removed from the trailer at the Humane Society from their lack of socialization being kept in small cages at this woman's home. I mean... 31 dogs and 18 cats... that's not healthy for any involved.
I wanted to show the dogs as if they were happy to be saved... I hope I accomplished it.
Lastly... you want to show the animals in a way that makes the viewer just laugh. Something non-traditional always works well.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
A hog sticks it's snout through the bars on it's pen Thursday afternoon at the Wichita County Junior Livestock Show in the J.S. Bridwell Ag Center.
It's not like you have to be told it's a pig... I'm pretty sure that snout gives that away pretty easily. And it makes you laugh. That's the point.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Best of - The Mayor
I've got to hand it to the honorable Mayor Lanham Lyne ... he is one heck of a good sport. I mean, he's probably my favorite public official to deal with out and about in the community.
More often than not, he's more like just that buddy neighbor that shows up at your party that everyone likes than the leader of Wichita Falls.... and that's probably just how he likes it. I know he makes me a lot more comfortable in situations, and it's always nice for such a high-ranking public official to shake my hand and know my name and talk to me like a friend.
That being said... he's also given me the chance to make a bunch of great photos of him doing things that are quite a bit better than just sitting at the desk or with the city council.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Wichita Falls Mayor Lanham Lyne reads from "Yertle the Turtle" at the Wichita Falls Public Library durign a celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday Saturday afternoon.
I probably waited a hour longer than I should have for this shot. Somebody told me that the mayor was going to read a Dr. Seuss book to the kids at the library and I just HAD to get a photo of him doing so.
I didn't know that he'd don the famous hat to go along with it, but that just made the photo even better. Actually, you don't even really have to know what's going on to know that is a Cat in the Hat thing on the top of his head. I just thought it was hilarious and he told me the same thing the next time he saw me.
That is the sort of shot that really brings him to the level of the people. It's not a stuffy suit and tie photograph that 80% of the population can't identify with. Every parent reads to their child, and this one really made my day.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Wichita Falls Mayor Lanham Lyne takes a ceremonial dunk after Col. David E. Petersen, commander of the 80th Flying Training Wing, (center) and Lt. Col. Ternell Washington (left) tossed him in the dunk tank.
If there is one thing better than the Dr. Seuss hat for comedy... it's the Mayor taking a bath after his first flight in a trainer at Sheppard AFB. This was a photo that almost didn't happen.
The public affairs office didn't want us taking photos of the mayor after he got out of the plane just in case he didn't take the flight well.... hint hint.
So, we had to look for other chances for great shots... luckily I was tipped off that they were planning on knocking the mayor into the dunk tank (a tradition reserved for the airmen upon their first flight).
So... without trying to give away the secret, I just stayed close with my wide angle lens and made sure I was in a good position to get a shot when they pushed him in.
Once again... good luck and skill come into play as it was lucky to get such a good reaction from the mayor and not have the water covering his face too much. I think I was laughing too hard to shoot when he came back up for air, but I knew I had my prize photo for the paper.
Again, Mayor Lyne is such a good sport about that sort of thing that he told me he couldn't believe I got such a good photo the next time I saw him. I said, "Well, that's why they keep me around, because I'm Johnny on the spot when I need to be."
Posted by Jason Palmer at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Best of - Cowboy-ing
I'll be the very first to admit... I'm not a cowboy. I'm not even a wanna-be cowboy. I'm a city boy, have been my entire life. Now, that's not to say that I don't have a pearl-snap shirt or 4 hanging in my closet, but I don't own Wranglers, or anything that even remotely resembles cowboys boots. I have some Timberland hiking boots and some black leather Nike's and that's about it.
Oddly, I don't feel too out of place at a rodeo or any other horse related event. Even riding one I'm comfortable (until the horse gets a little rowdy). Anytime I have a camera in my hands, I feel as if I can just blend in to the surroundings even though I probably stick out like a sore thumb.
I do love shooting the rodeo though... always have and always will. Little kids watch in awe of their cowboy heroes like they are seeing a comic book legend for the first time. Some of the time, I'm in total awe myself seeing the photos and the looks on the cowboys faces as they battle the raw power of an animal.
Here are a few of my faves from the past year...
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Zach Dishman, from Beamount, Texas, looses his hat as he hits the back of Red Water during the bareback riding portion of the 51st Annual Red River Rodeo at the Wichita County Mounted Patrol Arena Friday night.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Tom McCallum flies off the back of his bull draw during the Professional Bull Riders Enterprise tour Gilbert Carrillo Classic in Henrietta Friday night.
Both of the men above deserved to have their photos published in a newspaper for everyone to see. That is a level of dedication that I have no idea how to attain in their sport.
This one was from a Red River event near Vernon.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Several riders on horseback cross the Red River from Oklahoma into Texas headed to Doans for the 125th anniversary Doans May Picnic.
This was a spur of the moment thing that took me miles away from Wichita Falls and cilivization for that matter to the near ghost town of Doans. One of our regional correspondents invited me out to hike along the Red River and find these 125 horseback riders crossing. It was a harrowing event that nearly was derailed by private land owners and hard feelings on both sides of the River.
Luckily for me it worked out and although many of them crossed right in front of me, this shot looking down the river a ways was always my fave. From a distance I'm not intruding on their peaceful journey and can capture a scene that could have happened 100 years ago.
But my real best cowboy photo of the year is this one....
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Ryan Routh, 5, stands on the rails as he watches the part of the Horse Show competition during the Wichita County Livestock Show Saturday afternoon at the J.S. Bridwell Ag. Arena.
I stayed behind this little cowboy for about five minutes as he wiggled and moved around the fence, all the while never once noticing that I was there behind him taking photos. His parents watched me with huge smiles on their faces, knowing who I was and what I was doing.
Finally, he kicked his knee up on the next pipe and stayed there for just long enough to get a good frame off. After that shot, I knew I was done and had exactly what I wanted in the photograph.
Another horse rider was perfectly position in the background, the angle was just right, everything fell into place at the right time for a perfect shot.
This is probably in my top 5 for the entire year.... for good reason. It just makes you smile looking at it, and that's how I know I did a good job.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Best of - Firefighting
December 17, 2008Being lucky and being good are too different things all together in my world.
More often than not, I'm lucky to be in the right spot at the perfect moment and good enough to capture it as I see it. There is no greater proof of this to me than whenever I'm out at a fire.
Be it a wildfire, house fire or even a fire demonstration... a lot of luck has to come into play for me to get a really good shot. Otherwise... it's just another fire. Lucky for the area, we didn't really have any major huge wildfires like in the previous years, but there were still enough to warrant calling out the big guns from the Forest Service.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
A Texas Forest Service air tanker helicopter drops water on the head of a large wildfire west of Hwy. 25 and Bradley Ranch Road near Kadane Corner. The fire consumed more than 800 acres of land before area fire departments brought it under control.
This was one of those fires that was way back in the woods and hills and difficult to see up close. I was basically out of luck for this fire. Most before long, I spotted the Forest Service helicopter heading towards the area and started shooting.
It took about 1/2 an hour of shooting before he really got close enough to my safe position to get something really worth publishing, but once I had the opportunity, I made the most of it. This really was one of my top ten of the year.
This next one ranks pretty high on my list as well...
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Sunlight filters into a smoke-filled room as one of the teams participating in the Smoke House Rescue navigate around blindfolded during Fire Prevention Week at Sheppard Air Force Base Tuesday afternoon.
This was one of those assignments that really didn't lend itself to any kind of photograph unless I went inside the training house.
It wasn't filled with any kind of regular or toxic smoke, so I was okay, but the firefighters were totally blindfolded and feeling their way around the rooms. Once I knew the shot I wanted (the sunlight coming through the blinds)... I just had to sit and wait for the perfect moment. It took a few passes by different teams to get it right, but it was worth the wait.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Best of - Making a Mess
December 15, 2008As a photographer, you simply have to expect to get a little dirty sometimes. It's just part of the job, and also why I don't shop at Jos. A. Bank (that and the money thing). You just never know what you're going to be shooting.
That was the case when I showed up at Barwise Middle School for a pie throwing contetst...
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Barwise teacher Jana Schwarz reacts after narrowly missing a pie to the face Thursday afternono. Schwarz, the 2008 WFISD Teacher of the Year, was the target for a shaving-cream pie in the face from students who scored "Commended" on the TAKS reading and writing tests.
That sort of thing just cracks me up. It wasn't easy though... a crowd of kids made me have to get a little too close to the action and the resulting spray of shaving cream made it's way onto me. Just the hazards of the job I guess. I suppose it could have been worse... it wasn't actually whipped cream, so that was a good thing.
But I love the general reaction of the teacher getting hit, she was egging on the students to do their best, and the longer I was there... the harder it was to get a good shot because the kids perfected their aim and you couldn't really see any part of her face. It was pretty funny.
That was one kind of dirty.... this is a whole other thing here
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Haylee Edwards, 4, laughs as she steps in a thick mud pit at the Friendship Festival in Burkburnett Saturday afternoon.
This darling little girl was having sooooooooooo much fun playing in the mud volleyball pit. That look of joy is exactly the type of photograph that can make any kind of bad day just vanish for me. I wasn't really thrilled with going to Burkburnett for this event. I mean, it was just another outdoor fair to me...
But then I saw the mud pit... and that was all it took.
I attempted to shoot some of the volleyball for a while, but the spray of mud (got it on everything) and lack of decent action kept me from really trying that hard. Sure enough though.. after one of the games, several of the Burk. students started tackling each other in the mud....
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Josh Houston tackles Holly Cannon in the mud volleyball pit at the Friendship Festival in Burkburnett Saturday afternoon.
After a few minutes of that... and then scrambling to get their names correct (kids all look the same covered in brown gooey mud)... I saw this little blond girl starting to walk through the mud. The more she tried... the more she was giggling and having fun. She fell a couple of times, but I was trying to be patient and wait for that perfect smile.
It took a few minutes, but I finally got my shot... and I smile every time I see it.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Best of - Power of Nature
December 10, 2008One of my fave. things to shoot is nature. It should come as no surprise to those that know me well, I simply love nature. I love being outside (even though it's cold out).
When I have time, I'll look around for something in nature to photograph. Ever since I first started college I have had a love of nature.
That being said, I thought I'd start my best of 08 series with a pair of nature shots that I really liked from this past year.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
A single bluebonnet clings to the concrete curb on Pasadena Drive near Johnson Road. Dozens of blossoms have started popping up around town with the recent rains and abundance of sunshine.
That is one tough bluebonnet. I mean... it's growing from the concrete curb. This photo was from early April as the flowers were just starting to take off. I was out looking for a flower feature for the paper and found a nice bed of the Texas state flower... and this one little guy hanging on the bare concrete.
I went back out there a little later in the day when the sunlight was a little lower in the sky, providing a perfect shadow across the pavement for the photo. I took dozens of shots from various angles of this guy, but this one was by far my fave.
Looks kinda like an inspirational poster or something.
This next one....
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
A 3/4 moon rises into the sky over Henrietta during halftime of their football game last Friday night.
From late October at a Henrietta football game. It was a boring game and I had the advantage of using our big 400mm f2.8 lens. The moon started rising over the field and I remembered that I could probably get a decent shot with a 1.4x teleconverter on the long lens.
It helped that it was a chilly night and the heat waves in the atmosphere would be minimal. The shot was cropped in about 40% but still had enough detail to make an awesome shot of the moon, something that I had actually never done before.
Since that night, it's been the background on my computer at home, making a nice night light in the living room.
Until next time..........
Posted by Jason Palmer at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Betcha thought I forgot...
December 8, 2008It's nearly the end of the year and I haven't started my "Best of 2008" series yet.... but don't think I forgot about it... I'm gathering up all of my photos from the year and sorting out the good from the not as good.
I'll try to have it started before the middle of this week...
Posted by Jason Palmer at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Dr. Pepper Damage Toll
December 5, 2008Well... in true puppy fashion, Dr. Pepper (my new golden retriever rescue) has managed to completely destroy several items and moderately damage many others.
Just a simple case of destructive behavior due to perceived jealousy or anxiety... and some of them are kind of funny.
The entire list.... after the break.
Item by item... in no particular order since we brought him home:
The List -
- Two Time Warner Cable remote controls (one completely destroyed, the replacement chewed on the same day it was received...but still works.)
- Old Leash (literally torn in half)
- New Leash (one of the retractable ones, teeth-marked the handle)
- Kids Hat (gnawed the bill like a rawhide)
- Loaf of Bread (he drug it into his kennel for a snack I guess... ate 1/2 a new loaf)
- Plastic Sword (gnawed off at the hilt)
- Back Door window screen (clearly trying to let us know he wanted in when we left him outside)
- Natural Fiber planter basket (in anger since we wouldn't let him in when he scratched the door)
- Dog Hair Brush (chewed the rubber grip off it)
- Bowl of Halloween Candy (including numerous suckers)
- Bag of Red Hot Cinnamon (the kind you'd use for apple cider...don't think he liked them)
- One of my hats (although he didn't chew on it... probably just smelled me)
- Toy light saber (wanted the power of the force clearly)
- Dish cleaning sponge (one of the 2-sided scrubber kinds, ate about 1/2 of it)
- Pinwheels in flower pots(not once... but three times after I scolded him about the first one... he went back and grabbed it again and just looked at me)
- My Compost Pile (still not sure how he did this... but he opened the gate to my compost pile and got in there... didn't really do anything but it's still puzzling)
- Pooper Scooper (he's seen me using it, so that makes sense I guess)
And.....
- House Slipper (not that I could be mad about it... it looks like a bear claw)
I mean... I know that it's just dog behavior and he really hasn't chewed on the same thing more than twice when he's scolded about it.
I just bought him another package of rawhide bones to chew on, and he's going through them at a pace of about 1 devoured in 5 days.... but he's just a growing boy.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Go Fishing
December 4, 2008Okay anglers... here's a tip for you in case you didn't see the newspaper today. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Fisheries Dept. has stocked Plum Lake on Sheppard Access Road with rainbow trout.
And not little rainbows either... these are pretty good sized ones I've gotta say. The proof is in the photo...
More Photos after the break....
That's more than frying pan size if you ask me. I wanted to just put that one in a sack and take it home for lunch.
Yesterday was the first of nine stockings this winter at Plum Lake... so there will be plenty to go around. They told me there is a 5-per day per person limit, but you don't need that special trout license like you have in year's past. Anybody 17-yrs or older will need a regular fishing license, but the kiddos are free.
Take the kids... rainbows will give them quite a thrill on the hook. They don't like to be caught and will fight, flip and flop to the bitter end. I know I'm going to have to dust off the rod/reel and get out there and brave the cold and wind. I mean... right now that's probably not going to happen, it's to freaking cold out there.
But I hear that ice fishing is a popular past time in the northern states, I've never tried it before, but if there is sitting down, drinking beverages and watching a bobber... I'll do it.
Honestly, the rainbows interest me a heck of a lot more than the standard catfish stocking. My good neighbor gives me frozen bag fulls of catfish already skinned and boned. I've got catfish out the wazoo... and trying to find more and more recipes for it.... but trout. Give me a trout fillet any day of the week.
Ready....set....fish.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
