« Best of - Cowboy-ing | Main | Best of - The Animals »

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)