Big Men, Little Toys

I shot the setup for a model train show today in Bentonville. Few things at work are more enjoyable than shooting stuff that takes you back to your childhood. The sound of an HO-scale train moving down the tracks is unmistakable to me. I spent many hours as a child running my model trains on the living room floor. Come to find out that's the worst thing you can do to a model train engine. Something about carpet fibers getting sucked into the electric engines components or something or the other — believe me, from what these old timers told me it is B-A-D!




Needless to say I stuck around much longer than I would have if it was something else, like a craft fair setup. Shudder! These guys were serious about their model trains and I really dug it. Who knows, maybe some day you'll see me at a model train show running a triple oval N-scale track and wearing a conductor's uniform full of railroad patches from across the country. If you do, please shoot me. Seriously. Because by that time I hope to be sitting on a beach in the Philippines living out my golden days drinking grande San Miguels and eating jumbo shrimp by the fistful.

Alabama 88, Arkansas 67

I guess we all know the drill by now. Arkansas had a basketball game today. As usual they showed up to play for only half the game. This time they went catatonic in the first half and tried to play catchup in the second half. The score was 49-23 at halftime. It didn't help that Bama went off and shot 64.3% from the field in the first half.


These guys didn't help much either.

Check out BTL for more photos.

South Carolina 82, Arkansas 78 (1OT)

This team needs a break. They need to win a game badly. They lost another game where they had the lead in the final minutes. Something's got to give, this is getting old.

A ton of more photos at BTL.

LSU 72, Arkansas 69

Another game, more powder, same result. Gotta hand it to the students in the Hog Trough for their spirit and undying-faith in the team. They are a fun, lively bunch. You never know what they're going to do from one game to the next. Too bad the Hogs couldn't pull out a win Wednesday night. It looked like they were going to, but they let the win slip through their fingers in the final seconds of the game. This one came down to rebounding, a 41-34 advantage for LSU on the boards.

You can see more photos from the game at BTL.

The First Couple

Here's a photo of Alona and myself from last night's Northwest Arkansas Filipino American Association Valentine's Party in Bentonville (the photo was taken by Sahar, our daughter). I was sworn in as the NWAFAA's 2009 president during the event. This is my first time ever to handle such a responsibility. The members of the association have tried to nominate me to the position in previous years but I have always respectfully declined. Lucky for me I have a very good cabinet of officers to help me lead this wonderful organization.

The NWAFAA hosts several events over the course of the year, with the largest being the annual Barrio Fiesta held in August. If you've never attended a Filipino event before, the Barrio Fiesta is a fun, friendly affair with tons of delicious Filipino food and cultural exhibitions. The event usually draws between 400 to 500 people. I would like to extend an invitation to all of you out there to join us this summer in celebrating our Barrio Fiesta. I will post an update once a date has been set.

Mabuhay!

Erica

I did a test shoot with Erica on Sunday in Rogers. The shoot was to see how she does in front of a camera, plus she wanted some portraits to give to her husband for Valentines Day. I'll be shooting with her again in the future for personal projects like bridal portraits, stock, etc.








I think she did great.

Diphthong?

"Diphthong?" That's what the poor girl muttered in the photo above before burying her head in her hands. The girl was bright and very animated in her gestures and responses on stage. She drew a quick fondness from the other parents and family members in the audience. It seemed very unfair that the word she drew in the latter rounds of the spelling bee was much more difficult than the competition around her. Needless to say she misspelled the word and it broke her heart, and everyone else's in the room.

Such was a brief moment in the 2009 Washington County Spelling Bee on Saturday. I haven't shot a spelling bee in a while. I enjoyed it as an opportunity to get some great, emotional photos.


These poor kids, the brightest spellers in their schools, were under immense pressure, probably more than they've ever faced in their lives to this point. Some cried. Some just shrugged their shoulders and walked off the stage. Some showed no emotion whatsoever. All of them though did have their parents arms to retreat to once eliminated. "Good job! I'm proud of you!," was the common phrase repeated softly throughout the room.






The end of the spelling bee, 10 rounds in all, was very anticlimactic. The room was all but empty as most of the eliminated contestants and their families vacated the room at the Fayetteville Public Library following the conclusion of each round. The winner, a very calm, almost emotionless Chinese teenager easily spelled "adjoining," was congratulated by the runner-up and it was all over. I know a spelling bee isn't a rock show, but after all of the tension in the air during the course of the event you'd think they could've at least thrown confetti or dropped balloons from the ceiling at the end. Maybe they save that for the state spelling bee in Little Rock.

More Hawgs Covers

Catching up again. Hawgs Illustrated Volume 18, Issue 2 and Issue 3 (respectively) with the latter being the 2009 Baseball Preview.


Aside from the cover, I also shot this portrait of freshman relief pitcher Zach Cox for the preview edition.

Did They Say Free?

Like most people watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, I too saw the Denny's commercial. Of course I immediately questioned what I thought I heard to the other people in the room watching the game. "Did they say free?" Well, Denny's made good on their free Grand Slam breakfast offer yesterday. The free deal was good from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday only. I spent about 30 minutes shooting at the Denny's in Bentonville. It was crazy. The temperature outside was hovering around 32 degrees and people stood in line for an average of 20 minutes waiting for a table.


For the most part everyone was patient and civil throughout the long wait, at least while I was there. One guy did tell me a woman tried to cut in line in front of him. He quickly told here where she could go, besides to the end of the line.




The legendary Denny's Grand Slam breakfast. I lived on them when I was in photo school back in Denver from 1994 to 1996. In those days a Grand Slam would set you back $1.99, "A dollar ninety nine! Are you out of your mind?." Now the same breakfast costs $5.99. Inflation. Makes me feel old. Like when your grandmother tells you how much a loaf of bread cost when she was a kid.


Mmmmm pancakes!


The cook pictured above said he had made over 1,000 pancakes when I shot this photo around 11:30. He wasn't a very happy man.


By 2 p.m. the Bentonville Denny's had given away more than 900 Grand Slam breakfasts, a total of $7,800 according to the restaurant's manager. In all they gave away 1,800 eggs, stips of bacon, sausage links and pancakes. The promotion was honored in 1,550 restaurants nationwide. That's a lot of free food.

And in case you were wondering, no I didn't partake in the free feast. There was no way I was going to stand in the cold for 30 minutes for breakfast. Besides, I had had my bacon and eggs before I left the house that morning.