On the Fly

Today, I met some friends for breakfast near McCarran Airport here in Vegas. I went out into the parking lot of this restaurant, and planes were flying by so close, it felt like you could reach out and touch them.

In lieu of that, I took some photos. I thought this one turned out pretty well.

My Dad Turns Out to Be a Pretty Cool Guy

My dad just turned 70. Strange. Because I'm fairly sure I'm not a day over 34, but that's neither here nor there.

In recent years, Dad has found a pet project, a nonprofit called Toys4Smiles. The group of volunteers, mostly seniors, makes toy cars for kids. Amazingly, this merry band of woodworkers has churned out more than 73,000 cars, many of them cut out by my dad, one of the original members of the group.



How my dad has all his original fingers, I have no idea.

What I do know is that this pursuit is perfectly suited to his talents, having been a longtime craftsman, although he'd say that's overstating his skill level. He's just a guy that works with wood sometimes.

A local news station featured Toys4Smiles recently. It's a great segment. Watch it here.

I'm so impressed with the commitment of the volunteers involved with Toys4Smiles. Their mission is simple, and they've far surpassed even their own goals and expectations.

They're always looking for wood, volunteers and donations. Take a look.

In Honor of Veteran's Day

This is the day we honor those who have served.

That would include my grandfather, Earl Palmer. Speaking at his funeral was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Whatever I'd have said would have been inadequate. Gramp was just the best kind of man. Strong and silent and funny and just steady. He is missed, often.



My father served in the Navy for 30 years. His service was an integral part of our lives. He worked in incredibly dangerous situations, such as on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Enterprise. He taught all his children about the sacrifices made by those charged with ensuring we are safe.

He never quite managed to impart in me the ability to embrace the military sensibility. I'm not big on following orders without question. I'm not big on things being black and white, as they so often seem to be in military circles.

But I think being in a military family changes your view of the world. You understand, deeply, the importance of honor and dedication and commitment to something bigger than oneself. Dad would probably say he was just doing his job. But there are a lot of ways to make a living that don't involve weekly paychecks of $19 (which is not much of an exaggeration, he's shown us his early pay stubs). And there are jobs where you don't have to leave your wife and kids for months (or for some, years) at a time. There are jobs where you don't risk losing your legs or life because an arresting cable snapped, or because someone is forgetful and gets sucked into a jet engine.



I once toyed with the idea of joining the Air Force. At the time, I asked my father to write a recommendation for me. I would have gone to Officer's Training School, and my first day out of that training I would have held a higher rank than my father. (He preferred to be an enlisted man for his entire career, rather than move up to being the lowest officer rank.) In his recommendation, he said that he would be proud to salute me, and to this day, I can't read or think about that letter without tearing up.

That's because I know in my heart I can never hold a candle to my old man. His integrity. His devotion to his wife and family. His strength in his convictions. My father is, without a doubt, the greatest man I have ever known. And the military helped make him the man he is.

So, Dad, I salute you, and all of your fellow military men and women, on Veteran's Day and every day.

Not Quite Sure About Me

I don't always have time to build rapport with the people I photograph. Probably for the best. Sometimes, the apprehension actually provides for more subdued, subtle emotions. Smiles are fine, but there's room for other expressions, too. Here's today's capture. Six or seven photos total. And, no, I didn't make her eyes bigger!

That Which Causes Photographer Chagrin

I am so happy to hear that the parent of this child loved the photo.



But here's the thing. The story of how I captured this image is kind of a long one. First, I went to the trouble of dragging this woman and her child outside our office for better light. I asked his mom to put the child on the ground (rather than on her lap or something).

I knew I'd want a shallow depth of field, so I started shooting in aperture priority mode.

I got down on the ground. Flat on my back. I lifted my 12-pound camera with one hand, and shot dozens of photos. I made funny noises. I encouraged the mom to dangle some keys behind me.

I got a massive cramp in my stomach from the awkwardness of my body position. I kept shooting.

I wriggled forward, on my back, while taking more photos, watching the light, focusing and re-focusing, recomposing over and over again.

Later, I reviewed all the photos, and picked the one I thought was best. I worked on the image for an hour. I tweaked the exposure. I worked and reworked the eyes to make them pop. I selectively augmented the color in the child's costume. I cloned out tiny bits of lint on the costume. I resized and sharpened.

I've gone through this process often in the past. Time and time again, upon seeing a photo like the one above, someone will say, "Wow, you must have a great camera."

That would be the chagrin-causing part, by the way.