Weekend Assignment Wrap-Up

Hell of a weekend... I shot five assignments. Three for the Texan, two for John Foxworth's ad supplements. My classroom is my camera, and class starts at 9 am, Friday morning. I love what I'm doing, where I am, and how I feel. I feel like I should be tired, but I'm not really. I feel like my grades should be suffering due to all the time I spend on the Texan, but they're not. In short, life is good. It's a good wrap-up to my weekend, and a good wrap-up to my 19th year of living. Strange, to think that being 20 is just around the corner... what a lame birthday. I plan on inaugurating it with a complete day of self-documentary, so get ready. Due to it being such a boring year (almost as bad as 19), I'll do something special to kick it off right.

But I digress. This first picture was from a play I photographed, The Lonesome West. There's a great story here... this may have been one of my favorite assignments ever, and it took a grand total of 5 minutes from the time I pressed the shutter release to the time I was done. I show up about 45 minutes to the Hyde Park Theatre, speak to the director, who beckons me back into the theatre and pulls two actors aside to do a "scene that isn't in the play." Yes, this director is so pro, he's using my photo op as an opportunity for additional improvisational rehearsal with his actors. Truly, Ken Webster is a worthy director (and a voice actor in Metroid Prime 3 WHAAAAT? Well, that's what I get for IMDBing him). Not since Fr. Sessa have I seen such a confident and capable director. Anyways, five minutes taking pictures, and they have to open the house, so I'm on my way. Exciting stuff.

Softball is profoundly lame. I really can't hate enough on this sport and these girls. Due to the high chance of sounding extremely misogynistic about this, I'll say no more. But damn. I'll stick to baseball.

More Obamarama... this time the story was on the student-run campaign efforts taking place on campus. Obama's people have space rented downstairs in the Dobie Mall, full of hard-at-work political science and business majors. It kind of turns the stomach, and reminds me why I'm not in business school. At least they're working for Obama.

Cyclists really are some of the nicest people around. They're a little weird at times, and seem to be obsessed with funny clothing and their equipment, but I suppose the same could be said of me. I've decided that I really like taking portraits of people in their environment... they fit nicely into it, they compliment each other. Future idea for a photostory series, perhaps: People Where They Work. It's been done to death, but it's still a captivating idea.


Kris Straub! Scott Kurtz! I finally met both Kris and Scott (Scott and Kris) at STAPLE! this weekend, and it was basically exactly what I had expected. They're both incredibly nice, natural, funny guys. Scott and I had a longish conversation about college papers, college comics, PvP, WoW, and a few other things. I've been reading his comics and blog posts and listening to his podcasts for so long now, it felt completely normal talking with him. It's too bad the pre-ordained knowledge was so one-sided, otherwise I'm sure we could've talked for hours. In any case, STAPLE! was another fine, free experience courtesy of the Texan.

Good. Fucking. Times.