USC ball

Here's my favorite baseball shot of the season. I just like the clean lines and color patterns. The action and timing complete the image. Baseball is one of those sports where you can get your best shot on the first play or wait 9 innings and never really get anything above the norm. It's fun when you come back with something different.

Ballet Backstage

Columbia City Ballet dancers and children from local dance groups maneuver backstage as they rehearse a scene from Act III of "The Nutcracker" at Clover School District Auditorium, Thursday, November 15, 2007. Clover was the first of 40 performances for the ballet company which has toured the state sharing the art of dance with children since 1989.

Column Pic

Harry Blume has many visitors at his home on Main Hwy (US 301) in Bamberg. Stuck on the front of his storage building is a white Volkswagen Bug. Only half of it is visible. “Looks like it drove into the wall don’t it,” said Blume. The quirky sight makes many stop and take a closer look. "I've had people traveling from as far as New York stop and take pictures," he said. "Everyone traveling through seems to want to know the story behind it.” The car was a birthday gift from his daughter and wife who found it at a store called Gadzooks. It was being used as a clothes rack. The hooks are still visible on the back. “They said they had a birthday present for me but I’d have to go get it after the mall was closed.,” he said. “You should have seen all the looks I got driving down the highway with a cut up bug on the back of the truck.” Blume who is an avid car collector thought about using it as a tool box but thought people driving down the highway might find it amusing. “The only reason I did this was when traffic’s coming through, it kinda breaks you. You be seating there with your mind on the road and this kinda breaks you and gets your mind off of the riding.”

Fair Carnie

Did a series of this guy at the Fair recently. Thought it worked pretty good.

Smoking...

Here's one of favs from a project I just finished on Mexican horse racing. The story read as such...Jarocha and El Chicano, two quarter horses, are set to sprint 230 yards down a dirt track in Swansea. The horses anxiously kick dust into the hot July air as track owner Adolfo Chavero tries to clear spectators from the track. “Señores! Señores!” Chavero shouts as he waves his arms at a cluster of spectators crowding the track. “Por favor!” Twenty dollar bills pass through the hands of men wearing Wrangler jeans and Western-style shirts as they sip beer and banter about the horses and the bets.

Halloween

Here's one from the archives I stumbled upon. It dates back to the early 90's during Halloween at Isla Vista, California. Halloween at the University of CA in Santa Barbara has always been a wild event with thousands of visitors enjoying a lot of alcohol and parties.

Beach scene

Here's one from a recent trip to Kiawah Island, SC.