Jazz Cat

Photo Information

Taken:	5 October 2008 21:35 near Yorktown, Texas
Camera:	Canon Rebel XT / Lens not recorded
Exposure:	ISO 400
	21mm, 0 EV
	f/3.35
	1/60 (flash)

Backstory

Dad had already gone to bed, and I was getting ready for bed myself when I noticed Dad’s trumpet laying on the couch by the cat pillows Mom had in place of real cats. Lighting is from a single overhead 60W bulb and the built in flash. The pillow looks as if it could blow that horn better than me. Well, OK. That’s not saying much.

–15 April 2013

[Monarch] Butterfly

Photo Information

Taken:	21 September 2008 09:23 Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 125
	23.2mm, 0 EV
	f/5.5
	1/160

Backstory

I’ve said before that the gardens at Live Oak are one of my favorite places. Master gardener Hella does a wonderful job providing beauty and habitat for humans and butterflies to enjoy. I snapped the monarch enjoying the gardens when I stepped out for a breath of fresh air between rehearsal and performance.

Various types of butterflies, bees, and other pollinators visit Live Oak throughout the year.

–2 November 2012

For the Record

Photo Information

Taken:	5 September 2008 20:10
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 200
	5.8mm, 0 EV
	f/2.6
	1/60

Backstory

For the record, this is what you saw reflecting in Brass Sunset. Oh, and it proves football was played, if not paid attention to.

The picture is a little grainy, but not that bad for a point-and-shoot.

–15 October 2008

Brass Sunset

Photo Information

Taken:	5 September 2008 20:08
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 200
	5.8mm, 0 EV
	f/2.6
	1/60 with flash

Backstory

This is one of my favorite shots of the McNeil Band ever. I love the way the sky blackens out even though the sun had not set yet. Look at the contrast how the flash reflects in the slides versus how the sunset reflects in the bells, especially the pattern formed by the right-most three.

And the middle of a song is the only time you can photograph a group of teenagers this large and have all of them candid to the lens!

Suna and I always sat next to the trombones under the Friday night lights. Even in October, the game—for what it was worth—was well underway before sunset, but we were there for the band kids.

Something about sitting next to the low brass changes how you listen to marching band music. It never sounds right from any other position. But then I say the same about the bass line in rock music.

–14 October 2012

What I Miss About Band

Photo Information

Taken:	5 September 2008 17:41 Avery Ranch, Texas
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 200
	5.8mm, 0 EV
	f/2.6
	1/60

Backstory

This is what I miss most about the kids graduating from high school: band trips. Just look at all those faces: happy, confident, shy…Declan wanting everyone to look up his nostrils.

This is what irritates me when Republicans say we don’t need band or music programs in our public schools. This is a diverse group of kids from different ethnic and economic backgrounds (diversity) that learned to work together (team work) and work hard (work ethic) on their own time (dedication) for a long period of time (persistence) to accomplish a difficult goal. Seems to me that is exactly what we should expect our schools to teach if we want our economy to survive and thrive. I say we can’t afford not to teach these lessons.

In the four years I served as a bus parent, I learned to love each of these kids for who they are. Today they are all young adults. Most of them are in college learning how to run our world when we’re gone. They made me proud to know them then and continue to make me proud.

Really! It’s just allergies making my eyes so moist.

–12 October 2012

I Wanna Be Elected

Photo Information

Taken:	4 September 2008 10:59 Yorktown, Texas
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 80
	13.7mm, 0 EV
	f/10
	1/250

Backstory

This picture says a lot about life in Small Town, Texas: the election apathy (the flags are part of a gas station promotion), the percentage of trucks in front of the lumber yard, the lack of traffic….

I wonder if the producers of The Daily Show ever figured out that one of their own was running for county commissioner in DeWitt County.

–11 October 2012

Attitude Dancing

Photo Information

Taken:	2 August 2008 19:30 The Meadows at Brushy Creek
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 200
	5.8mm, 0 EV
	f/2.6
	1/60

Backstory

Dec sure has that rock ’n’ roll attitude. Except for the small detail of his left hand, he looks like he just picked up his brother’s starter mando and is wailing away.

But that’s OK. Attitude has always been a big part of rock music. After all, it carried Dec to the point where he’s now a much better guitarist and all-around musician than I ever had the patience (practice ethic) to become. Now if he could just land some gigs…

–10 October 2012