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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

T.C.G.

I'm getting ready to stroll through The Children's Garden - a great Montessori school in Kokomo. It's spring picture day.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

TAKE TWO AND HIT TO RIGHT

That phrase is often used for baseball players as an approach that combines open-mindedness, patience and resourcefulness: look at some pitches to get a feel for what the pitcher can do, wait for one that you like, and don't try to do something that doesn't fit the situation.
I used the same approach last week during a high school senior session, which I scheduled for mid-day - a tough time to get good outdoor pictures. I was working with a great kid, Josh Maurer of Western High School, who plays drums for the school band. I knew a picture in my studio of the set-up wouldn't work well, so I suggested we do it outside. I assumed there'd be some shady spot to keep the harsh light off of Josh's face, but at 3 p.m. on a very bright day, I found nothing - on the road, that is.
Parallel to the road, though, was a set of railroad tracks. The trees were close enough and hovered low enough to give me a few clusters of the shade I needed. (I had seen my two strikes from the pitcher.)
My vision was to do this on a road to show the independent almost defiant attitude that is so typical of young people. After all, how much more independent and sure of yourself can you seem than being seated at a drum set (a musician marching - or pounding - to the beat of a different drum) while almost challenging cars to come your way? Well, a train is bigger than a car and less likely - and able - to veer off. So, not limiting my thought process to what I had planned in advance allowed me to make the best of the situation. (I didn't try to pull the ball; I took it where the ball was pitched.)
So, I was able to get this for Josh - an image I really like.