Bama finished the regular season 12-0 with an emphatic 36-0 win over rival Auburn in the Iron Bowl Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Now the real test comes next week in the Georgia Dome when we take on Tebow and the high-octane Gators.
So I got a pretty depressing phone call tonight — I learned that an old friend took his own life earlier this week. I wanted to scream in anger and cry at the same time. I wanted to know why, to know if I could have helped, to tell him that it would all work itself out. James was one of the smartest, most loyal, interesting, and nicest people I’ve ever met. I say that with the most sincerity.
I met him while working at CJ’s bar & grill in Valdosta, and it didn’t take long to strike up a friendship. He was hard to define. He’s been a preacher, a boxer, a wing-shack owner, a bounty hunter, truck driver, a contractor, a skydiver, a fisherman, a pool shark. If he did it, he was good at it. The world is a better place because of him.
I’ll miss you, brother.
So I stopped by Memorial Stadium tonight for a little while to watch one of my favorite teams — Griffin High School — and couldn’t help but take some pictures after seeing how beautiful the fog was. The fog just gave the whole stadium a timeless feel, and I hope I was able to capture a little of that.
So I’m back home after what feels like a lot longer than the four days I’ve been gone. I still haven’t gotten used to all this travel — considering I had never flown before this year — but I’m getting the hang of it.
Sitting here in a hotel room here in Memphis, Tennessee, and about to pass out from fatigue, I thought I would post a few photos from the Titans-Packers game I worked on Sunday. The top photo is sefl-explanatory, and probably the type of picture you would expect from a football game. I posted the other two in the hopes of adding a little flavor to the post. I like the second shot because I think it has a classic feel — I absolutely love those old NFL pictures that seem to capture the true essence of the game. I’m not saying that this photo does that, but that’s what I was going after. With the last photo, I was trying to show what great lengths cheerleaders go to to please the crowd and cheer their team on. I can’t help but examine this through a feminist lens, considering I’ve been studying a good bit of feminist theory lately. A lot of it talks about the “male gaze,” which describes how men look at women and much of their purpose revolves around fulfilling this role. To put it another way, men look and women are looked at. I could go on and on about it, but I just think this photo sums that up.
I went back home Thursday night, and luckily I got to spend a little time with an old friend. Clint and I go back at least 15 years, and we’e been through a lot. I can assure you that no one else quite like him
Meet the newest member of my family. Tina gave me this crazy little ball of fur last week, who she named Molly, but I’m not completely sold on that name. So I’m reaching out for help from my vast photosoup audience. So far, I’ve gotten: Sally, Tilney, and of course, Molly. Any suggestions?
Here’s a couple photos from the Magic/Bobcats preseason game last week in Charlotte. I got to play with a Nikon D3 again….those cameras are absolutely amazing.
Went on another late night walk tonight, and got some more frames of the most photographed dog in the history of the world.
For a change today, I pulled my car over, took my camera out of the bag, and shot a few pictures….just for me. This is Leon English, sitting outside Leon’s BBQ on Solomon Street. He and I had a wonderful conversation…about barbecue, people, business. I’ve gotta go by there next week and try some of his barbecue — and if you get a chance, you should do the same. Just take a seat next to him on his picnic table, and I’m sure the conversation will come as easily pulling pork off the bone.