Compression, Crashes, Cars and Cheesecake

This week began very slowly. I didn't even have a real assignment until Saturday and then became very busy indeed. I'm grateful for the lull because I know this next week is going to be crazy with both the PGA tournament in Tahoe and Hot August Nights starting up (car shows).

Anyhoo, here are some photos from my week


Compression:

Native Reno resident, Tim, and his grandson.

Hula-hooping outside of the Calneva

This girl came all the way from Elko. It was her first Burning Man related event.

Katja on her mothers sholders

Milo the centaur

"Lady Luck"

The Calneva was a popular spot for people to dance during the event.

And of course what would a Burning Man event be without fire.

Plane Crash:

About forty minutes outside of Reno a privately owned aircraft headed for South Dakota had to do an emergency landing on Pyramid Highway. No one was seriously injured.

Cheesecake Factory Opening:

A Cheesecake Factory opened at the Mall.

Hot August Nights:

Had a long chat with Norm Croxon here about life and the secret to a long lasting vehicle and marriage. On his decision to buy this vehicle "[my wife] said I couldn't have a girlfriend so she let me buy this car." 

Otys Banks bought this car with his father 45 years ago

Golf for daze.

So this week I photographed golf. I found that it was actually more interesting than I would have imagined. I've never found golf interesting... wasn't it Mark Twain that said "golf is a good walk spoiled." However, over the course of the four days that I photographed the American Century Championship, it got interesting. It was actually pretty fun to be running all over the golf course seeing different players advance and trying to get certain shots. I shot mostly with the 500. I still haven't been able to order a monopod so I did all hand held... This is my new sport. After many funny looks and a lot of really bad pictures, I feel like I have a better grasp on how to use it. I learned a lot from this whole experience, you won't see any of the images I took from my first day at the tournament here because the images were uh... not up to par, as they say. I got a lot better but I still have a lot of room to improve before the PGA tournament comes through in two weeks. Oh yeah, this was the "celebrity" golf tournament, mostly athletes and obscure actors... but I guess that may have helped in making it a little more interesting for me.

I  learned that this is called the fareway not the freeway

Iraqi War Vet, Chad Pfeiffer. I learned that sand pits make images more interesting

This is Annika Sorenstam, she is amazing. Here she is putting.

This is Jack Wagner "checking the lie" another fun term I now know. 

Steve Curry signing a fan's jersey.

Annika Sorenstam signing autographs like the awesome lady she is. 

The last day got rained out. I'm still getting used to the fact that kids who grow up around here still find rain something of a novelty.

Ray Romano talking with his caddie.

Mark Rypien hitting from the fareway.

Annika t-ing off

John Elway t-ing off

Mark Rypien won despite all the rain. 

Dust Storm, Baseball, life.

This week was very busy. I had about double the assignments that are shown here and worked six days. I'm tired but excited for golf to begin on Thursday. This week the most important thing I learned is that I need to make a real effort to improve on my sports photography.

A dust storm held up a land sailing competition in the desert near Austin, Nev. 

A dust storm held up a land sailing competition in the desert near Austin, Nev.

After the dust and rain had cleared.

The dust and rain came back

and then cleared up again.

Outside of Trader Joes in downtown Reno

A cheese warehouse caught on fire.

Aces versus 51s

I need to learn how to shoot sports

because all I see are features

Went on an assignment with two walking patrol officers

Got a visitor in town for part of the weekend.

On my day off last week I went to Bodega Bay

Spectators gathered for Art Town festivities.

 

Last week there was a wild fire.

Gerlach, Scientists and Tahoe

Hello!
    This week was full of new adventures. On Wednesday I got to go hangout with some physicists doing research on plasma using this really cool (and expensive) machine. Then on Thursday I went up to Gerlach (where Burning Man takes place) and fell in love with the town and the local folks that live there. This week I also went to my first fire! and then another one the next day. The first one was pretty sad because this guy and his teenage son lost everything in their apartment the second fire was a wild fire but I'm not allowed to get close to those so I didn't decide to put up any pictures from that... but maybe next week there'll be another one.

    It's been in the hundreds (or close to it) almost everyday for the past week and a half leaving us all, in the immortal words of an old Vermonter, "sweat'n like a stuck pig." So I've taken to the road for my two days off and went to the coast for a day... I'm writing from Bodega Bay, north of San Francisco.

Scientists.

There was a huge boom sound when they tested the Plasma.

Downtown Reno

Black Rock Desert.

Bruno's Bar (Bruno owns most of the town) in Gerlach, Nev.

Flash and Bev at the Miners Club in Gerlach

JB Iveson's Ranch outside of Gerlach. JB stores art cars after Burning Man

JB Iveson in an art car on his ranch outside of Gerlach

Namasdave (seriously his name) on the Black Rock getting ready for the Fourth of Juplaya

Gracefully facedown barbie at the beach.

Audrey at Sand Harbor

Shane and his younger sister Josslyn fishing for crawdads using hotdogs on a string

Fire

Where I tried to sleep last night somewhere in Steinbeck Country before getting spooked by my #OveractiveImagination