Going into covering the Rockin’ the River concert I knew a lot of action would take place between the banks of Trinity River. In the water at the Panther Island Pavilion, slightly west of downtown Fort Worth, I wanted to sit on the tube and float around closing in on the pictures I imagined in my head. Carrying a Canon G11 in a waterproof case I paddled around looking for the rowdy inflatable party barges, couples fitting into one tube with the skyline behind them and the silhouetted reflections in the water of people enjoying the Thieving Birds. I was in a foot of water at the bank after the music died down, about to jump onto dry land when I saw a young man soaking in the sun with his palms turned up and out. I knew the moment would end in seconds, so I made a frame as quickly as I possible – not even getting the camera to my face. Matter of fact, I think I still had a whole leg in the hole of the tube. It was an interesting moment of quiet solitude among rowdiness and company.

See the set of images from that event HERE

Off the Wall is a weekly installment showcasing work from our staff that is currently on the wall in the DMN building.

When I was growing up my father had an old Leica camera and I was amazed by it. He bought it in the late 40′s when he was in the Army and taught me how to take photographs when I was 10 years old on family vacations.

I purchased my first Leica M4 film camera in the mid 80′s. I loved the way it felt in my hands, but most of all, I really liked the quality of the camera and especially the lenses. When I went to UT in Austin, some of my friends had Leica’s but I could not afford a used one. Garry Winogrand, a famous street photographer, was one of my professors at UT in the Art department and that was his camera of choice.

Fast forward years later when I turned 50 and Suzi, my lovely wife, purchased the latest digital Leica and a 28mm 2.8 lens for me. She was able to find the new Leica M-240. There were over 300 people on a waiting list on the east and west coast for this camera. Suzi used her sweet personality and talked Arlington Camera into getting the camera and lens in time for a great gift for my birthday that I will treasure for the rest of my life. It’s the camera I used to shoot my musician and friend, Steve Miller, in concert recently.

The digital camera is made just like the film camera. It is all manual, even the focusing. This slows me down some, which is good, but it takes time to readjust to the manual focusing but it’s well worth it. When my father passed away my mother gave me my father’s Leica. Now I have two, the old film camera and the new digital camera.

Off the Wall is a weekly installment showcasing work from our staff that is currently on the wall in the DMN building.

When shooting a potential noteworthy performance, like a Rangers pitcher throwing a no-hitter, I feel it is important to take photos that show the context of the achievement. Just having a photo of Yu Darvish, isolated throwing a pitch from this game, would not be telling the complete story.  Luckily, the scoreboard over the left-centerfield stands at the stadium is positioned to allow you to include it in the background, if you wish, in a composition that includes the pitcher on the mound. You have to shoot with more depth-of-field so that the sign is readable, but with the new generation of digital cameras you can rate your ISO high enough to allow you to shoot at a depth-of-field deep enough to carry both the pitcher on the mound (with a fast shutter speed to stop the action) AND the info on the scoreboard, which gives the photo context and added information for a potentially historic image.

Off the Wall is a weekly installment showcasing work from our staff that is currently on the wall in the DMN building.