kids, kids, kids

so many kids....but they always seem to be the ones that make for the coolest frames - especially the little ones - they just haven't been stung with the self-editing bug yet....too bad we all can't stay like that forever!

while waiting in the wings for their scene, these 2 friends notice me taking pictures of them rehearsing and then the boy grabs her in a big hug

while out feature hunting yesterday, saw this little boy with his mom having muffins at the cafe

at last Saturday's LEGO robotics competition, this little boy decided to try out not one but TWO pairs of googly geek glasses, both complete with tape! gives a whole new meaning to his team's name - "The Nerd Herd"
the paper ended up running this like 5 columns on our community photo page!!!!
this one's for you, Mr. Bosch!

the way the ball bounces

last week was all about some volleyball - 2 teams going into the state finals...one of them I covered through much of the pre-state tourney games, and got some nice reaction as they just continued to win and win and win again...unfortunately, it didn't end that way - both lost in the semi-finals, but it was a good run and the team and parents gave me some nice feedback on the pictures, too...always good to hear positive comments - we usually have to operate on the "no news is good news" principle...

man, I never get this shot - maybe not the greatest, but volleyball has always been a tough sport to shoot, so I was pretty happy

every point was cause for celebration - the mom of the girl in mid-air really liked this one!

the girls rally after taking the regional finals trophy

the locker room was pretty somber following the semi-finals loss - there weren't a lot of on-court tears or even much reaction at game's end - it was a pretty quick loss, so I think they kind of saw the writing on the wall...I felt bad for them, but I'm glad that I had established enough of a rapport having taken so many pix that they liked along the way that I felt a little more okay with making these pictures, too.

today was a large equipment auction up in the rural northern part of the county...people were there from as far away as Africa (the continent, that is) as well as the whole thing being simultaneously run over the internet - quite a big to-do , as it turns out....amid the larger than man tires and more carharts than i've ever seen assembled in one spot before, it struck me....how funny that after my running joke of all the construction assignments i got for a while, that the international auction of construction equipment assignment should fall to me!!
it ain't over til the fat man in the carharts sings apparently...

i am not for sale

and he is not for sale

love the tire patterns

loved these faces

and lo and behold, it's red & yellow!
what a nice surprise...

oh yes we did!!!!

hanging out with the democrats last night - people cheered sporadically as more states turned blue on the televised maps of America, but i was having a tough time getting anything really decent....but, once the Pacific coast results rolled in, the place just exploded - particularly these women, whose shouts of joy and triumph soon turned to tears as the impact of Tuesday's historic election quickly set in - i don't think it's fully hit me, but i feel so proud of this country, and i feel like a there has been a serious wrench thrown into the presumption of separation that has defined our racial reality....for the first time i got a real sense from people that there was just a presiding spirit of 'we are all, as the individuals we are inside, in this thing together'

......that's a really great feeling