"Look, an elephant!"

"Look, an elephant!" , originally uploaded by lightwriter27.

"I ain't no saint, but I've tried never to do anything that would hurt my family or offend God...I figure all any kid needs is hope and the feeling he or she belongs. If I could do or say anything that would give some kid that feeling, I would believe I had contributed something to the world."
-Elvis commenting to a reporter, 1950's.

Meeting the Mayor

Meeting the Mayor, originally uploaded by lightwriter27.

I had an assignment to cover a press conference at the Shelby County Cemetery. The conference was kicking off a week-long focus on infant mortality, and running along the edge of the cemetery was a sub-division. As the press conference continued, this group of kids started to converge to the stage as kids do when they see any kind of commotion involving a stage. The kid on the right, Garrett, walked from the farthest point of the cemetery, just be bopping along without a care in the world. A couple of the people attending the conference chuckled to themselves watching him cut across the cemetery.

So, this group of 4-5 boys, ages between 10-16, stood around and listened to the problems of infant mortality in Memphis for the last half-hour of the conference, but really enthralled them was the fact that the mayor of Shelby County, A.C. Wharton was present. They were dumbstruck about it. Garrett pulled me aside and asked me, "So, is that REALLY the Mayor?" quickly followed up with, "What's his name?"

They patiently waited for the moment to meet with the Mayor Wharton, and they got to meet him and get a photo taken with him. I kind of pre-visualized how I wanted to try to sneak a chance to snap this moment while I trying to find other little moments more geared for my assignment. So, this was kind of a shot in passing, but it's more or less how I saw it play out in my head. It's always fun when life happens as you visualize it.

Ageless Corndog

Ageless Corndog, originally uploaded by lightwriter27.

JAI HO!!!!

JAI HO!!!!, originally uploaded by lightwriter27.

Christian Esgasane, right, shouts out for joy when Filipino boxer, Manny Pacquiao, knocks out his opponent, Ricky Hatton, in the second round, ending the match. Pacquiao is a popular national hero to the Filipino population.

You know that part in Slumdog Millionaire when 8 year old Jamal, covered in fecal matter, holds up the autograph.....yeah....that's what Christian here reminds me of.

Fan of Fans

John Andrews has collected antique fans since the 1970s when he was a musician in Nashville and could not afford air conditioning, and today donates some classic and unique fans to the Hunter Fan Company's Fan museum here in Memphis. I shot this for the Appeal today and figured I would post these. Some of the fans were pretty neat. For example, the fan in the last photo originally ran on a water driven belt system back around the turn of the 20th Century. I don't know, but I've always appreciated technology from that time period with all the levers, gears and pulleys used to make things work. I mean I find today's technology cool too, but it's all circuits and chips hidden behind LCD screens. There's just something about old things like these fans where you can see how everything works to make the items run that stirs my industrial imagination.

Poppy

Poppy, originally uploaded by lightwriter27.

I shot this of my grandfather, Bill Bailey aka Poppy, at Thanksgiving. I was pulling into our driveway as he was having a smoke and shot this. I had it on my old blog before I shut it down. I came across it again, and just wanted to put it up on this blog.

Waiting in Line

Waiting in Line 3, originally uploaded by lightwriter27.

Spent Easter in Disney world. Did a lot of line waiting. More fun photos on my flickr.