in the line of fire

silver moons belong to you.

2012-01-05T08:43:00.000-06:00

el gato.

as long as we're young.

2012-01-04T18:38:00.000-06:00

parents like to make faces to babies. true story.

saw you stretched out in room ten-oh-nine.

2012-01-01T16:28:00.000-06:00

great idea, orlando. i think omaha could use of few of these, as well.

i'll be there on time and i'll pay the cost.

2011-12-21T07:31:00.001-06:00

sometimes i forget to post photos.

baby, all i need is a shot in the arm.

2011-12-19T21:37:00.003-06:00

during manweekend 2011, i fed tyler a lot of shit.
since it was manweekend, there is a chance i wasn't entirely sober when this happened. all things considered, tyler probably wasn't either, so he didn't take my joking too seriously. but i am glad to report he did ask jillian to marry him, and she said yes.
who wants to go to boston next fall?

it wasn't me. i wasn't there.

2011-12-16T09:56:00.001-06:00

fried turkey and beer.

are your hands getting filled?

2011-12-13T10:09:00.000-06:00

every once in a while, i think black and white work better than color. agreed? agreed.

you don't learn that in school.

2011-12-12T20:37:00.003-06:00

"... and that's what christmas is all about, charlie brown."

these things get louder.

2011-12-08T08:41:00.000-06:00

see? i'm far from being the only strange one in my family.

words can never make up for what you do.

2011-12-06T08:38:00.001-06:00

new thanksgiving centerpiece.

you're just a riddle in the sky.

2011-12-02T15:26:00.001-06:00

variations on a theme.

follow her down to a bridge by a fountain.

2011-11-29T15:53:00.001-06:00

who doesn't love juicy lucy cheeseburgers? i think even vegetarians crave them.

(second photo by cousin maddie)

it takes me away to that special place.

2011-11-18T08:49:00.001-06:00

i'll have a can of your finest haitian lager, please.

and he's oh-so good. and he's oh-so fine.

2011-11-15T11:21:00.001-06:00

it's ok, little guy. sometimes i take my shirt off when i eat, too!

it's so cold in alaska.

2011-11-11T10:49:00.000-06:00

cheese curds and root beer!

and that's why you don't use one-armed persons to teach lessons!

2011-11-10T10:42:00.000-06:00

my friend q turned his handicap into a halloween costume. hey brother!

the next generation will hear me.

2011-11-07T09:33:00.000-06:00

geez, and people call me a piranha*

*they don't.

he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

2011-11-03T10:29:00.000-05:00

i placed all my trust at the foot of this hill.

2011-11-02T12:42:00.000-05:00

i slept here, but didn't take part in an occupy sunset crater national monument. please ignore the stories you may have heard.

that's not something i'm gonna get used to.

2011-10-31T17:10:00.000-05:00

two posts in one day?
what?
enough people have heard about these snaps and haven't seen them. and it's lame to just talk about pictures. it's better to look at them, don't you think?

i had one grand canyon wish- to be at the rim at sundown. toby and i (see last post) went for a little hike. as the trail changed to a path that wound along the rim, we figured we ditched a lot of the other tourists. we thought we found a good spot that just had a handful of other people around. and then the tourist buses showed up and things got ugly. we nearly left, but i made toby stay.

i'm glad we did. this native american had climbed down on a precipice. after admiring the view, he started playing the flute. he also kept moving to keep the setting sunlight on his face. it was pretty cool and made for some nice pictures, i think. i realize they aren't exactly meant to be viewed on a small computer screen, but you will get the idea.

your european son is gone.

2011-10-31T07:48:00.000-05:00

ignore what you hear, smoking is cool, people.

coach called me, "the tiger."

2011-10-28T09:25:00.000-05:00

what was most awkward about my trip to the grand canyon was that this guy and i were wearing the same outfit.
it was terribly embarrassing.

on the second day i brought her a flower.

2011-10-27T12:40:00.001-05:00

let's go through some arizona pics, shall we?

you took a ten-minute dream in the passenger seat.

2011-10-26T17:40:00.000-05:00

this bartender was tuckered out in the middle of the afternoon. i want his job.granted, i was at a bar in the afternoon, so i got that going for me, which is nice.

my small love burnt in the sun.

2011-10-25T16:00:00.000-05:00

you know what is one of life's great pleasures? traveling with few plans and no computer. however, the seven people who look at this blog will be glad to hear i took a camera down to arizona, texas and minneapolis.

and for those dog lovers that want a closer look:

along the coach roads i did ride.

2011-09-27T08:57:00.001-05:00

a couple street scenes from ogallala, where our crew stopped for high school football on our way to college football in wyoming. i can't figure out this sign at the motel, is manchester united coming? wayne rooney and vidic? not likely.

also, i guess "planking" is passé. "owling" is where it's at.

i was caught in the middle of a railroad track.

2011-09-16T13:02:00.000-05:00

i get why the omaha royals changed their name. i mean, why would a person buy an omaha royals hat when they can get a kc royals one? but i don't get why they decided to use this "typography" on their numbers.

everything is everything.

2011-09-07T16:14:00.000-05:00

as expected, it seems stories from 9/11 are just pouring out of every media outlet, and most of it is just washing over me. (although some of it, like time's amazing project, is worth spending some time with.even though i haven't read, listened to, or watched that much, i can't help but reflect a little.

i was woken up by a phone call from my girlfriend, and she tried to explain what was happening. my initial concern was, "am i still going to be going up to the northwoods of minnesota to photograph police honor guard training for a few days?" i turned on the radio to npr (didn't have a tv or internet then) and tried to understand what was going on. after calling into the paper, i found out i would no be going anywhere. i tried calling my sister, who lived in nyc and sometimes jogged around the trade center, but didn't get an answer, which wasn't surprising.

the planes hitting the towers and the towers collapsing just played on a loop on the tvs in the newsroom. to keep busy, i think i drove around most of the day... i think the paper's editors wanted me to go to the legion hall to photograph vets. to me that seemed like an epic waste of time... i wanted to find something that would resonate with me and with the people in our community. it didn't seem like a shot of old men watching tv in a bar captured the emotion of the day. (plus, i figured i could go there after dark and get the same shot... years later, i recognize patterns in my work that were evident on that day.) as the sun set, i saw this boy giving a silent tribute of his own on a highway overpass.

(my old photo editor sent me this photo, which i thought was flipped, so my memory of ten years ago may not be crystal at times.)
this photo is nothing in comparison to the images we have all seen from new york that day, but i think it was important, nonetheless.

as i was walking to my apartment building that evening, my sister called to say she was ok. she said she volunteered with the red cross throughout the day in midtown manhattan.

two weeks later, i was in nyc for the first time to hang out for a few days before a photo workshop. it was unbelievable to see new york for the first time, looking out over the city from the empire state building at dusk. watching the lights of manhattan turn on while drinking beer on a rooftop in brooklyn. a yankees game. people upon people and amazing tall buildings. but it my memory there is a strange confluence of excitement with fear and sadness. walls with photos and names taped to them of the missing. flowers laid on the ground. people everywhere downtown hugging. crying. standing teary-eyed and staring. i remember police seemed to be on every corner downtown. and then the grey ash. there were stores that were far enough away that didn't get the windows blown out, but when you looked inside, everything was monotone grey. there is a eugene richards photo which matches the feelings of my memory. it's a snow globe of new york, but the globe is covered in ash.

i didn't take many photos during my time in new york. i think i was a bit scared of carrying my camera around the big city. and i don't think i could have photographed a lot of what i had seen, anyway. i've gone many times since and taken lots of images, but that first trip and that period of my life helped change me quite a bit. i grew up in a reasonably small town in south dakota in the pre-internet days and the size of the world seemed beyond my comprehension, but those few months in 2001 helped me grasp how events, places and people are connected.

most of the time, big changes happen and you don't notice until later. this is one of those times when i think most people changed.

every new love is just a shadow.

2011-08-29T21:19:00.000-05:00

so a few things:

1) spent the weekend in st. louis with a good friend to see some favorite bands at loufest.
2) it was hot.
3) i couldn't bring my camera to the shows, so my lousy cellphone camera was all i had to work with.
4) this sight needed to be documented. honestly i think the photo doesn't show the scope, nor does it show the contrast of the dress vs. the sweaty thong. (and you don't get to see the lower, round sweat marks.)

i feel like there may be a lesson in here somewhere.

you showed up with a black eye.

2011-08-24T09:20:00.000-05:00

sometimes you bite the bar...
caught the edge of some big storms recently, and i went out to go for some pretty pictures. when the cell move past and the moon come out, i thought i might get something good.
wrong.
oh well.

miles from nowhere.

2011-08-12T16:01:00.000-05:00

these clouds built quickly and left quickly. good for cars, but bad for photos.
still, i'll take a western nebraska sky over an omaha sky most days of the week.

i can see the pines are dancing.

2011-08-06T13:22:00.000-05:00

we've had a pretty epic heatwave (well, more of a humidity wave) here in the great plains. it's strange to have drought/dry conditions and a historic flood at the same time.

with the exception of the constant search for shade and air-conditioning, it has sucked most of the energy and ambition out of me.

the forecasters now say the worst is past, and the humidity should subside next week. hopefully, i'll stick around in the blogosphere (and get outside for some sticks before winter gets here).

this structure fell about our feet.

2011-07-11T16:31:00.000-05:00

if use a long enough lens to isolate a small part of the building, and the light is just right, the arena in omaha kinda looks a little like the guggenheim in bilbao, don't you think?

(it may help to spend about 12 hours in the summer heat before making a snap decision.)

now i just act like i don't remember.

2011-07-09T10:36:00.000-05:00

over the potomac...

i confess that i killed the cat.

2011-07-05T16:25:00.000-05:00

the cat was STRIPED and fat.
what's strange is that i don't really care for cats, but i like photographing them. i think it's because they are usually aloof and also sit in the sun.

ol' hickory said we could take them by surprise...

2011-07-01T08:52:00.000-05:00

there was a whole lot of red, white and blue at the us mens soccer game in kansas city a couple weeks ago. even a "georgina" washington sighting.

she left to marry some top cat, ain't it the cold truth.

2011-06-29T21:56:00.000-05:00

somebody needs to clean their windows!

let's get together before we get much older.

2011-06-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

at other papers i worked for, our staffs would cover dozens of graduations. it was challenging (that's a positive spin on the experience).
sometimes, you could get a really nice image, but not often enough to keep from groaning when you see your name on the assignment list. my cousin daniel graduated high school a few weeks ago, and i realized i had not been to a graduation in a long time.

it was more fun than working them... but some of that is because of daniel and the trannies.*

*at least i think they were. i was raised south dakota, where the men are men, the women are women, and the sheep run scared.

i know they buried her body with others.

2011-06-25T13:50:00.000-05:00

first real day off in a while. i don't know if it has been in the news much, but we are underwater here in the great plains/midwest. omaha feels like it is an island on the missouri lake (river).

oh, and the college world series is going on. had a nice little thirteen inning gem last night to close out a doubleheader. could be worse, though. could be a deer.

i knew that you had a flame in your heart.

2011-05-19T15:23:00.000-05:00

went out to the rfd monument last week. it was pretty cool and quite a lot different than the other presidential monoliths in dc.
also, we saw who we think is my cousin daniel's lost twin. this kid was standing there before anyone was looking and then stood there for quite a while.

it's not the people doing something real.

2011-05-18T14:50:00.000-05:00

i actually shot some photos last week.
so, yeah... look out!

i could blow through the ceiling.

2011-04-20T23:34:00.000-05:00

a grab shot on my way to shooting something else... every once in a while, blowing out highlights works.

i'll always remember you like a child, girl.

2011-04-01T15:23:00.000-05:00

i have no idea what was going on here. i think i prefer it that way.

two good shoes won't save your soul.

2011-03-31T16:45:00.000-05:00

i think nearly everything in the arena is more interesting to me than a basketball game.

the glitter's all wet. you're all chrome.

2011-03-29T15:28:00.001-05:00

since i apparently don't shoot much interesting stuff these days, here's a shot from last fall that a misplaced.

mistakes on the part of nature.

2011-03-22T15:07:00.001-05:00

i guess there is more than one way to get on a referee's good side... nothing like a little sweet talk on the sideline.

sunbeams are never made like me.

2011-03-06T16:58:00.000-06:00

even though i don't consider myself a morning person, some of my favorite cups of coffee are at bronson and andrea's house. this window may look familiar to some of you, but there is a new addition to the family. the two dogs are outside now.

[obvious wilco lyrics]

2011-03-01T21:31:00.000-06:00

teacher needs to see me after school.

2011-02-22T21:40:00.000-06:00

some say a man ain't happy unless a man truly dies.

2011-02-04T15:23:00.001-06:00

seems like the freedom of expression booth at the minneapolis airport is also the oxymoronic booth.

in the cool of the evening light.

2011-01-26T11:39:00.001-06:00

i'm a ghost!
although i do enjoy winter and the brisk air, i'm starting to tire of all the snow. i toured a new baseball park last weekend, full of snow.

it got me thinking of summer. and rooftop barbecues. and water drops on cold beer bottles. and girls in their summer clothes.

you think things are straight but they're not what they seem.

2010-11-19T21:33:00.000-06:00

hockey masks painted by some gifted artists on the lancers team.

loo-blee-anna.

2010-11-11T15:04:00.000-06:00

a few pics from slovenia...

if you want to see more, check out my website gallery.

i won big once and i hit the coast

2010-11-11T14:46:00.000-06:00

did some traveling last month, then i checked out for a while. we had manweekend up in hartford. did some fishing. did some tailgating. watched football (north american and english). shot a bow. drank some beer. roasted marshmallows.
beer and marshmallows. mmmm.

everything stays down where it's wounded.

2010-09-29T13:39:00.000-05:00

what does it say about the type of child you are raising if his/her "soul mate" is a stuffed animal?
oh.

see you in a couple weeks.

play something familiar.

2010-09-29T13:30:00.000-05:00

this post is brought to you by the letter "k."

new brother-in-law's throwing a football, he tosses me a pass.

2010-09-04T13:43:00.000-05:00

and it begins today.
well, actually huskers football coverage started a few weeks ago. but we leave for the first game in about 20 minutes. it's the last year for the big 12, and i'm not terribly disappointed, but i did like going south in the late fall. as part of the "looking back," we featured johnny rodgers, a heisman trophy winner who was voted the big 8's best player. he was generous and friendly.

i know we are the chosen few, but we're wasted.

2010-09-03T10:40:00.000-05:00

like father, like son.

what we lose in the fire we gain in the flood.

2010-09-02T14:37:00.000-05:00

we've had some really bad flooding up here lately.

or, the town of wahoo is making a reservoir and these are tall weeds.

spineless swines. cemented minds.

2010-08-22T16:29:00.000-05:00

this place has really kept up with the times...

nobody ever told you that it was the wrong way.

2010-08-15T16:47:00.000-05:00

i'm not sure if this place went out of business or if they are going to open up. regardless, it's only a matter of time before another restaurant opens in this revolving spot on o street in lincoln.

maybe irish-indian cuisine.
or somalian-italian fusion.

i'm not afraid of the dark.

2010-08-12T20:45:00.000-05:00

a portion or minneapolis lost power for about 6-7 hours over the weekend. it was hot. and humid. and dark.
luckily, we had cards.

don't look back.

2010-08-09T10:12:00.000-05:00

she's so good, she doesn't even need to look through the viewfinder...

it only echoes true all through the day.

2010-08-07T12:16:00.000-05:00

was lucky enough to see the heartless bastards last week at a small venue in town. one of the best shows i've seen in a long long time.

the lead singer is petite, but she has a huge voice. i suggest checking them out.

every detail fits your own design

2010-08-04T00:53:00.001-05:00

i take my friends to all the best places.
this is josephine's cozy corner lounge.
it's where the men run scared and the dolls wish they could.
i think that's ariel in the middle, but i'm not too proficient at disney animated.

my friends call you stupid.

2010-07-28T10:04:00.000-05:00

i'm a rocket ship on my way to mars.

2010-07-27T14:29:00.000-05:00

a few cousins did karaoke at our family reunion last weekend. i think it may be the first time anyone in our part of the family has taken part. at this point, i think i'll keep the video of them singing off of facebook, though. good times.

she comes in colors everywhere.

2010-07-26T10:35:00.000-05:00

a lazy man's pano from the storm last week. too bad i didn't get a lightning bolt in it like some folks...

i remember when the days were long.

2010-07-16T11:22:00.000-05:00

mother nature's sepia.

golden slumbers fill your eyes.

2010-07-15T14:51:00.000-05:00

cool storm last night... expect a few posts from it.

i'm the man that brings you roses when you ain't got none.

2010-07-09T09:40:00.001-05:00

easily the best garter photo i've gotten at a wedding...

this woulda been a whole lot cooler if they were actually singing here...

the queen is dead, boys.

2010-07-09T09:25:00.000-05:00

about a month ago, a group of us got together to watch the us v. england world cup game. poor toby had to suffer when english keeper robert green allowed the ball to dribble in...

i'm pretty happy that i get to wear orange again on sunday. hopefully, i get to do more taunting. but i'll be pleased if we see an entertaining match.

i just wanna burn up hard and bright.

2010-07-08T08:30:00.014-05:00

got invited out to a lake on the fourth. lousy weather most of the day, but then the clouds broke into an amazing evening. good beers. good people.

i'm sitting here thinking just how sharp i am.

2010-06-30T14:00:00.000-05:00

i've been away. actually been working for a living. longest college world series, ever. but at least i didn't shave my chest...

wait, is that eric estrada of CHiPs fame sitting mere yards from me?

nope, just a dude rocking the shirtless vest and gold chain look. sorry, i couldn't get a shot of his stonewashed jeans.

the faces have all changed, there's no one left to talk to.

2010-06-06T21:25:00.000-05:00

listening to some social d tonight.
obviously i think of my friend shannon... not the most flattering shot, and those of you that know her would wonder why i didn't get a better shot the dozen other times she flipped me off that night...

there was a splishin' and splashin'

2010-06-05T16:09:00.000-05:00

i know... it's a lot of henry and will, lately. but they don't seem to care when i stick the camera in their face. and their folks invite me over for food in the backyard. good food. good company. decent photos... can't be beat.

she was really bombed.

2010-05-25T13:33:00.000-05:00

i've been trying to shoot a little differently. or at least trying to see differently. and i don't think this photo epitomizes that, but regardless... bride in a bar.

taking that ride to nowhere. we'll take that ride.

2010-05-16T15:26:00.000-05:00

one of our favorite sites on the bourbon tour last week was this sidewalk that lead to the middle of the lawn. also pretty awesome that the owner landscaped it.

hanging around downtown by myself.

2010-05-16T15:19:00.000-05:00

i took a chance and stopped at a thai place in north platte. i figured it was gonna be kinda bad because it was full of locals. it exceded my expectations.

in case you can't tell, this is pad thai. and they give you a side of fried rice, crab rangoon and a fried egg roll (not pictured). i did get a good tip in the fortune cookie, but it wasn't good enough that i will eat there again.

moral of the story? avoid ethnic places in rural towns that are full of white folks.

you're never gonna be on time.

2010-05-12T09:51:00.000-05:00

no swimming.
or skateboarding.

my poor head's still spinning from too much booze.

2010-05-10T20:38:00.000-05:00

it's ok, we talked him down from the ledge.

your papa says he knows that i don't have any money.

2010-05-04T17:26:00.001-05:00

i covered a some of the berkshire hathaway stuff this weekend in omaha. it's always a lot crazy. thousands of people fly in from all over the world to hang out and listen to warren buffett pontificate. you would not believe how much pushing and positioning is done by upper-crust folks just to take a photo of the back of warren's head with their cell phone or iphone.

then there's this guy:

i'm jealous because he likely got a better shot than me. also... i've been trying to score a good deal on a camera like that for a while.

the smartest fella i met was this guy from cnbc. we had to get to the risers about three hours before warren showed up to get our spots staked out.

together they're gonna bugaloo down broadway.

2010-04-30T10:44:00.000-05:00

fellow photog rebecca gets married in three weeks.
cheers!

all you need to do is follow the worms.

2010-04-27T10:33:00.000-05:00

drove through a town i've never been to. it's actually called "worms." it was out of the way, but well worth the trip.
there's a church and a bar... and this very cool mural.

fat bottomed girls they'll be riding today

2010-04-26T10:16:00.000-05:00

had a quality saturday. even snapped a photo.

well, i dreamed i saw the knights in armor coming.

2010-04-23T16:33:00.000-05:00

it's not so much the pictures you take, but that you look good taking the pictures.

ps-- i know i focused on dan's hair. i'd like to say it was intentional. also, who knew my camera could even work turned on its side? vertical... weird.

i see a mansard roof through the trees.

2010-04-22T22:56:00.000-05:00

this isn't really representative of my goal to not center the subject, but it does represent my goal of carrying my camera around more often.

we've got solid state technology.

2010-04-19T14:50:00.000-05:00

quentin has an iphone.
blue sushi has red walls.

poor old granddad, i laughed at all his words.

2010-04-19T14:41:00.000-05:00

mike and susan were nice enough to have a few of us over for drinks and food.
henry is a good kid to take pics of, but he wasn't smiling as much as usual. someone (won't name names) told him he couldn't have a brownie until after dinner...

(gonna be gone for a bit, so emptying out the queue.)

and poor will wasn't feeling so well...

say goodbye to model two cause they discontinued you.

2010-04-19T10:31:00.000-05:00

after months of looking, i finally found a clean marantz receiver from the 70s. it had a few burned out bulbs, which was a lot more challenging to replace than i thought it would be. if any of you have seen the inside of a receiver like this, you know what i mean. looks good now, though.

we'll see if i replace the power caps on my own, or i send it in. soldering inside the receiver and on the circuit boards scares me a little bit.

time keeps dragging on.

2010-04-17T19:42:00.000-05:00

football spring "game." this is where my hopes for a nice picture go when i walk in this stadium... the worst place to shoot in the big 12. congrats, cornhuskers, on being the best at something.

you shouldn't mess with me, i'll ruin everything you are.

2010-04-16T15:34:00.001-05:00

my cousin mike's family has a foreign exchange student staying with them. jacob is from hong kong. good kid. kinda quiet. he asked for "privacy please," while he was trying to fit a mouth guard for rugby. but mike's wife patty told him that's what happens when you live with a photographer. "deal with it."

i'm ready to play.

2010-04-15T13:46:00.000-05:00

you and me both, buddy...

i thought there was virtue in always being cool.

2010-04-14T16:51:00.000-05:00

been a lot busy around here... held our annual photo convention at creighton. saw some great work and cool people. one of the highlights for me was cutting out of the contest judging and getting a couple beers with an old friend, travis. and a new friend, gerd. gerd, a native of germany, was even impressed that my bar had "real" boots.

**technically, it's not "my" bar.

trying in vain to breathe the fire we was born in.

2010-03-31T11:24:00.000-05:00

it's just the kind of guy he is...
(a roll-your-own guy)

yes, she's gone like the rainbow that shined yesterday.

2010-03-28T22:57:00.001-05:00

i was in minneapolis last week visiting family and friends.
oh, and shooting basketball.
had to stop by matt's bar in south minneapolis for a juicy lucy.
good stuff. add a grain belt and it's a pretty fantastic meal.

that ain't oil, that's blood.

2010-03-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

i guess the downside of eating at the movie theater is that some movies don't go very well with food- like when a nazi is lying on the ground with brains and blood leaking out of a bullet hole in his head.

and she also keeps the cards that read "have mercy on his soul"

2010-03-23T18:55:00.000-05:00

a little grab shot at a vietnamese place in the cities...

please tell us why you had to hide away for so long. so long.

2010-03-18T22:50:00.004-05:00

you know what's good? elo.

know what's even better? the sun came out after weeks of clouds. at least it felt like weeks. most of the snow is gone now, too.

stick this in your pocket, it'll look like you're carrying a friend.

2010-03-17T22:33:00.000-05:00

while his american fiancée was out on her bachelorette party, our british friend toby was taken out and taught how to hunt. he will be getting his conceal and carry soon after he gets his immigration papers and his wedding license.