Jim Child Photography

I hate Las Vegas in the summer.

Actually most of the time.  A couple of weeks ago I needed to be in Hell…I mean Las Vegas.  They don’t call it Sin City for the fun of it.  It really is.  Sin.  At 100 plus degrees.  A desert turned to an over-lit, over-done, over-big, and over wasted space.  We are going to build stores there.  Nobody asked what I think.  My most recent visit required a stop at the Clark County complex.  The county Taj Mahal.  Over built.  Across the street is a building that is way over the top.  An architects dream spend.  A typical Las Vegas “mine is better than yours building”….Turns out to be a medical clinic.  Surprised?

This week I have been in Cheney, Washington.  Stark contrast to Las Vegas.  Normal people.  Natural surroundings.  Vast acreage of agriculture.  Small town.  Big stress reliever.  Tonight I drove out to Spangle, Washington.  Dinner at Spangle Saloon.  I went for the scenery and had a great pulled barbecue sandwich.  The 30 minute drive was beautiful……

Cheney-Spangle Road.  One of the most beautiful drives ever.  Quiet.  Wheat as far as I could see.  Some green.  Some gold. And some harvested.  To add a little interest to the beautiful scenery a road side mail box caught my attention.  No homes/farm houses in any direction.  Probably not walking out to get the mail here.  How many miles a year does the mail person put on a vehicle here?

After dinner I rushed back to an Osprey nest just west of Cheney.  Love them Osprey.  The problem is there is no place to approach the nest.  Open wheat field.  After a little nervous chattering from the nest I settled in and sat still. About an hour.   Mom and Dad saw me and only approached.  Never delivered dinner…..

I sat until sundown.  Turned the 200-400 lens 90 degrees from the Osprey nest and shot the last light of day.  I love the Cheney area.  As opposed to Las Vegas…..

Train horns are load!!!!

Right behind the hotel and just under my 9th floor window is a train track.  4:16 this morning load and obnoxious.   No crossings.  I pictured the engineer laughing louder than the huge diesel engine he was sitting behind.  Not funny to me.  Then I had the last laugh.  He was stuck in the engine.  No steering wheel.  Can only go forward and back. Sure he has some speed variables.  Only as instructed.  Most every minute of every day I have freedom to make my own decisions.  To be brutally honest I find a new way to work and home everyday (maybe part of mental illness).  I decide when to go and when to go back.  Or just stay there and look for something to photograph.    Something I do a lot!

DLWS is done…until November.

I drove to the ocean today to try and get a few shots.  But I first saw this Great Blue Heron right at the cliffs catching mice.  It was wild…….

The mouse must have been a great snack!

Then there was this Rock in the ocean.  Getting really beat up.

It’s still raining!  And it is great.

Have just a few moments to post.  Up before 5:00 a.m. again today.  Brain is a little dusty.  Living on adrenaline.  Our morning shoot was enhanced by clouds and rain.  Could not ask for better conditions considering what we were shooting.  We were welcomed at a location loaded with classic cars, old collections and color!  It was a BLAST.  Could have stayed all day.  Tonight our photograph’s will be critiqued.  Getting  geared up for that.  Maybe a little Xanax or a bullet proof vest.

Joe McNally said it best in his presentation tonight…..

“When you get that “one” shot, it’s like wind in our sails as photographers”

Tonight was presentations by the best of the best.  Starting tomorrow morning at 3:30 a.m. it’s time to start shooting.  Can’t wait!!!!!!