**IF YOU DON'T VIEW THIS ON BLACK IT WILL SUCK EVEN MORE THAN USUAL** I've been thinking a lot about old things lately. Probably because I'm still recovering from a back injury that I sustained from sitting. Yes, you heard me right. That's what happens when you become ancient like me. So I was thinking about how old I was, procrastinating because I'm sick of studying for my new airplane, and this image came to mind. Why? Because I always have to laugh when I go shooting with these young whipper snappers with their boundless energy. So thank you for your concern with my back. Inserting sarcasm.... Unfortunately, I've had experience here so I'm confident it will be better soon. One time I had this happen after helping my then-girlfriend move. I bent over to flush the toilet and that was it. Back seized up, and I was totally stuck. Couldn't move. Had to call for help, pants still around my ankles. Crawled to the couch and that's where I stayed for a week. But I digress.... As you know, I have the great fortune of being able to call David "DBreezy" Thompson and Paul "Romeo" Rojas good friends, and to this day I'm thankful to my core that they kindly took me down to the great desert mecca of Bisti Badlands and showed me these amazing sculptures. As I mentioned in a previous post, we are still giddy at getting to meet the Desert Master himself, Mr. Cecil Whitt while here. His portfolio stands above all in the Southwest in my opinion. We had a tremendous couple of days running around the landscape, culminating with these neat conditions on our last night. I love shooting these twilight moments with just a few high clouds in the sky. So back to my original premise of young vs. old. These guys roll in after being up all night the first evening and we go right out to shoot at 3am. Then it's back to the hotel at 11pm or so, up at 3am again, and repeat. Each night we would get back to the hotel and I was too tired to even bother taking my boots off. But not these guys. I look down there on the floor and Breezy is doing freaking pushups. I wake up at 1am all bleary eyed and I see the faint glow of a computer screen and Breezy going "DAMMMMNNNNED son! Look at these files!! We gotta get back out and explore that area right THERE". He's still pushing the boundaries of his craft, sleep be damned. Then I look around for Paul and he isn't even in the room! Romeo is outside on the phone in 20 degree weather cooing with his girlfriend about how much he misses his Schmoopy-cakes. These two only need about an hour of sleep every night I've decided, then they get up and roll out fresh as a daisy, while I'm so damned tired I'm following my GPS in the wrong direction. Ok, long story, but I actually DID have a point. I wanted to use this post to give a huge congratulations to Paul and Michelle Rojas who are now married. I guess all those conversations in the middle of the night paid off!!! Michelle is a natural photographer, and has already become scary good, as those of you that follow her here know. Scary good as in: when-you-aren't-looking-I'm-going-to-change-all-your-camera-settings-so-you-don't-get-a-better-picture-than-I-do-when-we-are-shooting-together-good. Wishing you guys a lifetime of happy shooting, and hoping I get to be there for a few of those experiences.
Ancient
