Six Hundred and Thirty Days...

Six hundred and thirty days I will have spent with this beautiful woman below come Tuesday March 16th. I realize that I have had a photography blog for a while now and have yet to post any pictures of my significant other. Today is Miss Sarah Kathryn Teague's debut onto the Lesser Pioneer photo blog. I figured a photographic time line would only be fitting for such an occasion and have tried to provide you with one in chronological order. These photos range from the first summer we met all the way to one of the most recent ones I have of us. She has been one of the biggest blessings to be bestowed upon my life and is by far the most beautiful woman I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Without further due and with enough of my bragging, I now introduce, my girlfriend, my love, Sarah Kathryn Teague.

Alabama Sky.

I spend a lot of time on the road. A product of Sarah and I's long distance relationship. I don't mind the day long drives. It is one of the only places where I can get myself to be still. There isn't much I can do but drive and think. No school work to distract me, no internet, most of the time no other people. Just myself, the radio, the Lord, and the road. I surprised Sarah this Saturday night. She had no idea I was coming and stared at me for a few minutes in disbelief through the window of her door when I got there. Seeing her always makes things better, and the moment I feel her embrace time always begins to stand still. The truth is, even if I hated driving and couldn't stand to be alone with myself for nine hours. She is more than worth it. I love her.

A Living Legend.

So begins the story. Ben Rector, an up and thriving musician and friend stopped by in Fayetteville to play a cd release show a while back at George's Majestic. I asked him if I could take a few photos during the concert (a few turned into a few hundred) and naturally he was happy to have me. The concert proceeded and ended with me on my knees most of the time squished into a two feet section between the audience guard rail and the stage. I learned a couple of things that night. One, there is a social stigma associated with SLR cameras. If you carry one you must be a "professional" or "with the band". The second lessons coincides with the last picture in this post. Ben asked me to take a picture of the audience from the stage as he and his band came out to do their performance. I have never in my life been so overwhelmed with nervousness, adrenaline, and shaking hands. Second, only to being mugged in Long Beach and the ensuing foot pursuit which ended with the reaching of a hand gun, I have never been so scared. It ceases to amaze me that performers thrive on such environments and make them look so easy. Never do I ever want to be on a stage of this magnitude ever again. Period. Ben, if by chance you read this. You put on one heck of a show and looked a little Fayetteville homesick in the process. We miss you man, see you soon.

Valentines.

Kodak

I have found myself lately unable to reach the personal bar I set for myself photographically. The true sign of how much of an amateur I really am. Granted there has not been very much activity in my life recently that would warrant any cool photos to display, but also my creative stream and all it's juices has seemed to quit flowing. Here are some test photos I shot using my new Sigma 70mm - 300mm telephoto zoom lens with a macro feature. The photos were captured on the 300mm zoom setting with the macro feature on. I was fortunate enough to essentially "steal" this lens off of ebay because the box had already been opened. (On a side note, there is nothing better than getting something at a great deal. It makes me feel like I really cheated "the" system some how.) I chose this Kodak Brownie 8mm turret camera as my subject, one because of it's availability, it was right next to my desk and I was supposed to be studying, and two I love all things vintage film. I love old cameras of all kinds and most recently old movie cameras. I have a dream to one day shoot a really cool video using this camera and have a reel to reel projector waiting in my closet for when this glorious day arrives. Hope you enjoi.

p.s. Happy Valentines Day for all of you out there who are fortunate enough to have one

February is for Lovers.

February is for lovers and here is mine. These are but a few of the keys that make up my 1950's Underwood Champion Finger Elite that I purchased with the sole purpose of making letters to send to Sarah for Valentines Day. There will be fourteen by the time Valentines Day actually arrives. Sarah loves to get snail mail and lets be honest who doesn't? On top of that I am the worst at keeping up with emails and letters, and really just communicating with individuals in general, so I assumed doing something difficult and thoughtful would be the best way to show her my affection and appreciation for the grace she constantly shows me.

This is in response to cupcakes and bunnies post "February is for lovers?" (www.cupcakesandbunnies.blogspot.com)

Winter Wonderland

Over the past few days Fayetteville, Arkansas has been transformed into a winter wonderland. Easily the largest amount of fresh powder I have ever seen at one time in my life. Another photo blog first. I have read that snow is the hardest landscape to take photographs in due to the difficulty in capturing the slight contrast in a sea of white. Deciding to conquer the challenge, Aaron Ricca and I, decided to bundle ourselves from head-to-toe and head to Wilson Park. I was in high hopes of capturing people enjoying the snow and Aaron was determined to find some wonderful still-life photos. On a side note, Aaron and I, have been roommates for three years now and the previous sentence perfectly explains our relationship and the wonders hidden behind the old saying, "polar opposites attract." With my boots dug into the snow, I had selected my location right next to a man-made ski jump and proceeded to attempt to capture a few action shots. During this 15 minutes photo shoot I realized a few things. First of all, people love to be photographed. It creates a very interesting proposition for the recreational photographer. Probably due to the narcissism that is embedded deep within our evil nature, most people enjoy having their photo taken. It creates almost a perfect relationship, photographers (those who shoot people) are in need of a multitude of individuals and there are multitudes of people who are ready to be the one standing in front of the lense. Secondly, if you appear at a location that is at least slightly crowded with a camera bag slung around your shoulder and a SLR camera up to your face, you must look like you work for the paper. I was asked roughly four times by various teenage boys if I would take their photo for the newspaper. The disappointment that slowly showed on their face as I told them I was in fact not affiliated with the newspaper made me want to have lied. Lastly, once again I have stumbled upon something that the Lord is asking me to readily use to advance His kingdom.