Formation

Sometimes I think the daily grind makes me stop thinking. Today was a little bit better. Hope springs eternal.

Chattanoogans

It rained about 6" in Chattanooga today. This poor woman slipped on the sidewalk and landed on her hip then hit her head. But something wonderful happened. Strangers from very different walks of life, the man on the left is the senior vice president of a local bank, the man on the right is a security guard there, all stopped to watch over her until EMS arrived. For 20 minutes they talked with her and kept her dry. It's comforting to know that this is a city of good Samaritans.

Masked

This assignment was posing as something visually alluring and turned out to be a typically black tie, grip-and-grin sort of affair. Only the belly dancers had appeal.

Drenched

This game was not particularly noteworthy. The team I was assigned to follow was down 21-0 at the half. The referees also threw a flag on more than 80 percent of the plays. This meant there was very little action in the amount of time I had to shoot. This was also my first experience shooting football in the driving rain. Why don't they make better raincoats for my camera?

Bat cat

Sheer contrast.
Bruce wishes you all a Happy Halloween.

Makes the world go round

Amid bomb scares and gunshots, there are still moments of joy, love and happiness. Who would have reason to go on otherwise? Here's to spinning in circles, just for the fun of it.

Cobbler

The word is nearly obsolete. So are the machines. This one, buried in the back room of Tim's Shoe, Boot & Leather Repair, sports a cobweb extending to the ceiling.

Ostentatious and subtle

The governor of Georgia sure knows how to arrive in style. When everyone exited the helicopter to walk up to the high school, I could not figure out whom to photograph - the governor was the only person not in a sport coat. He had worn a green polo shirt to bestow the Governor's Cup to the student body.

Joy

I liked this picture so much more than the action shot they ran in the paper. The energy during the last set of a tournament game was just so much ore evident. This was the first time I've ever lit a gym, which was not terribly successful, but it was publishable, at least.

Delight

It is a great quality in a person. This woman is a storyteller, former ballerina, artist and much more. She was returning from a Middle Eastern dance class when the rain started mid-afternoon. A free spirit walking through the businessmen downtown. She just beams energy as she speaks in a melodious voice, spinning a tale of the weather.

Chaos

The lifestyle department started apologizing for this one before I even left for the assignment. The amount of antiques and junk (depending on your perspective) in this place was akin to Grandma's Attic - if that's a point of reference for any of you. They seemed to think the mannequin idea was going to be frustrating, but mannequins don't fidget or blink. I was pretty happy with it.

So what, big detail

I am coordinating the photos for a new section of the paper we are doing on North Georgia; the state line is only four miles or so from the paper. This has been really stressful so far as the intern, who has spent a very limited amount of time in the area. I have started stockpiling picture packages, since we will be running one daily starting Oct. 31, which I will either shoot or assign. No pressure. Anyway, this detail is I think the only image I liked from the first round of hunting. Definitive signs of fall for some, I hope.

Boom

This event didn't go as planned, to say the least. We were supposed to be covering a drumline competition, but the groups all got there so late, they just skipped that part. It was a true tragedy, since the drumlines have so much attitude all their own outside of the marching band. You've never seen quite so much dancing at a band competition. Some of the groups had a color guard, a dance team and (get this) majorettes - a group I thought died off in the '70s when my mother cast aside her white boots. It has been resurrected in style by the predominantly African-American high schools of the South.

Missing the mark

In a cruel twist of fate, this event ended at 12:30. It takes 30 minutes to get there from the newspaper, and my shift started at noon. At least the horses were still engaging, though I was supposed to be photographing a cannon demonstration. Oops.