"I'm covering a triathlon this weekend," I said
"You're DOING a triathlon?" a friend inquired.
"Do I LOOOOOK like a triathlete?" I said, with self depreciating humor.
Actually, I was taking pictures of the triathlon. My assignment - to photograph the "flavor and the fun" of the event. They're feeding me, putting me up in this great house, and PAYING me ... to take PIX! (Another company does the individual photos of the participants - about 1,800 people).
ohhh ... I had to pick up 1,000 chicken wraps on my way down on Friday afternoon.
This is where communications is the key. My Fit Food called and said 1,000 wraps was a huge undertaking and instead of 4pm, could I pick them up at 5? No problem, I have a planning meeting with the APO/Theta Rho group, so I stopped to work on that. I called at 5pm - would 6pm be okay? No problem, still at meeting. I called at 6 - they'll be ready when you get here.
I'm glad I had the mini-van, because 1,000 wraps took up most of the mid cargo department. Think 18 milk crates! I put the two captain's chairs in the back area, and there were 9 crates on the bottom, 6 crates on top of that .. and we're off to Kemah. The mini-van now smells "healthy" with scents of chicken, curry, garlic, camino ... yummmm ... and why are these people jogging after me??? LOL (not really - just imagining)
Got to Kemah later than expected but took pix of the charity dinner, silent auction items, and had my first meeting with US Olympic triathletes Andy Potts and Matty Reed. We saw LOTS of each other during the weekend. Dinner was penne pasta and Barefoot Pinot Grigio (Barefoot was one of the event sponsors).
Found the house ... and it was awesome!!! It's a Bed and Breakfast right on the bay. If you followed my Facebook posts, you know that I slept on the porch. It just felt great. Sat in a chair and drifted off the the sounds of the waves ... birds ... wind .. the smell of the salt air ... and a "deliciously cold wind" - it felt great!!! Just a spur of the moment thing that really enhanced my mood and feeling!
Saturday morning it was rise and shine. The staff and workers were up at 3:30. I woke up later - 5:00am! LOL I'll post some links for my Saturday pix.
Now, I found the first problem on Saturday that was to become one of many - I didn't have my name badge or staff shirt. I had to talk my way through all the security places. Second, it was way cooler than I'd expected, but I had a sweatshirt. But what about tomorrow?
what else could go wrong????
About 8:30, I found out. I could see this triangular white spot in my pix. I double checked my meter setting. I looked at the scene, I checked my white balance again. Then I saw a black shadow. It was there, then gone, then on every third photo shadow. I hoped. I prayed. I knew it was a shutter problem. But maybe ... ??? Then the camera stopped working. I asked several other guys but no one had a camera I could borrow.
Soooo ... I emailed, sent tweets on Twitter, and posted a note on Facebook. As it started to rain, I took off to Houston.
Professional Camera Repair opens at 9:00am on Saturday and I was there to see Mike, the owner and DSLR guru, just a little past opening time. Ohhh - I had been there on Friday afternoon because the camera wasn't reading my memory cards - neither of them. A quick cleaning of the contacts seemed to do the trick. Maybe that was problem number 1. Mike didn't charge me and wished me luck in the photo shoot. This time, however, the fix wasn't as quick or simple.
First Mike looked at the pix, shook his head, then looked inside the camera.
See that, he said, shining the flashlight inside the body? One of the three shutter blades pulled off a rivet. That shouldn't happen, he said, and added that he wasn't able to do that detailed of a repair. It would have to be sent to Canon USA and would take 3-6 weeks. My heart sank.
I was on my way to meet Neal Scott and borrow his camera. It was now raining harder. I had to back out of the small parking lot onto Richmond Ave. As I concentrated on the traffic, I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. Crrunch! I stopped and looked. I had dislocated my driver's side mirror. I pulled forward to check out the damage. The electronic adjustment still worked - wheww! When I stepped outside, I could see the cracked housing. I was able to push it back into place And I saw the smudge of yellow paint and the dent. I wasn't bad ... it could have been worse. I just shook my head. What else could happen???
I drove CAREFULLY through the rain to meet Neal. We can always cheer one another up and so he did to me. We talked abot the camera issues, discussed whether the rain would stop for the Dynamo game Saturday evening, and made plans to meet.
As I left, a friend called. The day was getting better as we talked.
But talking was a distraction, and going back to Kemah I was in the wrong lane and ended up taking a tour around the University of Houston campus. I wanted ot be here for the Dynamo game about 6pm .. but not right now!!! LOL
Who does road work on a rainy Saturday??? TXDOT in Houston! What a mess sitting in traffic. Don't ask what could get worse!!!
I returned to the race in time for the seminars with Andy and Matty. They were great, the participants asked good questions, and both athletes had personal time talking and signing autographs. Some great pix. I sized some for friends and sent them off to Sam's Club and told them I'd pick them up that evening and bring them back on Sunday. Cool! Smiles!!!
With the day seemingly saved, I talked with the organizers and promoters (the guys who hired me) and they said I had some great shots, not to worry about what I missed.
As I left, I looked out, and here come Matty Reed on a jog ... just working out by himself. I grabbed the camera and snapped some shots. For a comparison, think about going to a local park and seeing Lance Berkman tossing a baseball in the air and hitting it ... or finding Phil Mickelson working on his 9 iron shots ... ??? Again - coolness!
Going into Houston a second time.
First, Patty had agreed to meet me with my official shirt and some warmer clothes. Got them and moved on. I got to Sam's and picked up the pix. They were okay but acceptable. As I changed into a long sleeve undershirt and Dynamo polo, I was looking for my glasses. My second crunchhhhh of the day - I stepped on them. I looked at the damage and the only thing I'd done was pop the wire off the bottom. Had I been thinking clearly, i would have run straight to Eyemasters.
But the rain and other problems had clouded my mind, and I was off to Robertson Stadium to see La Ponte Najarana. The good thing about Canon DSLR's ... and others ... you can adjust the eye piece to your vision - so I could see clearly through the lens. I didn't get the flashlight give-away item because I was late. I had missed tailgating with sally and Neal and others. So I wandered around the Soccer Fest ... took some pix ... chatted with folks ... but it was blurry.
I took lots of pix at the game watching from the end zone. But the Galaxy scored two goals at the opposite end. One of the Dynamo players received a red card. Not only did the Orange now have to play a man short for the rest of the game, but Luis Landin will be ineligible for next Saturday's game, and we've already lost Brian Ching to a hamstring injury for several weeks - so we're short both our key strikers!
I drove back to Kemah without incident ... but without the usual post game party. A bright spot were text messages from friends ... tough to read with just one lens though.
The night on the porch was windier ... but I had more clothes. And the shower was awesome!!! I had the house to myself each morning to get ready. What a fantasy!
Other than not being able to focus clearly, Sunday was a great day. It was bright and sunny and chilly. I took great pix (thanks again Neal for the great camera). The light house pix are awesome!!!! I had to adjust the camera by feel and there was a lapse or two. But more keepers than deletes!
The athletes enjoyed the race, the post race, the awards. Did I mention the weather was great??? I went back to the house and sat on the porch again, worked on photos, took a shower and headed out. I stopped at the fish market and picked up two pounds of fresh calamari - yummmm. I stopped at Baybrook Mall and EyeMaters - it took about 15 minutes to fix my glasses! Talked to my folks in two different conversations. Got some text messages. Did I mention how pretty the weather was???? Awesomeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
No further damages or conflicts! The camera had a great time as well!
The weekend ended better than what it seemed. The good outweighed the bad. It always does!
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