This is Pretty Cool...

A dance photo I shot for a magazine is competing for a national award — what?!?

See my photo with all of these great publications? It’s second row center, next to the black and white of Tom Brady.

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Sorry about the midweek email, but this is some big news.

First, a little background.

Last summer, I had a chance to go to the Texas’ Aldine Independent School District to work on a story and take photos of dance and theater students. Aldine, located in north Houston, is a 90/90 school district, meaning 90 percent of the students are minority and 90 percent receive free or reduced-price lunch. The district pays for arts training for its students so they have the same opportunities as their wealthier peers.

The story, which was published in the October 2021 issue of American School Board Journal, came at a time when I really needed some inspiration as a freelancer. Seeing my photography and writing in print on a subject near and dear to my heart — arts in education — was part of the impetus for moving back into the personal writing I discussed in this past weekend’s essay.

Now, my cover photo from that story is in the running for a Readers’ Choice Award in the American Society of Magazine Editors’ Best Cover Contest 2022. ASME is the organization that serves the largest, biggest, and best magazines in the country.

I realize the chances of winning are slim to none, given the number of entries (228) and especially the quality and budgets of the competition. But to be recognized even in some small way for doing what you love is a great honor.

If you’d like to vote in the contest, which runs until midnight EST on Monday, February 28, give my photo a “like” here. I’d appreciate it!

To see the rest of the photos from the shoot, go to my Facebook album here. (You don’t have to be on Facebook to see the photos.) Click on this link to read the story.

Also…

While we’re on the subject of photography…

In January, I posted a series of photos taken during a morning drive through Central Virginia on a brisk winter morning. At the time, I promised to share more photos from our trips through the rural parts of the state, something we’ve done frequently since purchasing a small family place just over a year ago. Today, I posted the first of a two-part series featuring color photos taken randomly over the past year, including a few shot over the holiday weekend.

Most of the trips we make are either family related or “up and backs,” weekend excursions that don’t allow a lot of time to take a lot of photos. But I always have a camera out, whether it’s my iPhone or my regular DSLR, and I’m constantly shooting the things that catch my eye for whatever reason. Occasionally it’s a sunrise or landscape; sometimes it’s just a random thing right in front of us that we normally would overlook.

You can see the rest of these photos — again, you don’t have to be on Facebook to view them — by clicking here. The second set, to be posted later this week, will feature a selection of black and whites.

As always, thoughts and comments welcome. See you with a regularly scheduled essay this weekend.