TSRA Calendar shoot.

I've really enjoyed shooting the calendar at the Saunders Corps of Cadets Center at A&M these past few years, but this year we shot at a local restaurant that has a big collection on the walls.  Dr. Sneed came up to assist along with Jackson and we knocked off 10 shots in a short day.  Location was just three miles from my house.  Happy to have new guns but also a bunch of new backgrounds to work with.  Borrowed a Nikon D3 to shoot and mostly used one soft box and a white card for reflector.

Just out of the frame it's clamp and tape hell.

Side-hammer guns.

Slightly different take on side-hammers.

  An inset on one of the black powder guns.

Shotguns!

  Dr. Sneeds dad's Airforce S&W.

  Luger, Sneeds Nazi dagger and a little Mauser.

Nambu and one of my theater-made knives from WWII

Cut down Detective Special.

Old guns on a blanket I bought near Shiprock years ago.

Common pistol.

Last shot of the day.  Derringers on the end of an old trunk.  One light and a card, plus I had to stand on an apple box to get up with a short telephoto.

Cranked along.  I started with the hardest set-ups first and worked to the easy ones by the late afternoon.  The guns are currently being ID-ed.  Going to add a few I already had on hand.  Hope to get one more years shoot out of this location.             

Glad to get this project done as it is adding up to a very busy summer.  

Taxi driver.

A profession more hazardous than policing.

Buried Spitfires: The fight joins.

Who gets these planes?

Camp Perry Sitting Rapid fire....in 1930s.

This ain't the way we do it now.  Looks like a 10 shot string with two stripper clips loaded, 5 points per hit.  Lotta 49s shot.

   Great hats, great rifles.  I'm not sure the guy on the end is going to get all his shots off.

Bothering Barred Owls.

As soon as the day rolls toward evening he pops out.  I'm sure he is ready to eat.  Several shots from below with my 500mm Nikon mirror lens, the last from up in the tree with him. 

Shiprock Image Management.

18mm end-of-the-Nikon-zoom shot of Shiprock from the South East.  Pretty wide and looking up.  Hope to get an image into the 5X7 off an Super Angulon 90mm using a little bit of rise.  I was on the ground here.  I have the dike next to me, (15 feet elevation), and my Toyota, (12 or so).  Going to look at it after sundown when the light softens out.  

  This had a polarizer on it.  Probably around 9:30am.  Getting to where I don't mind a little uneven sky, if that's what the condition actually was.  Ought to be better late.  The sun will be far to the left.

  I put the 90mm on an 8X10.  I could see the image circle but looked like there was plenty of room. Tech sheet says a 215mm image circle.  Looked and measured bigger wide open at F8.  Moved the lens to the 5X7.  Looked like plenty of room and about an inch- (all the front board would shift), of rise and fall.  Bellows really nested up so the lens is right in the center and won't be moving much.

  So I get a little higher, improve the viewpoint, better light and manage the image with a little rising front on a nice 5X7 negative.  Ought to be a great image.  This viewpoint is rarely if ever seen.

  Black Giant right in the center.  It's actually a freestanding monolith that throws a pretty good shadow.  Probably strengthen it up with a little spotting.

Here's the whole thing at 18mm.  There's even more room than I thought.  Polarizer is edging the top right corner.

The Black Giant.  Great spot to get a couple of little waterfalls coming off the rock after a big downpour.

Here's the light I need.  Notice the shadow behind the spire of the Giant.  This was late evening after the sun was below the horizon.  I'll be at the tip of the volcanic dike seen working it's way to the bottom of the talus slope on the left side of Shiprock.

First Barred Owl chick standing in the door.

   Biggest and oldest chick.  The biggest tend to get even MORE food and get bigger.  The last-born can starve to death or get eaten by the others.

500mm Nikon mirror lens.  Old film cam lens I bought in perfect shape.  Great time to try it out.  Had to run the ISO up to 3200 and it wasn't enough.

Mom standing by waiting for the tourists to clear out.  Might be the mate behind her.

I figured we would see the first-born chick sooner or later....and there he was.  Barred Owls.  Very common in this ecosystem.

  Last few years we have followed the Screech Owls as they hatched out and dispersed.  Missing them this year- they picked another knothole, but these guys have been in evidence all Spring.

Gulf Wooden Ship.

More boat stuff.  Pretty amazing.

And MORE boat stuff from the Gulf.

Oil companies finding everything.  Photos and a history here.  A ship named the SS Robert E. Lee would be...um...insensitive these days.  But not then.

More stuff underwater.  The Gulf is just now beginning to be explored.  We don't really know much about it at all.

Happy 100th Birthday to the Battleship Texas!

She was built for WWII, reconditioned and fought in WWII in the Atlantic, took part in supporting D-Day in Normandy, then steamed to the Pacific and fired cover for the Marines at Iwo Jima.  Quite a storied ship.

WWII Fighter found in Desert

Pretty amazing.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18038650

Panola Leg Match: Relay 3 in the pits.

Ken Stracner.

Robert Langham.

Kyle.

Clay Hefner.

Tony Miller.

Lauren LeCren.

David Keys.

Alan Wilson.

Mark McFadin.

Brandy.

James Pennington.

Rick Tanner.

Michael McCabe.

Panola NRA Regional Weekend.

Jim Booker's rifle.  Booker is our token cannibal as we celebrate diverse peoples.  Clay says he will eat Jim's famous hat if Obama is re-elected.

James Pennington becomes the undisputed winner of the Big-Ass Hat contest.

Kyle gets his game face on.

Emily Hogg keeps her game face on.

  Doug Girard/Em Hogg rifles.  Doug got LEG points today, sits at 28.

Jesus sandals make a rare appearance on the firing line.

Everything cropped out of this photo is David Keys.

James Pennington in his normal-ass hat.

Our favorite Roger Lankford....first leather in the leg match.  Again.  He's having a coat made with the hair inside.

Match Director Ken Gaby surveys the scene.  Big crowds all days.  Five relays on the Regional day.

Morely Obed from New Mexico.

One of the heavily-armed Cagel children.

Buffalo John Zuback ready for prone rapid.

Nez Rongero stretched out with his M1A.  Nez went distinguished long ago with three consecutive LEG Match wins.  His badge number is 1234.

DO NOT attempt this at home: These are professionals on a closed course:  Bailey Fairchild watusi-ed up for prone rapid.  Bailey was the TOP non-Distinguished.  28 points.  At 600 she shot a seven, three nines....and cleaned it the rest of the way.

Feats of Strength:  Some young whippersnappers challenged Dave Wilson to a pull-up contest and the best they could manage was a weak draw.  Advantage: Dave @ 21 pull-ups.

James can almost do as many pull ups as someone twice his age.  Plus a little more.  That's the pistol LEG match, (29 non-distingushed shooters, three legs), in the background.

Can you believe they didn't put THESE GUYS on Top Shot? 

The employable Mitchell Hogg.

Conrad Myrick and Izzy.

Lauren Lecren.  Shooting a little better every match.

Alan Wilson scoring.

Rare view of Roger Sepaugh from the International Space Station.