Bad Teeth and a Beard

Chris Henry

I’ve shared the field with Chris Henry on 6 different occasions. (4 games, 2 training camp scrimmages.) I’m sure there are players that would snicker at that. A photographer doesn’t really “share the field” with the players. But I was there, doing my best to capture the memories that those players have. Right next to them. 2 feet away in our ugly NFL red vest. I shared in the triumph of their touchdowns, and the frustration of missed opportunities.

I’m a fan. Not a journalist. Journalists stay detached. It’s only about the story. I enjoy the story. I enjoy telling the story through a set of images. But, I’m not detached. I soak in every minute of it with the joy of a 7 year old who watched his first Bengals game in front of his great grandma’s television as they took on the 49ers in Super Bowl 23. On December 27th, I’ll go out onto the sideline and take photos for a solid 3 hours. Afterwards, I’ll run out onto the field and slap the players on the back, tell em “good job” and try to snag some more great moments as they greet the other team as friendlies for the first time in the day. And Chris won’t be there to slap on the back and say good job. Not because he’s hurt. Because he’s gone.

I’ve only had a handful of interactions with Chris. Those moments that I HAVE had have been playing back repeatedly in my mind since I first heard of his accident. During training camp we had a discussion about his ability to Ustream…it probably wasn’t going to happen. The times in the game where I did give him a slap on the back. He’d turn and just smile quietly. Chris was hard to approach. He wasn’t someone like Tank Johnson, who is so outgoing you know you can have a laugh with him at any time. Chris had a quiet determination about him that made you respect his space. But in that quietness was a kind, gentle person. It was blatantly obvious.

I’m sorry to see Chris go. I’m sorry for his family and friends. I’m sorry for his teammates. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to know him better or to get that one touchdown photo that he’d love to see. But I’m happy that I had the chance to share the field with him while he played.

-C

The Cincinnati Enquirer Refuses to Have a Real Relationship

Okay, I’m going to keep this as brief as possible. I’m not a fan of rants, really. Especially the ones dedicated to some faceless corporation that does not take into account it’s employees’ actual relations with their customers. No worries here, there is a definite face, and it’s the one on the right.

Margaret Buchanan is the President and Publisher of Enquirer Media, which is owned by Gannet Company, Inc. Recently, as many of you already know, Gannet laid off 8% of it’s staff. This included 101 employees at Enquirer Media, including the entire staff of CinWeekly.

Many of my social media buddies are employed by Enquirer Media. I, in fact, was a freelance photographer for the Enquirer for some time, and frankly, had a great experience working with everyone there. The Enquirer has a large staff of very talented people, and have provided our city with a great tool for communication. I think we need to remember that.

There have been cries of “Why don’t you talk about your own layoffs, Enquirer!” which, I suppose I can understand, but I don’t think it’s necessarily their responsibility to speak to that. They reserve the right to keep silent on the subject, and I’m okay with that. They don’t owe us, the reader, an explanation. It was Gannet’s decision, not theirs. But here’s where they failed miserably. This so-called “Letter from the Publisher.”

This is a letter? To me this looks like marketing collateral stating the Enquirer’s history, demographics and distribution. Really Margaret? That’s how you decided to speak out about your own layoffs? Instead of celebrating the people who worked there, and those that continue to work there (who are doing AMAZINGLY GOOD things there, by the by) you choose to sell us on your distribution numbers??? That’s how you’re going to “connect” with your readers? Here, let me help you. Take a look at your OWN employees who are actually authentic:

Tom Callinan posted this on Twitter at 5:00PM today: “Two awful days done. Hope, pray for better days for 101 laid off & those who remain on the job & in industry.”

Mandi Jenkins posted this on Twitter at 12:30 on July 8th: “I keep wondering how anyone can do work today. Then I keep working.”

Not to mention the transparency of those that WERE laid off, like Kelly Hudson, who spread the word with the #BlackWednesday hashtag.

Here’s my point, Margaret, these people know how to communicate to their readers in today’s world. You, however, do not. You have only shown how cold the publisher of the Enquirer can be, and how little you actually care about being authentic. How about joining the conversation?

7 Things About Me You Never Knew You Needed To Know

Jennifer McClure set a challenge, and I am going to man up. Here are 7 Things About Me You Never Knew You Needed To Know:

1. I won Best Actor in High School for 3 years straight. I wanted to go to the School of Perfoming Arts but my mother said that it wasn’t a “real school.” I then had an audtion for AMDA in NYC and missed it because I dj’ed the night before.

2. I’m addicted to learning new things and won’t stop until I feel like I could do it professionally.

3. I’ve toured the country on 3 different occasions. I’ve also made the drive from Cincinnati, OH to San Diego, CA twice.

4. Half of my siblings, along with my father, have lived in England all of my life.

5. My wife and I dated in high school for three years, and then parted ways for six. I, on the west coast, and her on the east coast, we didn’t speak at all. In the end, she stalked me down through MySpace.

6. My bad teeth (good personal branding) come from having earaches as a kid. They gave me antibiotics that stained them from the inside out, while they were growing in. If I wanted to fix them, the dentist would have to shave them down and cap them. I’d rather just keep my awkward smile, it makes it easier to remember my face.

7. I have worn glasses since kindergarten. I wore broken pairs until I could afford to buy them myself. I have never worn contacts.

Cheers,
-C

Cameratown Linkage!

http://www.cameratown.com

Good site for cheap photo gear. Am I linking to enter a contest? Yes. Especially because I have some old Pentax lenses just sitting in a case. They need a body!

Here’s hoping…

Migraines.

At home sick today with a migraine. I always feel like a total wimp when I have to call and say I’m staying home because of a migraine, and it makes me feel super guilty. I mean, seriously, for people who have never had one, all they can think is “really? you’re staying home because of a headache?” Sigh. I need to find a way to educate people without being a jerk. In the meantime, here’s some info:

Dr. Joel R. Saper, M.D., F.A.C.P., Director, Michigan Head-Pain & Neurological Institute, summarized for M.A.G.N.U.M. the problems associated with Migraine: “There is no condition of such magnitude that is as shrouded in myth, misinformation, and mistreatment as is this condition [Migraine], and there are few conditions which are as disabling during the acute attack.”

In addition to being disabling, Migraines can be life-threatening. To put this in perspective, more people died from Migrainous Stroke last year than were murdered with handguns. The World Health Organization in 2004 in a Blue Book report noting that Migraine & Headache disorders are a global public health calamity. Dr Peer Tfelt-Hansen, president of IHS, explained:

“They are common neurobiological and often life-long conditions occurring throughout the world that affect men, women and children. They have been shown to cause a huge burden of disability. WHO ranks Migraine as one of the top twenty causes of years of healthy life lost to disability. And Migraine is but one headache disorder Ð all headache disorders together cause at least double the disability of Migraine alone.”

MYTH: A MIGRAINE IS JUST A BAD HEADACHE.

REALITY: MIGRAINE IS A DISEASE, A HEADACHE IS ONLY A SYMPTOM. IN ADDITION, THE CAUSE OF MIGRAINE PAIN IS THE OPPOSITE OF THE CAUSE OF HEADACHE PAIN.

Unlike a headache, the Migraine disease has many symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, auras (light spots), sensitivity to light and sound, numbness, difficulty in speech, and severe semihemispherical head pain. One Migraine attack alone can last for eight hours, several days, or even weeks.

-C

TWIP

Photography friends, make sure to visit http://www.twipphoto.com for wonderful photo goodness. (Yes, this is a shameless link to enter their contest.)

Seriously?

How are you still looking at this blog?

Well, I admire your dedication and promise that more updates are coming soon. I’ve taken the last few months to reorganize my life a little bit, and frankly, I’m happy with the result. No more working with risky small businesses run by assholes who have no damn idea about their product, no more scraping by as an artist, no more… irresponsibility. I’m moving forward, and while this post most likely sounds extremely selfish, I can tell you that it goes well beyond myself. Stability for family. That’s the game, now. And I’m ready for it, and happy to make this turn in life.

By finding humility, I’ve found the most stable place I’ve been in since my beginning. IT is great work, and I get to walk away from it at the end of the day. This, friends who assume that one’s passion will result in the PERFECT career, is quite possibly the greatest feeling of freedom for me right now. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to create art solely because you feel like creating it, and not because you’re getting paid to crank out something horrible quickly. To be able to go to a 9 to 5 and walk away and have your weeknights and weekends to spend doing things and being around people you love is burden lifting. And I think I need it right now.

Quick bits of personal news:

—- Just bought a new camera. Nikon D80 with a SB600 speedlight. I plan on using this a lot and letting my friends reap the benefits. (This means good photos of you, my friends.)

—- Getting a new puppy. A Husky, in fact. We’re going to the breeder on Saturday. Nic is ecstatic, and Rook is pretty happy too. She’s been pretty lonely with both of us away all day.

—- I am currently enrolled and attending school at Scarlet Oaks Institute of Science and Technology. Yes, you heard that correctly. Hope to have my A+, Net+ and MCSE certifications by this time next year. This kills my Monday and Wednesday nights though, as I don’t get home until around 10PM.

—- We are currently remodeling our bedroom. New ceiling, new paint, new closet. Plus new Ikea furniture. It is going well, we have the furniture and the ceiling is up. Should be done shortly.

—- Thursdays are Rock Bottom Thursdays. Working downtown at a big shiny office has it’s perks. One of them is being a block away from the best Wheat Ale this side of the Mississippi. Feel free to join. Fun starts at 5:30PM.

—- Still a Bengals fan. Despise the owner, hate the coaches, disappointed in the players, but still a fan.

Okay, enough of my updates. What has everyone else been up to?????

-C

Bengals Season.

Friends,

One of the most wonderful times of the year is upon us, football season. Now, I may, by definition, be a geek. An awkard geek at that, but, a few years ago I defied all rules of geekdom and fell in love with team sports. Specifically, football. More specifically, the Cincinnati Bengals.

How did this happen?? Well, it all began when I was 7 years old. I was sitting on my Granny’s green, shag carpeted floor, in my Batman pajamas that had the feet attached to them. I was staring into her television, watching Ickey Woods and Boomer Esiason play in the Super Bowl. This was my foundation.

I’ve always been a fan of the Bengals since then, often getting mocked in Junior High for wearing a Bengals Starter coat (when every else was wearing the Charlotte Hornets.) It took me a bit to fully understand the game, and I must credit John Madden Football for the Sega Genesis for teaching me the real ins and outs of how it was played. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that playing video games isn’t productive. My fandom stayed quiet for a long time, and didn’t really kick in full force until a few years ago, when I genuinely realized that it’s okay to let that “man gene” out every once and a while. Carson had just been drafted, and Kitna was still our starting quarterback. I fell in love with the game all over again.

Now, another season is about to begin and with it come the yearly quizzical looks from friends and family who would never have pegged me a football fan. The question “why?” is constantly asked, so I thought I’d take a second to explain it.

“Why do you like football, and the Cincinnati Bengals in particular?”

Well, I love playing the game. I’ve been an active person for all of my life. I began playing hockey when I was 12, and quickly moved on to aggressive skating, which gave me my first career directly out of high school. People don’t seem to make the connection. For a lanky, awkward dude, I genuinely enjoy playing sports. Unfortunately, I didn’t have encouraging parents. They only saw a kid who was book smart, and good with computers, so why would he want to play any sports? No one gave me that option. No one said “hey, why don’t you try football?” So, I didn’t. This isn’t blaming anyone at all, just the way things happened. It wasn’t until later in life, post college years, that I was secure enough in myself to realize that I could be a dang good wide reciever. So, now, I play flag football with my much larger brothers, and have a blast trying to make the post route catch without running into a car.

The comradery. Nothing brings dudes together quicker than rooting for their home team. It transcends race, as well as gender. I think we can learn a lot as people from taking part in a community of fans. Something so simple as rooting for the same team can break down religous, political and societal walls. It’s hard to explain if you’ve never experienced it, and if you’re a “geek” or “outcast” or what have you, you’ve probably never given it a fair shake. There is something genuine and sincere about the fun that takes place when watching, or playing, a football game. I feel like a lot of the world doesn’t want to take the time out of their life for fun, for true, genuine fun. People get too wrapped up in their houses and cars and need for more material things that they see something as simple as watching a football game as a waste of time. Here is my peice of advice: Fun is never a waste of time. Especially when it is had around good friends.

This football season isn’t just a time to root for your home team. It’s an opportunity to spend time around those you love, sharing in triumphant moments, and encouraging one another in the wake of defeat. So, enjoy the community that a little game with a ball can create, and always remember: WHO DEY!!!

-C