Times have changed.

As players command bigger salaries and the fan can only afford so much to watch a game or buy a partial or full season ticket, there had to be some type of change to make this whole thing work.

If you were to travel back 25 years, it was very likely the only advertising you would see in a stadium was above the field, ice or floor. Boy has that changed. Now players wear ads, the playing areas have them fully integrated so everyone is receiving a message of some sort. Even football had its players decked out this year---although for a good cause, the wearing of pink gloves was a sign that marketing was omnipresent. I don’t think we would be making any comments to lineman about their choice of color however---just an observation!

I am not a purist by any means, and I do realize that players want what the market will pay them, but the first time I saw for example an advertisement on the ice at a hockey game, I thought, “where is this all heading?” Of what I recall, and it did make sense, it was for an “ice” beer. Even though it had more synergy than say an ad for a car, it was a change---as they see it, space anywhere means more money.

The photo above demonstrates some of the biggest changes I have seen in sports. Sure football and basketball have their cheerleaders, and baseball its mascots, but what about the women who shovel the ice in hot pants at NHL games? I am not sure if this is an “around the league phenomena” or just in Chicago, but if they are looking for fan involvement, they’ve got it. Chicago Black Hawk fans are completely different than Chicago Bulls fans and they can not get enough of these women. Although both teams play in the same stadium, the changing of the court to ice and vice versa brings out a completely different fan base.

To be honest, you can tell these women are actually into the game and they are very good skaters---certainly not a bad idea if you are going to be doing the clean up duty at an NHL game. I am not sure what’s next on the sports agenda, but I will be looking through my lens to capture the latest developments and report back to you through Snap. Shot.

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Up close and personal.

Shooting pictures is a passion of mine---like you have yet to realize that huh? But even when you anticipate what the pictures are going to be like, say at a basketball game, there is always that element of the unknown. Will there be someone really large next to you? Or in front of you? Or worse yet someone who wants to talk with you while you are taking pictures. I am not an anti-social person, but when you are paying a $100+ for a ticket, and you want to take pictures, chitchat cannot replace cha-ching.

As a photographer you do get to get closer to people. Whether it’s a photo shoot or a sporting event, there is a closeness that happens just by looking through the lens. In the case of a photo shoot, you have their complete attention and they are usually doing everything they can to either get out of it as fast as possible, or get the best picture to be taken. My favorites are when they are dying to go. I will start talking to them and making comments about I know they are anxious to get out of there, but not until I say it’s okay. Amazing how they listen…of course I do it with a smile, but I actually mean it.

One of my favorite moments when shooting is when you catch an animal with an expression that you swear is human. I have had giraffes nuzzle, tigers smile, and apes give pose for what appears to be a portrait. Of course they don’t know what I am thinking, and I have no idea what they are thinking (except that they might want to consume me) but it’s all about the connection between them and another photographer. I can only imagine how hard it must be to be an animal at the zoo---especially a popular one like a giraffe.

In March of last year, actually on St. Patrick’s Day, I saw the Chicago Bulls play the then, World Champion Boston Celtics. The Bulls, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, wore green jerseys, and the Celtics wore white. The seat I had purchased for the game was 4 rows from the court---yes it was not cheap---but I knew it would be worth it. Until I got to my seat. It was very close to the court, but so were the Celtics who were blocking my view of the rest of the court. Of course the guy sitting next to me was big, and the 4 guys in front of me were continuing their celebration of St. Paddy’s Day. So I moved. I moved up 5 rows and it was it worth it.

I was right next to railing and sure enough there were the Celtics; I couldn’t believe that I was going to get a warm up shot. I got a 100 of them. I was going to be sure I didn’t miss this once in “my” lifetime opportunity. The photo above is the team jumping up and down as they prepare for the game. It’s one of those moments that most fans don’t see; I was able to spend a few minutes with them as my lens took me into their world without them even knowing it. It was the night of unexpected outcomes as the Bull’s beat the Celtics in overtime and my camera was willing to take the few extra shots even though I am sure it was worn out!

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The fear of getting older.

Maybe it’s me but there is a fear of growing old. I suspect I am not the only one who feels this way as I have heard many times, “I really hate getting old and if I am ever in a ‘home’ you know what to do.” Although a “throw away” line as I call it, the real fear of getting older is not knowing what really lies ahead. But isn’t this the way it is when you are young?

I know when I was growing up I knew growing older, or going out into the real world, meant taking on more responsibility; it was something I knew would happen, but was not sure I would be ready for it until it did. However, based upon comments I hear from my kids, I have yet to grow up so maybe I am just delaying the inevitable. Actually now that I am past a half century I can look back and say it’s been a heck of a ride---a good one with a few bumps, but all in all a good one. I am pretty sure I am not going to make a 100 so I assume I am more than half way done; I am okay with that I just want to continue to live a quality life.

What is amazing is how one person can age so well and another not as well, sometimes within the same family. I don’t know who gave me my genes, but I have been blessed with better than average ones. My brother and sister are as fortunate as they don’t look, but they do act their ages on a maturity level. (I am striving to get there but have a distance to travel.) If you are a member of Facebook, of which I am, then you know how amazing it is to see photos of people you have not seen in a while. In some cases it is more than 30 years; what baffles me, and this is just my opinion, would be why they put their pictures for everyone to see? The photos I have up, at least the ones I have uploaded, are of the Chicago Bulls and barn shots. Two of my favorite things to photograph by the way.

I don’t have as many Facebook friends as most of my close friends. But it’s that surprise when you are “friended” and you look at the person on your screen. Some look great, some look the same, and you get the rest. My fear is the person looking at me will be thinking I look like option #3.

Then there are people like the photo above. Her name is Thelma and with a name like that, you can be sure she was not born during the Tiffany, Brooke, and Ashley years. Thelma is in her 90s and when we visit her I have to shake my head. She still drives, gardens, and remembers birthdays. The right dates, not a made up one so she can then say, “Oh I made a mistake.” Although she is more frail these days, she is getting older after all, you would have no idea how she does it. Call it genes, call it lifestyle, call it a life certainly you would want to live. I will write about Thelma when she turns 100, because there is little doubt in my mind she will make it.

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24/7/365

We live in a busy world. But for some reason after a break in the action, we realize how this crazy world takes it out of us.

I am not sure if I am alone, but after the holidays or a vacation, I have to re-start my engines a few days before getting back into the action. Failure to do so means I am lost for at least 2 days and that just doesn’t work well in the business world. As we start the workweek again we recall about where we have been, and what we have done over the holidays, and quickly it becomes a distant memory---scary to think in some cases it was all less than 24 hours ago.

A New Year’s resolution was not included in my thinking on December 31; but that’s okay, I am going to set one on January 4^th instead. I am not sure I am going to be able to actually live up to it, but I am going to give it my best shot. For 2010, I am going to work hard, but I am also going to “stop and smell the roses” more than I am accustomed to doing. That might be trying a new food that in the past I would never have allowed to cross my lips, spending more quality time with the kids, or something I have not even figured out yet. But I know if I concentrate on bringing this into my mode of thinking…it’s a first step. An important one

I was talking with a business associate today and he was telling myself and another guy in the office about his trip to South America. He said to both of us, “you really should try to go down there.” He went for 21 days. I looked at both of them and said, “It helps that you are single because this doesn’t happen in real life when you have family commitments.” But as I made the comment I thought, “maybe one day” and meant it. I do believe I will have the opportunity to travel to new and different locations and would very much like to spend time shooting pictures wherever I go. I will not go alone I assure you that as my wife is a better photographer than I am.

I never ask for a feedback in Snap. Shot, but if you do have a resolution you have made, I would like to hear about it.

The photo above is of my wife in front of an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution; it’s a display of the United States and a montage of video clips from around the regions and states. Honestly, it’s confusing to look at up close, but when you step back and take a good look, it’s very easy to understand why a break in our lives is something we all need at one time or another.

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The Blind Side.

If you have seen this movie then you know it's ideal for the holidays. It's got a great message, is good for the family, and above all...it's true!

For many of us, growing up was completely different than what Michael Oher experienced; we likely did not grow up in the projects, our mother was not hooked on drugs, we had a roof over are head and slept in a bed.

Today's blog is not a review of the movie but focusing on someone who took the time to help someone they believed had the capabilities when few others did. For me, there were 3 people who made this happen.

The first was Frank Kelley; he was my first real boss and mentor. Frank saw something in me---he let me know this by providing me with the guidance he had had with over 40 years in the business world. He let me know it was okay to step outside the norm, proceed with confidence in a direction I might not be comfortable with, and to push my creative spirit. We also had something in common; Frank I were slobs. I mean real slobs. But in the end he let me know this was okay. When Frank passed away, part of my life went with him. He was that important to me.

The next influencer was one I would have never suspected. It was another partner at the firm I worked at with Frank, this man was Dick Opfer. If Frank possessed one way of doing things, Dick did the opposite. He was much more focused on the end result and what it took to get there. When he became my boss I was not sure we could work together; he and I had little in common as far as our styles, but he believed in me and I believed in him. Throughout time I knew what I was learning from Dick was the ideal complement of what I learned from Frank. In other words, Dick rounded out my very rough spots. After 26 years of working together, one of the toughest days took place when I told him I was leaving. He was not pleased with my decision, but in the end I think there was a level of pride on his part that I was leaving the nest and moving on to take what I had learned and played it forward. One of the hardest moments was to let Dick know I was laid off from my former company---I felt like I let him down.

The most important influencer in my life has been my Dad. Unlike any man I know, he is the one who molded, guided and instilled in me what being a man, Dad, and businessman are all about. Without my Dad's integrity I would be nothing. Like every child graduating college and getting into the business and real world, I knew what he gave me was invaluable---and learned that he was, in fact, right. (Wow.) But it was the years before graduating that set me on my path---for that, all I can say is "thanks Dad."

The Blind Side is a very good movie and proves once again that there is a lot of good out in the world; the photo above is a perfect example. My Dad is in this photo as are 3 of my 5 daughters. Without my Dad (and my Mom) and their acceptance that all was going to be okay during a very rough time personally for me---my divorce a number of years ago--- 4 very wonderful individuals would not be in my life at this time. I also have to thank my two other children who I hope understand that life does happen, and in the case of my life, my blind side now has 20/20 vision. I have a wonderful life.

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Fly the friendly skies.

If you are under 30 this blog is going to seem like a joke. If you are over 45 it will not. (It's the 15 years in between that I am not sure about.)

Back in the 60s flying was a really exciting thing to do. As a young boy I would count down the days before a vacation and count them down as fast as possible if we were actually flying to our destination. It didn't happen often as the tickets were a lot of money and with 5 in our family, and the ability for my father to take 2 and 3 week vacations, who wouldn't drive a car? We did drive for most of our trips but I do remember one time when we flew to Florida---it was a very special trip. (One of the biggest reasons was it didn't take 2 and half days to get there.) My Dad must not have been with us at the beginning of the trip as I recall our taking a taxi to the hotel; the fear of the numbers growing on the taxi meter was something I still remember. I was not sure how my Mom was going to pay that much money, but she did. Today it would be a trip from point A to point B in the city.

When you flew on a plane, you knew it was an occasion and you dressed up for that occasion. We are talking nice pants, nice shirt and even a sport coat at times---oh we have come a long way. They served food on the plane and there were people at the airport who helped you get your bags when you arrived.

My favorite airline back then was Eastern Airlines. Of what I recall I liked the colors of the plane's interior and they were one of the popular airlines of the times. In St. Louis there were not many airlines that flew to Florida, but I believe Eastern and TWA did. United and American were in business but to my knowledge they didn't fly to MO.

So let's move forward some 40 years and what do we have? People dress in sweats, shorts and other forms of clothing. A suit? Not unless you are a business man and flying most cases to NYC. The glamour of flying is long gone, but getting there faster than by car is still true in most cases. One of the reasons I drive from Chicago to St. Louis is that with all of the time spent in the airport it's faster to drive. But one of the differences is...it's cheaper at times to fly. Still not always worth the hassle.

My favorite airline is no longer Eastern, but named for another direction; I am a frequent flyer on Southwest airlines. They do make flying a little more fun, but best of all---there's a better chance of being on time to your destination. Food, of course, is no longer part of the equation and for some airlines checking bags is no longer free---it is on Southwest. (If you have flown on Southwest and have been sung to by one of the flight attendants, you know how they make every attempt of putting the fun back in flying.)

The photo above is nothing like any of the planes I have flown on; this picture was taken during the practice days prior to the air and water show in Chicago. I have no idea how they get that close to one another and I don't really want to know. As I see it, if they are all looking to land on time, I don't want to be the one telling them who lands first.

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Spring is around the corner.

Now that the New Year's celebration is behind us it's time to start focusing on the next big event. No, not Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day or any other holiday, we're talking spring training! The first games are scheduled to start in approximately 60 days. (Factoring in February being a short month and all.)

If it seems baseball just ended, it did. The New York Yankees won the World Championship on November 5, 2009---if you do that math, that's a shorter period of time from the last game of the series to the beginning of spring training in MLB history. It's a good thing they were not playing in Chicago, they would have been competing with the Bulls, Bears and Mother Nature. For some reason right after Halloween the weather turns---it's like it's all planned that way.

I do like baseball, it's a game that is fairly easy to understand. Baseball has it's moments of extraordinary athleticism, and is the game I grew up with in St. Louis, Missouri. As a boy there was little doubt the team that had St. Louis's heart were the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals were the sport in town; not the only sport as we had pro basketball---yes, the St. Louis Hawks---but in the mid-60s they moved to Atlanta, then the Blues arrived in 1968 when the league expanded. In a matter of months it seemed, we were obsessed with professional hockey but no one really understood the game. However, they got to know it well as the Blues made the finals early in the its young existence. They lost to the Montreal Canadians, and it took them a few years before they were able to beat them.

It is kind of hard to believe spring is around the corner. We are in the middle of a cold spell, snow is on the ground, and snow men are all over the neighborhood; you can always tell it's winter as no one is outside talking in the neighborhood. It's a wave we give to our neighbors as we make the quick run to our cars. I really do not like winter at all.

The photo above was taken in Galena, IL. It's a beautiful town and the morning we woke up we had a lot of snow on the ground and bright sunshine. We also had birds; it helps that the bed and breakfast we stayed in had bird seed. When I saw the Cardinal outside I knew I had to have a picture; I didn't even realize Cardinals were found in cold climates. What I like most about this picture is the Cardinal is on top. Call it symbolism but when it comes to spring training very few teams command the interest as much as the Cards. They are my team.

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