Back in the Saddle - Camera in Hand

Well, the Doc gave me the yellow light to start shooting pictures again, but only a couple of days a week. My shoulder is still grumpy and tired and not full speed, (that could describe me just kind of in general these days), but I'm glad to be back in the saddle. Here I am in early April (my shoulder surgery was May 1st) riding alongside Kaitlynn Dervan, 14, who lives in Harris County and is a state champion junior rodeo gal. She competes in the barrel racing and pole bending events. I think I'm adjusting the exposure, which can get tricky in the woods. Our videographer Joe Paull (who is a filmmaker with a real job) and I worked on a story together about Kaitlynn, and he shot a few stills of me at work. I'm not an accomplished horsewoman, but my grandpa was a real-life cowboy up in the Colorado Rockies - so I figure it's in my blood somewhere.

So Tuesday I picked up my Canon 20D and a lightweight lens (17-35/2.8 mm) and photographed our two local gold medalists from the 2008 Beijing Olympics - Spc. Glenn Eller, 26, and Pfc. Vincent Hancock, 19, both members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit's shotgun team. Eller won gold in the double trap event, and Hancock won in the skeet event, hitting 141 out of 145 targets. In this photo, Spc. Eller laughs as he announces that he is single after being introduced, with his teammate, at the weekly Rotary Club luncheon on Wednesday. The soldiers were greeted with a standing ovation, and Eller promptly brought down the house with his humor. Both young men were very gracious in accepting the recognition and praise of the local community.

Now, if the Doc will just green-light me to shoot football, it will truly feel like fall is just around the corner.

Hope your team wins,
Robin