"Things I've Learned" for Austin Monthly

I photographed Juan Meza, owner of the Mexican restaurant, Juan in a Million, for November's "Things I've Learned" in Austin Monthly. Mr. Meza is really charming guy. In fact, he's so charming that he literally greets every customer who walks through the door! I had to wait for the brief moments when he wasn't greeting customers to get this shot. It was a really simple setup, two 580 EXs, but it worked.

I also made the "Contributors" section.

The Informed Patient for The Wall Street Journal

"Single Jingles" is a group devoted to raising money to fight cancer founded by testicular cancer survivors, Matt Ferstler and Keith Levy. I had the privilege of photographing the "Single Jingles" bicycle team at 2009 LIVESTRONG Challenge Austin this weekend on a beautiful sunny day in Dripping Srings, TX for The Wall Street Journal. Here are some B-sides.

Beeville for The Wall Street Journal

A few days ago I drove three hour from Austin to Beeville, TX. I took I-37 S. for half of the drive and was struck by these black specks that were hitting my windshield like snowflakes. It turns out they were butterflies! The roads were filled with them, but I was taking them out like the Predator.

The story, which was published today, is about Beeville's economy, which has been struck by a drop in demand for natural gas. It was quite an adventure for one day. With the help of the writer and photo editor, I tracked down three people quoted in the article for portraits--my favorite of which was Syd Hall, owner of a local movie theater. Movie theaters have been in Syd's family for generations, and he said that he grew up in his grandfather's original location. At the end of the day I ended up on a natural gas rig, a first for me, in Karnes County, about 40 minutes from Beeville. The Wall Street Journal edited a great slideshow. Here are some B-sides.

"Career Journal" for The Wall Street Journal

I photographed Rosa Rivera for a "Career Journal" article in The Wall Street Journal about volunteer opportunities for parents. The shoot was a lot of fun and I followed Rosa to a girl scout meeting and soccer practice. Here are some B-sides.

"Against the Odds" multimedia piece on MJR Showcase blog

MJR is a collective of superb young photographers Mustafah Abdulaziz, Ying Ang, Matthew Craig, Sean Flanigan, Julius Metoyer, and Brandon Thibodeaux. My multimedia piece about a teenager with autism, "Against the Odds," is on the MJR Showcase blog.

The Solar System Under a Bridge

That's right.

Mojo Kickball for The Wall Street Journal

Thanks to my friend Mark Mulligan, The Wall Street Journal recently published a slideshow of my images of Eric Heiberg's Austin-based invented sport, Mojo Kickball.

I always disliked playing sports except for individual activities like rock climbing and running. Most of these guys look like they're in the same boat, so this might be my kind of game!

Here are some of my favorites from the shoot, including some B-sides: