Happy 4th!

Katy and Curtis

He came home on leave in April. She said to a friend she couldn't bare it if he left and she wouldn't know if he was hers forever, so when Curtis proposed two days later, it was a surprise to noone when she said "YES!". I shot their engagement pictures the same week, just hours before he returned to North Carolina. Katy planned a summer wedding and waited for her hero to return home to say "I Do." They exchanged vows, rings, and hearts on July 6th under the evening sun and then danced beneath stars.

more of katy and curtis

more favourites

Jerrod and Cheney

So, this is Jerrod. He is one of my favorite kiddos from AHS. I was his Engish teacher for five years in arow. (Small school!) Jerrod, who is a computer genius recently came over and spent some quality time with my new computer, so as payment for his skills, I offered up my photography skills to he and his new fiance. We went to Lendenwood Gardens in Grove (quickly becoming one of my favorite places to shoot) and I shot several pics of the smitten couple. They have scheduled their wedding for next June.

more of Jerrod and Cheney

a few more

worthwhile event

I am a regular reader of jessica claire's blog. www.jessicaclaire.net She posted about a trip she will be taking with a few other photographers next year to Africa. Please read about it here and consider donating!
www.throughtheireyesafrica.typepad.com

South main flooding

Mom, Dale, and I went to south main street on Wednesday evening. Mom saw the fire chief, Ronnie Cline, so we talked to him for a bit. This is Nott's grocery: home of the best deli sandwitch around. I used to run over here on my lunch break about once a week and get a fantastic ham and cheese sandwitch. If you're thinking, "Big deal, what's so great about a sandwitch?" Well, you have not had a Nott's...
They built a 4 foot wall with plyboard and several hundred sandbags, but sadly
the 29.24 ft rise in the water proved to be too much.
In this view I included the south main fire station. According to a city councilman, the station escaped the water in 1986. Unfortunatly, this time there was about a foot of water standing in it. Luckily, several days ago, the firemen moved all the trucks to the station on the north end of town.
Standing in the same location as the previous two pics, I turned to the right and saw water flowing over the railroad bridge. It had been twenty hours since the water crested; I could hardly fathom water where there is usually a 25-30 foot space between the bridge and river.
Somewhere several feet below that water is the road that runs from south main and curves around to the Neosho E street bridge. I couldn't get close enough to the bridge to get a shot of it, but Ronnie Cline said that earlier in the day, he along with a young reporter and a fishing guide navigated a boat upto the bridge. The guide, (I didn't get his name) told the reporter, "This is a once in a lifetime occurance. Reach up and touch the bridge." The water was only four feet below the bridge at that point! Unbelievable amounts of water. So many families affected.

more flood pictures

July 4th my mom, my friend Dale, and I went to take some more pictures of this overwhelming event in my hometown. Mom wanted to see if her office building survived and I was curious to see if my friends' home was somewhat visible again. We stayed out of the way of any government officals we saw, and I quickly snapped some photos. This first one is of the Dawg mart and laundry mat on central by the college.
Here is an astonishing view of the Townsman motel and restaruant. By this time, the water had already dropped a foot.
Okie burger on Steve Owens Bvld.
A long look east down Steve Owens Bvld. On the left, Immanuel Baptist. On the right, the Townsman.

flooding at NEO

Various buildings at the campus in Miami where my mom works. The Health Science
building is full of water. It is in the old gym and is slowly making its way down the street
that divides the campus.


This is the new SAC. People were filling sand bags to try to save this beautiful new building, but after this evening, I don't know if the water was held at bay.