Category Archives: Uncategorized

Happy Fathers Day…

I really missed you today. I think about you quite frequently, but today, I really missed you. I am a grown man and a father, but it sure would have been great to be with you today and be a son.

You weren’t perfect, and you did do and say things that I didn’t agree with or think were warranted at times. But you did have input that helped shape who I am and influence why I do what I do. During the good and the not so good, you were my dad.

I really missed you today.

Until next time,

Mark

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The Days Go By

The days do in fact go by, but although its been eleven years, you are most definitely not forgotten. Your presence is felt and I sense that you check on us here in Nebraska. Not every day is a great, or even good one, but things are what they are.

They say time goes faster the older one gets. I think that time goes faster when you have lost a loved one that meant so much to you. It truthfully doesn’t feel like eleven years. Where does time go?

From all of us in Omaha, know that you are missed.

Love,

Mark, Dana & Christina

 

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10 Years

I can’t believe it’s been 10 years. I miss you.

Love,

Mark

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Sing, Sing a Song

Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud
Sing out strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sad.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don’t worry that it’s not
Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Just sing, sing a song.

Sing, sing a song
Let the world sing along
Sing of love there could be
Sing for you and for me.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don’t worry that it’s not

Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Just sing, sing a song.

Oh, and don’t forget to:

Sing for the day
Sing for the moment
Sing for the time of your life
Come for an hour
Stay for a moment
Stay for the rest of your life

So very proud of you and what you have accomplished!

143!

Until next time

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Athletes Behaving Badly

I was doing a little web surfing this morning when I came upon the following from CNN’s website (I have put in bold those portions I find most ridiculous and incredulous):

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) — Former NBA star Allen Iverson launched an expletive-ridden tirade against police when a car belonging to him was pulled over for a traffic violation last week, at one point telling the officer, “Take the vehicle, I have 10 more,” according to a police report.

Iverson, 35, was a passenger in a grey Lamborghini, spied by an Atlanta officer changing lanes without signaling about 6 p.m. on March 30, according to the police report obtained by CNN.

The driver, identified in the report as Antwuan Clisby, couldn’t produce any documentation for the vehicle, the report said. He then told the officer his passenger needed to leave the vehicle to eat dinner, and the officer said no one was leaving until the investigation was complete.

With that, Iverson became “irate,” according to the police report, saying, “I’m the (expletive) passenger.” The officer radioed for backup, and a second unit arrived, according to the report. Clisby and Iverson were asked to exit the vehicle, while Iverson continued to curse at the officer, the report said.

When police scanned the identification number of the vehicle, which belongs to Iverson, it was found to have tags that expired in 2009. Iverson, former MVP for the Philadelphia 76ers, was told his car would be towed.

“Take the vehicle, I have 10 more,” Iverson said, according to the report. “Police don’t have anything else (expletive) to do except (expletive) with me.” He then asked, “Do you know who I am?

The officer wrote in his report that “For the next 20 minutes, Mr. Iverson went on and on about who he was. I stated to Mr. Iverson, ‘It really doesn’t matter who you are. You tried to conceal your vehicle with a fake drive-out tag due to you not paying for your tags.’ “Iverson then said, “I make more money than you will in 10 years,” according to the report.

Very nice behavior and language, Mr. Iverson. This is the same spoiled rotten individual with a tremendous sense of entitlement that when a former coach questioned his work ethic and attendance at basketball practice proceeded to have a meltdown on ESPN. He was shown saying, “We’re sitting here, I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we’re in here talking about practice”. That incident and many others leading up to the incident detailed in my posting, speak volumes about Iverson. I find it boorish, insulting, improper and lacking any sense of reality.

I don’t accept that behavior from a supposed grown man and I certainly don’t accept it from a middle school student participating in a track meet. I attended a track meet on Thursday afternoon. After one event, I and many others witnessed behavior from one of the participants that was extremely rude, grandiose, ill timed and lacking any shred of sportsmanship whatsoever. I will only say that it occured after the conclusion of a race in full view of all competitors and timing officials. It made me embarrased as the individual displaying this poor winner’s behavior is on the track team at my daughter’s school.

It appeared that one of the team’s coaches told the individual to knock it off, but I can’t say for sure, I wasn’t within earshot. For all I know, the “race winner” was finished with their poor behavior and the coach was offering congratulations on a 1st place finish. It is hard to say. I hope the coach was doing the right thing and not overlooking the unfortunate display of their favorite runner.

I am far from perfect when it comes to anything in life, including my behavior. I do remember the little nuggets of wisdom my father and mother gave me as I grew: Treat others as you would like to be treated. Be respectful. Look people in the eye. Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t cheat. Take responsibility for your behavior. Don’t do anything to embarrass yourself, your family, your team, your school, etc. Don’t tease or make fun of those that achieve less than you or are less fortunate. And especially, don’t be a sore loser or a poor winner.

Until next time,

Mark

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A Great Photo Session

As anyone who holds a camera in their hands and attempts to make a few bucks with said camera can tell you, it’s not so easy. Sure, sometimes you get lucky and everything goes like a well scripted play. Your subject smiles just so, your lighting is perfect, the camera is up to your eye and CLICK… the shutter opens and closes capturing one of your all time favorite shots. Unfortunately, this rarely happens.

Most of the time, one or more of the things that can go wrong, does. One or more issues become apparent when you view your photo session images on your computer screen, long after you can do anything about it. No chance to re-shoot. 99.99% of the time, you get one attempt. You never want to call a client, admit you’re an idiot and tell them you need to schedule a re-shoot because you blew it. Something kinda, sorta like this almost did happen to me several years ago.

I was asked to donate my services at a fundraiser for my daughter’s school. Many people paid to have their photo taken with a sports celebrity. Everything was going great for an hour or so when I decided to chimp a quick look at the images I had captured. I noticed several images were out of focus. Oh no! Quick; think of what you can do besides stand there trying not to soil yourself. It was decided to have my wife get on school intercom and call people back to have picture retaken. Never let them see you sweat… or soil yourself. You lose credibility when that happens. And nobody wants to stand near you. :>)

I had made a critical mistake when setting up my equipment. I was setting the white balance on my camera and had set camera to manual focus while doing so. Forgot to set back to auto-focus when done. Things were good until I fat fingered the focus ring instead of the zoom ring. Completely unaware what I had done and so focused (no pun intended) on my duties, I had taken 8 or 9 photos before noticing my mistake. Always triple check setup before getting started and then re-check frequently while shooting.

I had a photo session late last week with the 7-1/2 month old daughter of one of my daughter’s teachers. Some children at this age don’t sit up well or for very long. Their attention spans are not very long either. Most of the time, you end up child wrangling far more than you do photographing them. Occasionally, Mom and/or Dad feels the need to jump in and direct the session or get involved by calling the child’s name, making noises, or perhaps feeling that this very moment is the time they should give little Connor his favorite toy truck to hold onto. “Oh, how cute is Connor with his truck?” You know, Connor was really cute while I had his attention focused on me. He was cute while I was getting some great shots of him playing with the toys I provided. He’s not so cute any longer, now that he’s not looking at the camera and is solely focused on his toy truck you gave him.

Gladly, none of these things happened during the photo session of the previously referenced young lady. I will allocate more time for the session when working with young ones. I need to account for delays such as when things occur, like in the previous paragraph. Sometimes, a baby needs to have a bottle, an outfit change, or maybe some time being held by Mom or Dad. You also need to ensure you get good shots and babies don’t always cooperate. Their attention is here one moment, and then it shifts to something else.

I had a fun time photographing K. B. last Friday morning. The parents of K. B. behaved, didn’t interrupt and got involved when was appropriate. The best thing was I got some really great shots. One in particular has found its way into my all time favorites.

I just love her expression and those blue eyes!

Until next time,

Mark

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