I’ve been wanting to do something with this subject for a while.  I have some ideas.  At least I think I have some ideas.  The ideas, which I’ll call Plan A, go something like this:  take a very simple, iconic subject and photograph it in incredibly original and clever ways that no one has ever seen before to demonstrate your brilliance as a soon-to-be star in the hyper competitive world of contemporary photography.  No problem.

So, I’ve got a little creative freedom this morning.  I take my time, plan out my space, get set up, start looking through the viewfinder and, well… WTF?!  Nothing!  Nothing looks interesting.  It’s the same.  It’s boring.  I’ve seen it.  Yawn.  OMG – I suck.  What to do, what to do….  Come up with a new plan, I’ll call it Plan B.

Plan B goes something like this:  How about you take one shot that doesn’t suck?  How’s that for an idea, ace.  It plays out with me continuing to just shoot away.  At first it’s a little like a Hail Mary type play.  Just throw it way out there and hopefully there will be something at the other end.  Or maybe it’s more akin to laying down suppressive fire (I am shooting after all).  Just keep firing away to keep the enemy down.  Who is the enemy?  That’s a good question.

Maybe I can use the experience to embellish upon if I ever find myself hanging with the Field & Stream crowd.  I can see us sitting at a bar, tossing back the brews.   There is a huge antler headed head mounted squarely, and proudly, over the Schlitz Ice tap.  Our expert taxidermist (who has no doubt, spent a significant amount of time with the Schlitz tap) has captured the animal’s true essence, pulling back the creature’s lips in a menacing grimace to reveal a harrowing set of molars that could crush a cowful of cud with a single effortless grinding of its jaws.

“Duck is my game”, I announce with authority as I pass the jerky off to my left.  “There’s just something about shooting ducks.  Nothin’ like it”.

“Yup. First thing I ever shot was a duck.”, chimes in one of my compadres who I hadn’t even noticed was there.  His camoflage was that good.  “I was three.  Or wait, maybe seven.  Whichever comes first.  But I’ll never forget the feeling of that 20/20.  Or was it a 30/30.  And it might’ve been a dog…”

“I, personally prefer the 70-200″, I say, skillfully rescuing the conversation.  “It’s like an extension of myself.  I can shoot crap load of ducks with it.  If I pull back fast enough, sometimes two and three with one shot.”

That’s what it felt like this morning – stalling and trying to make something up.  So what do you do when life gives you lemons?  You shoot a crap load of them and run away to Photoshop and use it wholeheartedly as a verb.  So, no cover of PDN here.  No CA award in the future.  Just this.

Going clockwise from top left: 1) our hero, 2) me trying to get out of my own way this morning, 3) Laura in traffic on 95, 4) what life feels like sometimes