the shadow proves the sunshine

A powerful rainstorm rocked St. Louis today, bringing on round two of local flash flooding and causing the Cardinals' season opener to be canceled after a few short innings. (Lame, since they were winning and Pujols 5 had already gone yard...) But we love spring storms because of their inherent beauty and the positive after-effects (i.e. green grass in our fledgling yard--we hope). I was working on some other photos in the living room while Beck was at school when the unmistakable rainbow glow burst through the kitchen window. You should have seen it. These pictures won't do the eerie sky justice.

Welcome to St. Louie

One of our top 2 favorite nieces came to town this week. When everyone left dad n' me behind to fend for ourselves Saturday night, a short walk down Woodbury yielded a couple of funny pix.

Only that which I've heard...

A few weeks ago, I convinced Ben to jump in the Mazda 3, drive to a sleepy little college town in southwest Missouri (that's now practically underwater), and pay 20 bucks to see an up-and-coming bluesy rock act in Kate Voegele. Unsure of the music, I sold him on the venue, a little photo studio that fit no more than 300 people. Three hours and a few wrong turns later, we ended up at Randy Bacons Gallery in Springfield, Mo., for a really good show. Pretty sure it was the first time either of us saw a show where the opening band was the closing band, and the headliner's grandma was in the room. Turned out, it was Kate's debut show as the headliner, which made it even cooler. Anyway, in case you're interested in hearing Kate's sound, check her out at http://www.myspace.com/katevoegele. Or you can Google her and see AOL video clips from the Springfield show.

Flower Child

Congrats to Heather and Chris, newlyweds as of Saturday, March 15. It was a long day to say the least, and our joints and muscles are feeling the effex of12 hours of movin', shakin', and shooting. Congrats also to our super-cool niece who was the flower girl for their ceremony, which took place in the Jewel Box in Forest Park. Here are two shots of her in action.

Art in Bloom

So while Ben was exploring Savannah, I did some explorizationing of my own in Forest Park. Each year for the past few, I've visited the STL Art Museum's "Art in Bloom" exhibit. Area artists are invited to mimic the museum's existing wall art with flowers and other nursery scraps... It's a super-cool show that lasts only a few days; we've heard rumors that the stems for next year's show have been cut. We hope it's not a permanent deletion.

On the Dox

Both ships were the same size. It's all a matter of perspective.

So Long Savana

So, looking back, Savannah was a decent place to check out; a little different than expected, fbofw. Two recommendations if you're crazy and decide to go: 1) Rent a car from a really nice husband-and-wife sales team at Savannah Care & Van Rental (912-233-6554), just a few minutes from downtown. Like Enterprise, they'll pick you up. Unlike Enterprise, they're cheap. 2) If you see an older fella playing the saxophone on the cobblestone river street, try to take his picture without dropping some money in his bucket (good luck!) I failed miserably. Enjoy some pix from around the Savvy and Tybee Island.

Ben On Assignment

By requirement, for the workshop I'm in (in the really cold room), I'm going to post a few pix that I took not in Savannah, but in Chi-Town a year ago at a photo conference for University Photographers Association of America (UPAA). Enjoy.

Sitting in Savannah

So, it's Sunday afternoon, and I (Ben) am sitting in a really cold conference room in Savannah, Ga. The trip to get me here was a bit crazy. An inch of snow that didn't even exist once I landed in Atlanta got my flights all messed up--and it ended up with me renting a car with a near-perfect stranger for the 4 hour drive to the coast. Being the geography bee that I am, I didn't even realize that Savannah was so close to the ocean until I was 2 hours east of the ATL acting as navigator in a really nice Toyota Camry. Learn something new every day, a wise man once said.