Arkansas

Snow Day

For years, I was never really able to enjoy the snow. 

I spent nearly 20 years working for newspapers and whenever there was a major snowfall, I had to work. I never got to take a "snow day."

This year was different. 

Growing up in New Orleans, snowfall was rare. Really rare. If it did snow, it was just a dusting. I never saw real snow until I moved to Arkansas.  

But I always had to work. Yes, it was my job and I LOVED my job, but I just wanted to enjoy it from a spectators point of view, not from behind the lens.  

So as four inches of snow quietly fell overnight (preceded by two inches and five hours of heavy sleet) I could not wait to enjoy a snow day. 

I didn't build a snowman. I didn't sled.

I just walked and enjoyed the beauty of my own neighborhood.

And I loved it.  

 

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Little Rock Family: January

I teamed up once again with the fabulous staff at Little Rock Family magazine to collaborate and photograph their January issue.

 

January's issue features Little Rock artist Delita Martin whose work is featured all over Arkansas including Crystal Bridges in Bentonville. She recalls her path to becoming an artist:

"When I was 5 years old in kindergarten, I didn’t really know what an artist was. Then I was given a color sheet. It was a farm scene on a hill. I layered different colors of crayons. My teacher said, ‘Look at Delita’s work. You can mix colors.’ Students lined up to look at my work. After that I said I was going to be an artist."


You can read the digital issue by going here.

Also featured in the January are four Amazing Educators in Little Rock.

ATA World Tournament 2014

Earlier this month, I spent three days photographing the 2014 American Taekwondo Association's World Tournament. The word Taekwondo itself is made up of three Chinese/Korean words: Tae, meaning to kick or jump; Kwon, meaning fist or hand; and Do, which means "the way." Loosely (if not literally), it can be thought of as "The Way of the Hand and Foot." You can read more about the history of the ATA and its founders by going here.Little Rock has been the home of the ATA World Tournament.  For the past two years, I've photographed the ATA World Tournament for Arkansas Business Publishing Group and for the ATA. Taekwondo and the ATA is a sport and an organization that crosses all ages, races, and nationalities. This years World Tournament drew more than 20,000 participants from around the state, across the country and from as far away as The Easter Islands. The Chileans showed their national pride by competing in traditional face paint.  ATA even has divisions for those with physical and developmental disabilities. It's truly a sport that spans multiple generations in many families. I've seen grandmothers and their grandchildren participate on the same day.

The ATA is a wonderful organization and I cannot stress enough how much its members love participating in this sport.

Below are just a few highlights from The Masters Ceremony and the 2014 American Taekwondo Association's World Tournament.

ATA World Tournament 2014
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ATA World Tournament 2014
ATA World Tournament 2014
ATA World Tournament 2014