Confident or Oblivious?

I am wondering out loud here, but the question of life is…do people know they look ridiculous at times or are they really that confident or are they just that oblivious? Stay with me now, does a person hugely over weight know that wearing spandex  four sizes too small is stupid or are they so confident that they actually believe they look good in it? Does a big old dude wearing a Speedo really think it's cool or just doesn't know? Does this guy fishing know he should just put a shirt on or does he think he looks hot or does he just not care?  As you travel down the isles at Wally World do the people wearing the most ridiculously gross outfits or even their PJ’s with fuzzy slippers realize how dumb they look or do they really just not care? The question always has been do good looking people really know they are good looking and do ugly people know they are ugly? Does they guy who paints his house that color you can’t describe down the street know he has horrific taste or does he like the results or did he just buy paint based on price alone? Does the person know when he buys a $50k car know that the crappie after market accessories that they put on it now make their ride worth $20k or do they really think it looks better than what the manufacture rolled out on the show room floor? This question has been haunting man from the Stone Age and because it’s so subjective it truly can never be answered, but we still pose the question, are people just that confident or just that oblivious?

Rush Hour at the Pumps!

It's like an ant hill coming alive, its 7am and its rush hour at the fuel line at an East Texas truck stop. It reminds me of someone kicking an ant hill and out of nowhere a zillion ants scurry around and another day of endless miles and unfamiliar towns to the point you can't remember what day of the week it is and what time zone you’re in. They are the last of the free spirits criss-crossing America making sure you have what you need to make your life more convenient. It's a love hate relationship between the American public and truckers. People don't realize with out the trucker we would be walking around naked and homeless, everything you see or purchase in stores, from underwear to autos and building materials in the USA at one point came off a truck. Our nation is too large and spread out to not use trucks and without the professional drivers who sacrifice precious time with their families in order to keep America moving our economy would come to a scratching stop! Next time you see a trucker driving down your highways be kind and give them a little extra room, their goal is the same as your goal and that's to arrive home safely to their loved ones at the end of every day.

Golf a metaphor for life?

Actually many sports activities are a metaphor for life, yoga, running, golf, sailing, swimming, any thing that takes commitment, dedication, perseverance, and of course the will to stay with it. The Bible uses the analogy of the long race, life is not a sprint, and it’s a marathon. Walt Disney once said “It’s kind of fun doing the impossible”, Mark Twain said “Twenty years from now you’ll be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the things you did do”.  On any day you can start out great hitting on all cylinders and after the second tee shot everything can fall apart or you can start out slow and out of nowhere you can catch fire and make every shot you think you couldn’t. Life is like Golf. Life it’s more than a few holes or rounds it’s a lifetime of preparation waiting for that opportunity to stand before you and what you do with that opportunity is what you will be remembered for, that’s what will shape the next several seasons of your life. The good news is even if you miss an opportunity, redemption and grace are paramount to our life’s journey and without either we are doomed to a life of regret and frustration. Your attitude towards life’s setbacks will either shorten your set back or prolong it? How you handle it is truly up to you. Will you get back up and dust your self off and move forward or will you let it poison your out look thus sabotaging your outcome? It’s your choice; after all we have free will, the ability to determine how we will confront life’s frustrations.

Crazy Sky

While I travel around our great country I see many beautiful sights America has many different types of country from desserts, mountains, oceans, the result is a diverse and unique landscape begging anyone with a camera to go out and explore. This was taken in Tennessee near the Smokey Mountains. I love early morning photography, it seems to give me more interesting clouds and it has a magical feel as the world and Mother Nature wakes up and gets ready for another day.

Black Gold-Texas Tea

Only in Texas can you find a working oil rig at a truck stop just yards away from the fuel pumps, it's kind of funny a state so rich in natural resources this may seem like over kill. In Texas they call crude oil “Black Gold” or “Texas Tea”, this bring images of J.R. Ewing to mind the old school oil man, ruthless in nature. The “Texas Oil Boom” or the “Gusher Age” started in the early 20th century. Texas quickly became one of the leading oil producers in America, thus the legend began, the image of bigger than life men who risked their personnel wealth for the chance to make it big, and that’s how we got the old saying “Everything is Bigger in Texas”!

Keep On Trucking

Good things trucks deliver to America; it's a crazy stat that everything you have at one time in the delivery chain was transported by a truck! It may enter the country by plane, boat, or train, but it still lands on a truck in the process, and even more crazy their are millions of drivers and they still need more, in fact there is more loads that drivers, that's amazing to me. I took this picture because of the relationship between the two big rigs and how the tanker is carried through the mirror, which was a hard image to capture at 65mph going down the interstate. I admire people who can thrive in this type of work environment and still maintain a balanced home life even though they are on the road away from home for weeks at a time. If these big wheels quit rolling so does the US economy, they need each other. So, my trucker friends keep on trucking!

Be Strong, Be Confident, Be Successful

Why are photographers so interested in images of bridges and or piers, I know I am guilty of this fascination. Maybe it's the strength of the ocean or Mother Nature pounding against the structure, maybe it's because no matter what life throws at the structure it doesn't give an inch, maybe it's a metaphor for life? Like in life your ability to weather any storm or situation truly depends on how deep your rooted like the base of the pier or bridge if your deeply connected in either your faith, beliefs, family, or what grounds you in life, gives you the foundation to ride out the storms and set backs of life and come out of them stronger than ever and ready with the new found confidence to handle the next storm in life. Be strong, be confident, be diligent, and be successful.