Day 17 (Fri., June 24)

Today the day started really cool. It started early. I worked a lot today, but it was fun. I headed to the office at 7 a.m. to start my long shift. From there I took a little drive out to Christoval, which is about 35 minutes away from here. I was on my way there because members of the Hummer/Bird Group from Louisiana were going to be there doing some bird research in the morning.

It was cool seeing all the hummingbirds that these people caught. They were catching them, logging down information about them and then setting them free. Some of the birds had a small aluminum band around one of their legs with a serial number. The group logged in information about the birds, including the serial number. That information will be put into a database. From there, an evaluation of how much the birds have grown and changed will come out. It's a great way to study this birds. I was amazed on how many there were. There was so many hummingbirds, that I didn't have a problem coming up with the photos. I love my job because it's never the same thing. Yesterday I was shooting a clown being blessed by the bishop. Today I shot hummingbirds and tonight I shot professional baseball. How cool is that?

I spent a good portion of the evening at Foster Field, the baseball home of the San Angelo Colts. The team is part of the Central Baseball League, which is an independent league that gives the Texas League Double-AA league a run for its money. It was cool seeing the sunset at the stadium as it gave me all these great shots.

I love shooting sports photography because it's fun catching the action. However, today I challenged myself by coming up with a different look at baseball in San Angelo. The fact that I have the liberty to move around the stadium w/o any usher or security person telling me to move allowed me the chance to be creative. My favorite place to shoot baseball is Dodger Stadium because I am a Dodger fan and what's better than covering your team so close. However, shooting there can be sort of boring. You are limited to four locations on the stadium. Try shooting from a different place, and you're bound to go home early. So, the fact that I got a chance to move anywhere and shoot anything at the Colts game tonight was cool. See, I told you I love my job.

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