September 6, 2008 
I got bored tonight, so I copied all the cutlines for all the photos I’ve had published in the Abilene Reporter-News since I started working as a freelance photographer with them back in April.
I guess this isn’t too surprising, since every cutline features the words “Photos by Greg Kendall-Ball/Special to the Reporter-News,”
You can use Wordle to create your own word clouds…
Posted in Assignments 
| No Comments » |
September 5, 2008 
I have no idea what this is, other than a woodcarving. I was on an assignment in a building downtown, and as I was heading out to my car afterward, there was this thing in the lobby. It was all carved out of a single gnarled piece of wood, stood about 8 feet tall and 7 feet wide, and had about 20 or 30 carved figures in it. Weird stuff…
Posted in Abilene, Black and White, Kids | No Comments » |
September 5, 2008 
5D Mk II? The camera sites have been buzzing about this possible 5D replacement all day…
I guess we’ll see at Photokina.
Posted in Gear | 1 Comment » |
September 2, 2008 
I recently reacquired my 50mm f/1.4 lens. I wanted it for a portrait shoot coming up tomorrow, but I also wanted it back in my bag, because I love the shallow DOF it provides.
I simply wrote “I love shallow DOF” on a page in my Moleskine, and when I focus on the “F” in “DOF,” the rest is so beautifully out of focus as to be illegible!
Posted in Gear | 7 Comments » |
August 30, 2008 The Ben Richey Boys Ranch benefited from a fundraiser at Buffalo Gap over the Labor Day Weekend. The Chili Superbowl featured the World’s Largest Chili Pot (500 gallons!), and a number of interesting characters…
I really liked the last one. This kid was practicing roping on a “bull” made out of an old skull attached to come PVC piping. You’ve got roping, jeans, belt buckles, and just outside the frame, beer- everything you need for an exciting weekend in West Texas!
Posted in Abilene, Black and White, Life | No Comments » |
August 28, 2008 
Sometimes the best photos are ones you almost miss because you’re looking the wrong way.
Tonight, I was under a tight deadline. The concert got a late start, and all of my attention was on the stage- trying to make sure I got something usable, so I could cut out and head to the newsroom to process the images and get them into the layout before going to press.
My head was so much into what was going on under the lights on stage that I almost missed this scene. I was chimping the screen on the back of my camera, and turned away from the concert to get a better look. I happened to look up and spied this older couple slow dancing out in the foyer. Everyone’s eyes were on the performers, but these two were in their own little world.
I felt like I was invading a very private, intimate moment, but I loved the fact that these folks stepped out of the hall, found a little open space, and danced to music that had been in their wedding almost 40 years ago. I got a few shots in unobserved, but I moved in closer, and made eye contact with both of them. They didn’t seem to mind, so I snapped off a few more frames, just enjoying watching them enjoying each other.
This may not be a technically perfect image, in terms of composition and framing and lighting, but I love the emotion in it, the sense of intimacy. I just hope I’m sneaking out of concerts to dance with my wife in 40 years!
[See another angle here.]
Posted in Black and White, Life | 5 Comments » |
August 28, 2008 Tonight I got a call to go shoot the Rehab Dinner Show featuring The Oak Ridge Boys.
I have seen the signs all over town for months, and hoped that I would get this particular assignment. Growing up in Tennessee during the early and mid-80s, the music in the family car was a constant stream of Oak Ridge Boys, Statler Brothers, Dolly Parton and other country music staples. I remember being a kid and trying my hardest to reach those *really* low notes in “Elvira”…
I hadn’t listened to an Oak Ridge Boys tape or CD in more than a decade, but as soon as the first song started (”You’re the One”), all the memories came flooding back, and I was surprised to realize I knew nearly all the words to every song that they played. Sadly, I had to leave before they played “Elvira” (I was on a 9pm deadline, and the show didn’t even start until 9:20pm!)
Here’s a few shots from the evening:
Joe Bonsall
William Lee Golden, aka The Mountain Man
Richard Sterban
Posted in Abilene, Assignments, Black and White, ClipFile, Photojournalism, Reporter-News | 3 Comments » |
August 25, 2008 
I am driven by two great impulses in my life: the desire to bake delicious treats, and the desire to photograph them.
Posted in Abilene, Photojournalism, Published, travel | 2 Comments » |
August 23, 2008 As any frequent reader of this site will know, I often take little “photo safaris” around this fair city, where I just wander around until something catches my eye.
Earlier this week, while driving down one of the main streets on the north side of town, I spotted an old sign with so much weathering and peeling paint that the business or service it had once advertised was no longer discernible.
So, this afternoon, in that glorious harsh light of midday bearing down, I went out on another photo safari, but with a little direction: to locate other distressed signage and lettering around town.
I’ve included a few examples of what I found below, but you can check out the whole set on Flickr:
Posted in Abilene, Black and White, Life, Photo Safari, Random, Texas | 2 Comments » |
August 23, 2008 
Who knows?
Posted in Black and White, Life, Random | 3 Comments » |
