West Coast Signs

Posted on September 13, 2013 by azgilstrap

A drive through Washington, Oregon, and California can be as much a cultural experience as it is a breathtakingly beautiful journey. This is particularly true for those, like Mary and me, who have spent numerous years living in places like Kansas and Arizona. The Great American Northwest definitely features different landscapes than what we know best. A wide variety of photos featuring the magnificent scenery we experienced will be shared in upcoming posts.

Bainbridge Island, WA

Before we take a closer look at the scenery, however, we wanted to share a sampling of the signs, plaques, and even tee shirt graphics that we saw on our trip. Why? It helps illustrate that while a region may be different geologically and topographically, a sense of humor can often be a common bond. To Mary and me, the Northwest is very familiar in that it is a diverse, fun, free-thinking region. The signs of this were everywhere. Highlights from our journey included the:

Cute

Historic

Alcohol induced

Irreverent

Teens and technology oriented

Civic-minded

Thought provoking

We loved our Northwest journey and look forward to soon sharing more of the photoremedy we enjoyed. As always, we encourage our readers to directly receive our new posts. You can sign up for this by following our blog (directions are in the right hand column on photoremedy.me pages). If you want to know more about why we publish this crazy blog, check out the “Blog Background and Initial Post” link displayed at the top of the page on all our posts.

Plunging Back to Earth

Posted on May 21, 2013 by azgilstrap

The opportunity to shoot a few photos of the picturesque Atlantic Ocean had me incredibly excited as we headed to South Carolina’s Folly Beach during our recent trip to the East Coast. Although it was a bit chilly, it was as beautiful as I imagined.

My sister, Kelley, and my wife, Mary, were brave enough to test the water. Kelley’s husband, Chris, then treated me to some of the most glorious photoremedy I have experienced. Chris showed me that by tossing tiny cheese crackers in the air one could lure shore birds to within arm’s reach.

As Chris threw the crackers to the birds, I snapped away rather joyfully.

Since the birds never seemed to get their fill, Chris soon tired of the activity and handed the crackers off to me. I tossed the crackers directly overhead with one hand and maneuvered my Canon with the other.

It was truly magical. At times, it almost seemed as if I was flying in formation with the birds.

My heart soared with my new found friends. When I ran out of crackers, I joyfully returned to my travel party. That’s when I noticed that while I was smiling, they were all laughing hysterically. My heart plunged back to earth as I realized I must have done something rather stupid. My family, my trusted friends, were clearly laughing at me and not with me. I thought to myself, “That’s odd what the heck did I do this time?” As it turns out, it wasn’t what I did as much as what was done TO me.

Damn birds crapped all over me.

Photo by Kelley Kimery

This only took a little wind out of my sails. When it comes to getting a few good photos and lots of photoremedy, I say it’s worth putting up with other’s crap!

Chicken, Waffles, Birthdays, and Sacred Prayers

Posted on November 16, 2012 by azgilstrap

William and Andrew Gilstrap at Lo-Lo’s Chicken and Waffles

November 16, 2012

Our oldest son, Andrew, celebrates his 28th birthday today. We had a great family kick-off to his ‘birthday week’ last weekend at the sinfully delicious Lo-Lo’s Chicken and Waffles in Scottsdale.

It would have been a perfect day had Andrew’s lovely wife Katie been able to make it, but she’s a nurse and duty called. The rest of our gang was there–Mary, Will, Amanda & Stephen, Andrew and Emmett–so it took a while to get a booth big enough for all of us. It was worth the wait. I found Larry ‘Lo-Lo’ White’s soul food combinations unique, yet familiar. That is probably because, in my case, “You can take the boy away from his butter and chicken grease upbringing, but you can’t take the butter and fried chicken away from the boy!

As good as the food was, the company was even better. Mary and I later remarked how lucky we are to have great kids (although all are now adults). And, just as importantly, we feel so blessed to experience great kids having great kids.

Andrew is in his last semester of graduate school at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. As has been the case with Mary and all of our children, Andrew has been incredibly helpful as I have struggled to regain my health. He is a frequent contributor and editor for this blog; and continues to encourage me to seek healing through photography. Happy birthday, Andrew! Here’s our prayer for you on this special day.

Capturing Costas at Cronkite

Posted on November 6, 2012 by azgilstrap

By Andrew Gilstrap

Perhaps you don’t watch the MLB Network or NBC’s Sunday Night Football Coverage. If you don’t, then you’re probably not familiar with a certain sports anchor’s latest work. But certainly you recognize the name: Bob Costas. Surely you do. And I’ll bet you caught him at some point this summer anchoring the most recent Olympic Games in London.

To be honest, I haven’t seen a whole lot of Costas since NBC stopped airing NBA games. However, I was impressed to see my school, the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, got the broadcast legend to visit the campus last week.

I went to the top floor of the Cronkite building last Monday evening to snap pictures of Costas’ visit to the Cronkite NewsWatch newsroom. And then the 23-time Emmy winner was back in the building Tuesday morning for a one hour question-and-answer session with Dr. Joseph Russomanno, a Cronkite school professor (who also happens to be my Media Law teacher this semester). Later on Tuesday, there was a special luncheon where Costas accepted the 2012 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism.

I was not able to attend the luncheon, but I used his other two appearances on campus to try dozens of different shots of him with my Canon camera. I even walked by him in the bathroom as he was either washing his hands or splashing his face right before he went ‘on stage’ for the Q-and-A session on Tuesday. I had a perfect chance to either pester him or introduce myself, but, knowing that he was expected in our First Amendment Forum, I smiled nervously and left him alone.

With all that I look forward to doing in sports, this is a guy to look up to (even though he’s not all that tall, as I found out when I was in his presence). I’m surprised how youthful this broadcast icon still looks. It was also refreshing to hear his commitment to objective, non-sensational journalism. Too bad he’s doesn’t do anything with basketball at the moment, because that’s where I’d see more of his work.

Take a look below at a slideshow of some of my captures (with minimal edits) of Costas’ trip to the Cronkite school.

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First pitch video remedy

Posted on October 11, 2012 by azgilstrap

By Andrew Gilstrap

It isn’t every day that somebody you know wins the lottery. Or throws the first pitch in an MLB game. Well, my dad and I can claim the latter now.

Our neighbor and good friend, John Perez, a.k.a. ‘JP,’ a.k.a. ‘Johnny,’ got selected to throw out the first pitch before a Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks game here in Phoenix at Chase Field. It was a Friday night game and one of the last of the MLB’s regular season.

Unsure of whether the pitch would be televised for Johnny’s friends in the neighborhood, my dad and I, already planning to go to the game with Johnny and his family, brought along a Handycam and my semi-new, high-end Canon SLR camera. We were more than happy to do the visual production for the evening.

Perez (center, green shirt) waits patiently with his family before the start of the game.

My dad shot the video for Johnny’s first pitch, and I had my first real opportunity to test out the shutter speed on my camera.

Once he was summoned to the mound, it all happened and was over quickly. My dad asked, “He threw a strike, huh?”

I couldn’t even verify. I was so caught up in capturing the moment that I didn’t really pay attention to the result.

Perez’s pitch easily gets over the plate.

Although I love having a new, powerful camera in my hands, the real joy out of all this was getting to produce a couple short videos of Johnny’s moment. If you haven’t already, watch the video at the top of this post. The second video can be found here. Be sure to watch ’em both in HD.

Perez winds up.

One video utilizes all the still photos I took. The other consists of the video from the Handycam my dad shot, which was obviously easier to edit. I gave each a different flavor, adding transitions and music to both.

For me, working to make videos was like therapy. Amid a chaotic final semester while working on my master’s degree, it was nice to get my mind off school and make something that our neighborhood friends would appreciate. It was great seeing the feedback the videos got on Facebook and seeing comments like, “Thanks for documenting it for the rest of us.”

Prior to the game, Johnny with his two daughters and CenturyLink co-worker, Alex.

I know it was a special moment for Johnny, his family, and his company (CenturyLink), and I hope at least one of my videos is worthy of commemorating the moment for years to come. Because, although I don’t know anyone who has won the lottery, I now know someone who has done something close on the scale of luck. Johnny was called to the big stage, and he delivered.

On Irish Soil

Posted on September 25, 2012 by azgilstrap

I had never stood on Irish soil, sand, or rock prior to this summer. Although, I have dumped a small Ziplock Bag filled with Irish soil on the spec of land I own in America (thanks to John Triggs who snuck home a bit of the Emerald Isle in his suit case and shared it with me at my Mom’s funeral).

Dingle Penninsula – Co. Kerry, Ireland

Technically speaking, I am a lot like America. I am a bit of a melting pot. I have German, English, and Irish blood. There are likely other ‘ingredients’ mixed in, but that’s what I can best conclude from my somewhat difficult to determine genealogy.

Despite all of that, I must say I have always felt like I was an Irish-American. I guess that’s because I have always identified with the deeply passionate love for Ireland that was so proudly displayed by my Mom and her many relatives that were no more than a generation or two removed from ‘the land of saints and scholars.’

Kilkenny City – Co. Kilkenny, Ireland

Mary and I returned from our Ireland pilgrimage earlier this month. So how can I best sum up our journey? Well, when we were about to depart Ireland after a leisurely two week tour, I emailed my kids and said, “I am having a hard time determining if we are leaving, or coming, home.”

Co. Kerry, Ireland

Ireland just felt right – except for the unfamiliarity of driving on the unconventional side of the street on the wrong side of the car when we were frequently on roads that were no bigger than a Texas sidewalk. But, on the whole, I would have to say it was the trip of a lifetime.

I went into our expedition believing it was beautiful beyond belief – it exceeded my expectations. I went into our voyage believing it would be enormous fun exploring Ireland with friends – it exceeded my expectations. I went into our jaunt believing I could get substantial photoremedy – again, it exceeded my expectations.

Torc Waterfall – Killarney Ntnl Park

And, how did my aching body hold up to all of this? It exceeded expectations, too, for the first few days and when I was getting ‘endorphin rushes’ from the thrill of digitally capturing Ireland’s explosive combination of color and history.

Now that I am home, the recovery has been slow and we have determined we will likely be proceeding with more surgery in somewhat of a last ditch effort to fight what I’m now being told is Failed Back Surgery Syndrome or FBSS. I know it sounds a bit strange to treat FBSS with more surgery, but I have the best collection of doctors I have had to date. Mary and I have weighed the options, and we believe it is worth the effort.

My photography will likely be limited during a possible 6 -12 week recovery period. Since photoremedy is primarily aimed at helping others fight similar or related health challenges, I will blog more about the procedures and details at a future date.

The good news is that while I will have to limit my activity and photography, I took so many stinking pictures in Ireland that I have plenty of material to take me a long ways down the future blogging road.

River Shannon (at sunrise) in Limerick City – Co. Limerick, Ireland

I hope the first series of pictures we offered in the video at the top of this post was worth the wait and the snail’s pace I had to take in putting it together. The photos feature Ballyheigue and its surrounding area. Ballyheigue is a modest, breathtaking seaside village overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It is near the spot where the famous River Shannon gloriously ends its freshwater journey and feeds the mighty Atlantic.

We traveled there primarily to meet up with our buddy Father Pat (Paddy as the Irish locals call him) Godley, who is featured in the photo-video. Fr. Godley–yes, that’s really his name–is a retired priest who serves our Arizona parish. Fortunately, for him, he returns to his native Ireland each year to visit his family and to make sure he remains ‘sufficiently Irish.’ He is 84 years old, but he would be a great tour guide if he decided to change professions. We hope that doesn’t occur. He still gives a great homily – filled with Irish humor and wise advice.

Note: The Photo-remedy mission is to encourage those fighting chronic pain and other afflictions to consider using photography as a powerful tool to move their focus away from the pain. In the process, we strive to enhance readers’ ability to see beauty and experience elevated joy in their lives. There are many gifts that can accompany health challenges; one of the greatest offerings is it frequently forces sufferers to set better priorities for their lives and assists them in seeing the world in new and more meaningful ways.

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