Cox Classic Golf

Started photographing the Omaha Cox Classic Nationwide golf tournament this week as a volunteer. It costs $45 to volunteer (what?) but it is all for charity. They provide you with a shirt, hat and food everyday plus a volunteer party at the end. So it is not a bad deal all in all.

I did a pro-am shoot on Monday and Wednesday. Just taking the group shots before tee off. Wednesdays pro-am had some high mucky mucks playing. Both Mayors from Omaha and Council Bluffs played in the same group. Later found out the Mayor from Council Bluffs lost a club. Geez our Government in action. Also playing on Wednesday was the Governor of Nebraska. A very nice man and really everyone that comes out to the tournament are real nice people, both Pros and spectators.

Tuesday I shot the kids clinic. this is where about a hundred bzillion kids come out to get some pointers from the pros. This is probably one of my favorite events. The kids are just great to watch.

Anyway here are some pics I took. Hope you enjoy them and I will post more later if I get some interesting shots. Thanks for stopping by and check out www.prill.zenfolio.com .

Stopped for a sandwich and found a car show.

Last week I was out helping my step-son and on the way home I decided to stop and get a Pepperjax sandwich. Not really supposed to eat those greasy things and since I don't do it all the time, my body just cried out for a little lubrication. As it happens there was a weekly car show in the parking lot and although there were not many cars there (I think do to the elongated heat wave we are having) I din manage to get a few interesting (at least to me) shots of some car parts. As you can see on this hot rod even the smallest things get the chrome treatment.

On this one I just liked the way those exhaust pipes stuck out. Car was not running so could not tell how it sounded, but I bet it was sweet.

The pic below were taken because I liked the emblem and irregular license plate.

 The next one was taken of the engine compartment of the license plate car. I did a little photoshop work on it to punch up the details and give it an artsy look.

And last but not least was this thing. It is a 1955 "Oh My God It Needs Work" Studebaker. Ya got to ask yourself ----- WHY?

Well thanks for stopping by. Next week I will be photographing the Cox Classic golf tournament here in Omaha. Maybe I will get some interesting shots if I don't melt in the heat. And don't forget to check out my site at www.prill.zenfolio.com .

Cars and Parts

I am finally caught up with other obligations and can now spend a little time on the stuff I like to do. Last night I went to a car show at a local bar with my friend Rich. He has been doing some good blogging about car shows (when he isn't blogging about flowers) lately. So I decided I will try my hand at it. There were some really cool ( you can still say cool can't ya) hot rods there when I drove up. These are what I was really looking to shoot. Guess what. As I was walking toward them, they drove away. @#$%. Anyway there was one particular car that caught our eye. Me and Rich are both a little color blind but I can tell you that this car is definitely green. The nice thing about it is the owner was consistent throughout the car. Check it out below and then head on over to some more photos here.

This Post is a Drag........

Finally finished my best action ( and not so action) shots from the original 709 pics. Got is down to around 170ish. Here is a couple to get you started. You can find the rest at the link below.

http://occ.smugmug.com/Gary-Prill/Gary-Events/Drags-2011/17248875_bzPQfK

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Advertising For My Buddy.................

Well made it back from the drags in Topeka, Ks. Managed to miss two tornadoes and got some pretty good pictures. Still working on the pictures so you will have to check back in a couple of days. I did manage to get some advertising for my Buddy over at the Iowa * Farm* Boy blog like he asked me to. did not get Warren Johnson to agree (he is kind of grumpy) but John Force agreed. Here are some of the places I was able to advertise.

 Please stop back and also visit the Iowa Farm Boy. He has some pretty good pics too.

This Weekend Is A Drag.................

Yep that's right. I am heading to Topeka, KS for my annual trip to the NHRA pro drags. I have gone several years with my buddy Andy and we love the smell of nitro in the morning. Previously I was only able to get pictures with my Canon G9 which is a very good high-end point and shoot. Got a lot of pictures of burnouts, pit work, etc. And as you can see I was lucky to catch some unusual action too.

This year I have a Canon 40D and it has a burst mood. that means I can shoot at 5 or 6 frames a second. So my goal this year is to catch some action at the finish line where a car is going to have problems if they are going to. They tend to push these 8000 horsepower beasts to the limit and beyond. As you can see in the picture below (this was a darn lucky shot). this was a funny car that blew up at the finish. You can't see the body of the car because it is about 50 feet in the air.

This year we are bringing some lawn chairs and sitting on the general admission side. Ya see Andy and me are getting a little older.

I also have a friend in the Omaha Camera Club named Rich (he does the Iowa * Farm * Boy blog that I follow). He has asked me to hold up a sign advertising his blog for the ESPN cameras since they sometimes shoot videos from where I will be. I will certainly do my best. I might also try to get some of the old timer racers like John Force or Warren Johnson to put a sponsor sign on their cars too. You know us old guys got to stick together.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check back in a few days for some great (I hope) action shots.

Surprise Parties - They be COOL

Last night it finally happened. I was hit with a surprise party. Anybody that knows me knows that I am one suspicious SOB. And that is why I have never had a surprise party until now. I turned 70 on March 31st and it took until May 1st for them to pull it off.

I first want to thank my wife Cindy, daughter Laura (who coordinated this whole thing), and my camera club buddy Brian Alspaugh for pulling this off. There were people there from my camera club, neighborhood, my old country dance club and my daughters Tammy, Kim,and son-in-law Kevin,and step-son Brian and wife Vicky. Hope I didn't forget anybody. I was a little shell shocked.

They pulled this off at a restaurant that I had been wanting to try and since it has been over a month since my birthday, I never suspected a thing.

People that know me also know that I am my own worst critic and don't often ask anyone for help. I will always help others if I can and I never think that anything I do is good enough. Well I got my eyes opened last night. So many people were there from so many parts of my life that told me "Hey, you like me, you really like me". (wonder where I heard that before). I am really impressed that such a diverse group of people did not slip up and give old suspicious me a clue.

The topper of the evening was when they brought out the cake with 70 candles on it. It looked like the restaurant was on fire. They challenged me and I did it. I blew them all out. I feel sorry for the waitress. First she nearly got scorched by the flames and then I blew I large billow of smoke in her face. (I bet she got a good tip).

Finally, thanks for everyone that came. You will never know how much this means to me. It got me a little teary and those that know, know that I don't cry easily.

A MILLION THANKS................