Time For A New One It was time to remodel the old lake house.  The old screen door had to go. It was unusually cold for August, so we were thankful for some heat.  It Was Cold  We pulled out the old sawhorses from the shed to start putting up new sheetrock and were glad they still were kicking. Got The Job Done  When we cranked up the generator and power tools, they all worked in fine and we looked up and were thankful the lektricity still worked.  Old Doesn't Mean Useless As usual, we thought we were done after God knows how many trips to Lowe's, but one more and we were finally finished. . .for now.  Without all these simple tools and wonders, we still might be working on the old lake house.   One More Trip

Dream Lake ...in the Ozarks.

Cat Man Do Whatever he wants.

Potter's Hands I am still a work in progress.  When I am willing.

waterbaby When nudity and innocence were indistinguishable.

Fishing with Family I left my cam bag at home.  Fuji box cam shot.

This morning's shots.  Where's the beach?

Ice Feeder Ice Branches This morning's shots.  Where's the beach?

A Tribute To My Father He passed in late October 2006 unexpectedly. Susan and I sang at his funeral. Two weeks later, I had a gig at a jazz club. My wife caught me playing a song called "Passage" I wrote for him to be on a CD I am producing for myself. It's the other side of me and my wife who is also great R&B singer. It's her shot; I was crying when I played it. I will never forget that moment when I finished and wept in a towel on stage and the crowd rose to their feet to honor my father. For me, this is what photos are really about. Not product boxes or how cool our shots are, but memories locked in time. He never got to hear the song and the CD will be released this summer. . .yeah, I am doing all the photos and graphic work for it. I love my dad and I miss him. I love my wife all the more. I can't thank her enough for this shot with my cam. If you want to hear a rough demo of the song, go to www.davidcraton.com/passage.mp3.

He bought me my first guitar and then my third-a real jazz guitar. He bought me my first reel to reel recorder in 1970.

No jokes this time. No tricks. I'm not trying to sell anything here or promote myself. I just was missin' pops.

Since many of you have emailed me and some have commmented why is a pro photographer is here, I thought I'd show you some of what I do. It's not art, it's being hired to shoot for a job. I do love my profession, but miss the art side. Part of being a boob, I mean pro, is leaving your ego in the SUV and do the job you are asked to do. Mostly, I shoot school plays, PAC performances, church promos and graphics, musician's shots for CD's & press kits, some weddings, family portraits, and web work. It's a job. It's work. But work and a job I love.

I miss the art side of photography and feel like I am slipping in that area. I have decided to start over in that medium without neglecting taking care of my family.

You will see a product mod demo, a graphic for a long sermon series, a candid for a school musical, and a promo shot for a church's DVD. I did all of the shots and compressed them for uploading here.

I sincerely hope to learn the art of photography all over again and ask for your constructive comments on past and future posts.

Product Demo Church Slide School Play Church Promo

Yellow Rose of Arkansas Yeah, I did it again. The wife is going through a tough season with the loss of two dear friends. No reason, just love her. She loves purple and yellow. You'd think she was a Vikings fan!

This Is My Day Gig. . . Shot for a musician client. This is blurred on purpose. There will be text on this for a CD insert and media kit. Nikon D80, 18-55mm lens at 55mm, 1/2 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200; no flash, handheld for effect. 123 shots, one final pic. Shot as is, no PS'ing except to resize for web. PLEASE COMMENT, MY SKIN IS THICK and I am here to learn. Thanks!

Another Dog Face His Other Dog Face Sounds sexy and cool. . .New Year's and Brooklyn. Well Brooklyn is half Chinese Wrinkle Dog (that's whut we call Shar Pei's here in duh souf) and who knows what else. Lovable new pup of a dear friend of mine. Had to try out my new Xmas present from cool--wife-SB-800. Shot with diffuser pointed toward ceiling with D80 & Tamron 18-200mm at 72mm; f/5.6; 1/60th; ISO-200 (still learning the flash and yes, I RTFM'd several times--even had it with me). The cool thing was, this dog new she was being photo'd and posed for me. What a face and 50 lbs of fun at 5 months old! I finally stopped taking her photo at her emphatic request. Stop Taking My Picture!

Never Take Me Serious This is one of my faces.  Shot at an angle into my bathroom mirror.  This is my face when I hit a monstrously loud "A" chord on my guitar rig; when OU lost to Boise State; when I see a big brown take a dry fly; when WINDOWS LOCKS UP (git a Mac); when my wife says something real cool (often); stuff I cannot mention here; after a phone call for a new shoot for lotza $$$; etc. An Okie stuck in Arkie who grew up in North Africa and South Texas face. Never take me serious, except when I compliment your photos. Don't vote for this. This is for fun. I did this for a friend of mine who hates techonology, notably Bluetooth. No, I don't drink.

Late Night Session Well, this literally is one of the last shots I took for 2006.  This is a good friend of mine playing guitar.  Yeah, he's real good.  Taken with a Nikon D80, no flash, using the 18-55 Kit Lens at 48mm, 1600 ISO, 1/60th sec, f/5.3.  Posted as is except cropped a bit.  Just used the overhead lighting in the music room.  It was a great time with two good friends on a late night December 30th playing music and testing new guitar gear.  What a wonderful way to end one year and begin another with two buds.  Hope everyone has a great 2007!

I'm Thinking About It. It was the last day of the 2006 school year and I was up shooting my wife's Kindergarten class for her memory books she gives to each parent at the end of year as a gift. This was a long shot, with low lighting at the end of the day of holiday celebrations, candy, making gingerbread houses, and lots of fun. I really wonder what this child is thinking? I wonder if he is really listening to Mrs. C's last minute instructions. . .or maybe Santa???