Regaining Perspective...

In the daily grind of photojournalism it is really easy to lose perspective of what you're doing. Even the best photojournalists (which I don't even come close to) lose perspective of what they're doing. It's not really that hard with the daily grind running from one assignment to the other and rushing to the finish to get everything in before deadline. So, every once in a while it is nice to get one of those heartwarming assignments that kind of comes out of nowhere in the for of what looks to be a rather boring, stuffy event. That happened the other night when I was assigned to shoot Texas Country singer music signer Aaron Watson getting the young alumni award from Abilene Christian University. The photo was slated to be the main photo for the local front, so, I needed to get something a lot more than just a podium shot. I had shot Aaron a couple of years ago for a Mother's Day feature we did, so I knew he was a real down to earth and personable guy. I got some shot as he went around working the room and talking to folks. Then when the presentation started he had two of his mentors from ACU speak about him. Robert Reid made a real nice speech and really showed how big of a fan of Watson he was both as a person and a singer. After his speech Aaron walked up to him and gave him a big hug, completely unscripted and one of those moments that you can't help but smile. It's great moments like these that make me realize how much I love what I do and get paid to do it.