One thing that I ALWAYS can be agreeable to, is an East Marshall senior... especially an athlete... and their desire to represent the Mustangs.
It's like flesh of my flesh... bone of my bone.
Anyone that knows me knows that I once walked in the same halls... played in the same towns... and have made my whole life walking shoulder to shoulder with folks that live in the communities that make up East Marshall Community Schools.
So anytime one of our own trusts me to make their senior images... it just feels natural to me to return to the town that I awoke in that morning to create something special...
The challenge then... is to take those old stomping grounds... and try to find a new spin on it.
That's what EM senior, Matt Flugge and I tried to do last Friday.
Mama Tammy, and her son (who everyone calls "Fluggs" [pronounced "FLOOGS"] ) and I were off to LeGrand early on in the session to hit the three areas that Matt focuses on.
The football field.... the wrestling room... and perhaps his true passion that ties it all together.... The much maligned weight room.
I've been to the football field and wrestling room many times in recent years to highlight those facilities... but one area I had never been in? The aforementioned weight room.
The little silver shed that can be seen from as you pass by the school on the northwest side has been a lightning rod for discussion over the years among those in the district. Is it big enough? Is it nice enough? What color should it be painted? Do we have the right equipment? Do the kids USE it enough?
All those things being said... one thing I DO know is.
Matt Flugge USES the weight room.
A failure in my OWN right back in the day to get my own tookus in the weight room, Fluggs won't be one to do the same. Benching somewhere in the mid 200s... and very near reaching the "1000 lb club" (a club that combines total weight from three types of lifts), Matt has given himself a chance to compete, simply by working hard and getting out of bed in the morning to put in the time.
So, it was only natural that we try to show that off a bit.
The challenge then was to take that old shed, that has been knocked for it's appearance (or lack there of) and make it look awesome.
My own son, who's taken a particular affinity already in middle school to spending time in that weight room, hardly recognized it when I was working on the images... So, I guess I'd say mission accomplished there!
We talked about many of the usual bullet points that I talk to EM kids about during their session. How do we get better? What has happened? What is the solution? What does the future hold?
All those things are easy for me to relate to... and I hope that Mustang patrons look forward to that connection that we have. We're on the same side, right?
As much as Fluggs and I agreed on the EM-side of things... we did have ONE other little issue that we could NOT disagree more on.
Our favorite NFL teams. ;)
In a sick-and-twisted turn of events in which I am CONFIDENT that Matt took great pleasure in making me design for him... Steeler Fan Photographer was forced to sell his football soul to make a buck.
I'm such a whore for profit.
Fluggs is a fan of the New England Patriots, you see. And in recent years... there could be no greater rival to my beloved Steelers. Fueled by weekly facebook Sunday "wars" in the fall between myself and some others that side with Team Belichick and Brady (won't mention any names... Travis Bachman), the battle lines have been drawn... and yet I had no choice but to make something awesome out of something I despise. ;)
The result can be found at the bottom of this blog (just couldn't bring myself to put the image further up in the blog, despite it's coolness.... I think I may have just puked a little in my mouth) Fluggs can take great satisfaction in making me suffer through that end of the session... and the other thing that he and the rest of the Patriots fans can take heart with is the fact that there is no other greater respect that one can have than to be hated by your opponent for your own excellence.
Hats off on a great session, my Mustang brutha... even if you are misguided on Sunday afternoons during football season. ;)
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