Extreme heat + icy rock burning in the sky = SCABBY

Here they come...

Just like their nickname suggests... like a fireball in the sky... the Comets are coming.

One after another... and it it won't be just once every 75 years.

Everyone that knows me well knows where I live... where i went to school... where my family continues to make its home... where my children now get their education.

That being said. It cannot be denied.

There's mad love for our studio in Cometville.

And the feeling is mutual.

BCLUW has become our home-away-from-home over the past decade or so and the story within the story can be found in the form a diamond.

A softball diamond.

Sure... we've had plenty of solid football players... track standouts... baseball stars and hoop heroes... but our connection with the girls throwing around the yellow ball in the heat of the summer is clear.

With no less than seven starters off the now legendary two-time state championship squads that even the biggest BCLUW haters had to respect... it became difficult for this studio owner to not become a closet fan. Now that those girls have moved on... I was afraid it may have been just a flash in the pan... a passing fancy.

Wrong.

I showed up to candidly photograph the North Iowa Cedar League West game in LeGrand a few weeks ago to capture the three seniors that were coming my way from my alma mater...... and one quick glance around the field with almost an entirely new cast of Comets told me this...

The entire infield was already in our hip pocket.

First, second, third, short... catcher... and pitcher...... all supporters.

Hard not to love that.

So, I've got my work cut out for me, for sure. They've seen my act... yet they still keep coming in droves.

First up this season was none other than No. 33.... second baseman.... Abby Miller.

Somehow, the last of the infield to contact me (i was worried... not gonna lie) ended up being the "leadoff batter" at our studio.

To say she did her job by igniting the lineup at the top of the order would be an understatement. With her best friend and steady third baseman Maddie Olson at her side the entire way... we weren't satisfied with a mere slap hit or bunt to get it goin'... it was spinning on our heels and swinging for the fences right out of the gate.

Sure it was hot.... and yes... Abby did make a sacrifice of sorts by showing up three and a half hours early to try to beat the excruciating heat the afternoon would bring... but the results tell the story.

Touch 'em all, Miss Miller... you just hit it out of the park.

Fighting all the heat and humidity became secondary on this day because Abbz, Mad and Mama Diane were having too much fun. Through the tell-all source of facebook... I had gathered that Maddie had grown particularly fond of calling her pal, "Scabby" instead the name her mother gave her.

I asked why this was the case... even though I was somewhat afraid of knowing the answer.

The former reporter in me needed to know.

Turns out that a tragic flattening iron mishap burned Abby's mouth a few weeks back. And before you ask how this could happen.... take one look at the length of hair on this gal... and just understand that nothing is impossible. :)

So... the burn... and eventual scab hear her lip..... earned her the loving moniker from her teammates and those that know her best.

I shouldn't have asked.

The good news is that she's clearly healed... and better yet... she now wears the nickname like a badge of honor.

The day was just epic... lots of laughter just like image three below...... We made yet another road trip in another summer dominated by roadies that allowed Diane and I to not only rip an ease-trough off a building..... but we also toured of a local pub... had plenty of sweat dabbing.... but more than anything else we made insane images of our Scabby.

Several more Comets are lined up... but the start could not have gone better.

Thanks Team Miller.

Runnin' the court with Kourt...

Who better equipped to handle the heat than the point guard of one of the state's best Class 3A basketball teams?

Luckily for me... I had just such a gal in to kick off our week of dealing with equator-like temps and humidity.

Sure... running all over town taking pictures isn't quite the pressure of bringing the ball up against a full-court press at the girls state basketball tournament... but, nevertheless... when a gal wants to look her very best and tropical conditions are working their destructive forces on hair and makeup, it's becomes a worthy challenge of even the very best of competitors.

So compete we did against the elements, and one glance at our results, and I think it's safe to say that South Tama's Kourtne Smith came out on top once again.

I had bumped into Miss Smith a couple times at STC's prom in the past as she dates fella that we know well at our studio... but Monday was about getting to know HER and her mom Tricia better... and about surviving the elements.

We ran through all the outdoor in a row and had it put in the can by 10:30 a.m. which was a good thing because it had already climbed into the 90s by then. After returning to the comfortable chill of the studio we cycled back through all her outfits again... and then finished with what she does best...

Hoops.

The point guard since her freshman campaign with the Trojans... Kourt may be small in stature... but don't let that fool ya... she's an assassin with the ball in her hands and everyone knows that you don't get to the heights that this team has without great guard play. Fortunately for Coach Nate Roberts, he's got that, and without a doubt, STC will be one of just a few teams favored to cut down the nets at Wells Fargo this winter.

Winter... doesn't sound all that bad right about now, does it?

Ladies and Gentlemen... This is a jazzy fizzle... SIERRA!

Ok... I might gush a little about this one.

From the very first time I did her middle school sports pictures until now... I knew I had a big fan.

Always the life of the team and a grin from ear to ear that lights up a room, there hasn't been another Mustang that I looked forward to seeing more each and every time Stewart Photography showed up to take team pictures in Gilman or LeGrand.

Whether it was a goofy pose that she already had carefully thought out (seemingly just to see what my reaction was gonna be)... or a reminding me incessantly that her senior pictures were gonna rock... or even comparing me to being just one step below deity... (who doesn't enjoy mad love like that?!?) it's been a hilarious five years of photographing this young lady several times annually...

So to say that I didn't put a little extra pressure on myself on this one would be a bald face lie. I've greeted this girl with our own version of "SEE-AIR-AAH!!!" from Ciara's "1-2-step" circa 2008. It's that kinda stuff that makes my job AWESOME when I finally get to take the senior images of someone that couldn't see herself going anywhere else.

Truth is... I can't believe we actually did Sierra's session Thursday. The time in between middle school and then doing their senior sessions seems like a blink of an eye anymore. I think the weather gods couldn't believe it either, because we were SUPPOSED to go Monday with Miss Gage... but we all know now how a little 100 mph wind tends to throw wrenches into even the best laid plans. So I had an extra couple days to prepare for my biggest fan... and I think I needed every minute.

Ironically, we took a trip thru storm devastated Garwin to get where we were going Thursday... and we did have to work around several downed trees... but I think the results were well worth it.

We made several awesome images of Sierra... but perhaps my favorite is just a candid... the very last image below... Turns out she's also a big fan of a young man who is away at basic training. At the end of our road trip... he got one of his few chances to call her... So I graciously stepped aside and let her have 5 minutes to chat with her beau, Cody.

She thanked me for allowing the time-out as her hilarious mom, Amy, was giving her the "eye" like only moms can as if to say... "CMON, SIERRA... LET'S GO!" :)

Her batteries were recharged with the short conversation... and after several hours of images... I even talked her into hopping over a barbed-wire fence in pointe shoes and tights to get the last dance shot of the day in an open field.

Thanks being a breath of fresh air one more time, Miss Sierra... the only one here that's one step below deity is you. ;)

Take a warhawk and mix it with a mountain lion.. and whaddya get?

Wednesday afternoon's session was another one that hit close to home with the photographer.

Brief history lesson. Things weren't always purple and gold in LeGrand. A couple of decades ago red and white ruled the roost. Warhawks were to be reckoned with, and their arch rivals sat nine miles to the south in Gilman. Black-n-Gold Cougars resided down there, and the smack talk was aplenty.

But sometimes... there was love. :)

I've mentioned in this space before that my senior class of 1990 was the first year where the longtime rivals began sharing in what would eventually become East Marshall. On my "side of the fence" was about 22 of us at SEMCO and around 50 classmates were part of the LDF ledger.

In that small tight knit group of 22 was one Connie Bollhoefer. She dated and eventually married one of the "enemies" to the north in none other than Scott Allen. I think Connie may have been the first from our class to marry, and a couple decades later now... she's the first of my classmates that I went to school with since we were in first grade, to bring me a senior to photograph.

Long story, I know... so not only did it make for an interesting day... but it meant a lot to me personally.

Scott and Connie's oldest of two wonderful daughters is Candace... and I think it's an understatement for anyone that knows her to say that her folks have done an amazing job with their creation. I've bumped into Candace several times over the years and she is just an outstanding young lady that's polite, courteous, always willing to help, and she's seemingly always smiling.

She does have a fetish of playing in the dirt that needs to be fixed... but hey... nobody's perfect.

So the session was our usual fun and kidding around... mixed in with some more-than-usual gab as old friends will do when together. We nailed the little dress with the insane heels, some short shorts... along with sports... and THEN....

It was roadtrip time.

I had been to many of my former SEMCO classmates homes over the years, but surprisingly, I had never been to Connie's.

And now I think I know why...

Scott and Connie make their home next door to where the Mrs. grew up. And let me tell ya... it's OUT there. In fact... I don't think you can go any further south or west and still be in the East Marshall district. It's Baxter-esque folks. :)

Regardless... after miles and miles of gravel, we arrived at our destination and after we got a few images around the farm... it was time to get what we came for.

The John Deere.

If it wasn't enough that we had a fella on Tuesday that felt like Nothing Runs Like a Deere.... we had the female counterpart on Wednesday. As you can see below... we had Candace all OVER that thing from every angle before we called it a day. I was glad that after missing most of the session that Papa Scott got to see some of the experience.

If I may divert again for a moment... for those of you that don't know... Candace's dad gave us all a big scare about a month ago when he took a long fall from a ladder onto his back out at their place. Not gonna lie... we were all scared and fearing the worst. Thankfully, Scott seems to be well on his way to recovery and the three ladies in his life perhaps will now more easily convince Mr. Allen to be less cavalier about his own well-being when suspended well above the ground. (The girls all think we're big dummies no matter WHAT we do, right, Scott?)

Regardless... we're thankful that Scott will be around for years to come to give a hard time to... and hopefully... if they felt I did my job well enough... we'll see little sis in a little over three years. ;)