Michael Rettig Photography

River Legacy Park and Calloway Cemetery

2010-06-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I got a job, and it hasn't left me much time for shooting. Yesterday, I took my camera out to River Legacy Park in hopes of getting some excercise and some good shots. I've lived in Arlington most of my life, and I've been to the park a few times (most recently to cover a Tea Party Protest for The Shorthorn), but I've never taken the time to explore the hiking trails along the Trinity River.

Yes, there are squirrels at the park.

There were also plenty of spiderwebs. I managed to get through without getting a face full of web, this little guy wasn't so lucky.

Several trees had been blown over over from storms we had a while back.

After I left the park, I planned to stop by the Bird's Fort site nearby. Few people know that the first pioneer settlement in Tarrant County, and one of the first in the Metroplex, was next to a small lake in north Arlington. The site is on private land and was fenced off, so I didn't get any shots of it. I'm not going to let this one drop, I'll keep you posted.

Right next to the site was Calloway Cemetery. With graves dating back to the 1870's, it is one of the oldest reminders of Arlington's pioneer past.

This sounds reasonable.

Some of the graves were in poor condition.

There were also many infant graves. A somber reminder of how hard times were back then, and how far we've come.

Some of the graves tell sad stories.

Some of the graves were elaborate, but most were simple.

The area around the cemetery was mostly industrial. Railroad tracks run past, and big metal buildings surround the property.

This was a fun day. I'm going to be looking for more projects and stories to cover on my days off work. Thanks for looking!

Fort Worth Stock Show

2010-01-16T19:10:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I went to the 114th annual Fort Worth Stock show and rodeo. It was opening day, and crowds of people dressed in cowboy hats and boots were filing in for the festivities.

Banners above the rodeo arena displayed flags that had flown over the state of Texas, to honor the state's past and present.

Meg the cow's owners were happy to feed it some hay so I could get this shot.

This longhorn lived up to his name, and tried to take a poke at me when I got close to it.

This is my favorite shot of the day.

This adorable calf was on display in the Bordens exhibit in the showroom.

The stock show included a carnival, which lit up after the sun set.

The rodeo began with a bang, as horses burst through the stall carrying the six flags of Texas.

As I was editing these pictures, I realized that it was my first shoot of 2010. A lot has changed in the last year, and I'm looking forward to what the new year will bring.

Thanks for looking!

Ft. Worth Avengers vs North Texas Stampede

2009-11-15T19:31:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I shot an exhibition game between the Ft Worth Avengers and the North Texas Stampede at the Fossil Ridge High School in Keller. It was a rowdy game, with both teams doing an impressive job. All the proceeds went to the Ronald McDonald House Charity in Fort Worth.

The Stampede and the Avengers are both semi-pro teams. The Avengers won their conference championship last year. I met the head coach of the Stampede last week when I shot their cheerleader tryouts, and when I spoke to him again he seemed confident that his team was going to win.

The Stampede didn't disappoint, scoring two touchdowns in the first half.

My favorite shot of the night, the Stampede intercept a pass, leading to their second touchdown.

It was a rowdy game. It seemed like penalty flags were getting thrown after nearly every play, usually against both teams.

It wouldnt be a football game without cheerleaders. The Stampede dancers did not perform because they were the away team, though a few of the girls showed up to watch.

One of the players wore Spongebob PJ pants throughout the night, only taking them off when he went on the field.

The Stampede scored a third touchdown in the forth quarter, putting them ahead 20-14. However, they missed the field goal.

Minutes later, The Avengers scored again, tying up the game with a minute left.

The Avengers attempted a field goal to put them in the lead. They missed it, but because the Stampede earned another penalty (too many men on the field), the Avengers were given another chance.

This time, they went for the conversion. Somewhere underneath the dogpile that followed, someone made it to the end zone.

I had a great time shooting the game. Thanks to Todd at DFWfootball.net for inviting me to cover it. I look forward to seeing both teams on the field in the future.

North Texas Stampede Dancer Tryouts

2009-11-09T15:59:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I went down to the Irving Mall to shoot auditions for the North Texas Stampede Dancers, for www.dfwfootball.net. Seven girls showed up, and were put through a rigerous routine by the squad's director, Chantea Dixon.

After warming up, Chantea led the girls through a complicated dance routine.

The auditions attracted onlookers from the nearby food court.

After giving the girls time to rehearse, Chantea had them perform the routine several times for the judges.

In the end, four girls were offered a position on the team.

Rene and Jeff Maternity Shoot

2009-11-09T14:09:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday my friend Diana and I photographed Rene and her husband Jeff for a maternity shoot. The couple were great to work with, and had a lot of ideas about wardrobe and posing.

We started off in a nearby park. First, the couple sat in the swings at the playground.

Then we moved to a nearby lake for some scenic shots.

Next, we found a quiet stretch of road surrounded by trees. It had been cloudy when we started shooting, but the sun was starting to come out.

Now that the sun had come out, we went to the historic Grapevine area. They have some train cars set aside for people to climb into, and they made for some good poses.

Rene changed into a beautiful black dress for some solo pictures.

Then Rene changed into a white dress, and climbed into the caboose.

She needed some help getting down, and Jeff was happy to oblige.

Since we hadn't heard any trains going by, we figured it would be safe to get some pictures on the tracks.

There was a patterned metal wall on one of the nearby buildings that seemed very popular with photographers. We actually had to wait in line to use it, giving the couple a chance to change outfits again.

As the sun was setting, we took a walk through the old downtown area.

Rene and Jeff picked an appropriate place to pose, since they are having a baby boy.

The couple started dancing outside an old theater.

That's it for the pictures. It was a fun day. I'm going to keep updating this blog with things that I've shot recently, so keep an eye on it.