Football Love

I'm not usually one to be perusing espn.com for high school foortball stories, but this article is totally worth the read. Thanks Brad for posting it!


There are some games where cheering for the other side feels better than winning.



by Rick Reilly

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.

It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team's fans?

They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.

It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.

"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!"

And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.

But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."

Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?"

And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."

Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders!

"I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"

It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"

Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."

And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.

As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.

The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."

And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.

Hope.

The start of something new

Just a sign of the many new things to come in the next month for Lisa Hessel Photography :)

New for 2008 :: Pay my bloggin buddies a visit

Is anyone else in denial about it already being 2008? I just can't get used to writing 08!
I am pretty pumped about the new year, though, and I've got LOTS of changes in store! At the end of this month, I'll be releasing a new website design with updated galleries, as well as a new blog design, new online ordering system, and new pricing (2008 brides, that means if you want to lock in my current rates, you MUST book by the end of this month). Keep your eyes peeled ;).

Another exciting venture starting in 2008 is that I am teaching photography course at Missouri Baptist University! I'm really excited about the opportunity to share my love for the craft with students who are looking for a practical application. I have an awesome group of college students, and we're off to a really great start. The goal is teach the students to see better photos by shooting regularly and participating in lots of critique. Their first assignment was to start a blog and post a creative self portrait. So check 'em out. Tell 'em what you think. And be sure to check back often because I have a feeling that these guys are going to do some pretty cool things :)

Sarah
John
Jacob
Mike
Jordan
Leah
Stacie
Kelly
Matt
Michelle

And the winner is....

Thanks to everyone who voted in the 19 pieces of flair contest! It looks like #13 is the winner of the contest! Jason and Lindsay, who's wedding I shot in beautiful Negril, Jamaica, will be receiving a large canvas wrapped print of the winning photo from their wedding. When the canvas arrives, I'll be sure to take post some photos of it's awesome craftsmanship :). You all will want one when you see it :).

Oh, and happy new year! There are a lot of exciting changes in the works this year for Lisa Hessel Photography, including a new website(s), logo, and some more blog redesign... so keep your eyes peeled :).

nineteen pieces of flare :: the contest

If you've ever read my blog, you know I love me some sun flare. So, as the year draws to a close, I took a look back and compiled some of my favorite sun flare shots for a little contest with a big prize. Here are the rules: take a good look at the photos below and vote for your favorite by leaving a comment with the number of your favorite photo. Whichever couple or person is featured in the photo with the most votes will receive a 12x18 gallery canvas print (a $150 value) of their photo, which is a pretty stinkin awesome deal... because those gallery canvas prints are pretty stinkin awesome. The contest will end and the results will be tallied at the end of the day on Wednesday, January 2. Please, only one vote per person ;).

Now it's time to bring on the flare!

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Full

Usually during Christmastime, I get a little nostalgic as I ponder the events of the year. 2007 has been so full. Full of changes. Full of pain. Full of happiness. Full of struggle and success and failing and prioritizing and streamlining and learning and teaching and realizing truly for the first time in my life that I've found a risk worth taking and I'm actually going to go for it. It's been a great year - really really hard in every way - but great nonetheless.

I spent some time looking through some photos today and I think I'm going to have myself a little contest. Starting tomorrow. So be sure to check back ;). As I was looking through those photos, though, I was really struck by how blessed I am to have such great clients. You've inspired my passion and I thank you all for that. Really, you've all been more than I could have wished for.

During the year, I've also had the chance to work with some really great photographers who are also some of my best friends. Here are just a few shots of us on the job:

This is Kristen. She's quite the photog :).


This is us at the end of a very very very hot wedding. Ok, maybe we were being a little dramatic :)


And you all know this guy. This is from our wedding we shot in Jamaica. Yeah, that was rough :).

New-ish stuff

So did you notice the difference? I know it's not a huge deal, but in case you didn't catch it, the blog is a lookin a little different today. There's a new header up at the top and the size is pretty different. It no longer looks like it's just plain black template. And it only took me about 7 hours :). I'm not quite as web-savvy as I would like, but I've been tinkering all day long and wow, I think I may be starting to get the hang of this. Oh gosh, does that make me a nerd?

Quite fittingly, my mother-in-law sent me a Christmas ornament today. And this is what it said:

(taken with my iPhone)

She said she looked all over for an ornament with a camera or something photography related, but this was the closest she could find :). How perfect for my day of web-discovery :).

So let me know whatcha think ;).

Black Friday

My mom got up at 1:30am this morning so she could be at work when the doors opened at 4am.
My husband left this morning before I had finished my breakfast so he could help his parents Christmasfy their house (and then some).
My friend shopped all day and bought her husband a way awesome Christmas present.
My brother is visiting his girlfriend in Texas... I have no idea what he was doing today, but I'm sure it involved some sort of caffeine overdose and cute craft (because his girlfriend is so dang cute and crafty).
I got lost downtown in what is lovingly refered to as "the hole." And I almost ran out of gas in said hole. I should explain. Let me start at the beginning.

Meet Luke (he's the one on the left in the gray coat).


Luke is a college student at MBU and he lives in our dorm. He's a little bit of a smart alec. Just a smidge, but I like that. Two exciting things happened to Luke this summer. 1). he spent quite a bit of time on a mission trip in Africa and 2). he saw "The Pursuit of Happyness." Missions is where his heart is and instead of waiting till he graduates or until his next overseas mission trip, he decided to do something now. Since the school year started, he's been going downtown a few times a month to bring food to the people living on the streets of downtown St. Louis. More importantly, though, he listens to them. They've all got a story to tell, and Luke wants to hear it.

So he organized a day-after-thanksgiving feast and asked some of his fellow college students to help him out. And I decided to tag along. I was so intrigued by this whole thing. Luke and his friends didn't wait until the school or the church organized a food drive. They did it all on their own. It wasn't part of any program. And that impressed me. Who says there's no hope for this generation. wow.

I arrived at a church in Soulard where all the food was being prepared. The students preparing the food had already been there for about 4 hours by the time I arrived. That was partly because I took a very wrong turn. Well, two very wrong turns. Yikes.

I think there were like 8 turkeys and tons or green beans and corn,



plus some extra yummy looking mashed potatos (it was all I could do to not dive into them with a spoon and spend the day gorging myself). And the desserts. Oh wow.


And of course there was some fun. I mean, when you have 4 people trying to carve 8 turkeys with only one knife, how could it not be fun!


My mom was little (a lot) nervous that I was going downtown to hang out with homeless people. But really, there was no reason to be scared. Everyone was so nice. I mean really nice. and Thankful. Really thankful. I chatted with one guy about sports and my love for the Kansas City teams (go Chiefs!), and I talked with another lady about how hard it was to try to get into a shelter.




This guy told me he thought I looked like Jennifer Love-Hewitt. I heart him.


And this couple was really in love. They've been married for three years.


Another guy I talked to - Rico was his name - asked me to pray for him. Right then. He said his wife was in the hospital and he just wanted to be with her. He cried a little. And so did I. Please ask for God's blessings, he said softly through his tears. I stopped my job at the water station for a moment to pray with him. I put my arm around him and was shocked by how thin his arms felt. Pray for Rico if you think about it.

After I left, I just couldn't get warm. I turned on my heater full-blast and flipped on my seat heater to get my leather seats a little toasty. I still wasn't very warm, so I sat there to let my car warm up while I played for a while on my iPhone. Still cold. I started driving west and decided to stop at a starbucks in west county for an over-priced latte. But I still couldn't shake the cold.

And I guess that taught me something. It really is cold out there and the longer you're outside, the harder it is to get warm. I was only there for about 2 or 3 hours. More than anything, I guess I got a little more thankful. I thought I was pretty thankful yesterday on Thanksgiving, but when the seats in my car finally warmed up, I started to get a little teary eyed. Rico and his friends don't have cars, let alone leather seats with heaters in them. And an iPone? Yeah, no way. I started fealing a little bad when I handed over my four dollars for a white peppermint mocah, but the point of the day was not to feel guilty. It's not wrong. There's nothing sinful about a car with seat heaters or an iPhone or Starbucks. I guess they are just thing to be thankful for. Really really thankful.

I'm so thankkful

Every Thanksgiving, two things are constant: 1. I eat so much that it's practically uncalculateable and reeks of gluttony and 2. I make a mental list of the things I'm thankful for. This year, I am not doing the overeating thing. I started a diet two weeks ago and I WILL stick to it (I'll let you know how that goes :) ).

But, in all seriousness, I do have so much to be thankful for. So so much. This year has been so full and I can't even begin to tell you how much I've been blessed. Just a few that come to mind

How could I not be thankful for this guy. He's the most supportive best friend I've ever had, and I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't for him. Watch out, because he's going to do some great things. He's also my trusty assistant at most of my shoots, and he's just the most lovable, most handsomest guy ever.


My amazing church and community group. You all have been nothing less than geniune in such an ingeniune world. So refreshing.

To all my clients, I can't tell you how priviledged I felt when each and every one of you asked me to photograph your wedding. The fact that you would trust me to capture the images of your most important day is an honor that I don't take lightly. And I mean that. It's truly an honor.

And to all the people who regularly give my blog some love, thank you so so so much! I know it sounds silly, but I get so excited everytime I see a new comment pop up.

And how could I not mention my friends who keep me company while I'm editing photos




Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Here's to you, writers of Hollywood

So my plans for tonight have been cancelled. You know why? Because tonight is the last episode of The Office. That's right. Until the strike is over, we will have no new episodes of The Office because the actors refuse to cross the picket line. Selfishly, that ticked me off just a little bit when I first heard it, then my friend Ben (who needs to blog much more often :) ) sent me some info about the strike. You can find out all about it at unitedhollywood.com. And here's a link to a video that shows the actors/writers of The Office protesteing: The Office is Closed. I guess I get it now. But I'm still sad. Really really sad. Like Old Testament mourning sad. But I guess I still have one last night to savor. And my three dvd sets of the complete seasons. So maybe that will hold me over.

So here's to you Steve Carrell. I'll miss your entirely inappropriate humor.


And Dwight, the last show hasn't even aired yet, and I miss you already. Even though you're really creepy.


And Jim and Pam. What can I say. Don't let your love go on strike.

Travels

Wow, these last few weeks have been some of the best, busiest weeks I"ve experienced in a long time. I have so many shots of my amazing clients to share, including TWO trash the dress sessions (check out Kristen's site for a preview!), an adorable kid shoot, and tons of really romantic engagement shoots. But first, some photos from my recent travels!

My main man and I headed to Portland for a conference and wow, what a great city! And it's so green all over downtown.

Here's a park right in the middle of downtown:


and here's a cute guy at a resturant on the 30th floor of a downtown building:


and here's me


and for crying out loud, can the onion rings get any bigger??



I tried fish for the first time ever (other than fish sticks) before we left



And then we were off to Chicago. We took a group of college students to the regional Passion conference (which was amazing, btw... check 'em out at www.268generation.com). I didn't get any good shots of the conference because there was no flash photography allowed in the arena, which really didn't matter because my iPhone doesn't have a flash. Yeah, that's right. Jon bought me an iPhone for my birthday!
There's that cute guy again on a lunch break somewhere in Illinois


matching sweatshirts


all photos courtesy of my kick-butt birthday present.