I met up with Eleanor Whitmore (in town from NYC) to do some quick photos. Who needs a photo studio when you’ve got El Chilito Tacos & Cafe to work with? Lots of great photos but we’re only posting one preview right now. Eleanor will be releasing her new CD soon. We’ll keep you posted.

Every now and then, Dad visits us for a few days. Here, you can see him in a game of pool with me and my son (not pictured) this past week. Of course, they both kicked my ass because I’m a better photographer than I am a pool player. Truth is the three of us really suck at pool. But we had fun.

My father is old-school in many ways. He’s worked for H.E.B. for over 50 years. He likes pool, Schlitz beer, and cigarettes. He can tell a dirty joke, too. He has that haircut (which is actually in style with a lot of the rockabilly guys around here). He wears a watch. His ear isn’t pierced. He believes in God the way the bible tells it, mostly.

In some ways, that makes the two of us almost completely different. I don’t think I could sign-up with anything for over 50 years, except my wife. I like video games, a little wine and cheese now and then, and I’d find something better to smoke than cigarettes, if I smoked at all. My hair is either long, or really short. A watch? I got a phone with the time on it. Got two places for earrings in the same ear. And I’ve got my fingers crossed about God. But, I usually feel left out of that club.

We’re very different. But if you looked beyond the surface, we’re not really completely different. We’re both rebellious in our own ways. We’re both hard working guys. We like Johnny Cash, want the country to get back on track, want to be good to our kids. And we both really miss my Mom.

I’m an adopted kid, so I really look nothing like my Dad. But Mom always noticed I walk just like him. I think even as a kid, I knew he was cool. Well, at least he’s cool the way I see it.

There are two types of professional photographer:

• STANDARD. What you hire when you don’t need anything special. No surprises. No creativity. No personality. No extra effort. Just basic pictures that meet a standard of proficiency. This is probably your guy for school pictures, team photos, and some types of commercial imagery. Some people, of course, will hire this type of photographer for their wedding or portraiture. Interesting. If you need this type of service, you’ll probably want to make your decision based on price, or at the very least, dependability.
• CREATIVE. Who you hire when you need something special and unique.  Keep in mind that unique means that no two creative photographers are going to provide the same type of creativity.  So you’ll want to make your decision based on the photographer’s individual style.

It’s important to understand which type of photographer you’re hiring. The standard photographer will provide standard images. This is exactly what might be required in certain situations.

The creative photographer will probably resist the typical shot, opting for interesting angles, expressions, story-telling composition, and insightful timing. Even with basic portraiture, the creative photographer tends to bring out a little more in his subjects than a painted smile.

If you hire one, and expect the other, you might be a little disappointed.