Assignment: Family Farm Visit The Location: Rural Shelby County My family owns a small chunk of land near Shelbyville, Missouri. I grew up hunting, fishing and cutting a lot of wood on that land. It’s very scenic with big old oak and walnut trees that speckle the rolling hills of tall grass. I’ve spent many days sitting […]
Assignment: Fiddle & Stone Bakery The Location: Rural Boone County I had a nice surprise while photographing Chris Foley making bread in his wood-fired oven near a garden in rural Boone County. There was an active hive of bees nearby. When I was growing up, my dad raised a few hives of honeybees in the woods behind […]
Assignment: Roaming The Location: Shelbyville, Missouri My family owns some farmland just outside of Shelbyville. We use the land for hunting and fishing, and usually harvest hay on a big chunk of the property. This year, we decided not to harvest hay and instead let nature do what she wants with the land. So when I stopped […]
Assignment: Flower Arranging The Location: Columbia Area Career Center While working on my University of Missouri class schedule my junior year, the late great Walter Johnson insisted that I take two specific classes offered by the university. The first was Shakespeare. I took his advice, and it surprised me how much I enjoyed reading Shakespeare’s […]
Assignment: Cutest Pets Contest winners The Location: Zimmer Communications Photographing animals can be easy, fun and challenging. For this issue of Inside Columbia magazine, I got the opportunity to take photos of a cat (easy), two dogs (fun) and a ferret (challenging). Surprisingly, the cat was mellow and regal. She sat on her perch watching […]
Assignment: Hiking The Location: Undisclosed Boone County The house that I grew up in had a heavily wooded and unexplored jungle just beyond my backyard where my neighborhood friends and I would spend most of the summer. Wandering through that forest, we would create forts, fish in the lake or forage for anything edible we […]
Assignment: Dog-Friendly Dining The Location: Logboat Brewing Co. I’ve always been a dog person. Throughout the years, I have met just about every breed of canine. I enjoy getting to know each and every one of them, as dogs seem to have completely different personalities. Since I like to get them riled up as I […]
Assignment: First Fridays The Location: North Village Arts District If you haven’t experienced the festivities at First Friday in the North Village Arts District, you’re missing out on a fun evening. I think everyone should make it a point to head over and see how that area comes to life during the twilight hours once a month. […]
Assignment: Opening Day for the Kansas City Royals The Location: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri Nothing signals the start of summer like Major League Baseball. In February, I was concerned that summer wouldn’t happen because of the MLB lockout, but the players and owners were finally able to settle their differences just in time to belatedly start […]
Assignment: Vacation The Location: North Captiva Island I rarely take a vacation. I consider myself lucky because I enjoy my work. What I do doesn’t really feel like work. That’s why I named my company Recess, Inc., because it’s playtime all the time. So, when I do take a vacation it is usually forced upon me. I […]
Assignment: Out and About The Location: Near Twin Lakes Park I grew up near a small pond that lurked about 200 yards through densely wooded terrain. I spent summers of my youth hanging out in those woods and fishing that pond with buddies who lived in the neighborhood. That area seemed endless, but we all […]
Assignment: Super Moon The Location: Memorial Union on the Mizzou campus One of my first memories of seeing a gigantic, full moon was when I was 5 years old. I saw a red moon slowly rise behind my house on a fall evening. I didn’t know that the moon could be that big. I spent […]
