I’ve moved. Both geographically and on the Internet. My new Internet home is at zachgray.me, while my physical home is now in Newark, Ohio.

I have a full-on site now and a new blog as part of it. It’s the same type of blog that you’re used to here, just elsewhere.

If you want to follow the blog, you can subscribe here, or if you want new posts delivered to your email inbox, you can sign up for those here.

Thanks!

Left: Linebacker Zeke Lewis and quarterback Ronnie Davis pose for portraits in the Midwest City High School locker room on Tuesday, June 21, 2011.

Tuesday I was able to shoot a few sportraits will Midwest City’s best players.

As far as taking photos goes, portraits is the category that makes me the most uncomfortable. I usually like to be in control of situations, but when it comes to shooting, I prefer to observe and document.

So when there is a person or group of people watching me and waiting for my direction, I get nervous. And most portraits I do aren’t in studio or even a place that I’ve been to before.

So that leaves me to figure out where on the location to shoot, how to pose the people, where to put the lights, how to expose for the ambient and the flash, how to position the people and the background within the frame, etc. all at once. It usually makes me feel rushed and awkward.

This time, however, I decided to fake confidence and not worry. It helped a lot. Really, in any situation it’s good to fake confidence and pretend you aren’t worried. And if you can fool yourself as well as your audience, you have it made.

*This blog theme automatically selects the backgroud color – I’m guessing from a random pixel – which is why the background is pink, despite the post being about football players.

Anil Gurung from the UK dives off the blocks during a practice for the Endeavor Games at UCO’s Hamilton Field House in Edmond on Thursday, June 9, 2011

An assignment from my first week at The Oklahoman was to shoot competitors in the Endeavor Games as they got warmed up the day before the start of the games.

I was happy to hear that I was being sent out to Edmond to cover the games because I actually shot the same even two years ago while I was at the Edmond Sun.

It never ceases to encourage me when I see people overcoming obstacles that I can’t imagine and doing it with great spirit. Anything that can remind me to be thankful is a good thing and the people working in and for the Endeavor Games were certainly great reminders.

I drove around for a while, but when the temperature is more than 100 degrees, there aren’t a lot of people who stay outside. So with my gas gauge drooping, I decided I had better leave town.

My last-ditch effort was to take a route that goes between Perkins to Guthrie instead of heading straight for I-35. Every time I go this way, I notice all of the mini horses and desperately want to stop.

It would turn out to be my lucky day as I noticed a woman out and about around horses. I quickly pulled in and introduced myself to Mary Shellhammer.

Mary has lived in the same house since she was a child. After retiring from a 38-year-long teaching career, Mary returned to stay full-time at her house in Coyle and raise miniature horse.

After following her around for a few minutes, she invited me inside to share about her life and her love for horses.

It was wonderful talking to her. She is truly an inspired person. She told that me that she had always wanted to be a photojournalist, which I thought was wonderful. I’ve always dreamt of being a teacher. Maybe there’s a correlation there.

Also, there are a few more photos from my trip here.

Officer Richard Painter, a bomb technician from Allegheny County in Pennsylvania, adorns his scuba gear before diving into Arcadia Lake in Edmond for the Underwater Explosive Recovery Specialist Course put on by Rockie Yardley of the Edmond Police Department on Wednesday, June 8, 2011.

Day two at The Oklahoman had me driving to Edmond/Arcadia to Arcadia Lake. I’m familiar with both the town and the lake from my first internship two years ago at The Edmond Sun, so it was no trouble at all.

When I first heard that the assignment was for underwater explosives, I got pretty excited. I soon learned that I wouldn’t be shooting any explosives and I wouldn’t be shooting underwater, which made sense because Arcadia Lake’s water is about as transparent as I am.

The training that’s done by a member of the Edmond police teaches police officers and military from around the world how recover explosives in the water with no visibility.

So, while nothing too exciting happened, I did have a good time hanging out by the water with some pretty interesting guys.

A memorial is set up in front of an apartment on East Drive for 5-year-old Serenity Deal, who died after suffering physical abuse. Police arrested Deal’s father, Sean Devon Brooks, 31, on complaints of murder and child abuse on Monday, June 6, 2011. 

My first assignment for The Oklahoman wasn’t the happiest.

Earlier in the day, I was able to hang out with Chris Landsberger as he shot swimsuit models for a fashion issue of another OPUBCO publication.

But after wrapping that up and hanging out in the photo department getting my gear and getting to know everyone, my boss, Doug Hoke, came in and asked if I was ready to get my feet wet.

No one is going to say “no” to that question, so off I went with fellow intern Garett Fisbeck to what I was told was a more questionable area of the city.

The assignment was simple enough – I just had to take a photo of a small memorial set up outside an apartment building. But the story behind wasn’t so simple.

Earlier that day, a young girl named Serenity Deal was physically abused and soon thereafter died.

A different photo I took ended up running on the front page the next day. You can read the story here.

Nathan, Adam and I traveled out to Cushing, Okla. on Tuesday to hang out while a number of musicians from the area gathered to play with and for one another.

We all sat in wonderment as the artists played songs that were close to their hearts for at least the moment.

It’s always a good experience when I get to watch artists do what they do for themselves. When there’s no crowd or anyone to entertain, you get a different view.

They’re no longer artists to be viewed, but people to be understood.

It was further proof that there is good music all around if you’re willing to listen.

If you are willing, you should keep up with the “on.” blog that I help out with. It’s almost entirely filled with Oklahoma artists.

#keepitlocal, eh?

After several hours with Mr. Wheeler, I learned a lot about life.

His life, at least.

Kelvin’s is a life that can only be described as regretful.

After 18 years with a partner that he said he loved dearly, he’s left only with guilt and sadness for the fights he had with her and the times that he was unfaithful.

But after seeing all the things that I don’t want for my life, I still felt for Kelvin. And I don’t mean pity.

I think anyone can empathize with regretting an action that can’t be taken back.

The important part that we miss out on isn’t that we shouldn’t screw up. We shouldn’t, but that’s not the point.

We must learn to ask for forgiveness and to learn to forgive ourselves.

Here’s the multimedia piece that I put together over three days with my new friend Ben.

Wounded Wheeler.

Here are few of the fishing poles that Kelvin Wheeler used to use with his longtime partner, Georgia Cofield. The poles are all out of commission since her passing in April 2009.

How do you not take a photo of an adorable puppy?

It’s actually not that hard not to, unless you have Cara’s voice in the back of your head telling you that you had better do so.

I did have that voice, so I snapped the photo.