They aren’t really interested in solving problems thru compromise; they are all content to trudge on as-is, hoping one side will cave and the other will have their way. Congress is simply 535 infants, all holding their breath.

Things like this make me think that voting doesn’t really matter much. If both parties are this stupid, then there has got to be another solution. But what it it? Term limits? Caning? Caning sounds pretty good to me.

OKC Barons goaltender Yann Danis get lit up against the San Antonio Rampage. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

Younger shooters often ask me for advice about shooting sports, because, well, I shoot a lot of sports. I always say that the most important thing is to know the game, because you essentially have to be able to predict the future. You have to know where the action is going to happen; if you wait for the action to happen, you will usually miss it. This image is a perfect example of that. I had to start shooting as soon as — if not before — the shot was taken in order to catch the puck in the net.

Click the link below to watch a highlight video from the Rampage game last night. This photo illustrates a goal that happened at 1:03 in the video. Watch how quickly it happens. If you wait for it, you’ll never capture it. BTW you can see me shooting thru the photo port in the glass after the score.

The CIA is a regular client of mine, and I always love shooting there. I love the culinary arts, and if I weren’t a photographer, I would probably be a chef. It’s so interesting to spend time in the skills kitchen, absorbing knowledge while shooting. I always leave inspired to cook more, and then that all ends when I pass the Whataburger on my way home. One of these days, I’ll keep a well-stocked kitchen. Maybe.

Saturday, I have a morning assignment for the San Antonio Express-News, covering a mural project on the city’s West Side intended to cover up gang graffiti. In the afternoon, I’m manning the Glidecam for Sam Lerma’s video shoot for Gridiron, and then it’s more photo and video editing thru Sunday. Monday, I have an assignment for the Los Angeles Times, covering PTSD treatment and training for military dogs returning from service in Afghanistan. I’m really looking forward to that one; it should be very interesting. I can easily see how some spectacular and heartwarming pictures could be made.

For now, it’s back to transcoding and tagging video and photos.

San Antonio Rampage's Greg Rallo takes down Hamilton Bulldogs' Joonas Nattinen. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)
Nikon D3; Nikkor 300/2.8 AF-S

To be honest, the switch is actually complete. I just have a few more items to get to finish out my Nikon collection, and my bag will be full, but for now I’m still borrowing a couple things from friends, namely a 70-200 VR and a flash. I have the rest, though. My second D3 body arrived today, and I shot hockey tonight with both of them.

The two D3 cameras are about 50,000 units apart in serial numbers, but for some reason, they shoot somewhat differently. The older camera handles better, which I thought was strange, as it also has a lot more pops on the shutter. Like, five time more. But, the controls and shutter release is more firm, and the image in the viewfinder is brighter and more neutral than the younger body, which has a warm tone to the pentaprism for some reason. Did Nikon switch components somewhere in the D3 production run? Does anyone know?

I am more happy with the switch to Nikon with every assignment. I find that the autofocus is more accurate on my D3′s than was any Canon I ever owned. I’m not saying Nikon is better, or whatever, but to each his own, and it seems that the Nikons are better-suited to me and my shooting style. I sure like their zoom lenses better, that’s for sure. I never liked Canon’s zooms, except for the 16-35/2.8L II, which was awesome. The Canon 70-200/2.8L IS was a complete dog for sports action. AF was never accurate. Good riddance to it.

So no, my bag holds two D3 bodies, a 17-35/2.8 D, an 80-200/2.8 D, and a 300/2.8 AF-S (which is a tank). I had a 28-70/2.8 D but I sent it back to KEH because I found that they had severely over-rated its condition; the thing wouldn’t even AF to infinity if it was zoomed out to 70mm. I’m still debating whether to order another one or to instead replace that focal length coverage with fast primes. With two bodies, I could probably keep the 17-35 on one and then have a 50/1.4 or 85/1.4 on the other. Maybe I’ll order a D800 when they ship and just have three bodies on me. Yeah, like a “real” photojournalist. Heh.

Please come by and share in the knowledge. If you would like to send a link to AF100 footage for inclusion, send an email with  your link to AF100Central (at) gmail (daht) com.

AF100 Central

Click here to download the firmware update from Panasonic:

This WordPress blog was my first “real” attempt at maintaining a legitimate online journal presence, although chronologically, there was a livejournal page before this one. That was ten years ago, though, before I really hit my stride as a professional photographer, and I didn’t really have a lot of interesting photo posts — something this blog is centered around. So, I just won’t count the livejournal page. It was just a bunch of whining anyway, I’m pretty sure. I don’t remember.

In my absence from regular WordPress posts, I’ve tried other platforms like Uber (awesome, but now defunct), deviantART (useful but over-run with bad anime artists and amateur photogs who are addicted to their own page view count), Facebook (useful for keeping up with friends, but the worst blogging platform imaginable), Myspace (a vicious lie; I never tried keeping an active blog on myspace — I’m not in a band, or sixteen years old, or both), Blogspot and TypePad (suck and suck), and who knows what else.

Of all the blogging platforms I’ve tried, I’ve yet to find one that can match WordPress in the amount of great tools available, ease-of-use, and awesome PageRank when it comes to getting my blog entries seen in relevant Google searches. WP wins, and I’m back. This blog is once again active as the main outlet for my net-based wisdom, which I’m sure you’re all clamoring for right about now. Please try to contain yourselves; I’ll be posting soon.

We were given a reprieve from our week of Rain, and enjoyed a brisk sunny day; the weather was perfect for a memorial. Today, we celebrated the life of Robert “Mac” McLeroy, master photographer and friend and inspiration to many, myself included. Mac passed just before Christmas, due to complications from a stroke. Today, friends, colleagues, and family gathered to remember him.

J. Michael Short spoke, and spoke well:

Photographer and friend, J. Michael Short, speaks during the memorial service for photographer Robert "Mac" McLeroy, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 in San Antonio. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

Kevin Geil sang, beautifully:

Kevin Geil sings during the memorial service for photographer Robert "Mac" McLeroy, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 in San Antonio. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

Many friends and colleagues came to the service.

Atmosphere as seen during the memorial service for photographer Robert "Mac" McLeroy, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 in San Antonio. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

Atmosphere as seen during the memorial service for photographer Robert "Mac" McLeroy, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 in San Antonio. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

Guests view a slideshow featuring photos of Mac during the memorial service for photographer Robert "Mac" McLeroy, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 in San Antonio. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

Atmosphere as seen during the memorial service for photographer Robert "Mac" McLeroy, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 in San Antonio. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

A therapy dog who visited Mac in the hospital was a special guest at the memorial service for photographer Robert "Mac" McLeroy, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 in San Antonio. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

Mac’s gear rested on the sign-in table. This made me sad; he had it around his neck the last time I saw him, when we ran into each other in Alamo Plaza as we were covering Luminaria last year.

Mac's gear rests on the sign-in table during the memorial service for photographer Robert "Mac" McLeroy, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 in San Antonio. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

A portrait of Mac adorned the cover of the service program. It’s a fantastic image.

A portrait of Mac is printed on the program of the memorial service for photographer Robert "Mac" McLeroy, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 in San Antonio. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

Rest in Peace, Mac. Your influence will live on.

CES attendees read daily news about the convention in the foyer of the Las Vegas convention center. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

Ed (@elozano on Twitter) and I were at CES for only two days, which simply wasn’t enough. To really take in what CES has to offer, you need to go for all four days. Bring a good pair of walking shoes and eat a good breakfast, because even if you rush it, I’m not sure if four days is enough time to see everything. It probably isn’t.

This was our view leaving CES on the first night. Not bad, I don't think. The taxis even add character. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

Another really cool thing about covering a tech convention like CES is that they realize how important blogging and other types of social media are to the industry. Technology is really one area where citizen journalists can make a big difference. Manufacturers and designers have learned that the voice of the People is the best way to let them know what they should be doing, and the new social media has made it easier than ever for them to hear us. And they do listen.

Sign outside the blogger lounge at CES in Las Vegas. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

I was impressed with the fact that the organizers established a blogger lounge, with free WiFi, charging stations, fast LAN access, public terminals with a printer, couches, TVs, and free coffee and snacks to boot. Nice touch! I hope that next year they make the room a little larger though because once the show started that place was packed. It looked like a squatters’ rally, with people camped out on every flat surface available. Needless to say this really choked up the WiFi as well which wasn’t a big deal for writers but when one is trying to move video stories across the net like we were, things got a bit frustrating at times. It didn’t help that Ed’s 4G Sprint service was a joke, and my AT&T iPhone access was even worse. Yes, AT&T, even though the iPhone is the best thing ever, you still suck.

I managed to get my focus right as I snapped this self portrait as the sun set through the window of the Las Vegas convention center

The big theme for this year – and I mean big – seemed to be new technologies in television. All the big manufacturers, and a lot I’d never heard of, were seriously representing with their dazzling new screens. There were hundreds of awesome flat panel units on display and the quality of all of them was amazing. The Samsung display was just crazy. I had to document it with the iPhone video because the lens on my GF1 wasn’t wide enough to get it all in one shot.

Television was definitely the top buzz once you were in the show. Outside the show, it was probably tablets, but inside, there were awesome TVs everywhere. Yes, television, and now, 3D Television. New 3D systems and their corresponding goggles were all the rage on the display floor. I’m sorry, but not even the best models look good wearing these things.

A model at the Panasonic booth models 3D glasses for use with new 3D TV displays. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

Here are some more TVs:

Attendees at CES 2010 look at the latest in television technology on the show floor. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

I think my favorite display was the Intel Infoscape cube, which was, essentially, a seven-foot glass wall that displays 500 real-time streams of just about anything you like, mapped onto cubes that one can interact with. Here’s a short video I shot on my way out of the hall, which will explain it much better than I can:

The very nice lady who helped us register. She made me promise not to post her on America's Most Wanted... As if I have that kind of power.

After geting our press credentials in order, and picking up the very nice canvas shoulder bag (gotta love press swag) they gave us, we headed up to the blogger lounge, which is where we are now.

View from our table in the blogger lounge at CES in Las Vegas (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

We’re about the head back downstairs to get some more b-roll of the convention floor as they’re setting up for the opening of the show tomorrow. Then it’s time for a quick lunch before we go to the Panasonic presser, which we should be streaming live on Ustream. We will tweet the URL when we go live. Be sure to follow @peakaction @elozano @newmediascoop for all the latest tweets from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas!

Ed (@elozano) works on his computer at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport

We finally made it to Vegas and after a thirty-five-dollar cab ride, checked into our room at Circus Circus. I’ve never stayed at Circus Circus before, but the rooms were dirt cheap, so how could we say no? After checking in, however, I know exactly how we should have said no. N-O. No. I will only mention the jet engine living in the air conditioner and the pre-existing stain on my bed sheet, and leave it at that.

Riding the tram to pick up our bags at McCarran International

After dropping our crap in the room, we headed downstairs to eat at a cafe that Ed said was good, but they ended up being closed. So, we ate at the buffet. How was it? If you want to recreate the experience of the Circus Circus buffet, you simply need to go to your local supermarket and buy every low quality frozen food item in their freezers. Then microwave them for about half the required time and serve on chipped cafeteria plates.

And throw in one dish that features a completely unidentifiable meat product. At first, I thought I was eating chicken. Then, after I had eaten most of it (I was hungry, dammit), I decided that it was in fact some variety of red meat. I actually did not know what kind of meat I was consuming. Regardless, I’d eaten worse-tasting things in my life, and like I said, I was hungry. I stopped eating, however, when what looked like a small knuckle assembly surfaced next to the obviously-instant mashed potatoes. This is not food for eating; it is food for laying down and avoiding.

If I survive my next trek through the lobby, I’ll tell you more about the hotel itself.

Tomorrow morning, we may actually make it to the actual show.

Sunrise at San Antonio International, waiting for our flight to Vegas. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

I ate a chili dog to kill some time, which as it turned out, only took about five minutes. I was hungrier than I thought. Now I’m resisting the urge for a waffle cone.

With any luck at all, we’ll land in Vegas by 9 p.m. local time and get to our hotel. Circus Circus. Not the best, but once again, cheap. You gotta do what you gotta do. We had hoped to attend the CES Unveiled presentation tonight, but there is no way we’ll make it there in time. Hopefully we won’t miss too much.

If you want to follow our CES adventures, follow @newmediascoop on Twitter, as well as myself, @peakaction and Ed, @elozano We’ll be tweeting everything that happens, and you can expect one or two blog posts per day. We’ll be reporting on all the best gadgets and announcements.

Folk rock musicians Crosby, Stills and Nash perform during their 2009 tour, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009, at Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

Classic and familiar sounds filled the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio tonight as folk rock supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash played live for a packed house. The trio made a stop in the Alamo City as part of their 2009 US tour.

I was invited to come photograph the show by a client of mine, who was handling PR for the event. I was only allowed to shoot the first two songs, as is the norm, and then I had to put the cameras down. I could have stayed to catch the rest of the show, but I didn’t want to sit there with two bodies, a 300/2.8 and a 70-200/2.8 in my lap the whole time. Plus, I was starving, so after the second song, it was dinner time.

Folk rock musicians Crosby, Stills and Nash perform during their 2009 tour, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009, at Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas. (Darren Abate/pressphotointl.com)

I have to say, they weren’t sounding too strong in the pipes. The tunes seemed a little thin in intensity, but it’s not like I could do any better. But then again, I’m not on stage trying to do so. My friend Dave saw them somewhere up north a couple weeks ago, and he said it was the same there. I guess the years really do take their toll on a singer. Dave told me that the first set was all acoustic, and then they come back and play a rock set. I do wish I could have seen that, just to see what the difference was. I hear they have lasers, which would explain the non-marijuana-generated-fog that filled the venue.

Truth be told, I wanted to get some more exciting photos, but in retrospect, I was in the wrong place for that. The first two songs, they stood and sang. I don’t know why I was expecting more than that; it’s Crosby Stills and Nash, not Rush. I was pretty sure there would be no Rocking. Regardless, it was a cool experience to see them on stage, which was the first time I’d seen them live.

But, then again, I didn’t see the second set.

The “rumored” specs on the “7D”, however, seem to be distinctly 1D flavored. The cropped sensor and the inclusion of a second DiG!C processor being the two main red flags that hint at the new cam being a 1D body. IMO there is no way that Canon would grant a second processing chip to a body that is technically supposed to fall below the 5D Mark II in the product line. ONLY the 1D models have ever had two image processing chips. Plus, the fact that the new body is supposed to have video features that trump those of the 5D Mark II is another clue.

Anyone heard anything more?

There is also talk of the EOS 60D being released, but who really cares?

editorial photographer in san antonio
editorial stock photos

Here is an updated list of all the Leica gear I have for sale, with asking prices. Anyone interested in any of this EX++ to Mint- gear should contact me directly. Thanks!

All lenses are latest versions except for the Noctilux (E60 Canada).

Leica M6 TTL Chrome Body – 1400.00 – SOLD

Noctilux-M 50/1.0 – 4900.00 - SOLD

Summilux-M 75/1.4 – 2800.00 - SOLD

Summicron-M ASPH. 35/2 – 1900.00

Summicron-M 50/2 – 995.00 – SOLD

Summicron-M ASPH. 90/2 – 1800.00 - SOLD

Elmarit-M ASPH. 24/2.8 – 2600.00 (w/hood)

Tri-Elmar-M ASPH. 16/18/21 f/4 – 4200.00 (w/hood)

Tri-Elmar-M ASPH. 28/35/50 f/4 – 4200.00 (w/metal vented hood) - SOLD

APO-Telyt-M 135/3.4 – 1700.00

APO-Extender 2X – 1400.00 - SOLD

Universal Wide-Angle Viewfinder for M System – 16/18/21/24/28 Brightline – 800.00 (w/leather case)

Wide-Angle Viewfinder Variable 21/24/28 – 360.00 (w/leather case)

Leica Universal Circular Polarizer w/adapter rings for E39 E46 E49 lenses – 440.00 (w/case)

Leica E67 Circular Polarizer w/E49 to E67 Adapter Ring – 340.00

Leica IR/UV Filters: E46 E55 E67 – 100 ea. – SOLD

Leica UV Filter E67 – 80.00

Assorted E67 B+W Filters

Heliopan E39 Filters: Cir. Pol.; UV; 81A; 81B; Red; Green; Orange; Yellow (B+W) Set With Caps – 240.00

Similar Filter Sets for E46 E49 E55 & E67

Leica E49 UVa Filter with case – 40.00

Leica 5X Hand-held ambient light slide viewer with Velvet Bag – 180.00 – SOLD

Rodenstock 6×6 5X Loupe – 100.00 - SOLD

I’m sitting in an Austin coffee shop waiting to start a meeting with an artist I met recently through a mutual film connection. We were to meet at 1 p.m. but he spaced and forgot — I’m not being insulting, that was his own term — so now I have some time to kill while he drives down here. I don’t mind, I like the rare instances when I have time to myself to do whatever I like.

So of course, I get the idea that I’m going to write something while I’m waiting. I don’t know what, but dammit, something’s going to get written, and it’s going to be fucking brilliant.

You see, that’s how it starts every time. I have some free time, a computer and a WiFi connection, and suddenly I’m empowered to change the world mit mein words. The creative juices are flowing, the battery is fully charged, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses. Hit it.

Stall. Don’t dump the clutch, you moron. Give it more gas, and maybe also a little thought.

Inspiration is great until it comes time to produce, then the couch starts looking mighty inviting. Maybe tomorrow.

No, this time I am my own captive audience. I have nothing else to do right now besides write my masterpiece. I don’t know what it’s about yet, but if they can make a hit TV program about nothing, I can certainly do the same on the internet. Everyone’s important on the internet. I read that on the internet. So, here goes:

If I were a tree,

Nevermind, Rolf just showed up. Maybe tomorrow.

Darren Abate is a professional photographer, cinemantographer, and is sometimes an asshole, but his dogs love him just the same. His favorite candies are Junior Mints (chilled).

It was Venda, telling me to get to the scene of the accident she had just been involved in, because she didn’t have her license and she wasn’t sure what was going to happen. Great.

She was obviously uninjured, so I wasn’t worried about that. She didn’t have time to give me the details then and there, so my mind was left to ponder on the drive over.

I jumped into my GTI and sped to the scene, which was on Loop 410 near McCullough. Venda being Venda, who, if she’s going to do something bad, does it very well, lived up to expectation. She hit a semi. She didn’t just simply hit it, mind you, she hit it well.

She had been traveling in heavy traffic on the loop when the truck in front of her slammmed on its brakes, which made her do the same. This caused the Trooper she was driving to fishtail, which she made valiant efforts to correct. However, eventually, the tail end of the Trooper veered into an adjacent lane and struck the nose of a tractor-trailer rig, cracking it all up.

After I arrived and checked out the hit, I was surprised she didn’t roll. The spare tire on the back of my Trooper is what made first contact with the rig, and there were rubber marks all over the side of the semi. I don’t know how the Trooper kept from rolling, save the fact that Isuzu made a very stable little 4×4 in 1991.

After hitting the semi at highway speed, the only damage to the Trooper was a slightly bent rear door and a dented bumper. The rear window wasn’t even broken. The entire front-right of the semi was cracked up where the fibreglass had taken the hit, and the running gear was bent up. My little Isuzu won that round, very very luckily. If she had hit at a different angle, it’s likely the semi would have rolled over her.

The accident wasn’t really anyone’s fault, and the fact that the cop didn’t issue any citations verifies that for me, at least. Whew. Insurace information was exchanged with the driver of the rig, who was a very nice fellow, and we all went on our way.

So now I’m back at home wondering if it’s worth it to try to get back into the swing of work. Yeah, I guess so. I have a lot of editing to do on the film, and also Spurs photos to edit and post. Back to it…

Don’t get me wrong, yes, the death of Michael Jackson is indeed huge news, but when it gets to the point that I’m watching a CNN anchor telling me that heart attacks are “bad” then maybe it’s time to move on to another story until you have some information on Jacko that has a little more meat to it.

Now for the meat of this post. I don’t have a whole lot to say, but dammit, I have to get on the Jackson blogging bandwagon. I never really considered myself a fan, but I will admit that Jackson’s impact on the music world was immense. Personally, I stopped liking Michael Jackson’s music in the late 1980s. Everything after that just seemed to me to be a cry for attention. But that’s just me.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the death of a celebrity that has brought about such a duality in response from the public. When the news of Jackson’s death first became public yesterday, I was preparing to shoot a scene on the set of The Powderkids — well, we were having lunch — and immediately everyone began diving for their iPhones to check the accuracy of the report (at the time, the LA Times was reporting his death, but other sources were reporting that he was in a coma).

I hit some of the higher page-ranked forums, where the split public opinion of Michael Jackson was immediately evident. One post started out with “Michael was the greatest” and the next with “Burn in hell, Wacko!” and then they would inevitably trail off into how he was the best thing ever, OR the worst thing ever, his record in music or pedophilia being brought forth as evidence accordingly.

What does the death of Michael Jackson mean to me? Not much, really. Yes, he was one of the most important figures to ever hit the music scene, and his influence will be felt for generations of musicians to come, but in my opinion, if he was going to die an early death, it should have come in 1989, before he got really freaky, became a joke to a lot of people, and began firing off scandals faster than that insane vending machine from Maximum Overdrive.

I dare you to find anyone else who will give you Maximum Overdrive references in their Jacko-death-blog-post.

Darren Abate is a professional photojournalist and cinematographer based in San Antonio, Texas. He also likes to write, and his favorite candies are Junior Mints. He is represented by PressPhoto International.

Glenn Beck is one of those figures, like your Rush Limbaughs and your Bill O’Reillys, who will usually draw immediate unsolicited opinions from whomever is around when you speak their names, whether they be liberal or conservative.

Television and radio host Glenn Beck pauses in his hotel room before a public appearance at a tax day tea party, Wednesday, Spril 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

I’m going to leave my personal political views out of this post, however, simply because there’s no point in my getting into that in this entry. Readers are welcome to fight it out in the comments section though, if they so desire.

Fox News commentator and radio host Glenn Beck walks to a public appearance at a tax day tea party, Wednesday, Spril 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

People who know me know that I’m a fairly liberal person, which means that I don’t agree with a lot of what Glenn Beck has to say, but I also don’t disagree with some of what he has to say, either. After spending all day in close proximity with him, though — sometimes only the two of us in a room — I can say that, politics aside, he is a very nice and genuine person. He’s probably the nicest celeb I’ve ever met.

Fox News commentator and radio host Glenn Beck, right, speaks with his staff in his hotel room before a public appearance at a tax day tea party, Wednesday, Spril 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

I was also impressed with the fact that, even behind closed doors, he doesn’t limit his criticism to one side. Republicans as well as Democrats, conservatives as well as liberals, all were slammed or praised depending on the topic. Objectivity is a respectable trait, whether or not one agrees with the original statement.

Fox News commentator and radio host Glenn Beck, middle right, autographs copies of his book with members of his staff before a public appearance at a tax day tea party, Wednesday, Spril 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

I was surprised to see how many people had turned out at Alamo Plaza to attend this tea party thing. Apparently these national tea parties had been in the news a lot, but I hadn’t even heard of them, but it’s no secret that I rarely watch the news. I usually get my information from the BBC or my USA Today iPhone app, but Ive been so busy lately I was pretty much in the dark about everything because I hadn’t had a chance to catch up on the rest of the world.

Fox News commentator and radio host Glenn Beck, seated, autographs copies of his book for fans before a public appearance, April 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

There were some “interesting” people at this thing, let me tell you. Most were normal people you’d see in everyday life, but as always, there were those “special” few who couldn’t resist making some sort of scene in public to put themselves in the limelight. Some woman dressed up like Betsy Ross, there was a guy who had a bunch of slogans scribbled all over himself and a fake snake pinned to his shirt, and my favorite, a guy who was dressed like Davy Crocket and had made a costume that made it look like he was carrying himself in a tea crate. You know, the old fake legs and arms costume gag. At least his scraggly bushy mountain man beard was real.

Fox News commentator and radio host Glenn Beck, middle, poses with two fans during a public appearance for a tax day tea party, Wednesday, April 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

Ted Nugent was there too, resplendent in his hilarious, venison-fueled craziness. I spent a lot of my time laughing aloud from behind my camera at his freaky expressions and off-color comments. I walked away very relieved and thankful that Ted is not my roommate because a little of him goes a very long way. Insane? Yes, but also a very nice guy in person.

He signed a wounded veteran’s amputee stump, too. I had to make a photo of that. I asked his permission for this one.

A tax day tea party spectator displays his bandaged leg, which was autographed by musician Ted Nugent, Wednesday, April 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)