Lilly and Charky

We should be judged not by the god we worship, but how we treat others, children, and animals. I truly believe that these animals deserve everything we give them - because they have no choices in this life. We welcome them into our lives, asking so much of them, and all they truly want in return is love and warmth. Charky and Lilly will get more than 99% of the animals on Earth, and I'm so happy to have them in our family.

Good things come in bunches

Yesterday my wife's side of the family adopted a needy animal. Today my sister adopted two beautiful kitties. These are great times to be a Zegelis and a Kurz.

A new member of the family

Meet Shadow. He's a beautiful animal my wife's parents adopted from the Humane Society, and he's a lucky guy.
His life is now destined to be filled with love, happiness, and safety from two of the greatest people I've ever met.

Unexpected

Caught this shot at the Botanical Gardens. I didn't expect it to turn out - but it turned out to be the shot of the day.

Truth

On days like this, when I'm out by myself shooting, a feeling sometimes comes over me that's difficult to describe.

There are fleeting moments of clarity, and I feel like the world is understandable.

The birds sing clearly into the blue above me, the wind whisks through the grass, and the sun's rays shine playfully through the clouds- illuminating and revealing this land's truth.

Watertowers

My wife's friend, Kelley came in from North Carolina this last weekend. It was a great visit, and I hope she had a good time. From now on, forever and ever, Kelley has opened up my vision to something I normally never give a second thought to in the small towns I visit (visit her blog here: http://watertowers.blogspot.com/.)

I now see how a watertower sometimes takes on the identity of a small town and its people, and it gives me just one more reason to find that next small town destination.

Photography's greatest gift to me has been opening my eyes to the beauty to be found in the everyday things I used to take for granted. Shadows and light take on special meaning. An average Nebraska day filled with endless clouds now becomes a reason to open my eyes and gaze at this amazing, sometimes breathtaking world we have around us.

I now see watertowers in a new way.

Surprise

Welcome to Surprise, NE. I found Surprise on the map one day and decided it would be a good place to go visit - about an hour away and near a part of Nebraska I hadn't explored much.

You wouldn't know it by driving through - there are absolutely no signs pronouncing the town. The only way I knew I was in the right place was a faded, spray-painted sign on the biggest building in town that read "Surprise Community Hall."

The abandoned house below was built in 1826 by a man named Fred, who gave it to his son, Red, who died years ago. All this according to Larry Svoboda, a local resident who told me a little of the town's history as I snapped some photos.

He smiled as he told me once there were big fairs and carnivals held at Surprise, and pointed toward a small mound of dirt in the middle of a fork in a stream. He said there were once elephants and carnival tents there every year or two to entertain the surrounding area.

Those days are long gone.

Blurred

Sometimes, this is what my memory is like, obscured as through an unfocused lens. I'm not sure why, because I can remember enormous amounts of information from books - about history - about politics. But my own personal history? It's fading more and more all the time.

Good thing I take lots of photos.

Tilden was quiet and empty that morning, but foreshadowed every small town we visited on our trip. What was once probably a thriving township has become something different - a melancholy place where there is more history than possibility.

The Road Ahead

This was the first long stretch of road we had ahead of us going North. The thick fog gave the land a surreal feel, and on a Sunday morning, we were mostly alone along the highway. Every once in a while we'd stop our car, get out, and take some shots. The only sound we could hear was the click of our shutter, and the land awed us with it's simple mystery.

HOOPER, NE. It was the first stop on the entire 2-day trip. This was shot number three at about 7:00 in the morning.

Spring Break

When I told my friend Jeremy that I was going to go on a trip with Zach across Nebraska for a few days, he immediately told me that we could probably stay with his grandma and grandpa, Ivan and Oretta in Burton, NE (a town of nine people). After calling them up and confirming, the plans were set.

We arrived around 4:00 p.m. on a rainy day - with a blanket white sky and some good downpour... not the best conditions for the type of photos we wanted to take, so we were a bit down about our photo trip.

























Ivan and Oretta changed all that. They were wonderful people who allowed two strangers to stay on their land for the night, and treated us like family. We were allowed to follow them on their nightly round of cattle feeding, and had just a glimmer - a small glimpse - of their daily lives. They talked to us all night, fed us an incredible dinner, and made us feel at home.

























I'm not sure why, but I never got a real "sit-down" portrait of them. I think that I was so out of my own realm that I didn't think to get the simplest of photos... but I'm not too worried - I now have a mission of returning and getting that portrait.

I can't thank them enough for their hospitality, and I can't wait to return for another photo.

Looking for the ordinary

I'm going on a "Nebraska" photo expedition soon for Spring Break. Some people might think I'm crazy for a staying here to take photos - there are, after all, only one or two "books of interesting places" about Nebraska. One is usually the Old Market, and the other "Carhenge." Maybe it's true - there isn't much extroardinary in Nebraska...

Yet Zach and I are going to go a different route - we're going to look for the ordinary. We're going to stay away from I-80 and take some smaller roads, visit some small towns, and get to know this state a little better.

I think it'll be good for me. I often go out on trips to take photos and come back with next to nothing... usually because I'll tell myself "there was nothing to take photos of."

This trip will help me focus, I think, on making the ordinary beautiful.

Below are some photos from a few "lost" trips - where I came back with next to nothing after hours looking.

This is what greets me when I walk into my office at school - my wife made this for me for Valentine's Day.

It reminds me of what she means to me, and how special she is in my life.

No matter what happens at school to get me in a bad mood, seeing this cheers me up.

New Toy

lost

Recently the humane society decided to put “to sleep” this animal that I wanted to adopt. “To sleep” is a nicer way of saying “killed.” I rescued the animal at my school and called the Nebraska Humane Society in the hope that its owner would claim her. In the hour it took them to pick her up, I was able to spend some time with her – she became comfortable in my warm lap and kneaded my legs with her sharp claws. She probably enjoyed the warmth, and I’m sure she felt safe.


She was friendly to everyone who entered. She purred and rubbed on all of us. When I left the room I could hear her cry, and when I returned she instantly was drawn to my lap, purring and looking up at me. I have a feeling that she was a special animal.

When the man came to get her, I gave them my name and number. If the owner didn’t claim her my wife and I would have adopted her, or find someone who would. After a week of hearing nothing, I went to the Humane Society to check on her, hoping my wife and I could come and visit her at some point and discuss adoption. That’s when I was told she was put to sleep. She never made it into the adoption stage, even though they told me she was perfectly healthy.

She was never given a chance to live. I was never given a chance to make a difference in her life.



I’m not unrealistic. I do know that in this city, animals are “put down” every day. “Put down” is yet another nice way to say “killed.” I know that not every animal can find a home, and shelters can only hold so many strays. I know sometimes it’s the right thing to do when starvation, disease, and over-population are the alternatives.

But this animal had a home waiting for her – mine.


She never even had a name, or the chance to slide along our wood floor, chasing her two feline friends we have at home now. Maybe I’m being naïve – it might have never worked out at home. Maybe the dream of her getting along with the other two cats would not have happened.

But I would have tried, and sometimes that's enough.

Snowing

There is finally snow on the ground again, after the mildest winter I can remember having. Last night it dipped below zero.

I have to remember to get out there and take lots of photos. This one is from two years ago. It's depressing to think that I haven't gone out and braved the cold this year at all!

I'll get out there soon, and hopefully post something new.

20 Minutes

20 Minutes - give or take a few. That's probably the amount of time Zach and I spent on this small mini-photo expedition. These are a few of my shots, but Zach got some great ones too. He's only been seriously working on photos for about a month now, and his photographs are truly amazing. I've seen people online who have been shooting for years who haven't got an eye like Zach has.

Mud

So, my friend Zach and I went on a photo expedition today to get some material for a Valentine's Day show he has coming up. We drove to Persia, Iowa, where I haven't been before, and decided to get off on some side roads.

Wrong move.

What you see here can't describe what happened. The car, at that point, was completely stuck. Getting it back into the middle of the road was the only victory we could muster. The mud was more like grease... and
we finally had to suck it up and walk to a farmer's house. After some time - the farmer brought out his tractor to get us out... only the tractor got stuck too! It took some time, but he was finally able to get some traction and get us out.

It was a blast... and we have some cool photos to show for it. The best part of it all is just being able to tell the story of the day.

Snap

Zach and I on a photo trip.

Lessons

Pets to me aren't pets. They are family. Ever since I've been young, I've been surrounded by the most amazing family in the world - pets included. I have fond memories of old animals all through my childhood... of Amy, who would lay on my chest and clench her claws into it (and I loved every second of it) - and of Vass who would howl mournfully in the basement when he was "taking turns" being with the family when our dog Sassy was upstairs (they didn't get along). Sassy, a beautiful terrier who worshipped my mother beyond belief... but would sit with me for a few seconds as I scratched her back. I hear legends of a dog named Bobby that I can barely remember... who was supposed to be among the sweetest dogs who ever lived. And Alabama - the first dog who ever loved me the most, who has ended her journey on earth... a dog who my mother, a certified dog expert, has said was the best dog who ever lived. I agree.

I think one of the greatest lessons I've ever learned from my family is that animals deserve the best we can give them. Pets don't have choices - we bring them into our lives whether they want to come or not. We owe it to them to spoil them... to love them... to let them become part of our family so they can feel love every second of their lives.

Right now at my mother's home, Mikey, a monsterous black lab who has never given up being a puppy, is probably plotting to eat his next remote control (he has destroyed over a dozen). And you know what? When he gets that remote control, he won't be abused and hurt... he will probably be greeted with a stern voice yelling "MIKEY!" only to be followed by a warm hug moments later.

Animals are gifts. It's probably the greatest lesson I've ever learned.

Loss

Alabama... She was with me through some of the most difficult times of my life - when I needed her most. There are no words to describe how I felt when I brought her in to the vet one last time - I can only say that she made the world a better place by bringing limitless love, joy, and inspiration into my life. She was a gift to this world, one of which I will always be grateful. She will always be with me.

Christmas was a little different this year. Casey and I decided against getting everyone gifts, and instead giving to the Katrina effort. Of course, we found special items for each other, and gave to the kids of our families - but outside of that, we stayed out of the gift-giving marathon Christmas has become.

Not that we're against giving and receiving gifts. It's just that Christmas has become about the gifts instead of spending time with family and friends.

It's not always like that. I gave my father a picture of him when we was probably 20 something next to one of his old cars. It was a great black and white I got from a tiny picture, and I was able to scan it and make it a lot larger. He had tears in his eyes, and hugged me hard when he opened it (December 25th just so happens to be his birthday). It meant a lot to both of us... and it felt great.

This Christmas wasn't filled with the stress of previous ones. I didn't have to worry about guessing how much someone would spend on me so I could spend the same as them. We also made it a point to give to the Katrina relief effort - as I look around at my home and all thing things we have, I have come to realize that although we are in no way rich, we have much more than many people out there could ever imagine. Christmas should be for the kids and sharing moments with family and friends... I hope we do this every year.

Mom and Dad

I scanned this old photo from a tiny picture my mom gave me. At this point, they were younger than I am now. They were just starting out, trying to make a life together.

I hope my mother and father realize just how lucky I feel when I'm around them. They have worked hard to create a good life for the family, and I'm proud to be their son.