T-BOTS, Making it Work - Dallas (Photo Story)

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A volunteer "inspector" comes to unwrap the robot before competition.

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The T-BOTS test their robot for movement using an Xbox controller.

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The T-BOTS fix their wiring with a member of team 4206.

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Senior Alex Walker drills a hole to install a safety feature on the robot.

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T-BOT CEO, Caleb Strutton, and member Matt, get help on pneumatics programming with another team mentor.

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T-BOTS CEO, Caleb Strutton, talks with the inspector during the final inspection before their first match.

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T-BOTS CEO, Caleb Strutton, checks the wiring to the robot before competition.

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T-BOTS drive team wait anxiously in queue for their first match.

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The robots line up for the beginning of the match.

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T-BOTS drive team member, Christian Pennington, panics after realizing their robot is not moving.

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The drive team awaits the final score after a deeply disappointing match.

T-BOTS and the Dunbar GT Kids - Dallas (Photo Story)

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The Dunbar Gifted and Talented students cheer for the T-Bots at their Dallas Regional Competition.

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T-BOT rookie, Alex M., and Seniors Krista Petty and Hannah Klopper, talk to Gifted and Talented students about the Dallas Regional Competition.

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T-BOTS member, JR, teaches GT students how to "scout" robotics competitions.

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The T-BOTS displayed thank you notes from the Gifted and Talented students at their pit in Dallas Regionals.

Oops.  My f/stop was way too small for these big group photos.

Buuuuut. Again, my flash was kind of destroying the atmosphere of these photos. It made the background COMPLETELY black.  So I was making due, and walking around with a box to steady the camera. And people were looking at me weird, and I am not sorry.

These were the Gifted and Talented kids that came to see the T-BOTS compete.  The story about these kids is really cool, because the kids gave up their annual trip to Medieval Times to go see the T-BOTS. The T-BOTS had built several things for the GT kids, like their egg drop project, and it was really special to them. They wrote them notes to thank them, and one kid told them "You're more fun than a monkey!" Is there ANY BETTER COMPLIMENT THAN THAT? No. No there isn't. The T-BOTS were really touched by the kids coming to see them.  They gave them a tour of the competition and taught them how scouting worked, and showed them how the robot worked, and they got to see the robot compete as well.  The girl in the top photo was an UPWARD cheerleader, so she was cheering for the T-BOTS the entire time.  I loved that little girl, she was so cool.

This was just a really awesome experience. :)

Mr. Roboto~

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This is Burney, and by "this," I mean the robot.  The robot's name is Burney.

These photos are from the Dallas Regional.  T-BOTS didn't do so well here, and that's why there's so many photos of the robot. Because they spent more time working on the robot than they did actually running the robot. Literally, they placed 45/46.  So. Not good.

But either way, this is Burney.  These photos were irritating to take because it was sooo dark in there, and if I used the flash, the backgrounds were totally black.  So I worked without it as best I could.  I spent a lot of time on the ground, and carrying a little box around with me to steady the camera for photos. It was weird and people gave me strange looks, and I was just not even sorry. I MADE DUE AND GOT MY PHOTOS, DARNIT. :)

Girls Track Team - Oops.

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Oops. I was supposed to take two separate photos of JV and Varsity, but they were running SO late that I blanked out and only took one photo of the whole team. I went up to beg Potter for forgiveness, when she says "OH, I DON'T CARE!" It was sooo funny!

I made the mistake of not taking a flash because I thought there would be shade, and there was none. So I just made due with what I had. I made sure I could see all the black girl's faces, and I made sure the light didn't blow out the white girls. It was useable and everyone was visible. It wasn't the best, but it was a lesson in early morning shooting, and about bringing a flash ALWAYS. ALWAYS. ALWAYS.

Yeah.

Basketball Headshot

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One kid wasn't here when we took the rest of the basketball headshots, so I had to set this one up all on my own.  It was a little difficult because the hallway was dark, but I had JUST had my AH-HA Moment with the flashes, so I was excited to actually have a chance to do this. :)

I tried to set it up where you could see "Tiger" without seeing "Tigervision"... I wish you couldn't see the reflection of the umbrella in the back, but I just went ahead with it because... well, it was that, or a bright door way.

The set up was simple. There was a flash behind him for a REM light.  There was a flash set up to the right of him with an umbrella to give a nice soft light on him.  It turned out well and useable, without a super distracting background. So that's it. :)

Calico "Ghost Town"

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These are two photos from my trip to Calico.  They have a "ghost town" with old, abandoned buildings. 

The first photo is from the old lumber mill.  It was pretty difficult to set up because the sun filter in through holes in the ceiling, but the the factory itself was very very dark.  So getting a setting that didn't totally blow out the details and still expose the wheels in the dark.  It was difficult, and it took me like 12 tries, but I finally made it work. :)

The second photo was interesting to me because it was an old Pepsi-Cola bottle, dated from the 1980's. It was really kind of neat. :) We found old orders for the lumber mill in there too.  It's not like the world's best photo, but I think it's interesting to see.  It was hard, again, because the sun was SO BRIGHT IN THE DARK BUILDING. But it was easier than the wheel, so.