MOTOCROSS SCHOOL IN MONROE COUNTY

A friend is planning to purchase 154 acres of land here in Monroe County to open a motocross school. Please read the article below that is from the local newspaper on what he's facing and then click the link below to leave a comment showing your support. Thank you.

From the Monroe County Reporter

BY WILL DAVIS

Monroe County's zoning board waved a caution flag on Monday night over
plans to put a private motocross school at an abandoned ATV track in
Culloden.

The zoning board recommended on Monday that county commissioners reject a
conditional use permit for Matt Walker of McDonough to operate a motocross
school on a 154-acre tract of land he wants to buy. Located at the corner
of Hwys. 341 and 74, the property was the former home to the Rocky Creek
ATV track, and is now bank-owned.

Walker, 30, has been one of the top motocross racers in the U.S. After a
career as a factory racer for Kawasaki, he said he now wants to help other
young kids who want to be professional racers. He retired after suffering
an injury at age 24, and says he wants to build a home where he can raise
his family, including a 3-year-old boy, and teach other kids how to
motocross. Walker is recognized as one of the best motocross trainers in
the country, as his riders have won hundreds of races.

Walker's been racing since he was 4 and was recognized by RacerX magazine
as the 19th-most influential motocrosser in the sport’s history. His
longevity made him the youngest person ever to secure life membership in
the American Motocross Association, the governing body of the sport.
But some of his would-be neighbors in Culloden were not impressed. About
12 area landowners attended Monday night's meeting to express their
opposition, according to county administrator Anita Buice. Among those on
hand were members of the Pierson family that used to own the 154 acres
before it was foreclosed, according to sources at the meeting. Walker said
the majority of those who spoke against his plan didn't even live next to
the property -- one visits one Saturday per month, others live two miles
away and one only owns land, no home, in the area, said Walker
The recommendation now goes to Monroe County commissioners who are
scheduled to rule at their Nov. 1 meeting.

Walker said he's been looking for five years for a place to raise his
family and have a motocross school. He said he's found the perfect spot in
southwest Monroe County.

"I love Culloden," said Walker. "The neighbors are nice. It's perfect."
Walker said he won't be building an oval track or hosting public events
there, but merely creating trails for training motocross students. "It's
nothing gnarly," said Walker. He said he and his wife, who teaches school,
wanted to find a place close enough to Atlanta to enjoy, but far enough in
the country to be safe and quiet. He said he spent many weekends as a boy
at the High Falls Motocross competing, but said his operation will be much
more subdued than it.

He said people might've thought the High Falls motocross was kind of
redneck, but he looks forward to showing people what they do and how they
do it.

Rocky Creek ATV had been able to host four-wheeler races on the property
because it was grandfathered in when the county passed its zoning
ordinance. However, since the property has been out of use for some time
and was foreclosed upon, it lost its special use permit to operate that
way.

Please go to the link below to show your support and thank you.
Click Here
http://www.mymcr.net/articles/2011/10/26/news/doc4ea7575f6f344257096930.txt

Dream Photography Job

A question that I've been asked a few times is, What would be my dream photography job? There are several areas of photography that interest me so that's a tough question. If I had to narrow it down to one it would have something to do with motorcycles. I've always loved motorcycle racing and the people in the sport so it would be cool to land a job touring the country with a race team. I would like to be the photographer that is there from testing to racing capturing all what goes into a season. To me that would be like riding again.

Driving Again

This October 2nd will be twelve years since I've been behind the wheel independently. For those of you that may not know me, in 1999 I was in an automobile accident that left me paralyzed. I'm considered a C5/6 Quadriplegic which means all four of my limbs suffered some extent of paralysis.

Over the past years I've been trying to regain as much independance as possible. My goals are to be able to drive again, find a job and to move into a place of my own. I've had several job offers over the years but getting there was the problem. In my small town there isn't any public transportation plus most the job offers have been in surrounding towns.

As you can see my goals kept getting put aside so I'm trying to raise money to have handcontrols installed in my van. The freedom of being able to go again without looking for a ride, returning to work, returning to a social life, dating, living life again. That's what I feel like I missing without driving.

If you'd like to donate towards my driving goals please do so by paypal.
www.PayPal.com then hit send money and my email is showtm490@yahoo.com Your support and donation is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

My New Look

Glasses, a photo by showtm490 on Flickr.

They're here!!! I'm now wearing glasses since my left eye is a little blurry. I don't need to wear them all the time but it sure makes thing clearer :)

How much do you charge for a photoshoot?

I'm always being asked "How much do you charge for a photoshoot?" so this blog is to answer that. When I shoot I put in a lot time before and after the shoot to make sure every photo I put out makes people stop to feel the emotion in what they are viewing. When I give my cost to people I get one of two reactions, either they think its to much or they understand that putting a cost on memories is priceless. I'm not the cheapest nor the most expensive but this is my job.

For family portraits I start at $300. For the basic package you'll receive a shoot on location for up to a hour. I'll take a group photo which will be an 8x10 print and several individuals of each member (up to five people) that'll be a 4x6 print.

For automotive shoots I charge $200 for up to two hours. With autos though I let the owner pick one photo that he/she likes and I'll have an 11x14 printed. All other photos will be listed on my website to purchase in any size.

For events I charge $75hr. All the photos will be on my website to purchase.

For modeling shoots packages start at $250. We will need to discuss the shoot style/ideas to confirm a final price.

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All the photos from your shoot will be listed on my website for three months to purchase extra copies in other sizes.

If you would like to post your photos online I also will resize them to be web ready and place my logo on the bottom corner for an extra $35. I'll then give you a password to download them from your album on my website.

If I travel more than 35 miles outside of Forsyth I add on an extra fee to cover my expenses

Another Cloud Day

Another storm was to roll in and I was ready this time but the storm faded before it got here. It only drizzled which barely wet the ground.

1,551 Pictures at 30fps

Playing with light

web-2, a photo by showtm490 on Flickr.

Yesterday I decided to breakout my Alienbees 1600 strobe and Vagabond II power pack to play a little. My goal was to over-power the sun to make it look dark out. Success!!! Checkout my setup along with the other photos by clicking the photo above.

Storm Coming

Luck wasn't on my side this shoot. Starting off I went to shoot my first time lapse of the day during mid-morning but after I setup everything the sky went clear. I then waited for some clouds to roll which was after lunch. Once setup I started taking the photos to only hear thunder so I then relocated my camera under some shelter to reshoot. After maybe 45 minutes a storm started rolling in and I was thinking I'd get a pretty cool time lapse. Here's what happened......

Road Trip Time Lapse

I had to take my van in to get the ramp door checked out so I decided to try my hand at a time lapse while riding down the road.  I'm still trying to figure it out but I thought it worked out decent.

Indian Springs

Indian Springs, a photo by showtm490 on Flickr.

I took another trip to Indian Springs to shoot. Since I haven't had anyone to shoot with in awhile I used my assistant as my test subject. In a state park here in GA you're not allowed to use a tripod or light stand without a permit. Since they have that crazy rule all the photos from today have on-camera flash for fill :( To view the photos visit my flickr link or click the photo above and thank you for following my blog.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/showtm490/

Indian Springs Shoot

I went to Indian Springs today to scout out some areas for future shoots.  While looking around I asked my help to pose for a few quick shots and here's the results.  Hopefully soon I'll laid some paid shoots.

More photos here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/showtm490/

My First Model Shoot

Wendy, a photo by showtm490 on Flickr.

On March 5, 2007 I had my first model shoot. I've learned a lot since then but everyone loved this shot.

My Intro

Ok it's 2011 and blogs have been around for ages but this is my first time.   Yes I've decided to see what all the rave is about plus maybe gain a few followers of my work. 

If you don't know me I'm a 34 year old C5/6 quadriplegic.  What's that you ask?  That means I'm paralyzed from my chest down.  In 1999 I was in an auto accident that broke my neck at the C1,3,4,5,6 and 7th vertabrae.  Luckly it skipped the C2, if not I most likely wouldn't be here today.

So what's my blog going to be about?  Photography.  Growing up my parents always took pictures when we'd go somewhere.  My dad gave me an old film carmera around 1990 but back then my interest were elsewhere.  In 2005 though I became interested in photography.  At the time I had a Kodak point & shoot camera that I took everywhere with me.  A year later I knew that p&s had its limits so I saved up for a used Canon Rebel XT.  I thought I was something...lol  After reading many forums and watching countless videos I began learning how things work.  I'm still doing that today but to better my skills.  I've advanced to better equipment since my Rebel and hopefully someday people will enjoy the memories I capture.