True Breianna Harlow, 4, with her grandfather Robert McCalister, pushes a button to make Greenwood mayor Mark Myers fall into a dunk tank during the Greenwood Freedom Festival, Saturday, June 28, 2014. The mayor was helping raise money for chemotherapy treatments for two girls at Northeast Elementary School. Alex Farris
Fourth of July, taken slowly | Alex Farris Photo Blog
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Random entry
2014.07.08
Earlier in my journalism career, I learned how to be very good on deadline. I learned, through the crucible of the IDS, how to be quick, yet thorough, and it is because of those skills that I first got the privilege to work with the Star. By now, I've sent off a great many assignments with tight deadlines, enough that I don't bother to count them anymore.

While editing photos of a wedding I covered last month, though, I was reminded of how much good work can come out of the absence of a tight deadline. (I'm also reminded of this in my studying for organic chemistry; you cannot quickly learn and memorize how an alkene reacts with a peroxy acid to create an epoxide!) The most effective lesson came from an assignment ten days ago, when I had my eyes so focused on the deadline that I didn't send my favorite photo (4). If I had been taking things slower, focusing on the photos more than on the time I had remaining to send them, I would have thought more clearly, and I definitely would have selected that photo for submission.

Anyway, here are photos I've taken over the last two weekends, chosen outside of the fog of deadline-induced blindness. They include Greenwood's pre-Fourth of July Freedom Festival, a concert on Georgia Street on the Fourth (with high-school friends in the crowd!), and a concert by The Fray, one of my favorite bands from high school. Side note: This is the first concert I've covered where I found myself singing while taking pictures. I think the other photographers (and some audience members) might have heard me sing "You Found Me." Whoops.

As for those wedding photos I mentioned earlier: I sent the couple a CD yesterday, and a few of the best will be up on the weddings part of the website before the week is out. That is, if studying for an organic chemistry exam allows it.

One more thing: I was fortunate enough to not be directly affected by the multiple shootings in Indy this weekend. Unfortunately, seven people in Broad Ripple and the family of IMPD officer Perry Renn weren't. While Chicago had a much more violent weekend than we did, this should still be a wake-up call for the city, a time when we can discuss what can make us better. The Star, through its news coverage and commentary, is fostering that important discussion, one in which everyone in Indianapolis should take part.

Flip the light switch
Greenwood Freedom Festival, Saturday, June 28, 2014 Greenwood Freedom Festival, Saturday, June 28, 2014 Alex Farris
Greenwood Freedom Festival, Saturday, June 28, 2014 Greenwood Freedom Festival, Saturday, June 28, 2014 Alex Farris
Greenwood Freedom Festival, Saturday, June 28, 2014 Greenwood Freedom Festival, Saturday, June 28, 2014 Alex Farris
Greenwood Freedom Festival, Saturday, June 28, 2014. Breianna Harlow, 4, with her grandfather Robert McCalister, pushes a button to make Greenwood mayor Mark Myers fall into a dunk tank. The mayor was helping raise money for chemotherapy treatments for two girls at Northeast Elementary School. Greenwood Freedom Festival, Saturday, June 28, 2014. Breianna Harlow, 4, with her grandfather Robert McCalister, pushes a button to make Greenwood mayor Mark Myers fall into a dunk tank. The mayor was helping raise money for chemotherapy treatments for two girls at Northeast Elementary School. Alex Farris
Greenwood Freedom Festival, Saturday, June 28, 2014. Michael and Owen Marsh, 6 and 4, play on a short wall overlooking a plot of flowers. Greenwood Freedom Festival, Saturday, June 28, 2014. Michael and Owen Marsh, 6 and 4, play on a short wall overlooking a plot of flowers. Alex Farris
INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014. Isabella Rodriguez, 7, waits for Dirty Heads, her first concert, to start. INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014. Isabella Rodriguez, 7, waits for Dirty Heads, her first concert, to start. Alex Farris
INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014. I found high school friends Abby Bryant (blond hair) and Charlie Elliott (sunglasses), as well as some guy with a tongue and another guy reminding everyone that ogres have layers. INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014. I found high school friends Abby Bryant (blond hair) and Charlie Elliott (sunglasses), as well as some guy with a tongue and another guy reminding everyone that ogres have layers. Alex Farris
INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014 INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014 Alex Farris
INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014 INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014 Alex Farris
INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014 INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014 Alex Farris
INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014 INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014 Alex Farris
INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014. Lexi, Sammy and DJ Young sit on a brick wall as Eddie DeSaeger tickles Sammy\'s foot. INDYpendence Day Concert on Georgia Street, Friday, July 4, 2014. Lexi, Sammy and DJ Young sit on a brick wall as Eddie DeSaeger tickles Sammy's foot. Alex Farris
The Fray at Old National Centre, Sunday, July 6, 2014 The Fray at Old National Centre, Sunday, July 6, 2014 Alex Farris
The Fray at Old National Centre, Sunday, July 6, 2014 The Fray at Old National Centre, Sunday, July 6, 2014 Alex Farris
The Fray at Old National Centre, Sunday, July 6, 2014 The Fray at Old National Centre, Sunday, July 6, 2014 Alex Farris
The Fray at Old National Centre, Sunday, July 6, 2014 The Fray at Old National Centre, Sunday, July 6, 2014 Alex Farris
The Fray at Old National Centre, Sunday, July 6, 2014 The Fray at Old National Centre, Sunday, July 6, 2014 Alex Farris
The Fray at Old National Centre, Sunday, July 6, 2014 The Fray at Old National Centre, Sunday, July 6, 2014 Alex Farris

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