http://meiratz.com

THAT’s where to find my updates from now on!

Thank you so so so much for your loyal support and love….I can’t thank you enough.

Truly. xo

M

How is the world treating you? I hope it is holding your hand. Some days the world is a weighty little friend isn’t it? Golly. Today I am bringing your a post with two different subjects….the first is the final round of the Wyoming state championship photos for the Lander boys….if you missed round 1 of the photos and the story … go check it out! If you have been waiting (so patiently) for this round….I hope to not disappoint you! Here they are!

I have two very vivid memories from my time at the Gillette pool during a state championship win I was part of in 2007 with my own team.

1. Talking to the team in the hall way, explaining to them that this was the last chance. This was the day. This was the moment. If they were waiting for the time to bring the fire….this was the time they were waiting for.

and

2. Standing in the showers next to my best friend (who is the Boise State swimming&diving team capt – they just won their second conf championship….can you imagine?!) just feeling the water run down my suit, feeling the pressure of the day melt off my body, feeling the steam rise and knowing I just couldn’t smile any wider. Feeling unstoppable.

I think of those two moments when I look at the photos of these guys in green….I am so proud of them. I am so proud of their calm spirit. They had a hard season…and they took it in stride and stood up in the face of challenge.

To the guys in green! BRAVO!

(To anyone who is looking for prints of these guys or of the time at the pool…..shoot me an e-mail….meiratzphotography@gmail.com….)

On the topic of pride, love, community, and courage……

I just have a short thing to say on the topic of my hometown’s immeasurable grief right now…..

There is this thing that goes on in my small town, and it really isn’t any different than any other place in the world….

Death.

Death in my community hits hard. The whole town is a neighborhood….when someone is in pain…everyone feels it.

on the flip side, when happiness and celebration is in the air…everyone jumps, dances, and sings at the top of their lungs (i.e. the first part of this post)

but right now…the obits in the Lander paper are heavy on our hearts.

The courage it takes to grieve is extreme. It’s so hard. It’s like getting punched in the gut and turning around for more.

It’s so much easier to pile things into your life to the point of destruction …. but grieving instead requires you to stand still and feel it all until it becomes different and bearable.

It also is hard to be the community that grieves. Circling the wagon, crying in the reality of seeing the fragility of life, hugging your circle of people a little tighter because someone just lost a piece of their own. It’s hard to feel the lesson of “WAKE UP! YOU ARE LUCKY!”.

SO….to those grieving, to those holding courage as close as they can.

It doesn’t get better like all those Hallmark cards say….it gets different. And that….feels like wings on your heels…I promise.

xo

m

I try not to make this blog an outlet for my raw emotions…..(it just doesn’t really help the promotion of photos…haha)….but sometimes….being a support and showing the depths of my soul are what is needed to continue putting soul into my every day life. Thank you for being here. To hear me blab.

They were carrying a legacy on their shoulders.

The Lander Tiger men’s team has not lost a state championship in 14 (now 15) years.

They came to the pool determined and ready.

And the fight was on.

I post these photos in the spirit of team, brilliant grit, hard work, and respect. I think a lot of these guys don’t get the kind of respect or showcasing that they should. They are not just your average teenage boy. Yes, they have times of being teenage boys…BUT they also carry the weight of success on their minds, souls and spirits. I think some times they are over looked….they are just good at what they do, they are nice, high achievers, jocks….they don’t have time for problems….and so they are not asked. They are taken at face value…and that is a big loss for the people who just think they are boys. The overlookers have missed out on the souls of guys who are not fighting for themselves….they are fighting for the guys on their team, for the coaches, for their school, for their home town,

It’s about so much more.

So, if you have over looked these boys….here is a chance to see their faces and their achievements in the moment….

To the guys in green….BRAVO!! To every person who has ever dared to battle in the scary face of success and failure….BRAVO!!

Here is part one of this battle through my lens.

First photo of the battle.

This is Nick Robinson – Double state champ, Anchor of a gold medal relay, senior, Gaga fan (which makes me love him even more), a piece of the world who doesn’t get the recondition he deserves…(so today…he is my front page man!).

Sunshine line

Kent Scarince: A guy of silent action. A senior. A member of the 400 A freestyle relay (He swam gallantly!). A world traveler.

This what we brought for the battle…what did you bring?

Nick Robinson and Willy Ratz waiting for their turn on the blocks for warm up. Could be a very nervous time but they were calm as ever. Those are the kind of seniors everyone wants to lead them on!

Smile if you know 14 years of reasons to carry on

Ross Cook: Senior, Backstoke wonder, spent a good amount of the season trying to heal and then jumped into the pool to give it one more go before “there was no tomorrow” and swam a lifetime best. Yeeehaww!

Criss cross apple sauce

I have stood on these tiles before, in big moments in my own life, but this time it was one of the biggest.

Eternity eyes

Glen McCully: Senior, distance man, told me “I can’t believe this is the last year, It feels like yesterday when I was a freshman, this is my last chance, So I’m going to give it everything I have today.”

Bravo!

The thoughts between

Jeremiah Teeples and Chad Mason tell each other about their worries without saying a word.

The face

Matt Robinson sits facing the pool, thinking about the two days ahead of him….swims, questions, wonderments, wins or losses, points and times….

23.7

Bobby Cecrle told me while I took this photo that he was planning on swimming his 50 free in a 23.7. He just started swimming this year. Some people just feel it….Bobby is one of those people.

Take a peek around

This is Preston. He isn’t that huge of a fan of getting his photo taken. Which is why this photo is so perfect. Vision in action.

The engines of the green machine

There to support growth and to help pursue greatness. These are 3 of the 4 coaches who have driven the green machine!

*They don’t even win “coach of the year” or “asst coach of the year” anymore because they don’t have enough wall space*

Feel a rumblin’ in your bones.

When all your can feel is this moment, this goal, this time.

That’s when your fingers tingle, your heart quickens, your legs jump, and your mind is in the present.

Round about

Don’t-cha just love those round shaved heads?!

Anything can happen

Round the circles of wisdom go.

He grew up being coached by her, and now they coach together.

That is how champion secrets are held.

Delight!

They have been pestered by this sister photog for long enough this season that whenever the camera gets pulled out, they all group together.

Training…it comes in all forms.

Crystal eyes

Strategy = Fast

This is Zach Tilton…he went in to this meet with the intention of moving up and swimming fast….both of those goals were left in the dust by the end of the meet.

Snap Shot

Pearly whites

Alan Mandel: Junior. Defending state champ of diving. Master of psych up dancing.

V for Valiant

Waiting quietly for his round of diving…

What is on that life soundtrack?

Genetics

Sweet brother of mine.

I have never been so proud of a person.

“My little brother is twice my age”

He and I have traveled to the edges of black holes, played pretend, flew around the world, been to the top of mountains, and stood strong in the face of life winds.

and here we are together.

I stood still on the side of the pool while watching him race and felt the tears roll down my cheeks….I used to be proud of my swims, of my life….but nothing makes me prouder than to cheer “THAT’S MY BROTHER!”.

Stadium seating

It’s a hard job being a judge.

Light

But some times giving a 10 should be a no brainer.

Calm in the eye

Reaction

This is my favorite shot of the whole weekend….Hard shots to get because people almost always seem to look right into my camera and then smile…which is great…but it’s not often that people let your catch their raw emotion so closely.

Smooth lines

Drew had a fabulous 500…shocked himself a little?

Go big green into the deep blue

The wait

“What’s the score?!”

Standing among giants

The last walk

Your turn!

Athlete of the meet

That’s my point

As the music plays

The curtain falls

and 15 is won.

xo

m

so

the super photo of the two of you will be up next week! Promise!

XO

m

The apt is running in a world without internet right now, and to tell you the truth…it has been nice….the musician and I are now sitting in silence, catching up on our digital lives, and then we will walk back to our internet-less apt and bask in the light of being “disconnected to digital”.

I am sorry though because no internet means no blogging. SO….once the net makes it’s way back to us…there will be more posts. Promise.

I heard a fun thing the other day…

“You gotta change your lens to catch the small signs”

Ain’t that the truth!

I tend to get wrapped up in the ideas of “I WANT CHANGE NOW!” or “EEK! DON’T CHANGE AT ALL!”

which both include BIG SIGNS.

but what about the little signs.

Like:

Waking up happy.

Fresh laundry.

Food in my fridge.

Rain in my hair.

Shoes to CHOOSE from.

Teachers in every shape and form (and age).

Family being there yesterday and today.

That small smile on the street.

Streets.

Cameras.

Love.

Fights.

Flight.

my taste buds.

Wonder.

It’s the small signs and small things that change our lives some times.

But big changes do happen sometimes which makes you question your grip on the proverbial bar.

Death never stops happening, but neither does birth.

Life is moving. That is its job.

It’s our jobs to keep track of life. To hang on. To make every second matter.

Big or small.

Time is a hard thing to catch. It’s either going too fast or too slow.

How do YOU make every second stop and wait for you?

Tell me!

xo

M

P.s. the above photos are from the coast last weekend when we got blown over!! I think if we would have pulled out our kites…we would have flown all the way back to Wyoming! BY KITE! How delightful!

P.p.s The below photos are from a recap of the last few days! Enjoy!

This is making my eyes crease into a smile today.

Hope it does the same for you tonight.

xo

m

Would we just store them on the shelf?

(Although the thoughts behind how this became the day of love are quite mixed and confusing….we are skipping straight to the part where this day is about red and hearts and love…bravo for choose your own adventure sorta holidays.)

I don’t have any photos to go with this day yet….but! SOON…I will….

I am channeling Hepburn and the musician is going to ruff/dapper handsome.

He is in a tie and looking quite gentlemanly and I am in black with pearls and red flats.

Out we go on a Valentines date to the photo booth and then to scoop up as much cart food as we can possibly carry!

Photos soon.

xo

Happy little tid bit: This day is not about having someone, or the flip side,  being lonely….it’s about being thankful enough to LOVE  in general!!!

SO! Cheers to loving anything and everything!

M

It was time to do a little work on the ol Mei Ratz marketing and just management in general … so Meiratz.com doesn’t exist anymore.

That doesn’t mean that the photo sale will not happen…it will. But. just from a new venue (TBA). and this blog is not going anywhere…staying RIGHT here.

Change is good.

I hope.

so.

Here’s to change!

xo

M