MadJava Has Moved!!!

Jeff and Madeline's New Home!


After a short 3 months of construction, we finally move into our beautiful new house!



The open floor plan allows plenty of room for Madeline's baby grand piano.



Notice the 'college dorm room' style entertainment center. Yeah, we need to do some furniture shopping.



Augie, our dog, is just 'chillin' under our new dining room set.



The trash can may be ugly, but our kitchen is super stylin!



The master bathroom.



The giant jacuzzi bath tub... ahhhhh... need I say more?

Freshly laid sod.

Our backyard... open for parties!

Route to Tucumcari, NM

Hi Folks,

Back in February 28th 2009, me and Madeline was sent out by the Idea Group to shoot for a day at Tucumcari, New Mexico. Some of you may know that Tucumcari lies at the eastern part of New Mexico, about 100 miles to Amarillo, Texas, on the US-Intersate 40 highway.

Tucumcari, NM also lies along historic Route 66. Just like the sign says :)

Along Tucumcari's main drag are some old motels that have been restored to their vintage style.

Did you know that Tucumcari hosts a rich collection of Dinosaur fossils, bronze recreations, and even dinosaur eggs? Where do I look for more information, you may ask? Well, at the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum, of course!

One of many fossils found at the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum.

In this photo, student Mark Mancini is carefully drilling away bits of plaster covering a fossil bone. What? You didn't know that the Dinosaur Museum is also a classroom, and part of a community college? Find out more at Mesalands Community College!

This is Tucumcari's old train station that the city is trying to restore. Notice the missing letters.

Close up of the Tucumcari train station facade in early morning sunlight.

Tucumcari also has the "world's tallest classroom." It is a training facility for future wind farm technicians, and folks to help maintain wind farms.

Back To Clovis, NM

On March 18th and 19th, MadJava and the Idea Group went back to Clovis, NM to shoot additional footage for the Norman and Vi Petty Rock and Roll Museum. It was great to see old friends (big hello to Ernie Kos, Chase Gentry, Nancy Gentry, and Nick Mondragon!), and meet some new ones (big hello to Val Alarcon, from the Idea Group, and Ashlee Stallings from the Clovis Chamber).

Johnny Rogers a.k.a. "Buddy Holly" performing in the Norman Petty Studios. The Petty Studios was used to record various Buddy Holly hits. Notice the ribbon microphone, used in many original recordings.

We set up this shot to be more dramatic. We used one key light to cast a heavy shadow, then later shot that shadow of "Buddy Holly".

Lisa Dunagan as "Vi Petty" playing on the original studio piano used in many recordings.

Chillin' in a sweet 1957 Ford Thunderbird on a country road. (Thanks to Dan Strickland for providing the cars!)

Posing in the '57 Ford convertible. It was a cold, windy morning, but we had fun following the car around country roads.

Me, Madeline, Jim Glover from the Idea Group, and Johnny Rogers in another cool ole' convertible! I think this was a Ford Fairlane (not sure of the year), but if we owned one I could certainly tell you (hint, hint Dan :)

Shooting the sock-hop scene at the museum. A '50s diner was setup and recreated beautifully before entering the display area of the museum.

Our 1950s sock-hop re-enactment scene, with local actors from the Clovis area.

Me and Madeline posing with the sock-hop cast. The kids who graciously volunteered their time are from Clovis High School. Thank you everyone! Y'all were great!

Taos Trippin' part 2

After one night in Taos, we headed off to Colorado. But before we did that, we stopped by the Rio Grande Gorge, just a few miles north of Taos.

Can you spot Madeline looking out on the bridge?

The bridge spans 1,280 feet across the gorge, and is the third highest bridge in the United States (thanks Wikipedia!).

Please do not try this at home. No sneaker was harmed during photography.

Us, standing precariously on the bridge, but smiling for the camera anyway.

Taos Trippin' part 1

After working in Santa Fe, we had a few days off before our next project. So, we decided to mix some pleasure with our business, by stopping in Taos, NM. Madeline and I had never been to Taos, and thought it'd be a great idea to visit.



On the way to Taos, we saw this trailer stand, and Madeline insisted we stop and sample the goods. We ended up with pinon nuts. No jerky!

We stayed at the Sun God Lodge, a boutique motel, with an old southwest design flair.

Downtown plaza in Taos.

The Coyote Moon is an eclectic arts store, filled with unique hand-painted "diablos"

and angels, and a variety of Mexican folkart (http://www.johndunnshops.com/CoyoteMoon.html). Luis and Cristina are the owners of Coyote Moon who've moved to Taos from Southern California. Next time, we'll get photos of the inside of their cool shop!


We had dinner here at this brew pub and restaurant (http://www.eskesbrewpub.com/index.html). We suggest ordering the Taos Green Chile Beer. Yeah, it's got some kick to it!

Santa Fe Gardening

Our company was brought back together for a project in Santa Fe, NM during Sept. 25th and 26th. With our business partner Jim Glover, we've shot a training manual for High Country Gardens in Santa Fe (http://www.highcountrygardens.com/). David and Ava Salman, husband and wife team, started High Country Gardens as a mail order division of their Santa Fe Greenhouses in New Mexico. The garden specializes in drought tolerant plants, using organic materials.

Just a snapshot of beautiful plants and flowers at High Country Gardens.

David Salman, owner of High Country Gardens, demonstrating proper plant care.

Jim Glover letting me know which plants to shoot.

Madeline and I at the entrance of High Country Gardens.

Clovis Music Fest and Golf Shootout

For the first time in the very short history of our company, Madeline and I have taken on two separate jobs occurring at the same time. We've had to temporarily part ways to tackle these two projects. And it was a challenge for us to be away from each other for oh so long.

Madeline was hired to photograph the New Mexico Golf Shootout (http://nmshootout.com/home-page.php) on Friday Sept 5th, located in Elephant Butte, NM. Armed with a Nikon D80 and an 18mm to 135mm lens, Madd took photos from 9AM, covering the event festivities, leading up to the golf tourney, which started at high noon. After the tourney, Madd got a brief break, then covered the rest of the shootout 'til 5PM.

Captured moments by Madeline during the New Mexico Shootout 2008.


On Wednesday Sept. 3rd ('til Sunday afternoon on Sept. 7th), I made the long drive to Clovis, NM (about a 6 hour drive from El Paso) to shoot the grand opening of the Norman and Vi Petty Rock N' Roll Museum (http://www.pettymuseum.com/), and cover the annual Clovis Music Festival. Just a bit of history, Norman Petty was a producer for artists like Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, and many others. His recording studio (http://www.superoldies.com/pettystudios.html) is located in Clovis, New Mexico, and is lovingly cared for by Mr. and Mrs. Broad. The new museum houses an amazing collection of photos, musical instruments, records, and even Norman Petty's old recording equipment that recorded Buddy Holly's songs!

Records, instruments, and photos behind a glass room. This replica Fender Stratocaster hanging from the ceiling is what guests will see first when entering the museum.

The opening was packed, wall to wall people. You can barely see me amidst the crowd.

Performing as Buddy Holly, John Mueller singing "Peggy Sue", and dancing along is the one and only Peggy Sue Gerron, the inspiration for the song! The two gentlemen are Stan Lark and George Tomsco, one half of The Fireballs (remember the hit, "Sugar Shack"?)

The Clovis Music Festival is an annual event and hosts legendary musicians like Bobby Vee, Tommy Allsup (one of Buddy Holly's Crickets), the Chiffons, Chris Montes, as well as a tribute to Elvis, Buddy Holly, and Roy Orbison. Me and our business associate Jim Glover, interviewed many artists and musicians who had recorded at the Norman Petty Studios. I also had a chance to cover a bit of the actual 3-night concert, though it was a bit tough keeping the camera steady while trying to dance and sing along to the music!

Tommy Allsup on guitar, Bobby Vee, and the Chiffons performing at the Clovis Music Festival '08.

Me, "Buddy Holly", and Tommy Allsup at the Norman Petty Studios.

And last and certainly not least are these two photos with me and our production assistant, Nick Mondragon, for the Clovis project. Nick did a tremendous job lugging around lights, cases, and other production equipment all over Clovis. He was also our go to guy for directions in town. He also knew pretty much everyone in town which helped out during our interviews. But mostly Nick is a very nice guy! Thanks, Nick.

Me and Nick "recording" our hit song in the lovingly re-created Norman Petty Recording Studios at the museum. (I'll definitely be keeping my day job...)