Happy New Year from New Orleans.

Bourbon St. was absolute insanity. Completely wet and wild. I had to get out of there before I went down in flames.

Word on the street is that there’s a bowl game tomorrow.

I shot the above photo from the balcony at Johnny White’s. That bar is truly Hawaii Central.

Good times indeed.

As game day approaches, more media seems to be showing up at the press conferences.

Today was relatively light, just two pressers with the head coaches.

We all wait around in a room, then a coach gets ushered in. No TV cameras to deal with since the Sugar Bowl guys shoot it and distribute it to all the stations who want it.

The still shooters can roam around the room and work whatever angles they want.

I stayed far today with a 400mm and Jamm did wides and medium shots.

There was the obligatory “photo op” with the coaches and trophy.

It’s always entertaining to see the photo scrum from afar.

Tonight there are a bunch of Hawaii fan parties that we’ll be shooting. Looks like another long day.

Now we’re at Pat O’Brians.

Have fun.

Hurricanes.

Lots of real media people. Jackets and ties.

Is there an opening at the Times-Picayune?

Roast beef and some sort of pork thing.

Complements on good stories.

Commiserating on bad crops.

A few cocktails.

Hurricanes dispensed from a small window.

A strange Napoleon-esque visage stares at us.

Walk to the balcony.

Is this thing OSHA approved?

Beads. Media beads.

Frothing crowd.

Good times.

Sudden realization that tomorrow’s another day.

Look out, it’s time for the media party.

Huh?

Oh yeah, they come by bus and pick us up and haul us off to the New Orleans Branch Mint.

For the “media party.”

You know I’m down for that…

mm… buffet...

Show up and there’s a wild buffet, alligator and all that jazz…

Attendance was slim, though. And our theory was that everyone was watching the Pats game.

What’s that in the corner?

Cocktail central.

Hmmm… had to sample that.

But, lest you believe that we’re all here just getting liquored up and riding high on media swag. The average day for me and the rest of the SB staffers here usually averages 8 to 12 hours if not more.

I was up at 5:30 a.m. this morning with Reardon and Arnett to hit UH practice. And there were pressers all day after that. And Jamm and Gary Chun were working on feature stuff all day.

I knew this would be hard core, and now the prophesy is coming true that this is much more work than pleasure. But these little interludes of cocktails and fun definitely take the edge off.

It’s only a few days to Zero Hour at the Dome, and the drama is growing day by day. We don’t want to let you, the readers down, and will do our best to deliver all that we can…

DECEMBER 29, 2007 - Leaves and grating on Convention Center Blvd., New Orleans. Exposure details: Canon EOS-1D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f2.8 (at 130mm), Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec at f/2.8, ISO 640, Incandescent balance

I think I was waiting to chase Colt Brennan down the street in front of the press hotel when the camera dangling from my shoulder was inadvertently fired aiming at this.

The camera was still set for incandescent light (I just came out of a presser inside), thus the nice blue hue.

The Convention Center Marriott in New Orleans has Sugar Bowl stuff everywhere. Even this vaguely disco-esque light thing on the floor of the lobby.

So I took some time this afternoon to fully explore the media amenities here at the Marriott. When we arrived here a few days ago, I hit the credential area to get my badge of honor, and I also took in the interview room.

The press center at the Marriott Hotel in New Orleans.

There’s a big work room for reporters to do their thing, with big screen TeeVees and a copy machine, and stacks of media guides from both Georgia and Hawaii. And coffee urns. There’s coffee everywhere, and styrofoam cups, and water jugs and more cups. A veritable fountain of caffeine and H2O. When I popped in this afternoon, there were a few people huddled over laptops. I just go back up to my room to do my work, so I guess this area is more for folks who aren’t staying at the hotel.

There are handy Marriott pens and notepads, and little bowls of candy on all the tables.

I then found a sign mentioning something about breakfasts and snacks and “happy hours.” Some room upstairs.

I was intrigued.

Perhaps tantalized.

I walked up a spiral staircase and discovered a room of glory.

The hospitality room has a pool table, and an air hockey table, a basketball game, big tvs, sofas, tables, chairs, tea, coffee, chips, dips…

And perhaps more importantly… media beers.

Jamm Aquino rejoices over tubs of media beers.

Open til 1 in the morning, it’s a pretty sweet hangout.

DECEMBER 27, 2007 - Georgia head coach Mark Richt talks to the media at a Sugar Bowl press conference at Marriott in New Orleans. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D, EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5mm (at 10mm), Aperture Priority, 1/13 sec at f/5, ISO 200, Tungsten white balance

I’m just wrapping up sending in the day’s take to the newsroom.

We got started with a press conference with the head coach of Georgia. The press conference room at the Marriott (which is also press central, and our home for the week), is nicely appointed with ample lighting (tungsten balanced).

A smattering of journalists sat there and asked questions through microphones held by little helper people. It was pretty stock… the standard talking head affair.

I shot for about 15 minutes, then ran upstairs to my room to transmit. It’s nice being four hours ahead of Hawaii. There was nobody home when I sent my first round of photos. Low pressure, indeed.

Then we all jumped aboard “The Media Shuttle” (a large tour bus) for the ride to the Georgia team practice at the Superdome. I’d seen it since I was a kid watching Saints games on TV, then there was Katrina, then U2 last year. And now I’m walking into the bowels of the place.

It’s huge. And metallic. And shiny and renovated.

DECEMBER 27, 2007 - Star-Bulletin sports editor Paul Arnett, left, looks across the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D, EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5mm (at 10mm), Manual, 1/320 sec at f/3.5, ISO 800, Fluorescent white balance

Walking from the tunnel, I could see how bright the field was. Like sunshine.

This is no Aloha Stadium pit of crusty doom.

This is ISO 800 at 1/800 f2.8.

And it was big.

Ample room on the field, although a bit tight in the endzones. And the field turf stuff is all virginal.

I can’t wait to shoot the game here next week. Shooting with the 600mm f4 will be no problem.

Oh, and as for the “Media Center,” I’ll tackle that one tomorrow…

The gang just checked in. Dave Reardon’s been here a while, and is just finishing up his first story. Looks like we’re about to hit the town to get some grub, and formulate some kind of game plan for tomorrow. Still gotta discover the “Media Center” and all that it entails… probably tomorrow… stay tuned…

We’re sitting in a bar at Phoenix airport waiting for some huge greasy meal, on our way to Houston. It gets no better than this. Or does it? Me and Jamm are like pack mules carrying everything but the kitchen sink. We have our full rigs, plus the big lenses, and didn’t check anything in. It’s all on our backs. Wouldn’t want some unfortunate “accident” to happen somewhere in baggage. Next stop, Houston. And the rental car. Oooh, the omelet has arrived. Time to eat…

DECEMBER 25, 2007 - The S-B Sugar Bowl crew traipses to the gate at HNL for the flight to Phoenix on the first leg of the journey to New Orleans. From left, Paul Arnett, Gary Chun, Dave Reardon, and Jamm Aquino.

So far, so good for the flight to Phoenix (knocking heavily on wood). Our check in at US Airways was uneventful, and we slid in at one of the security checks just before it closed.

And now we sit at the gate twiddling our thumbs waiting for the plane.

We’re heading to Phoenix, where we’ll hop another plane to Houston, then road-trip it to The Big Easy (as it were). Dave Reardon’s flying ahead to hit the first press conference in New Orleans, so he’ll miss out on the wild ride out there.

More to come as we make our way out there…