Shutter speed

Eight hundred.

On average, that's how many photographs I take every week. The only reason I know that is because last Friday at the football game, I looked down at my camera's counter and found myself nearing the 10,000 mark.

Again.

In just more than six months, I've rattled off nearly 20,000 frames. From parachutes to kids that are cute, eagles to beagles and sports to … . Well, nothing really rhymes with sports - except warts, which I will not photograph under any circumstance unless the fee is astronomical.

But 800 images a week sounded extremely high until I thought through just this past week: a volleyball game, a football game, a teacher profile, a hike, three portrait sessions, a candidate's forum and countless other random subjects.

I carry my camera with me everywhere I go. It's like a giant tumor constantly strung across my neck or back. And, to be honest, I love it. Photography is an obsession that never gets old because no matter how much I practice or study, there is always more to learn. I'll spend hours looking at photo Web sites or reading about light. I'll pour through hundreds of photographs analyzing composition.

My obsession often drives my wife nuts. She'll be sitting in our living room, reading a book, and I'll be standing in front of her, bobbing my head and moving around because I can make different shadows fall on her face from the reading lamp. And things will only get worse this week once my new studio lights arrive. If she doesn't kick me out for spending all our money, she'll throw all my stuff in the lake so I'll take a break and take her out to dinner or something.

Photography is - hands down - my favorite part of this job. It's also my least favorite. I'll spend two hours at a game, and then only have space for one photo. In case you've been keeping track, we try not to feature the same people over and over, especially the high school sports. Occasionally, some people get in the paper a couple times in a short span of time.

This has happened recently, and while I don't want to mention any names, his initials are Ken Miller, and unless he single-handedly pulls a crashing 747 out of Flathead Lake, his countenance is banned for at least six months.

But what really struck me about the number 800, is that in spite of all those photographs, I still miss a lot of events. So I'm going to offer everyone a chance to get in the paper. Depending on the response, we'll start featuring a space for a reader submitted photograph. Each week, I'll choose the best photograph and run it in the paper with a caption and a photo credit for whoever took the image. This could be a lot of fun, but it's up to you. Any person of any age can submit whatever he or she wishes. Submit photos to editor@bigforkeagle.com.

I'm also issuing a plea. Please let me know if you or your organization is doing something that makes for interesting photographs. At least once a week I hear of something after the fact and think, "Why didn't they call me to come take that photo? That would have been a blast."

And let me know a little in advance, if possible. If it's breaking news, call me immediately. If it's an event down the road, call me immediately. I missed two occasions this past weekend because I didn't hear of the event until right before it happened.

I can't make it to everything, but I can't make it to anything I don't know about.

So, hit me with your best shots, and we'll share them with the community.