Jud Johnson Photography

The South wins every dang time!

2012-02-28T13:27:00.000-08:00

The 2012 Olustee Battle re-enactment was recently held.
If you've never been, it's really a great place to see living history recreated before your eyes. And, it's not just a battle. There are dances on Friday and Saturday night. Many exhibits ranging from blacksmithing to war drills can be visited daily. You can even get replica Civil War souvenirs. It happens every February. So if you missed it, try again next year. You can check out some of the highlights from this years event here.

The campsite at night.

How about a little smooch!

See you at the softball game.

2012-02-26T11:54:00.002-08:00

The Lady Wildcat fast pitch softball team season has started.

Check out all the highlights here and the Baker County Press.

Are you ready for some baseball?

2012-02-26T08:37:00.000-08:00

The Wildcat Baseball team has started the 2012 season.

Check out all the highlights here and see my work in the Baker County Press.

New 2011 Football Gallery

2011-10-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a new link the 2011 football highlights.
There are three games up now with more on the way. Check back for more.

Rollin down the river...

2011-10-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

Like the new background?

This is an HDR Image I made of a stream in the Great Smoky Mountains. Here is the original for comparison.

Let me know what you think.

Spirit Week!

2010-01-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

Homecoming is a crazy time in Baker County.
Classes compete against each other. How can you forget about the parade. And then there's the "Big Game". But to start the week off, kids are dressing up in the craziest costumes.

Play-off Pics

2010-01-04T17:55:00.001-08:00

Here are some pics from the play-off game.

Cats dominate against Santa Fe

2009-11-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

I remember when the Santa Fe football team was great and their band needed work.
Now it's the other way around. Their band sounded awesome, but the football team-not so much. Don't get me wrong, they looked pretty good on several plays, but they just couldn't overcome the Wildcat defense. They managed only 1 touchdown to the Wildcats 47 points.

Halloween at the Old Jail.

2009-10-31T23:00:00.000-07:00

The BCHS History Club put on another great show at the "Old Jail" this Halloween.
There were lots of screams traveling down the dark, foggy hallway of the Old Jail. If you weren't there, plan for it next year. You missed a great scare.

Bulldogs bite the Cats. Luckily, the Cats bit back!

2009-10-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

Talk about your nail biters, this game was it!
In the beginning of the game, it looked like the Cats had Suwannee County ready to pack up and go home. Then in a stunning turn of events, the bulldogs make three quick touchdowns and pull ahead. The Wildcats hope of a district title also hung in the balance. It came down to the last few minutes with a Wildcat touchdown to win the game.

Cats put up the good fight, come up short.

2009-10-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

It was a hard fought game, but the cats couldn't put it together against Raines.
They were able to get a couple of touchdowns, but it wasn't enough to overcome Raines' 34 point lead. One bright note: There's talk of a tie-breaker. But we'll have to wait for the result of the Raines-Ribault game for that.

Cats pound Solid Rock

2009-10-16T23:08:00.000-07:00

The Cats came up with a win against the Solid Rock Christian Academy. However, it started off a little slow. At the beginning of the game, you had to wonder if the Cats might have underestimated the team from Miami. They only had about 30 players, since many of their team didn't make the grade at report card time. But in no time, the Cats had their game plan working and quickly began to put points on the board, shutting out Solid Rock. Let's hope they can produce a similar result next week against Raines.

Cats beat Baldwin

2009-10-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

I kinda' felt sorry for Coach Giddens. He looks up to see a scoreboard that reads 28-0 Wildcats, and he still had 3 quarters to go. But for the Cats'players, it was a great time for younger players to shine.

The first half seemed to never end with all the points that were scored. But the second ended so quick I thought the game was over after the third quarter. All in all, it was a great night for Wildcat Football.

The two big standouts of the game ended up being Milton Baker and Kendrick Singleton. Two names you don't get to hear very much with Darvin and Harold on the field. But while they got a rest, Milton and Kendrick made some great plays, especially Kendrick's one handed interception. Kendrick Sampson also did a nice job of taking over the quarterback role by showing his passing ability.

See you next week as the Cats take on Solid Rock Christian Academy.

Fall flowers are abloom.

2009-09-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

Even though there's no changing of the tree leaves, there's still plenty of color this time of year.

The end of summer brings out the yellow wildflowers in Baker County. Some of my favorites are the Rattlebox.

And a new-comer to the area. The Spanish Needles.

And of course, the bugs are out for the feast before they're gone.

They're all easy to find. A simple walk down highway 90 is all it takes to enjoy the fleeting moment.

All hail the new Queen of Fall.

2009-09-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, another new queen was crowned this weekend.

The Fall Queen Pageant, sponsored by the BCHS Rhythmettes dance team, was held in a nearly packed house in Baker County Middle School auditorium. There were 15 contestants spread out over two divisions: the Queen and the Princess. The Rhythmettes performed a few dance numbers to entertain the crowd, as well.

Winners were:
Fall Queen - Cassie Register
Runner-up - Ashley Burns

Fall Princess - Sydney Dopson
Runner-up - Summer Sparks

Congratulations to all the girls.

Cats win! Fans...upset?

2009-09-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

Even though you couldn't tell from the scoreboard, the Cats beat Ribault 28-14. But that turned out not to be the most interesting part of the game. In the fourth quarter, a disagreement broke out between fans and the coaches. The issue seemed to be about putting other kids on the field to get some playing time. Now, it was a hot night. And sticky. Those two factors alone probably caused some people to become a little overly-excited. But I think the real culprit here was the scoreboard.

You see, early in the first half, the scoreboard quit working. Early on that didn't matter. Toward the end of the game, it led to confusion.

Fans thought the game was well in hand with little time on the clock. They wanted second stringers in to get some play time. The coaches knew there were 6 minutes left against one of the fastest receivers in Jacksonville. And, they also knew the Ribault team used the onside kick effectively against other teams. To them, it wasn't the right time to put in less experienced players.

It was one of those situations where more information could have been helpful. But, hey, the Cats won. What more do you want?

Cats leave Tornadoes in the dust.

2009-09-18T23:10:00.000-07:00

The Cats traveled to Starke this week to take on an old friend. It was another one of those water-soaked-field games that took a while to warm-up. But once it did, the Cats' controlled it all the way with a 21-0 victory.

Some changes in offense helped as Darvin Ruise became the starting quarterback moving over from receiver. It showed in the first half as neither offense had the ability to control the game. The Tornadoes showed lots of offensive life, but they just couldn't reach the end zone. The Cats, however, found a groove in the second half and began to widen the points gap.

Let's hope they can do it again next week against their first district opponent, Ribault.

The pep rally...Baker style!

2009-09-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

When it's time for the Bradford game, you gotta' get pumped! BCHS held it's first student pep rally of the year. If you weren't there, here's what you missed.

Well, at least it wasn't a district game.

2009-09-11T23:04:00.000-07:00

The Cats lost a tough game to Trinity this Friday night. Neither team had a good first half with Trinity getting the only touchdown. It seemed like the Cats moved up and down the field easily, only to have Trinity steal it away before they could get a touchdown. From the sideline, you could hear the coaches' disbelief at the situation. How could they be ahead? Minus a couple of plays, and Trinity looked bad on paper. The Cats showed some life in the second half by getting a touchdown. But Trinity responded with another touchdown to seal the game. Trinity finished with the 21-7 win, but you couldn't help thinking about next year. The Cats beat them on their field, Trinity beats the Cats on the home-turf, maybe this is the beginning of our next big rival.

That's a big wiener!

2009-09-05T12:45:00.000-07:00

I was in Eagle Harbor the other day and what did I see? The Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile. One minute you're driving down the road and WHAM! "There's a giant hot dog over there. I gotta' see this." you say to yourself.

Yeah, I know. It's all over the web. You can see it anywhere. Why put it here? The wiener mobile is just one of those things you want to get a picture of. It makes you remember what it's like to be a kid. And let's face it. If you had the chance to drive it, you know you would.

Cats win! Cats win!

2009-09-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

It was a wet, sloggy field, but the Cats came out with the victory.
The field was probably the teams biggest foe of the night. My shoes were soaked from hidden puddles and mushy ground after the first quarter. Several times, Crescent City players would try to make a cut up-field just to end up sliding sideways across it.The first half ended with the Cats ahead 14-7. It looked like it was going to be a close game until Crescent City fell apart in the 3rd quarter. Frustration led to one of their players being ejected from the game after throwing a punch. In the end, the Cats came out victorious with a score of 47-7. Come out to the field this Friday as the Cats will be taking on Trinity.

Volleyball...ya' dig? They sure do.

2009-09-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

The girls volleyball team is back in action. Catch one of their home games and cheer them on.
9/15/2009 BALDWIN 5:00/6:00 PM JV/VAR
9/28/2009 KEYSTONE HEIGHTS 5:30/6:30 PM JV/VAR
10/1/2009 WEST NASSAU 5:00/6:00 PM JV/VAR
10/12/2009 UNION CO. 5:00/6:00 PM JV/VAR
10/15/2009 BISHOP SNYDER 5:00/6:00 PM JV/VAR
10/19/2009 HILLIARD 5:30 PM VARSITY ONLY
10/20/2009 TRINITY CHRISTIAN 6:00 PM VARSITY ONLY Senior Night

The Wildcats: Back in action.

2009-09-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

It was a little slow, not many points were scored. But hey, what do expect? It's only a pre-season game.
The Wildcats traveled to Callahan this week to play a little warm-up football with the Warriors. The varsity didn't play the whole game, just three quarters. And each side only scored one touchdown a piece. The JV took over in the third quarter to finish the game.

Although the game ended in a loss, the excitement of football season is back. See you at the game.

Hey! Where is everybody?

2009-08-31T16:06:00.000-07:00

They're at the football game of course, where else would they be?

The high school football season is starting in Florida. That means anybody who is anybody will be at the game. Check back here to see your favorite highlights and share them with your friends.

Welcome to my new blog!

2009-08-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it. I started my own blog.

Oh, who am I? Allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Jud Johnson. I am married with two kids, a teacher, and a photographer living in Baker County. The last part pertains the most to this blog since it's what I'll be using this blog for: promoting my photography business.

I've been interested in blogging for a couple of years now, but I wasn't sure of how to get started. I wasn't even sure of what I wanted to say. To give you an example, I just rewrote those last two sentences five times.

So why am I doing this now? Well, for selfish reasons mainly. I worked with a couple of news agencies which are now out of business, so I need a new way to promote my work. But that's not the only reason.

I like news. If you ask any of my students, they'll tell you about the dozens of news stories I'll talk about in a day. My wife will also attest to my need to watch CNN.

Now, I won't be covering "hard news", just local events and stuff I find interesting. Which is where you, the reader, come in. If you have or know of an event you would like promoted, let me know. I'll be glad to photograph it and put it up on my blog.

Also, since I am new to the whole blog thing, I welcome any advice some of you veteran bloggers might have. I already plan on updating the look of the page. But like I said, it's baby steps right now.

Jud Johnson