Usually around this time of the year, I post a photo of the February edition of Iron Man Magazine in my mailbox. My mailbox had some snow on it last year and even more snow on it for the 2009 photo. Well, this year has been unusually warm here in the east and we have not had any snow in Delaware so far. I’m not complaining either considering the price of heating oil which is around $4.00 a gallon. Anyway, instead of a picture, I came up with a Christmas wish list for the 2012 IFBB and NPC season. Here what I would like:

1. A great 2012 season for all IFBB and NPC competitors.
2. Great weather for traveling during the winter months to cover the Iron Man Naturally and Arnold Sports Festival.
3. Good health and happiness to all of my friends and family.
4. To see David Henry back on the stage in 2012 after a safe return from his deployment. Hooah!
5. Another good battle between Erin Stern and Nicole Wilkins.
6. Oksana Grishina perform a new mind-blowing routine and receive a top-3 placing.
7. A rematch between Phil Heath and Jay Cutler at the Olympia.
8. Padded/cushioned seats at all events for the “Pit Crew” and re-elect J.M. Manion as the “Pit Boss.”
9. More bikini girls. Only if they buy me larger memory cards.
10. A pair of board shorts; not to be worn for physique competition.

I think that will do it.  I’m looking forward to seeing everyone this season starting with the Iron Man Naturally, January 28th during the Los Angeles Fitness Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Finally got a little “me time” after Christmas and just before the first major winter storm on the East Coast.  Here in Dover, Delaware, we received seven inches of the frozen white stuff by this morning.  I rather get the storms out of the way now instead of later.  I’m hoping the weather will be cooperating with my travel plans for the IRON MAN Magazine Naturally, Jan. 29, 2011, and the Arnold Sports Festival, Mar. 3-6, 2011.  I’ve been lucky traveling during the winter months in years past to cover those events; I just feel the odds will slowly catch up to me sooner or later.  Although, I have been hosed traveling in the early fall a couple of years ago by a severe line of thunderstorms passing over Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport.  Long story short, I had to drive up to Philadelphia International to catch an early morning flight in order to make it in time to cover prejudging.  That was crazy & too close for comfort.

Yesterday, I seized the moment to do some fun photography with the February 2011 edition of IRON MAN Magazine (on newsstands the first week in January).  With Ava Cowan gracing the cover and kneeling over some lucky guy (actually, it is Kyle Clarke), I couldn’t resist taking the opportunity to stage my “2nd Annual IRON MAN Magazine in the Mailbox During a Snowstorm” photo.  Last year’s photo was taken on Dec. 19, 2009, where Dave Goodin and Crystal West sat in my mailbox.  Scroll down to see last year’s photo in my blog.

In the February 2011 edition, check out Ava, Alicia Marie, Tiffany Toth, Nadine Dumas, Natasha Yi,  and Chady Dunmore in “Beauty on the Beach” starting on page 142.  Don’t forget to read the rest of the magazine…you may have to make a “snow angel” in your swim suit or take a dip in the Pacific to cool down after viewing those pics.  I’m going with the boxers!

Receiving IRON MAN Magazine in the mail is like having Christmas 12 times a year!  If you still need some warming up, check out Ava’s swimsuit video.

Over the years I realized more and more how blessed I am to have such great a family, friends, acquaintances, opportunities, and dream jobs.  I guess it is part of maturing when you sit back and look at all those things that have got you to the point where one stands at a certain point in life and career.  Granted, I take responsibility for the decisions I have made to get me to this point in my life but I couldn’t have done it without some awesome mentoring and guidance from some really great individuals, both family & friends.

With all that being said, one common factor that all those awesome people have in common is the act of giving.  In years past, I have given to numerous local and national organizations and charities for all types of reasons.   I know times may be tough for some during the current state of our economy and hope all will get better for those who are hurting.  Some of you may donate to just a local charity or cause rather than one across the country.  This year I decided to use the power of social media and the internet to help contribute to a toy drive and place I have memories dating back to 1965-66.  This is my way giving and helping the world we live in.

The other night I contacted Joe Wheatley who is the organizer of the 2010 Muscle Beach ToyDrive that is being held in Venice, California, on December 11-12, 2010.   I ran my idea by Joe and he gave me the OK to have donated toys sent to his house; all toys will be taken to Muscle Beach the days of the toy drive.

So what I am asking of all of you is to send an unwrapped toy or toys in support of the 2010 Muscle Beach ToyDrive.   I’m hoping at least there are toy donations from each state and maybe a few countries.   You don’t have to be in the bodybuilding, figure, fitness or bikini world to donate; all you need is a toy and send it to Joe.  For those wishing to donate, please send your UNWRAPPED toy(s) to:

Joe Wheatley Productions
1140 Winchester Avenue #17
Glendale, CA 91201

Those needing more info on the toy drive, including local drop-off points for those in Southern California, please visit the following link: http://musclebeachvenice.com/news/

Click here for a copy of the Muscle Beach ToyDrive poster.

Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you all can donate to this awesome toy drive.  Happy Holidays to all and Happy New Year!  Roland B.

Legislative Hall, Dover, Delaware

Where were you today, Sunday, May 2 at 15:00 U.T.C./G.M.T.?  For those who don’t have the iPhone app CityTime – World Time ($0.99), 15:00 U.T.C./G.M.T. was 11:00 A.M. on the East coast or 8:00 A.M. on the West coast.  U.T.C. stands for Coordinated Universal Time and G.M.T. is Greenwich Mean Time; both are the same.  Then there is Zulu time which the military uses; I won’t get into that because you probably are confused enough.  Please don’t ask me why Coordinated Universal Time is abbreviated U.T.C. because I don’t have a logical answer.  I’m just a photographer.

Anyway, today at 15:00 U.T.C./G.M.T., photographers around the world were asked to take a photo or photos at that exact hour or close to it as part of the “A Moment in Time” project by the New York Times.  I took my photo at 11:00, downloaded the images, selected my one submission, did a little Photoshop magic, and uploaded my photo to the New York Times.  All photos submitted for this project should be viewable soon.

The photo I submitted is of Legislative Hall in Dover, Delaware.  Dover is the capital of Delaware; most people would think Wilmington is because it is the biggest city here in the First State.  Getting back to the photo, I submitted it in the Community category.  There were numerous categories for this project but this category required the least amount of pre-planning and a little luck from the weather.  I decided to convert the photo to black & white for two reasons, one being I wanted the white clouds and white top of the building to stand out against the sky.  Second, I could bring out the detail in the statues more than in the original color version.

It was fun participating in this global project today and I’m looking forward to taking some great photos at the New York Pro show on May 8th.  See you there!

Tribeca Performing Arts Center at the BMCC, New York City, NY

This year is moving by really quick for me. Here it is again, time for the IFBB New York Pro shows on May 8th at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center at BMCC, 199 Chambers Street, New York, New York. This year we have the Muscletech 2010 IFBB New York Men’s Professional Bodybuilding Championships, the Muscular Development IFBB Men’s 202 and under Professional Bodybuilding Championships, the Species IFBB Women’s Professional Bodybuilding Championships, and the NutriGenix IFBB Women’s Professional Bikini Championships. Sounds like it’s going to be an exciting weekend in the City.  Steve Weinberger and Bev Francis always put a great show together and this year should be no exception. I’m looking forward to going up to the “City” to photograph all four championships.

Usually about the same time of the year when the pro shows are being held, a couple of other great event are happening too. Starting today, April 21, and running until May 2nd, the Tribeca Film Festival is going on. I won’t make it this year but for those who are in the area and are film buffs, check out the festival at this link, www.tribecafilm.com/festival/ for more information.

The second event that I would like to mention is the Taste of Tribeca which is being held the weekend after the pro shows. Last year the Taste of Tribeca was held the same weekend as the pro shows. After prejudging on the way back to the hotel, I made a detour for about an hour enjoying the food and music. It was an awesome time and it is all for a good cause; money raised during the festival benefits PS150 and PS234, two local public schools in the area. For additional info, go to www.tasteoftribeca.org/ or just show up at Duane and Greenwich Streets on May 15th, rain or shine.

For those who may have some time on championship weekend and are photo buffs, the Museum of Modern Art has an exhibit displaying the works of photojournalist Henri Cartier-Bresson. Bresson’s career started in the 1930′s until his death in 2004. This exhibit runs from April 11 through June 28. For more info, visit moma.org or read the NY Times article on Cartier-Bresson at the following link, http://s.nyt.com/u/yxK

Gee Whiz Diner

For me, I’ll probably make my yearly pilgrimage to Carnegie Deli for a corned beef sandwich on Friday night. If anybody would like to join me, email me or Tweet me, @ironmanphotog. Otherwise, I’ll see you at the prejudging on Saturday morning and the finals on Saturday night! I’m also going to have a great breakfast around 9 am at the Gee Whiz Diner on the corner of Greenwich and Warren Streets. Go to www.ironmanmagazine.com or contests.ironmanmagazine.com to view my the photos from all four championships. See ya in the City!

We were expecting this since the beginning of the week. Yesterday was crazy here in Dover; gas stations had long lines and the grocery stores were packed. It looked like people were doing their last-minute Christmas shopping, except it was for food & gas. The traffic was so heavy with people preparing for the worse, I saw numerous accidents last night on the way home. The funny thing about that was the snow, rain and ice didn’t even start yet.

Anyway, I just wanted to blog and say all is good here in Dover, Delaware! Blogging is better than shoveling snow at this point. I already dug out the cars once this morning at 9 am. By then, we received about 8 inches of snow and it was still coming down. This is a good time to relax, blog, take photos and reading how to “Get Big! 5 Fast-Mass Winter Workouts” in the January 2010 edition of IRON MAN Magazine; starting with the Editor’s Note by Steve Holman on page 26.

Time to go! Dave Goodin and Crystal West are getting a little cold out here.