A second chance to make a first impression

Getting a second chance can help you see things differently, like after Burt Reynolds turned down Universal Soldier, but then saw that they truly were better than boring, regular soldiers, and so signed on for Part II: Brothers in Arms. Using his second chance to help you see things differently: Shawn O'Connell.

Encouraged to express himself through photos at a young age by his father, O'Connell got away from snapshots until rediscovering his passion after receiving a kidney transplant in '06; now, he uses infrared lenses and Photoshop skills to augment his natural, Ansel Adams-influenced eye, much better than an Amy Adams-influenced eye, which leaves you totally unable to determine if women are really hot or just kind of good-looking. If landscapes turn you on, he's got dozens, from eerie B&W's of Horseshoe Bend, to infrareds of Big Bend's lost highways, to shots almost impossible to believe (rain in W Texas), while in the city he's wondrously captured Trinity bridges, the Texas Star Ferris wheel, the Bass Performance Hall, and an almost supernatural sunset view of the FW Water Garden, where Logan's Run was filmed 1.167 lifetimes ago. Images of stadiums are similarly magnificent: Amon G. Carter, Kyle Field, the Ballpark in Arlington, The AAC during the Finals, and Jerry World under a clear blue morning sky, all shot in a way that captures the untapped energy, at least until ONCOR starts rolling blackouts again.

Some of the most stunning visuals involve explosions, notably fireworks bursting over the Ballpark -- a great way for you to honor Josh Hamilton's second chance as he sets his sights on the subtitle of Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business. Which Burt Reynolds was also in.