THE RAYHOUND PROJECT

The photo-documentary approach to the greyhound undertaking is fundamentally about the people who make racing work – the breeders, trainers, track workers, industry leaders, haulers, adoption groups and related ancillary industries populating the greyhound story. Using this concept as a foundation, my goal is to convey, via photography, the multiple facets of the business. Using three broad themes – greyhounds on the farm, at the track and in the home – I hope to show the diversity and complexity of the industry and ultimately carry this concept forward into a book. As stories are researched and photographed, they will be posted on this site.

I have been involved with retired racing greyhound adoption for more than eight years, ever since my wife and I adopted our first greyhound, Mel (racing name: Bart’s Viper). Mel died in 2007 from osteosarcoma. We now have three greyhounds: Indy (WW’s Racing Indy), Shadow (Okie Darkness) and Kelley (Deforest Kelley).

As a former president of the Nashville chapter of Greyhound Pets of America (GPA is the largest single-breed adoption group in the U.S.) and a part of the greyhound adoption community, I have acquired first-hand knowledge of these remarkable racing dogs by attending national conferences and gatherings related to breeding, training and finding homes for the dogs.

The one thing I have discovered that stands out about people, whether they are involved in the business or in adoption, is that they are passionate about the breed, regardless of their feelings about the racing industry. To avoid conflicts of interest, I resigned as president of the GPA Nashville group in 2008 after two and a half years at the helm. I have limited my activities with the group to only producing and updating the group’s Web site, GPANashville.org, and designing their newsletter and adoption board showcasing adoptable hounds.

The name of my project, gRayHound Tales, is a play on my first name Ray and word “greyhound.” (My former boss enjoyed making up names and referred to me as "Ray Hound.") It’s a catchy, informal way to draw attention to the project and the Web site.

This is a self-funded project with most of the cost related to equipment, travel and room and board. I currently am applying for grants outside the greyhound industry and adoption groups.

As a professor at Middle Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) in the School of Journalism, I teach within the media design concentration. In addition to photojournalism, my creative and research interests include news design, typography, information graphics and design/media technology. I have an M.S. degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in photojournalism and a B.S. degree from Arizona State University in journalism. During my tenure at The Tennessean, I took a year off as a Gannett Fellow in Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.

Prior to joining MTSU, I was a graphics, design and systems Editor at The Tennessean in Nashville. In my 30+ years as a journalist, I have worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Toronto Star, The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., and various newspapers in Arizona. At the Freedom Forum’s Diversity Institute in Nashville, I was the program’s visual instructor for design and photography. Most of my professional career has been involved with the design of newspapers or management of visual information. In addition to learning about delivery of information via the Web, this project allows me to reacquaint and hone my skills in reportorial photography.

Special thanks to all the volunteers associated with Greyhound Pets of America for providing the impetus and encouragement for this venture; Peter and Betty Lomax for the opportunity, patience and photography access in helping me understand their racing kennel; Brian Carpenter, directory of racing at the Birmingham Race Course; David Badger, MTSU journalism professor and colleague, for his encouragement and sharp editing skills; and Kimberley Richardson, a former student of mine, for helping with design of RayHoundTales.com Web site.