Uneven Bars

Wish I would have had more time to work this portrait. Lots of potential for cool photographs on the uneven bars. The first image is the photo that I liked and will run in the paper. The second is the idea that was in my head, but because of limited lighting ability, I wasn't able to blow-out the distracting background. More time, more planning, and maybe a tall ladder could have helped make a better image. I've been told I'll get more opportunities to shoot in the YMCA gym though.

Callie Fohl, 10, won the uneven bars in the YMCA National Gymnastics meet and also took fifth place all-around. Her mother, who is a gymnastics instructor at the YMCA, was an accomplished gymnast at Kent State 15 years ago. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Football Camp

Sometimes the photo gods present you with patterns, lines, color, and content and you manage to throw in some composition and bam! - not a bad shot from an ordinary situation.

Full gallery online.

Nick Walker, 14, center, runs a drill while coach and Granville junior running back Josh Link, left, calls for the ball from Zak Plute, 13, right, during the second day of the Granville Youth Football Camp at Granville High School on Tuesday. The camp, which has grown over the years, is organized by the Granville High School coaches and staffed by current high school players. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Suspicious Package

Bomb scare in downtown Newark. Kept getting pushed farther and farther back which made getting the bomb squad in-action photo a pain. You read the story and check out the full gallery on the Advocate's Website.

A member of the Columbus Bomb Squad investigates a suspicious package report in a FedEx container on South Park Place on Monday. The bomb squad determined no immediate threat. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

A member of the Columbus Bomb Squad returns from investigating a suspicious package report on South Park Place on Monday. Many buildings, including the Licking County Courthouse, were evacuated. After roughly two hours, bomb squad officials determined a malfunctioning lock in the FedEx drop box caused the suspicion. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Hoot-Hoot

Or Screech Screech....?

Either way - Screech Owls!!

4 baby Screech Owl were released back into the wild from the William C. Kraner Nature Center on Wednesday. Screech Owls are a small breed of owl commonly found throughout the eastern half of the United States. Apart from their size, they look a lot like the Great Horned Owl, which I'm told is a defense mechanism (if you've ever seen a Great Horned Owl you'd understand that's a solid defense tactic - the birds are HUGE). The 4 babies were brought to the center, 3 found abandoned together, the 4th alone. The center kept them for about 3 months before they were deemed fit for release. The event also celebrated the grand reopening of the nature center after some renovation.

Steve Holloway, chair of the Licking County Park District, releases a baby Screech Owl back into the wild at the William C. Kraner Nature Center on Wednesday. To celebrate the grand reopening of the center, 4 baby Screech Owls were released onto the preserve after being rehabilitated by the center for almost 3 months. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

A baby Screech Owl sits on the edge of a storage shed on Wednesday after being released into the wild at the William C. Kraner Nature Preserve. 4 baby Screech Owls were rehabilitated and released to celebrate the centers grand reopening. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Portraits

A lot of the staff photography world is portraits. Often a reporter is doing a feature on an interesting or newsworthy individual in the community. Sometimes, as a photographer, you can arrange to take their photo in their natural, relevant environment (like at work if the story is about their interesting job). We call these 'Environmental Portraits'. It's often not staged and just a natural snapshot of the individual in their natural environment. However, sometimes we cannot get a person in that environment. That is when things become difficult for the photographer. How can we make an interesting picture out of an incredibly ordinary situation. Some ways to help stave off the boring "Smile for the camera" photo is to create interesting light or try unique, radical angles. I don't claim to be the best portrait photographer, but over the past two months I have learned a lot about newspaper portraiture and continue to learn every time I succeed as well as fail. I added some of my favorites from the past 2.5 months at the Newark Advocate.

Don Jakeway holds a picture of himself, taken when he joined the military at 18, at his Johnstown home on Thursday. Jakeway recently traveled to France where he was honored for his service in WWII. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Lakewood's Courtney Kidwell is the Advocate's Softball Player of the Year. Kidwell, a power hitter, led Lakewood with a .529 batting average, 1.06 slugging percentage, and nine home runs with 45 runs batted in. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Heath City Police Chief Tony Shepherd will be traveling with his 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger to Iowa next month where a 1/64th scale model of his dragster will be revealed by die cast model company Johnny Lightning. The model, much like a hot wheels, will be sold in retail stores around the country and hopefully bring awareness to 'Beat The Heat', a program that brings youth together with the police officers who are they to serve and protect. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

22 month old Alexa Duston stands, with the help of her mother, Heidi, while playing with her brothers Jaxon, left, and Bryce, center, in their home in Hebron on Friday. Alexa was born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, a condition where tendons and muscles fuse improperly, cause curved joints. The Duston family is receiving support from the Licking County Shrine Club to help them with their weekly travels to Philadelphia for Alexa's treatment. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Matt Smith, a catcher for Johnstown, is the Newark Advocate's Baseball Player of the Year. Smith, who just finished his junior year, also plays football and basketball. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Susan Litwiller, 61, has won 24 Women's Club Championships at the Moundbuilders Country Club. She has been playing golf for a total of 54 years, winning her first championship in 1975 and her latest in 2008. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Like I said, some are better than others and I am always learning. I will say that portraits do allow for an unrestricted level of creativity, especially when you can pose the subject. You also get to meet some really cool, interesting people in the community.

The Coldest Photo in July

And possibly the coldest photo I've ever taken.

From inside the storage freezer at the Velvet Ice Cream Company in Utica, Ohio. It's kept at a tropical -20 at all times. Several employees spend their day packing up various ice cream orders and loading them onto trucks. Due to the conditions, the company is obligated to offer them hourly breaks, but most of the workers don't take them. They say constantly having to re-acclimate is worse than just staying in the freezer all day.

Being that the temperature was in the low 90s today, I was in shorts and a short-sleeve shirt going into the freezer. I didn't last long, and my battery drained about 25% during my 5-minute shoot.

(*Colors are looking a little weird in blogger for these*)

Photo © Jason Lenhart

Reccuring Theme?

I often find myself photographing horses. Whether it's for projects, stories, or just daily photo assignments, every so often I'm back in a riding ring, or someones barn, taking pictures. Not sure what it really means, but I don't mind. I grew up around horses and enjoy spending time with the people who care for them.

Photo © Jason Lenhart

Who Burnt the Pizza?

Nobody, thankfully. An electrical fire caused damage to the outer structure of the Donato's Pizza in Heath today. No injuries were reported.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

The 60mph 8-year-old

Logan Cook is probably a better driver than you, and he's 8.

And unless your car can clear 60mph in 1/8 of a mile, he certainly accelerates a lot faster than you.

In fact, he drives an eighth of a mile in roughly 13 seconds, approaching 60 miles per hour in his very own dragster. Logan participates in the Midwest Junior Super Series, and Saturday competed in the Junior Dragster Buckeye Open at National Trail Raceway. After waiting out the 5 hour rain delay with friends and fellow racers, Logan suited up while dad tuned the $6,000 car. Logan raced in the 12.90 division, where to goal is to complete the eighth mile run in as close to 12.90 seconds as possible, without running faster than that time. When asked what goes through his 8 year-old brain while waiting for the green light, he simply answered "Win!".

I followed Logan a bit, but also shot some of the other racers. A lot more girls participated than I would have expected. One told me it's because there aren't too many sports where they can be just as competitive as the boys when they are between the ages of 8 and 17.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Not your average ice cream truck

Well, for starters..... it floats.

The Buckeye Lake ice cream boat is a well known entity for lake goers. It's operators, all various volunteers from the Buckeye Lake Historical Society, spend their day motoring from family dock to family dock selling ice cream sandwiches, drumsticks, and push-up pops, all for $2. The money goes to benefit the historical society and as for the volunteers - none of them seem to complain about spending their day on the lake.

Photos © Jason Lenhart