Jason Lenhart Photo Blog

Bicycle Accident

2012-01-04T16:33:00.006-06:00

So, I completely neglected blogging in the month of December. Probably my holiday laziness kicking in.

Well, I'm back. Went to a vehicle-bicycle accident. A 15-year old was hit. Surprisingly, from what we know, the kid (I'm assuming a boy) was transferred to the local Children's hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

Why surprisingly? Well, because he mashed up the front windshield REAL well and lost both of his shoes in the accident. Check it out.

Check out the full story, with updates in the next couple hours.

The first image is also the first iPhone image that I have taken that will be published in print. Kinda cool. I took it to have something to transmit back for web.

A bicycle and pair of shoes belonging to a 15-year old sits in the road near the corner of Foor Boulevard and Blacks Road in Pataskala on Wednesday. The child was struck by a passing vehicle and was taken to Children's Hospital with non life-threatening injuries. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

An iPod sits wrapped around the antenna of a car involved in pedestrian bicycle accident at the corner of Foor Boulevard and Blacks Road in Pataskala on Wednesday. A 15-year old riding a bike was hit by a vehicle and taken to Children's Hospital with non life-threatening injuries. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Accident involving a vehicle and a pedestrian bicyclist at the corner of Foor Boulevard and Blacks Road in Pataskala. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

The 12 Percent

2011-11-29T13:38:00.010-06:00

So, according to a 2003 study by National Sporting Goods Association, of the 18.5 million active hunters in the US, 12 percent, or 2.3 million, are women. I spent opening day here in Ohio with 3 women hunters, along with their friends and family.

Kim Metheny, right, helps Kaylena Moore, a Lakewood senior, ziplock her phone in preparation for the rain after a hearty, 5 a.m. breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns, and vegetables, all in a caserole style dish. Kaylena is dating Kim's son, Connor, and has been hunting with the group for 3 years. She finds comfort and camaraderie in hunting with other women. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Kaylena puts on her hunting garb. Opening day was accompained with rain. Lots of rain. Fortunately, covered, waterproof blinds had been set up earlier so the hunters didn't have to sit in tree stands, exposed to the elemtns. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Kaylena grabs a 20 gauge deer slug and loads her single shot after settling into the blind. Kaylena and Barb Terry, a friend of Kim's and hunting instructor, talk strategy should a deer approach from an old angle, how to adjust seating while making as little noise as possible. "It's amazing what noise you can get away with in a blind, though." Barb says. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Kaylena waits patiently along with friend Barb, in a deer blind on Monday morning at Sugar Hill Farm. While luck may not have found them this morning, both women have taken trophy deer in years past. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

While on the trek back, Kaylena texts her boyfriend, who was also out hunting. He had texted her a few times during the morning to see if she had any success. The two can be a little competitive. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

The hunting party meets up at Kim's father's house for Lunch. The only one to shoot a deer during the morning of opening day was Kim's boyfriend, Chris. The group went back out afterwards to try again. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Open Season

2011-11-22T13:12:00.003-06:00

I took this photo for a preview we ran in today's paper. I included what I thought would be a good headline.

Nobody else seemed to like it though.

Gun season opens December 28 in Ohio. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Scandal Bowl

2011-11-21T11:56:00.004-06:00

All-in-all I enjoyed being back on the field for some major D1 football. I didn't get anything amazing from the day, but I got some decent stuff.

Check out the full gallery

Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller motions to a reciever in Saturday's 20-14 loss to Penn State. Jason Lenhart/CentralOhio.com

Ohio State senior wide receiver DeVier Posey isn't able to hold on to his one-handed grab in Saturday's game against Penn State. Jason Lenhart/CentralOhio.com

More Hockey

2011-11-18T15:43:00.004-06:00

Generals defeat Hilliard Wildcats, pushing them a 3-1 league record so far.

Full gallery and article.

Newark Generals' Alex ONeill fires through Hilliard defenders in Thursday's 2-0 win. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

An airborn Matt Congos narrowly misses burying the puck past Hilliard goalie Mack Burton in Thursday's 2-0 win at the Lou and Big Reese Ice Arena. The Generals scored both goals late in the third period, pushing them to a 3-1 league record. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Ok, now do THIS!

2011-11-17T15:58:00.005-06:00

I only had a short time with Advocate soccer player of 2011 Brandon Pound. I went in with a pretty grand idea that I pulled from this ad.

First off, the ball in this image was added post-process, which, in the ad world, is perfectly fine. Second, since the guy is spotting his landing, and not the ball, it's very probably there was a landing mat to protect the player.

So that was my idea. Once I met with Brandon, we did a simple 'safe' shoot first.

With the remaining time I had, I showed Brandon a quick print of what I was hoping for. Luckily, he was a great subject to work with and was willing to give it a try. Because we didn't have a mat or anything, Brandon wasn't getting vertical, but we definitely got something, and eventually it's the photo that ran.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Hockey

2011-11-15T13:11:00.004-06:00

Believe it or not, the local varsity hockey team, the Newark Generals, are the Ohio State runner up varsity team. Not some team from up north, but nowhere central ohio. Pretty cool. I try to go to their games every thursday, schedule permitting.

The team is a conglomerate team. Meaning, not one school has enough players to make a strong team, so the school combine players and form a joint team. The generals have players from Granville, Heath, Bishop Rosecrans, Licking Valley, Lakewood, and Newark Catholic.

Newark Generals seniors Matt Congos, left, and Thomas Nichols, right, try to stuff the puck in during Thursday's game against the Westerville WarCats at the Lou and Gib Reese Ice Arena. The Generals defeated the WarCats 5-1 in their second home game of the season. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Newark Generals' Christian Thomas sends a Westerville Warcat to the ice in Thursday's 5-1 win. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Newark Generals' goalie Zach Dennis pins a Westerville Warcat against the wall in a 3rd period scuffle. Dennis received a game misconduct and was ejected from the game and replaced by backup goalie Austin Pitcock. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

The Fog

2011-11-07T12:35:00.003-06:00

Had some awesome morning fog about a week back. The paper initially wanted 'Frost' photos, but by the time I got out there, the frost was gone. The fog, however, stayed till about 10:30.

A couple jogs across a bridge near OSU-Newark on Tuesday. A heavy fog blanketed the Newark area till the late morning. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Gary Loveday takes Eva for a walk on Tuesday near OSU-Newark. A heavy fog blanketed the Newark area till the late morning. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Off the Grid

2011-11-02T16:59:00.004-05:00

A local football team, the Granville Aces, allowed us behind the scenes access for their last game of the season. After a little finagling, we were able to get a picture page to go with the reporter's story. Also did a gallery, of sorts, in a story form.

Check out the gallery.

My favorite.

Columbus Academy's locker rooms were small. Too small to fit the entire team in one area. The seniors, including Tyler Camarata, claimed the shower as their area, affording them the most free space. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

No Bull

2011-10-19T15:18:00.004-05:00

So I wanted to do a shoot with some Texas Longhorn cattle, and since we run covers, featuring teams, on our football weeklies, I asked sports to find me an offensive line we could feature.

Meet high school seniors Sam Filous and Brandon Hollis, offensive linemen for Johnstown High School.

Also, meet Kilometer. 1700 pounds of raw Texas Longhorn.

My goal in the photo was to give the impression of raw power and strength. I don't know if that worked or not, but it was a great experience regardless of the photographic success. Ed Callan, the owner of Callan Cattle Co. was a huge help. He and I met before, to discuss the feasibility of the shoot. Once Brandon and Sam arrived, Ed gave us all a great safety speech, and made control of the situation his top priority. At no time did I ever feel like the situation was out of control or dangerous.

Aside from Brandon's mouth guard, which was chomped on by another cattle while we shot, everything went incredibly smooth.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Foooood

2011-10-12T20:30:00.003-05:00

Man I love food. A lot.

And of course I ate it. The shoot was for a magazine. There was no journalistic integrity to be upheld... and I was hungry.

Spinach Artichoke Bites

Citrus Minted Prawns and Ancho Bruleed Scallop Skewers

Pinot Noir Meatballs

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Break It Down

2011-10-11T11:22:00.003-05:00

So, it may not be the most journalist thing ever....

Ok, it's the LEAST journalistic thing ever, but we cover all the local school homecoming dances. Why? Well to build web galleries. WHY? Well because we can clear 200,000 page views across 4 galleries in 2 days. That's why.

Utica junior Kody Smith breakdances during Saturday's homecoming dance at the school. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Now and Then

2011-10-05T14:46:00.004-05:00

The other week I was out feature hunting when I came across an elderly gentlemen cleaning the show window of the Newark Family Shoe store on the square. I took a couple frames and then went in to talk with him.

That's how I met Robert Evans - a man who keep an extensive history worth of news clippings and photos of Newark. He even showed me a photo of himself, taken November 11th, 1971, doing nearly the exact same thing I had just photographed not 5 minutes earlier.

I wasn't able to find the photo in our archives (a mess) so I took a photo of the photo and we ran the two images below the fold with the following text -

On Tuesday, Advocate photographer Jason Lenhart was out looking for feature photographs when he stumbled upon Robert Evans cleaning the front display window of Newark Family Shoes. Only after speaking with Evans did he learn that on November 10, 1971, an Advocate photographer photographed Evans doing the same thing.

Evans has worked in the store since 1960, when it was located at 25-27 South Park Place. In 1967 the store relocated to the King Building, currently the Chase Building, at 15 North Third Street. Evans assumed ownership of the shop in 1981 when it moved to its current location at 5 South Third.

"It's always been shoes." Evans said as he rushed around his shop on Wednesday. Evans estimates his age to be "Oh, somewhere around 50." Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Like Father...

2011-09-27T08:09:00.003-05:00

Like Son.

A frame from some feature hunting last week.

Nathan Foltz mows the lawn with the help of his 5-year-old son, Nicholas, at their Marne home on Thursday. The foltz have lived in their home for over 15 years. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Vigil

2011-09-23T15:21:00.002-05:00

A candlelight vigil was held at the courthouse square last night for those who has lost loved ones to suicide. It gave them the opportunity to remember their loved ones, share their story, and learn ways to help anyone who may be on the same path.

Alyssa Hofacker, 5, holds her cande abd observes a moment of silence during a Candlelight Vigil at the Courthouse Square on Thursday night. The vigil, organized by Mental Health America of Licking County, was a chance for the survivors after suicide to share and remember their loved ones as well as obtain information on suicide prevention. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Charlie Smith, 16, a Newark student, observes a moment of silence during a Candlelight Vigil at the Courthouse Square on Thursday night. The vigil, organized by Mental Health America of Licking County, was a chance for the survivors after suicide to share and remember their loved ones as well as obtain information on suicide prevention. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Newark Failball

2011-09-21T14:33:00.004-05:00

Newark High School football has won 3 games in the last 4 years....
Last Friday's game was no different. Gahanna wins 54-3.

At least they look good in the photos....?

Newark sophomore quarterback Grant Russell fires a pass while senior linemen James Siminoski blocks Gahanna senior Cameron Howard during Friday's game at White Field. Gahanna won 54-3. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Tires, Tires, Everywhere

2011-09-12T15:07:00.003-05:00

The actual River Roundup event was a pretty big success. It was great to see a lot of young kids out, reconnecting with nature, and realizing the impact of something like littering. A group of boys unofficially declared themselves the 'tire boys', and embarked on a tire-hunting quest, which was good, because that was the majority of the trash in the river. Removing any metals and tires was of primary concern due to their environmental impact, leaching chemicals in water that is eventually treated for human consumption.

A clean up group floats their canoe down the Licking River after unloading several tires during the River Roundup on Saturday. More than 100 people volunteered their time to clean up sections of the river ranging from Everett Park to Blackhand Gorge. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Philip Hall, 13, unearths a tire in the Licking River during Saturday's River Roundup. Groups were divided into walkers and canoers, all the way from Everett Park to Blackhand Gorge, removing trash from the river bed and banks. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Didn't Hear Any Banjos

2011-09-07T15:03:00.003-05:00

The Licking River Roundup is back. It's an all-day event where anybody in the community is encouraged to come out and help clean up the Licking River. The event is Saturday (which I'm also shooting) but today was the preview day. Dignitaries from around Licking County, as well as media, were invited to come canoe the section of the river that will be cleaned. It gave us a nice look at the current levels of trash and the need for the project.

Mayoral candidate Jeff Hall and Soil and Water intern Sarah Williams paddle past the part of an abandoned tikes toy along the licking river on Wednesday during the River Roundup preview. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Several Licking County dignitaries investigate an abandoned boat during Wednesday's River Roundup preview in the Licking River. The River Roundup strives to clean up the river, taking place this Saturday at Everett Park; volunteers are welcome. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Powwow

2011-09-03T18:35:00.006-05:00

Newark, Ohio is home to one of the largest Native American earthworks (technically - "largest set of geometric earthen enclosures") in the world. It is believed to be constructed by prehistoric Hopewell people between 100 BC and AD 500. Historians have presented several theories on the purpose of the mounds, from social gatherings to religious practice and even astronomical alignment. Whatever the purpose, it brings several Native American Powwows to the region every year.

A Powwow is a traditional event where Native Americans from around the country gather and participate in song and dance, as well as trade and sell goods and prepare traditional foods. It's quite the cultural event, and one worth going to if you find one near you.

Red Hawk, of the Chippewa tribe in Michigan, dances and sings in an intertribal dance during Saturday's PowWow at the Newark Earthworks in Heath. The Powwow started Saturday and will continue through Monday. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

7-year-old Daiycon Sierra, of the Onieda tribe in Wisconsin, is followed by Newark local Harley Brown, 6, in her first Powwow dance on Saturday at the Newark Earthworks. Brown followed Sierra during the tiny tots dance, which was specifically for children under 12.

Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

All in a Day's Work

2011-09-01T14:50:00.006-05:00

Like I usually tell people when they ask why I do what I do: "It's something different every day".

3 photos from 3 very different assignments - All in a day's work.

Buckeye Lake's First Community Church pastor David Moody is retiring after 18 years serving the community. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Newark firefighter Dustin Breece volunteered his time, along with many others, to fill the boot for the Muscular Dystrophy Association on Thursday at the intersection of 21st Street and Log Pond Rd.. Firefighters will be collecting from 10am to 4pm on Friday as well. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Melissa Neale, wife of Steve Neale, reacts as her husband is taken into custody after being sentenced to 10 years in prison for the June 2008 crash that killed 3 young adults. Neale's attorney has filed an appeal. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Bridge Over Calm Waters

2011-08-29T14:23:00.005-05:00

Getting told "We need cover art for tomorrow's paper" is always fun.

Fortunately I knew this bike path bridge had recently reopened. So, instead of a 'featurey' shot for the front that you may or may not stumble across, I got something a little more tame with a splash of newsworthiness.

A lone biker crosses the newly renovated bridge along the T.J. Evans bike path near Cherry Valley Road on Monday. The bridge was closed for roughly two months, forcing pedestrians and cyclist to detour down Cherry Valley Road. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

It's that time of year!

2011-08-27T13:03:00.005-05:00

FOOTBALL!!

Every Friday night from now till the end of all eternity.

Watkins Memorial defeats Licking Heights 51-21 in the annual Battle for Broad Street.

Full gallery at the NewarkAdvocate.com

Watkins Memorial junior Brenden Kemp stiff arms Licking Heights senior Cameron Tennyson during the annual Battle for Broad Street on Friday at Watkins Memorial High School. Watkins defeated Heights 51 to 21. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Watkins Memorial senior Evan Din narrowly misses intercepting a pass intended for Licking Heights senior Jeff Smith in the annual Battle for Broad Street on Friday at Watkins Memorial. Watkins defeated Heights 51 to 21. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Photo © Jason Lenhart

Dog Paddle

2011-08-21T17:17:00.006-05:00

I love it when pictures basically make themselves.

Full Gallery at the Newark Advocate.com

Molly Moo, a 2 year old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, nabs a tennis ball in the Heath City Water Park on Sunday during the first annual Licking County Dog Paddle. Molly, a rescued stray turned Angel Paws Therapy Dog, was one of several hundred dogs that attended the open event. The Heath City Water Park opened half the park to the event on their last day of operation for the season. Both the Lazy River and Water Gym were packed with dogs, large and small, finally getting to enjoy what their owners have all summer. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Sara Erwin of Reynoldsburg watches as Belle, a 4-year-old Weimaraner, lunges into the lazy river at the Heath City Water Park for the first annual Licking County Dog Paddle on Sunday. Belle was one of several hundred dogs that attended the open event. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

A Dachshund sits on the edge of a floating raft, not able to touch in the 2 foot pool, during the 1st annual Licking County Dog Paddle at the Heath City Pool. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

F4

2011-08-17T19:52:00.003-05:00

Not the aperture, but the plane!

Whenever an assignment lets me climb on things not normally climbed upon, it's a good day. Throw in some nice setting sunlight and it's hard not to make a good picture.

Norman Green works on lettering to be painted on the tail of a restored F4 Phantom on Wednesday at the Newark Heath Airport. With the help of several volunteers, the plane has been cleaned and painted in traditional camo, with more detailed painting work coming soon. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

The Hartford Independent Fair

2011-08-15T13:10:00.008-05:00

The Hartford Independent Fair has been dubbed the "The Biggest Little Fair in the World". It's not technically a county fair since it's not sponsored by the county or any government body, but to everybody in the county and beyond, it's a pretty big deal. Big enough that the fair has become a noun. Simple called 'Fair', which kinda confused me at first. When talking to people, they weren't getting ready for THE fair, they were simple getting ready for FAIR. Not THE fair, just FAIR. Get it? Me neither.

Anyway, I've been away from blogging for a bit because I basically lived at, *ahem*, Fair. Three days of feature hunting and then covering the main grandstand event each of the three nights. I'm putting up a couple of my favorites from the three days here, but go ahead and check out the full galleries -

Tuesday Fair Photos

Wednesday Fair Photos

Thursday Fair Photos

Olivia Bettet, 16, of Licking Valley, sneaks a nap in with her Jersey Cows on Tuesday at the Hartford Fair. The Hartford fair is open all this week with daily and nightly events. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Granville resident Dan Parkinson pushes Bombardeere down the track on Tuesday in the Truck and Tractor Pull at the Hartford Fair. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Hartford Independent Fair Booths. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Kaleigh Warner, 6, adjust her ribbons that hang over her award winning cattle on Thursday at the Hartford Independent Fair in Croton. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Practice, Practice, Practice

2011-08-01T10:47:00.005-05:00

Practices are a great way to practice...

If you have a local small-town football team, no doubt they are incredibly important to the community. However, given the fact that they AREN'T the best in the world and they ARE still in high school, you can usually get away with really getting in the action during a practice. It's a great way to get comfortable shooting football and learn about the game. Slap the 17-35 on and get close enough to smell the action (literally). Doesn't hurt to clear it with the coach, either - Just let him know it's OK for him to yell at you too if you get in the way. Just pay attention to the action while you're out there. They may still be in high school, but there are some big boys out there who could ruin your day on accident.

Sophomore starting quarterback Grant Russell dictates the next play to his teammates during the first Newark High School football practice of the season at Evans Athletic Complex on Monday. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Defensive and offensive linemen run drills during the first Newark High School football practice of the season at Evans Athletic Complex on Monday. Jason Lenhart/The Advocate

Don't forget the details either.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Uneven Bars

2011-07-28T13:07:00.005-05:00

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

2011-07-27T13:27:00.003-05:00

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

2011-07-25T08:48:00.005-05:00

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

2011-07-22T18:51:00.004-05:00

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

2011-07-20T14:53:00.004-05:00

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

2011-07-18T14:49:00.005-05:00

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?

2011-07-14T14:44:00.003-05:00

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?

2011-07-07T16:22:00.004-05:00

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

2011-07-06T14:06:00.007-05:00

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

2011-07-05T14:14:00.006-05:00

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

Bootin' the Pigskin

2011-06-30T19:28:00.002-05:00

The annual kicking camp at Denison University.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Learning to Lose

2011-06-29T14:43:00.006-05:00

It's a hard thing to do.

But eventually we all learn how, one way or another.

But honestly, after photographing the semifinal round of the Licking County Shriner Tournament (A little league baseball tourney), I was happy to see losers. I don't mean social outcast, but legitimate winners and losers. So often I hear "Everybody is a winner" when it comes to sports. Youth baseball and basketball games being played with no score being kept, and everybody receiving a trophy.

Sorry to say it, but that's not life. You WILL lose at one point or another, sometime in your life. Hell, chances are you'll lose a lot more than you'll win.

So while yes it sucks to lose. Learn to lose when you are young, like these kids.

Learn to lose when, despite the incredibly emotional fans (read; parents), it doesn't really matter.

Photo © Jason Lenhart

Steeple vs Spire

2011-06-28T15:01:00.006-05:00

What exactly is the difference? I called it a steeple, but apparently it's a spire....

Either way, the Granville St. Luke's Episcopal Church had their entire tower thingy renovated, and today they put it all back together.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Rugby - IN THE FACE

2011-06-24T13:11:00.005-05:00

Not a very popular sport, and a tough one to shoot. It's especially tough to shoot when 75% of the teams are inexperienced (less than a year old) and resort to gang-tackle football tactics.

Still, the 7-on-7 14 minute games, as opposed to 15-on-15 80 minute standard matches, lent themselves to some serious action, and serious scores. Licking Valley defeated Lancaster 71-0 (In 14 minutes!!)

Oh, and I hear Rugby is coming to the Olympics in 2016...?

Photos © Jason Lenhart

American Legion Baseball

2011-06-23T12:35:00.004-05:00

Legion Baseball is something new to me. Either it doesn't really exist in upstate New York, or I just never paid attention to it when I was growing up. If anybody else is like me, Legion Baseball is what every kid plays after school lets out for the summer. It's basically a way for them to keep playing baseball. The large majority of teams are high school level, but there are a few younger leagues too. All teams are sponsored by an American Legion Post # and the teams encompass larger regions, so often times they are composed of kids from several school districts.

Anywho, shot one on Tuesday.

I can't count on both hands and both feet how many sporting events have been canceled due to rain since I started at the Advocate nearly two months ago. This was one of them. Tried to include the weather into a photo. It required some less-than-perfect selective toning, but I like it.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Fire + Sports

2011-06-20T11:50:00.006-05:00

= Awesomeness

So last week finished up the week of "Sportraits". Most decent sized newspapers will name athletes of the year in different sports as well as various "All-Advocate Teams" etc. etc. I was given the portrait assignment for the softball player of the year, baseball player of the year, and both male/female athlete of the year.

(Favorite Shot) Softball player of the year, Courtney Kidwell

Baseball player of the year, Matt Smith

Male Athlete of the year, Travis Drumm

Female Athlete of the year, Courtney Kidwell

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Local Flooding

2011-03-11T14:26:00.004-06:00

A night of heavy rain coupled with the melting of 3 feet of snow in a week has led to serious flooding in counties such as Orange, Dutchess, and Westchester in New York as well as counties in northern New Jersey and western Connecticut. Flooding is expected to peak tonight, with some small streams and tributaries approaching 9 feet of flood waters. Many roads in the worst counties have not only been closed, but washed away entirely.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Winter isn't over

2011-03-07T15:41:00.003-06:00

So life has put my photography on hiatus, but I got out today and shot some of the recent ice storm the swept through parts of the North East. A day of rain turned to ice overnight led to lots of tree damage as well as substantial flooding of smaller streams and tributaries.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Orvis Sandanona - A Hunting Experience

2010-11-28T22:31:00.005-06:00

Currently I am employed at a small, yet very well-known hunting and shooting preserve in my hometown of Millbrook, New York. Orvis Sandanona is the oldest established hunting preserve in the nation, dating back to the late 1800s. Not only does it offer a world-class sporting clays course and a renown fly fishing school, but it also home to some of the premier guided wingshooting and tower release hunting on the east coast. As an employee there, I wear several hats, one of which is gathering photographs for the monthly member e-mails. I pulled four photos to show here from two events. The first two are from a duck hunt, the second two a pheasant hunt. Both hunts are called tower releases. In both cases the birds are released from a tower where they proceed to travel various "lanes" (Or not, in some cases. While they are pen raised birds, they are still wild and unpredictable). These lanes provide each hunting blind with several presentations of "flushing birds". Sandanona also offers more traditional field hunts, where dogs are used to flush birds from a field.

While I'm not photographing every day, I really enjoy this job. Growing up as a competitive shooter exposed me to this world, and I feel very at home in sporting environment.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Ragan's Faith - Mpw.62

2010-10-07T17:16:00.006-05:00

I had the amazing opportunity to participate in the 62nd annual Missouri Photo Workshop (or Mpw.62). Mpw has been documenting small town Missouri for 62 years now and has visited over 40 different small towns/cities. This year the workshop ventured to Macon, MO for the first time. With nearly 40 photographers and 20 amazing faculty members, we documented another year in "Small Town America".

Click on over to the official Mpw page to view my story in full.

I've also attached a few outtakes that didn't make the cut.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Australia

2010-09-03T20:40:00.007-05:00

I apologize for getting these up on my blog so late. Got bogged down with finding a job, and have posted many to Facebook, if you haven't already seen.

My sister and I had an amazing time vacationing in Australia. It was a beautiful place and we got to experience a lot of new things. A special thanks to our friends Chelsea Sektnan and John Schreiber for giving us a place to stay for two weeks. Without them, this trip would not have been possible.

Crabs on Rottnest Island.

There were many shipwrecks surrounding the coast of Rottnest Island.

Quokkas are the main attraction on Rottnest. Small marsupials that are rarely found on the mainland.

My sister violated the "do not touch since everything is deadly" policy of our trip rather often.

We stayed only a few blocks from the shore, where surfers, body boarders, kite boarders, and brave swimmers were often seen. The water stayed in the low 60 degrees Fahrenheit (High teens in celsius).

Feeding Kangaroos at a the Cohunu Koala Park in Byford, WA.

A dingo at the same park.

A native parrots.

A young Koala at Cohunu.

John Schrieber and I 40 meters (~130 feet) into the canopy of ancient tingle trees at the Valley of the Giants tree-top walk in Denmark, WA.

Along the coast, near Denmark, WA.

My 19-year old sister enjoying a legal beverage on her birthday in Albany, WA.

All photos © Jason Lenhart

The Natural Chesapeake

2010-08-06T14:42:00.004-05:00

I have tons of wildlife photos from my past 10 weeks here in the Chesapeake Bay region. Put them together with a few clips from Maryland Public Television to create a simple video that will run on our site come final publication.

The Natural Chesapeake from Bay on the Brink on Vimeo.

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

2010-08-04T10:27:00.007-05:00

Drove through this beautiful park just outside of Cambridge, MD a couple weeks ago. It's a major stop for thousands of migratory birds during migration seasons. Year-round, it's home to plenty of Osprey, Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagles, and numerous other species of native and migratory birds.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Cambridge Powerboat Regatta

2010-07-28T15:38:00.006-05:00

Had an awesome experience photographing the 100th annual Cambridge Powerboat Regatta in Cambridge, Maryland. It featured ten different classes of boats over 4 days of adrenaline-fueled racing. For Sunday, the finals, I got on the turn boat with the inside turn 1 referee. I was about 15 yards from the turn buoy - when the Grand Prix boats went by at around 150mph, not only was it deafening, but you could feel the vibrations in your chest. Quite an experience.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Fishing

2010-07-22T22:37:00.009-05:00

They say that, to men, fishing is not a matter of catching. There is no definitive measure of success to the average recreational fishermen. It is, instead, a journey of self-fulfillment.

If, by the luck of the sea, you manage to hook the big one, you become embedded in an age-old test of man versus nature. For those brief minutes, or hours if you're lucky, the only thing that separates you from the reassurance of your dominance at the top of the food chain is a thin filament of line and a seemingly insurmountable ocean of water. And, should you land this behemoth, for that brief second you are all that is man for you have defeated your foe in an otherwise primitive battle of strength, wits, and patience. However, should than line go slack right at what always seem to be the climax of your struggle, you have not lost, but merely made an enemy... and it's personal. Every cast is aimed at your new foe, every bait is given that special touch, all irrational yet impertinent superstitions are brought to the table, and every tug on the line is surely the one. Silly? Yes, but we are men, and to each and every one of us, this is a battle our ancestors started, and a war we intend to finish.

However, there is another side to this great journey we face on the open sea. We wake up early, kiss the wife despite her disapproving eyes, and set out to exile ourselves from that which plagues our inner beings. We are alone, or with our fellow sea-goers, on a vast plain of rolling waves beneath which lie the mysteries of the unknown and, for one day - one whole day - we, as the hard-working men we have become, find ourselves surrounded by nothing. For the next 8 hours, we sit on a boat with our favorite beverage, line in the water, and do one thing; Think. We ponder everything from work to yesterday’s choices. From the trucks impending transmission failure to that girl back in college. Sure, we may commiserate with our fellow men, but the real conversation exists in an unheard dialogue between the sea at which we stare, and ourselves. All the while, unless it’s the “one that got away”, we could honestly care less what is happening to the bait resting on the sandy bottom. In fact, to hook a fish would detract from the progress we’ve made on visualizing our greatest fantasies. The only battle we are willing to engage in today is keeping our refreshment cold, for these 8 hours are ours to discover our inner man. If the day is spent doing nothing, then it’s a good day too.

You see, fishing is not called catching. Success falls upon the individual’s hopes for the day. Either way we always return home having gained something. Men have been fishing before man developed the skills to tell fish stories.

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”
– Henry David Thoreau

Richard Whitener, of Powhatan, Virginia, watches his fishing rod for any indication that a fish may be at the other end while aboard the Rockin-n-Robin in the Chesapeake Bay. The Rock-n-Robin is a charter boat based out of Reedville, Va and, with captain Robin Sue behind the helm, frequently takes trips into the bay in search of all sorts of sport fish. News21 photo by Jason Lenhart

Photo © Jason Lenhart

Contained Animal Feeding Operations

2010-07-09T12:57:00.008-05:00

CAFOs, for short, are large chicken farms, housing upwards of 25,000 chickens per 30,000 square foot house. Some farming operations, which are backed primarily by Perdue and Mountaire along the Eastern shore of Maryland, have more than 20 chicken houses. That's roughly half a million chickens, often more. I spent a few days traveling around, meeting farmers and taking photos of chicken farms from the road. Perdue and Mountaire both put heavy restrictions on access to their houses. They tell you it's for sanitary reasons, which is legitimate, but farmers, like Carole Morison, have lost contracts for speaking out against the poultry industry's practices, especially to the press. So while I haven't actually gotten into a CAFO yet, I did snap a few decent shots of large-scale CAFO operations all over the Eastern shore.

Carole Morison stands in front of her abandoned chicken houses on her property in Pocomoke City, MD. She currently leases out her farmland since losing her contract with Perdue several years ago. However, she says she has plans for a "Free Range" chicken operation to help educate on sustainable farming practices.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Crab Picking Video

2010-07-08T16:28:00.003-05:00

Just a simple, quick, b-roll compilation I did at the J.M. Clayton picking facility.

J.M. Clayton Crab Picking Facility from Jason Lenhart on Vimeo.

J.M. Clayton Crab Picking Facility

2010-07-01T10:16:00.005-05:00

A few images from the J.M. Clayton Crab Picking Facility in Cambridge, MD. I will post a full slideshow, with some video, later today, or maybe tomorrow. I'll also explain the whole process of crab picking - the Clayton Company is basically doing it the way it was done in the early 1900s.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Anacostia River pollution

2010-06-29T14:49:00.004-05:00

The Anacostia, a Chesapeake Bay tributary, which runs right through our nation's capitol is considered one of the watershed's most polluted rivers. Not only is trash prominent, but storm water runoff feeds raw sewage directly into the river, basically whenever it rains. Took a trip to find some of the runoff drains, however I always manage to find wildlife wherever I go, like these Eastern Painted Turtles.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Eastern Shore

2010-06-28T10:49:00.008-05:00

Took a trip to the Eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay to gather some photos of wildlife, farming, shoreline construction, and general iconic images of the bay. News21 Maryland is beginning to come together now as we enter our last full month of work at the Merrill School of Journalism. Also, check out our redesigned blog, featuring a small header with my photos.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

2010 Great Chesapeake Bay Swim

2010-06-14T11:36:00.007-05:00

This Sunday, June 13, 2010, was the annual Great Chesapeake Bay Swim. More than 600 swimmers took to the 71 degree water to swim the 4.4 miles across the bay, between each side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The swimmers entered the bay at Sandy Point State Park and finished at the Bay Bridge Marina. The winner, 15 year old Andrew Gyenis, finished with a time of 1:28:45. You can check out a complete gallery of my, as well as my colleagues, photos on our News21 Flickr Page.

Photo © Jason Lenhart

Easton and St. Michaels, Maryland

2010-06-10T16:47:00.009-05:00

Took a two-day trip to the Chesapeake Bay's eastern shore. I took some shots in Easton, and St. Micheals, while team members conducted interviews. The eastern shore of the bay really is a beautiful place.

Chance, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, was fascinating. He retrieved anything that got into the water. Most of his day is spent badgering people to toss crab basket lids into the water so he has something to do. However, he does actually "work". I got to watch as a worker launched a boat that he recently finished painting. During the launch, three wooden supports were dragged into the water. Chanced dove in, retrieved all 3 supports, brought them up on shore, and placed all three neatly back in the work area. No training at all.

Maryland Blue Crab are almost a currency in the Chesapeake Bay area. Watermen bring in their catches daily and sell them to markets. Generations upon generations have been making a living this way, however, due to increasingly hazardous water conditions, some have had to abandon crabbing all together.

Replacing a windex, an instrument that measures wind direction, on a cloudy afternoon in St. Michaels, MD.

The Nanticoke River.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Mason Neck State Park Box Turtle

2010-06-06T20:20:00.006-05:00

Took a hike today at the Mason Neck State Park in Virginia. It's on the Potomac just south of the Washington area. Right when I got out to the Eagle Bluffs blind it started to rain, on and off, occasionally pretty hard. I sat in the blind for 2 or 3 hours waiting out the rain since I had all my camera gear with me. While I was sitting there I got to watch a mated pair of Osprey dive for fish. I also spotted two Bald Eagles. Unfortunately, the blind was too far away to get anything great. It wasn't a complete bust though - I found this Eastern Box Turtle in the middle of the trail on my hike back.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Osprey on the Severn

2010-06-04T18:10:00.004-05:00

The News21 crew got an awesome opportunity to head out on a boat into the Chesapeake bay and up the Severn River a bit. Osprey are abundant and we managed to get close enough for me to grab this shot of, what I assume to be, a female with her hatchling.

Photo © Jason Lenhart

Washington DC

2010-06-01T21:26:00.003-05:00

Got to spend 2 nights in the DC metro area before moving into my apartment further north in College Park. Went to the Newseum twice. A great place and I highly recommend it.

The Journalists Memorial recognizes all the journalists who have died trying to report the news, or have been silenced for doing so.

A selection of front pages from around the US and World.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

An Evening Nine

2010-05-26T15:12:00.005-05:00

So Mizzou gave me an HD FLIP for my work during News21. It's not the most professional thing, but it boasts some pretty decent resolution for a little hand held camera. I had never used one before, so I thought it would be a good idea to take it for a test run. Two of my friends and I went golfing and I threw the camera in my pocket. Yes, most of the shots are shaky (some are really shaky) but I thought I would just throw something together pretty quick. If anybody has tips/tricks on using an HD FLIP OR knows how to process/export HD video in Final Cut Express, that would be awesome. I don't think I exported it at its full potential. Oh well, it was just for fun.

For higher quality, watch the video directly on Vimeo.

An Evening Nine from Jason Lenhart on Vimeo.

A Rescued Life

2010-05-14T13:36:00.007-05:00

This is the final edit of my final project for the last photojournalism class of my college career. Hope you like it. Stay tuned for updates from my summer on the Chesapeake bay with News21.

On September 8, 2006, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the United States.

The bill failed to pass the Senate, but it prompted the only two states with horse slaughter facilities, Texas and Illinois, to pass subsequent state laws that shut down the facilities.

It was a win for the animal rights activists, but the unforeseen consequences hit the equine industry harder than anyone predicted.

Buyers from Canada and Mexico, where processing standards are less than adequate, began buying unwanted horses at pennies on the dollar. The number of abandoned horses skyrocketed and the value of the wanted ones plummeted. Owners could no longer sell their horses for a marginal return.

Rosy Erganian, now 54, has owned horses all her life. Five out of her current nine horses are rescue horses. She has devoted her time, money, property, and life to the caring and rehabilitation of unwanted horses.

Her story is one of thousands like it.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

A long-term essay in progress

2010-05-01T15:40:00.005-05:00

I have come to accept the fact that the story I want to tell is one that is going to take a lot of time. It will not be completed before I graduate. It's a photo essay tentatively titled "The Life of an Unwanted Horse" and it addresses the effect of the ban on horse slaughter in America. I've been working on two stories at once that sort of parallel each other and today I got to shoot for the larger essay. My first horse auction. Fun and exciting for the first 10 minutes, then I kinda got bored cause I didn't really know what was going on.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

A dog, a farrier, and some light

2010-04-18T23:58:00.005-05:00

Just an outtake from my final picture story. I'll post more details about the story when I find the time, but I just thought I post this. He's not my story, but I like the photo.

Photo © Jason Lenhart

Missouri vs. Texas Tech Softball

2010-04-17T19:59:00.003-05:00

We had a lot of sports assignments this week at the paper and not enough photographers to cover them all. That gave me the opportunity to go out and shoot some softball at University Field. Missouri Tigers vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders. Missouri won 3-1.

Photo © Jason Lenhart

Bennett Springs Video Job Profile

2010-04-14T10:00:00.002-05:00

Bennett Springs State Fish Hatchery from Jason Lenhart on Vimeo.

More Trevor Zoo and Misc.

2010-04-13T17:05:00.007-05:00

When I went home for spring break at the end of May, my sister asked me to help her with her Nikon D40. We were originally going to go to Innisfree park - a beautiful "150-acre public garden in which the ancient art of Chinese landscape design has been reinterpreted to create, without recourse to imitation, a unique American garden." The park wasn't open for the season yet, so we went back to the Trevor Zoo. I posted some photos from here before, but in case you missed that, the Trevor Zoo is the only high school owned and operated AZA zoo in the United States. They even house a few endangered species. I also pulled two other miscellaneous photos that I took over break.

Something about this image made me put it up. I have no idea. I can't decided if I like it
because it is just really weird/bad/awkward or what, but there is
something there that fires a few synapses in my brain. Who knows.

Pintail Point and Chesapeake Bay

2010-03-28T20:21:00.006-05:00

I took my spring break to College Park, Maryland, to look for housing since I'll be here this summer for News21. My dad came down to meet me here and help me out. Conveniently enough, there is a world-class shooting preserve about an hour away that we have been to before called Pintail Point. It is an absolutely beautiful shooting course and we had a blast running it. 350 clays between the two of us - successful shoot. My dad shot a 63 and I scored a 77. After that, we took a light hike on Kent Narrows East, on the Chesapeake Bay. A pristine salt marsh with ample opportunities for bird watching. After that, some good seafood, a tour of the UM campus, beer, and college hockey frozen four playoffs. Tomorrow - apartment searching until we find something suitable for my summer stay here.

International Night

2010-03-25T16:38:00.005-05:00

Got asked by a good friend, Clay McGlaughlin, to photograph the first two hours of International Night in Jesse Hall at Mizzou for the Missouri Students Association. It was a diverse display of cultural song, dance, and a few skits. Thanks to LED stage lights, the lighting was fun to work with/around. Just pulled a few I liked. Got paid, too, which is nice.

Perche Creek Gutbuster

2010-03-20T15:58:00.009-05:00

What do the first day of spring and a canoe race have in common? How about snow. Yea, it snowed on March 20th, 2010 - the first day of spring. The day before? I got out on the driving range for the first time this season. It was 70 and sunny. That's Missouri weather for you.
Anyway more than a dozen racers braved the low 30s temperature to compete in Charlie Lockwood's second Perche Creek Gutbuster - a 10 mile canoe/kayak race. The racers faced wind, snow/sleet, and words of encouragement such as "HURRY UP, WE'RE COLD!", from friends and family. Despite the weather, Charlie considered his race a great success. Everybody seemed in good spirits and, as always, had a great time paddling.
I'll be editing this entire character profile of Charlie Lockwood tomorrow and should have a complete story to present soon thereafter. I had a blast spending time with Charlie and his family and can only hope my photos convey to you what a good man he is. Also, if you're a canoer, you may want to check out Charlie's custom paddles on his website - Thetis Paddles.

1 Day Story, Revisited

2010-03-18T12:51:00.006-05:00

Last week I sat down with my Picture Story professor and did a reedit of my 1 day story. We both agreed I had shot better than my original submission had indicated. This second edit is a little more conceptual (maybe?) than it is literal. I'm still not quite sure how I feel about the story presentation, but that just reiterates the point I made when I first posted this story - I over shot and wasn't focused enough. I would appreciate any and all feedback on this edit compared to my first edit.

For the Love of Canoes, pt.2

2010-03-10T21:12:00.003-06:00

This is the first submission of my character profile. I have three more shoots scheduled, like I said in my previous post, so this is just a smattering of the photos I showed to my class. I got berated for not putting them in color (my excuse was poor color, which, apparently, they're not). Expect a more completed story in the coming weeks.

For the Love of Canoes, pt.1

2010-03-09T19:23:00.005-06:00

This is a character profile that I'm working on for my picture story class.

Say hello to Charlie Lockwood - a local Columbia canoe enthusiast.

As of right now, Charlie's main business is furniture restoration and repair. It pays the bills he says, but his passion lies in the cluttered wood shop that he built himself.

Charlie began building canoes and canoe paddles out of necessity. Having a family establishes some financial priorities, and buying a canoe is not one of them. As a man who loves working with his hands and solving his own problems, building one seemed like the next logical step.

I have at least three more shoots scheduled with Charlie. He will be doing some instruction with a pair of female races this weekend. Next weekend is a short race, designed for all ages and skill levels that Charlie is overseeing. I'll post again after those shoots are done.

POYi Multimedia Reaction

2010-03-08T10:58:00.003-06:00

Pictures of the Year International wrapped up this weekend after three long weeks of some amazing photography. Multimedia was the hot topic in the last week, where judges watched all the major categories' multimedia submissions. The story that struck me the most was the winner of the Issue Reporting Story Multimedia Category - A boy's Struggle - by Liz O. Baylen for the Los Angeles Times.

Screenshot from the Los Angeles Times

The judges focused a lot on photography, rather than video, which was interesting in a multimedia competition. I thought, with the way things are going, that they might favor video. Baylen's story was an amazing one, with no video. While it's a little long, Baylen's ability to show us the boy, without actually identifying him, is absolutely amazing. We have all come across assignments where there are issues of confidentiality, but this story's focus is solely on a subject that cannot be shown. The visuals are spectacular and the audio really engages us for the vast majority of the piece. I thought Baylen's production of the story really highlighted a big issue, which is something else the judges often talked about - Issue.
I found that sometimes the judges almost "forgot" what category they were in. They saw some great pieces, but didn't highlight a larger issue. "A Boy's Struggle" uses one person's story to address a much larger topic of sexual abuse in the education system. I think the reason the story won is not only because it was a great story, but it really got the viewer to think about the issue the story was trying to highlight.
Baylen's ability to show a subject that can't be shown is legendary. If you get the chance, look at her stuff - she has a very unique style.

News21 conference at ASU

2010-03-02T19:44:00.008-06:00

This past weekend I was invited to take part in the News21 conference on innovative journalism. It was the first gathering of top journalism students from around the country who will be participating in a 10-week summer program at 8 "host schools". For those of you who don't know, I'm headed to College Park, Maryland to focus on developing multimedia, as well as environmental investigative reporting on the failing Chesapeake Bay. The purpose of the program is to experiment with innovative ways of presenting stories to the public in the hopes of finding a remedy to the downward spiral of the journalism industry. For two days, about 40 or so of us met at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in Phoenix, AZ, to converse about our summer projects and brainstorm possible methods of news media dissemination. News21, which called this event our "spring training", featured such speakers as Amy Webb, the CEO of Webbmedia Group, Chris Callahan, Dean of the Cronkite School of Journalism, Gabriel Dance, multimedia producer for the New York Time, Rob Curley, executive editor of Greenspun Interactive for the Las Vegas Sun, and many others.

Some presentations were good, others not so good, but when it was all said and done I walked away from Phoenix with a renovated and rejuvenated outlook towards the future of journalism. Before this weekend, I was mostly just scared. The outlook was bleak. As a student in the journalism field, we get a lot of "I don't know" when we try to probe our professors as to where this industry is headed. Graduating into uncertainty was a frightening concept, and it left me with a wavering confidence in the direction I was headed.

However, after listening to these various speakers and conversing with graduate and undergraduate students from different journalism schools, hearing new ideas and feeling a sense of determination to innovate really revamped my feelings. The dismayed feeling I had towards the static progression of journalism was shaken up by these forward thinkers. The opportunity to be an entrepreneur in the industry that one enjoys, in my opinion, is exponentially better than just taking part in it. We are at a pivotal time where either we do nothing and continue to demise, or find it within ourselves to break away from the established "norms" of Journalism.

While the essence of journalism, i.e. great storytelling, has not changed and should not change, we must wipe clean the slate that contains the rules of "publication". Engaging the reader/viewer is the foundation of surviving as a business. In a utopic journalistic world, all we would have to do is produce great journalism - society would then claw hand over fist to ingest our words and photos with little or no promotion or "incentive". Unfortunately, in the age of social media, digital mobility, and lack of public interest, it doesn't work that way. We cannot rely upon the old way of dissemination. It is time to try new things, embrace failure, and create journalism that our audience can engage in.

Rob Curley said something that hit really hard when he was showing us some great innovation on the Las vegas Sun's website. He said "When we stopped doing journalism to impress journalism professors, our hits increased over 10 million." Later he added that the most close minded journalists are the ones that just graduated. Have we been indoctrinated, as students, into a state of mind where the drive to innovate is wasted on the current model, instead of looking outside the box? I wonder.
I apologize for ranting. News21 ignited a spark for me and I think it is an issue that needs to be addressed in the best interests of our industry. Now I give you pictures, because everybody loves pictures. 2 shots from ASU's J-school.

POYi Issue Reporting Picture Story category

2010-02-24T18:19:00.007-06:00

For those of you who don't know, the Pictures of the Year International photography competition is going on right now here at the University of Missouri. Many of my journalism classes have let out so that we can go attend the judging. For three weeks, the best photos from around the world will be showcased in different categories and judged by some of the top photographers and editors in the field. I took an evening during my editing shift at the Columbia Missourian to watch the semi finals and finals of the Issue Reporting Picture Story category. It's naturally a pretty heavy category and many of the photographs were pretty graphic.

First, during a semi-final edit, Pablo Corral Vega spoke out against a story where the style pushed the story more than the content of the photo. The photographer either shot a DX lens on a full frame or, more likely, over vignetted the photos in Photoshop. The students of the Missouri School of Journalism, who are subjects and slaves to two major photo competitions each year, call this "Wignetting" - it's a stylistic aspect that seems to appear on the winners podium in nearly any photography competition, and I agree with Pablo here - it's wrong. Photographers often change the emotion in their photos using this over-vignetting technique. Pablo hit it on the head when he pointed out that yes, the photos were dark, had dark subject matter, and raw emotion, yet the content was very weak. There was very very little interaction or human intimacy. It was voted out in the last round and I don't believe it should deserve anything higher than an award of excellence on the basis of purposeful over-vignetting.

The winning story was an amazing conceptual piece on Beauty. It spanned several countries and touched a huge issue, which I think is why it got first place. The judges really debated the story heavily, pointing out very specific flaws and stregnths, but I think what hit them most was the stories ability to touch a very important issue (which is what the Category is supposed to be about) while presenting several spectacular photos. They also talked about how a good story doesn't have to take place halfway across the world - it can be in your backyard - but this stories ability to make it feel like it was happening down the street, while looking at beauty as an underlying theme in every culture, really brought it to light. I think it was a great choice. While I question the overall judging dynamic of this weeks judges, I really enjoyed watching them debate a very complex and heavy category.

Click on over to the website to launch the live feed and watch a few categories sometime. It really is spectacular to see what the best of the best in the Photography world are up to.

Also - I'll have an update in the coming week on my new project surrounding a canoe maker here in Columbia - A great guy and unique character.

1 Day Story; Lesson Learned

2010-02-22T09:54:00.006-06:00

First, I had a blast shooting this story. They were a great group of guys and were totally cool with having me shadow them during the competition. Everything they did that night was for a great cause and they raised a boatload of money.

Second, I learned, or relearned, a simple lesson - Think before you click.

My professor limited us to 300 frames. I shot roughly 1000. What happens when you shoot 1000 frames for a 1 day story? You get a parking lot. What happens when you get a parking lot? You can't put together a coherent story very easily. Now, I hadn't shot anything serious for like a month, so that was working against me. I've also had my head stuck in multimedia mode, which made my editing process a little skewed. Multimedia needs fluid transitions with multiple images and a more in depth picture-by-picture narrative. A photo story (5 photos for this assignment) can be lacking in the transition department. You tell a story in less photos than a multimedia piece. THAT was, and still is, my hurdle right now. I have gone through the take several times and still can't seem to pull the story. Hopefully I'll be reediting with Rita Reed sometime this week to try and unearth a better story than the one I submitted. The 7 photos below are the 7 I printed for the story.

Disco Inferno Chili

2010-02-16T21:29:00.004-06:00

Our first assignment for Picture Story is to photograph a "one day story". I found a group in Columbia called CORE20. It's a group of businessmen who strive to give back to the community through volunteer work and fundraisers. This past weekend was the 5th annual Boys and Girls Club of Columbia Rootin' Tootin' Chili Cook Off. CORE20 competed for the second year in a row, and was looking to best their previous 2nd place finish in the people's choice award. I've edited it down to a 7 picture story, but thought I would get some more critique from my peers before I post a final product. In the meantime, here is an out take from the shoot. It happens to every photographer in their story-shooting career - You follow your subject into the bathroom. Some famous photos have come from photographers following subjects into the bathroom, and, when two of the guys went to go change, I went with them. Didn't get anything incredible, but snapped this shot just for fun.

Forgot to mention CORE20 themed their Chili stand "Disco Inferno Chili".

Mizzury

2010-02-05T16:13:00.005-06:00

Missouri, Missoura, Mizoura, Missery, whatever.

Apparently, it DOES snow in this place. Got lost with Chelsea Sektnan this afternoon. Froze my hands, probably trespassed, and got some fun shots. All in an hours+ work for a photog.

"On Being a Photographer"

2010-01-31T17:49:00.004-06:00

One of our weekend readings was a chapter from the book "On Being a Photographer" - a conversation between Magnum photographer David Hurn and the late photographer,professor, and author Bill Jay. The chapter is "Selecting a Subject", which touches on a crucial aspect of the photography process.

"The essential point (is) the subject matter you select must: a) fire your enthusiasm and curiosity for at least the length of time it will take to produce a meaningful body of work; b) lend itself to images, as opposed to words and; c) remain continuously accessible so that you can return time and again to the same topic whenever you wish or have time."

As photographers, we strive to live by this mantra. We know all too well what we produce if we don't follow these guidelines. That's not to say that everything we ever put in front of our lens always falls in line with this ideal, but it's what we want to accomplish in our search for meaningful photographic stories. I think the hardest part about this is taking the time for some introspection. That is - What does interest me. Sometimes I really don't know. There are sports, and people, and social issues, and places, but what about raw ideas? All too often the photographs we see in mainstream media are subject heavy. It's unfortunate, but it is also the nature of the medium. News photography, in this day and age, is the medium of death for meaningful photo-stories. You'd be hard pressed to find any in print in any given newspaper in the country. The death of the Rocky Mountain News sealed it.

"What is the alternative to an emphasis on subject matter? It is a frantic grasping for instant
gratification which all too often leads to works displaying visual pyrotechnics but of dubious depth and resonance. Photographers become pressured into a search for different-ness, a quest for new-ness which usually means an unusual technique: your dead-tree syndrome."

But how do we avoid this "dead-tree syndrome"? It can be very daunting to search for something new in photography without feeling like you are heading down a unlit path. If we are pressured into these things, yes, we usually, fail. But how can one find the environment which will sustain their lives, but still allow them the creative freedoms to search for the new and the different? If we devote our lives to a story, can we separate ourselves enough to still remain ethical "Photojournalists"?

"The fact is that all photographs, even of the most prosaic records of things, are subjective. They are made as a result of various decisions arising out of the mind of an individual. So inevitably that self will intrude on the picture-making process. It would be impossible to keep it out."

I found this quote to be a great summation of the idea that 100% objectivity is impossible. It is something that is often argued in the world of journalism. I think, as a photojournalist, once you come to this realization, you are free to let yourself explore the world more intimately. Of course, certain ethical rules still apply, but the idea of "objectivity" that was pounded into our brains in the early years has since been molded into more of a guide, rather than a rule.

Check out the chapter I posted. Bill Jay is sorrowfully missed in the photographic community and it is great to read his thoughts on photojournalism.

Lenswork and Bird by Bird

2010-01-29T15:18:00.002-06:00

For our reading discussion this week, we listened to some audio of Lenswork publishing editor Brooks Jensen, as well as diving into Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird".

"Success happens when opportunity meets preparation"

The opening quote of Jensen's podcast is a quote from Vince Lombardi, and re-quoted by Ansel Adams. However, Jensen goes on to say that, while it has merit, it has it's counterpart as well. That "Talent" is what differentiates one artist from another. Hard work definitely plays into it, but it's the genius of "Talent" that counts. But is it?

Jensen questions the assumption and I happen to agree with him. This idea that talent is the only way to get somewhere seems rather farfetched. I like the "10,000 hour" rule that is brought up, where, if any one person were to devote 10,000 hours to one particular skill or craft, they could achieve a relatively high level of proficiency. I feel that that assertion is correct. Given the opportunity to devote 10,000 hours to any one skill, I personally think I could become rather good at whatever it was. That's is roughly 416 days worth of practice. I don't care how bad you are at something, with that amount of time you could train yourself, as well as learn your potential, to a very large extent. I think it's evident in lots of photographic work, too. We are told time after time that it is going to take a few years before we truly begin to see our own "style". Yes, we may be unique already, but you still have to crank out those 10,000 hours before your "talent" can be properly honed in.

"Bird by Bird" looks to be an inspiring book. It is a guide for writers, but the words "write" and "writing" can be easily interchanged with "Photograph" and "Photographing". We've only read into it a little bit, but Anne Lamott is very good at laying out a way to adjust your psyche to deal with the stresses of "writing". We all take photos because we feel the NEED to. I liken it to the show Dexter - while it may be "wrong" to kill, Dexter HAS to. For us, it may be a poor career choice to some, but we don't care, we HAVE to photograph. Success rates are small and the payout is smaller, but somewhere in our minds it doesn't matter. We have a drive not for money or success, but a personal fulfillment to satisfy. Why? Who knows. While Lamott had her influences, we all had ours. In fact, you can read how everybody in my class got started on our class blog. It's interesting to see the differences and similarities in how our drive was born.

I also found this photo the other morning while wasting time on the internet. The man in the photo is photography, and we are the monkeys. Sometimes we love it, feed off it, and long for it. Other times, we want to beat it with a large stick.

New York Times: SUMO

2010-01-24T20:13:00.005-06:00

For my Capstone class, called "Picture Story and the Photographic Essay" we'll be posting to our blogs almost weekly. It's won't always be photos that I've taken, because most of our assignments are more long-term. However, that means we'll be looking at other peoples works and talking about story and style.

I found a slideshow/essay on the New York Times, published January 24th, 2010, on Sumo Wrestling in Japan. I found the coverage to be different that what I thought it would be. When I think of sports, I often picture peak action moments, but photographer Ko Sasaki showed us a little more. It's a mini essay on Sumo's presence in Japanese culture. What strikes me the most is the parallel you can see between American sports and Japanese Sumo. The 3rd photo can be seen in any sporting event, yet it is unique and speaks for the culture of Sumo. The 7th photo also caught my attention. Again, it speaks to a culture that is similar in many ways to our own, but completely different. Most American pound hotdogs and beer, but you'll never see a platter of sushi at a Yankees game. I find that the essay is presented in a much more comprehensive manner than most essays/stories that come out of sporting events.

Poker with good friends

2009-12-30T17:30:00.004-06:00

What is really nice about coming home is hanging out with a couple of good friends from high school. Poker is a popular pastime, and, while I'm no good, it is still a lot of fun. It gets pretty serious, as you can see, between playing our table, and multiple other tables online. Good times, good times.

Hoarfrost

2009-12-29T14:15:00.004-06:00

We had some really weird weather right around Christmas. Between rain, snow, and other wintery precipitation, the conditions were perfect for hoarfrost. Basically it's frozen fog that creates these loose crystal formations on the branches and other small object. Didn't last long cause the sun came out, but it was really pretty for a while.

High School

2009-12-18T21:33:00.004-06:00

Photographed a Rock Bridge girls varsity basketball game a few nights back. Thought I throw this outtake up. It just shouts "High School". If I was one of those bloggers who put music on their site that auto-starts when you load the page, "Party In the USA" would play right about now. That's because it is the song that covered halftime, when I took this shot. Yea.... High School.

Cage Fighting

2009-12-07T13:32:00.003-06:00

Helped my friend Chelsea photograph a cage fight for a multimedia piece for Vox. Had a great time and learned a lot about how to shoot an event like this. It was definitely challenging, but rewarding when I got the shots.

Why I Love My Job

2009-12-05T17:34:00.007-06:00

This job has it's ups and downs.
For example, today a friend and fellow photoj student John Schreiber had to cover the Kahler Funeral. The former director of Columbia Water & Light murdered his wife and two daughters in Kansas. Funerals can be a very difficult thing to shoot, and the situation surrounding John's ability to get access made it even worse. To top it off, he was publicly called a "Heartless son-of-a-bitch" and that, basically, he was on the express train to hell.
Definitely a down.
But for every instance of downs, you get rewarded by meeting some very amazing people. That is why I love this job. I get to explore the community and the people in it. Today, while on an assignment for VOX magazine, I met Hamp Ford. A medical malpractice defense lawyer and, more interstingly, Gypsy Horse enthusiast. Hamp and his wife invited me into their stable and were so proud of their beloved hobby - a family, and more, of Gypsy Horses.
Definitely worth it.

Computer Issues

2009-12-04T11:45:00.007-06:00

Ok, so according to 3rd party program "iStat" the reason my computer has been randomly shutting itself off on me is because it likes to run up to just under 250 degrees. When it gets there, the heat sensors probably initiate the emergency shut off. The thing is, according to iStat, it can fluctuate 100 degrees in a matter of seconds...... heat sensor broken maybe? Who knows, I can manage. However, while trying to export the large version of my Final Cut video, it kept running hot and turning off. Not good. Computer isn't under warranty and there are no *true* apple stores in Columbia.

Dilemma.

Dilemma Solved.

Taken with my phone, too.

Wild Canid Center, cont.

2009-12-03T14:29:00.005-06:00

I have finally assembled the project into an almost-final product. You can check it out on my Vimeo site. I also thought I'd add a little out take from my shoot. Please let me know what you think of the project, and I hope you enjoy it.

Trip-toe-van

2009-11-26T15:42:00.004-06:00

Just some shots from my Thanksgiving. As I write this, my girlfriend is asleep on my bed, my sister is curled up under the covers of her bed watching episodes of Friends, and my parents are slowing passing out while watching a movie in their room..... Success I think, no?

The 'Rents

My sister

And yes, what is a Millbrook Thanksgiving without Millbrook wine??

Final Project - The Wild Canid Center

2009-11-20T13:35:00.004-06:00

My final project story for staff class at the Missourian is on the Wild Canid Center, in Eureka, MO. They are a canine conservation and rehabilitation center and house 5 species of endangered canines. Two species are currently being bred for reintroduction programs across the country. I spent a day photographing the wolves on Wednesday, and just got done with some video footage today. Thought I'd share some shots. Look for the final product in the coming week.

Mexican Grey Wolf

African Wild Dogs

Mexican Grey Wolf

Fire Training

2009-11-17T11:32:00.004-06:00

This has been my favorite assignment this semester so far. It got to attend a joint "man down" training exercise with Boone County and City of Columbia fire departments. They worked through several different scenarios and I got to be there with them for each one. A reporter was there to gather audio and it went up as a soundslides online. I've posted my favorites.

It was definitely the most challenging assignment as well. The building was pitch black so everything is lit with a strobe as well as blending with the ambient rays of light. I was nervous that I wouldn't be getting stuff cause my strobe skills are still in the works, but everything seemed to work out great and I had a blast doing it.

Kansas City Zoo

2009-11-15T13:48:00.006-06:00

As part of my Intro to Captive Wild Animal Management class, we had to take part in a "field experience". With the way my schedule worked, I signed up for the Kansas City Zoo trip. We got a little bit of the behind-the-scenes tour, but were mostly just ushered through the zoo rather quickly. Not a lot of time to sit and watch the animals, but oh well. I finally got to take some big glass (Nikon 300mm F/2.8) and, besides waking up really really early, had a pretty good day. I'm posting my 3 favorite.

Nature playing "hide-and-go-seek"

Race and the Police - Published

2009-11-13T12:48:00.003-06:00

My Race and the Police photo illustration was published today. We had a big conversation about it in my critique class. If you check my previous post, I posted the photo the way I envisioned it. An editor pitched the idea of cuffing together a black arm and white arm - I took that into the studio, added color for the "police" part, and got the image you saw before. However, when it came out today in print, the arms had been pulled off the background and put on a Black&White split backdrop. At first, I was upset to see my photo chopped up and my color completely left out, but after talking with my Director Of Photography, I understand why they did it.

The reasoning was, that, with a black and white split backdrop like that, it made a more complete package. The way it came out on the front page, was a large, vertical spot, with opposite inverted text. It worked well as a package deal, whereas, if my color photo ran, not only would it have looked little off (color printing can be tricky - the blue may have come out a little purple), but it just would have been Headline - Photo - Text. I was upset about the whole ordeal for maybe about 5 minutes, then I got over it. Welcome to the world of Photo Illustrations.

Veteran's Day Parade

2009-11-12T16:34:00.004-06:00

My latest assignment was the local Veteran's Day Parade in Columbia. The Missourian pulled 13 images that were put into a slide show. I've also attached another photo that I like that didn't make the cut.

Also, this week I found out that I was chosen to participate in the News21 Fellowship. I was awarded $7500 to participate in a program that seeks to explore new and innovative ways of storytelling and presenting journalism to the public. I will find out my host school in the coming weeks, but have my hopes set on Maryland where I will partake in multimedia and environmental reporting in the Chesapeake Bay area.

Sun Dog

2009-11-11T21:51:00.003-06:00

My father recently photographed, with his cell phone, the atmospheric phenomena called a Sun Dog, or more formally, a Parhelion. It is caused by the refraction of light high up in the atmosphere by hexagonal shaped ice crystals, usually in Cirrus clouds. You can read the wikipedia page for more and check out the google images for some really amazing images.

Radiation Spill

2009-11-05T13:23:00.002-06:00

I'll be honest. I was looking for spiders... and hoping one would bite me. But no such luck. I did however get to see my first Geiger counter in action. It was a minor spill of Phosphorous 32, but a cleanup was still required. You can read the story for more.

Race and Police

2009-11-03T17:48:00.008-06:00

This is a photo illustration I did for a piece on "Race and the Police" in Columbia. Special thanks to Jarrad Henderson, Joel Kowsky, and Vivian Esparza for all their help. Special thanks to Josh Bickel who did some color retouching.

Pink Hijab Day

2009-11-02T11:28:00.012-06:00

Thanks to two of my good photo friends, I now have the ability to post photos MUCH larger than before. I blew up my last post to make sure it works, and it looks so much better. On that note, I'd thought I'd blog some photos from a recent assignment. It was Pink Hijab Day on Wednesday. The MU Muslim Student's Organization had a table outside Memorial Union promoting breast cancer awareness. They donned pink Hijabs in support, but it was also to help break down the stereotypes surrounding Muslim women. A representative from the group told me that they wore them to make people feel more comfortable and therefore more likely to approach them. You can check out a soundslides that ran in the Missourian here. I'm posting a few here to take advantage of my new larger format.