Currently listening to: Push by Common Market

Trying to crank out something interesting from day to day is tough but you have to push through and often have to look beyond the routine to get to the good stuff. Hopefully this counts as some of that. Here’s six.

Currently listening to: Vitamin by Incubus

The weather is changing. And by that I mean fall came, and then winter,  and now fall has returned in the Flathead Valley. Speaking of changes, I’ve noticed a need for some changes I need to make in my work. The contrast of wide and tight shots can be a great thing, but I’m finding it needs to executed with more thought on my end. The two examples from this post are fairly obvious (see below), with the young girl being consoled and the soccer player going for a header. I knew I wanted to focus on the emotion of the moment, so I was sure to zoom in. Conversely, I shot the game action wide in an attempt to get some anxious faces (the white team, Glacier High, was en route to a come from behind victory). Understanding what elements are playing into the story often dictate what to include in an image. Being conscious of how the lack of elements can add to understanding a story or moment better is something I’m working to improve on in order to be more conscience in what I’m attempting to represent day in and day out. Anyway, enough rambling – here’s six. 

Currently listening to: This Shameless Moment by Saxon Shore

It’s been a crazy few weeks since I’ve posted. Between getting in a car accident and a forest fire occurring after fire season was thought to be done, each day has been an experience within itself. It can be stressful and frustrating,but only on the rare occasion be dull. Here’s six that I hope don’t bore you.

Currently listening to: My Only Swerving by El Ten Eleven

With it being three weeks since my last post, I figured I was past due. Summer is coming to a quick end but everything is staying fairly green for the time being, or so it seems considering a good amount of it in being in these five shots:

Currently listening to: Hard to be by David Bazan

A good amount of people, animals and colorful scenes plagued the fairgrounds last week and I was there for a great deal of it.  Shooting rodeo for the first time was pretty fun, but would love to be able to experiment with some different angles next year. School and fall sports start this week so look for more sports shots in the next round of posts. Until then, I hope you enjoy these shots. If you’d like to see more of my and the other photographer at my newspaper’s takes from the week, CLICK HERE to view a gallery.

Currently listening to: Torches Together by mewithoutyou 

It’s been just over a year since I started this blog. A year ago this week I was starting my first internship at the Wood River Journal. Another internship and three locations later I’ve been blessed with a staff photographer position at the Daily Inter Lake. I feel like my eye and knack for telling a story visually has taken some positive strides with plenty of room for improvement, chief of which is learning to step back and survey the scene and identify what exactly I’m trying to communicate before jumping in headfirst to a scene. Positively, I’m excited to be working on/developing some long term stories. It should be interesting to see where those ideas will take me with regard to how I try to find a connection with a subject while remaining objective to the story itself. That being said, here’s a few recent images. Next week is the region’s state fair so look for plenty of fun shots will be posted next week.

Currently listening to: Glasshouse Tarot by Sparta

It’s hard to believe there’s less than a month left of a summer. I’m hoping to cram in more photos of people enjoying lake activities as well as finally making use of the fact that I live so close to a national park and making some nature and wildlife photos in Glacier Park before school and prep sports start up again. For now, here’s a small collection of images from the last two weeks. If you’re looking for a trend, I’m still shooting and cropping too wide, especially for a newspaper photojournalist. As always, just another thing to work on and develop.

Currently listening to: Sorry About Your Irony by El Ten Eleven

Another delay in posting, but here are a few images to share from last week. My computer refuesed to turn back on after loading images from the a Fourth of July parade in Seeley Lake. Other than the image to the right that was of course taken late in the evening after the parade, I wasn’t overly excited about any of the images I found on my restored laptop. I always feel rushed to shoot everything right in front of me at parades because once they go by, that’s sort of it. I’ve noticed I take this rapid fire, action approach more often than not with my assignments. Hopefully my photographs can start reflecting the bit of time I should invest in looking beyond the first thing I see and creating an image that shows a better and deeper level of understanding. After all, the best images are ones that communicate and create a sense of empathy between the subject and the viewer. Enough text, here’s six.

Look for Rodeo images next week. 

Currently listening to: Shiver by Coldplay

As the co-pilot put so simply, “There’s nothing like it”. The silver lining of the plane gleamed in the sunlight as it landed and pulled closer to me and other members of the media. The engine kept going for a bit, muting any conversation being had around the plane due to massive volume of the machine. Finally the engine turned off and I began taking pictures of both the inside and outside of the plane, just waiting for the official word to strap myself in and head up into the air. Unfortunately, this had to wait a day because of insurance papers taking their time getting to the airport authority. But sure enough, we were in the sky the next day. Being able to say I got to ride in the nose of a WWII bomber (see image below) is definitely something I won’t soon forget. Click here for the audio slideshow.

Scope on Machine Gun

Bomb Release

A view

My sitting position in the nose of the plane

Look for a post next week with images from this week’s work. I’ll be shooting Fourth of July celebrations in Seeley Lake over the weekend. Hopefully I get some images that are soaked in red, white, and blue.

Currently listening to: Blue Ridge Mountains by Fleet Foxes

Another slightly overdue post, but here are a few images from last week, starting with Kalispell’s first gay pride parade held last weekend. 

Dance Dance

Loose Ball on Double Play Attempt

Trampoline and Pigskin Fun

 Forgive the lack of content in this post, I can assure I will have more images next week, considering my assignment tomorrow. A WWII bomber that doubles as a museum will be in town, and I’ll be heading up in the air in it along with other members of the press and members of the public who would consider it an affordable cost. If you’d like to see other images of mine, I did update my sportsshooter page earlier in the week if you’d like to check it out. Otherwise, look for images from the sky and inside the war plane early next week.