Features
James: An MPW Outtake
I’ve been in Clinton, Mo., all week for the Missouri Photo Workshop. Describing it as intense would be an understatement, but it was an amazing experience and I met and photographed a very gracious family for four days. Whoa.
Here’s just an extra frame from the workshop. James decided to play under the blanket one afternoon after school. He got tired for a minute.
Pool Hall
Needed a quick feature, so I decided to head over to the senior center. Never lets me down.
John Patton, center, of Evansville, lets out a laugh while playing a game of billiards at the Casper Senior Center Aug. 29, 2011.
Ode to Summer
I hung out at a county fair for a couple of days earlier this week for a small project I wanted to shoot. While I was hanging out with these kids, I made this frame, and thought of Amanda Lucier.
Jeffrey City: The Split Rock
I’ve started working on a project with our energy reporter, Jeremy Fugleberg, about Jeffrey City. I’ve driven through the old uranium mining town a few times before and always wanted to do something long-term there. We’re not quite sure yet the angles we’re going to cover, but for now I’m content with just hanging out with the (50) locals. Last weekend, the Split Rock Bar and Cafe (the town’s only establishment) had a grand re-opening and I decided to go down to hang out, make a few friends and eat as much as I wanted.
Everybody was great. I helped barbecue, fill water balloons and managed to have a couple beers and snap a few frames while there.
Here’s one I liked. Cliche reflection? Sure. But it’s hard to focus on photographing when I’m running around introducing myself.
More to come, I promise.
Buckethead
Just one from a feature hunt. Our heat wave topped out around 98 degrees. Blistering by Wyoming standards.
Allen Franklin, 7, shades himself with a large plastic bucket while playing in Washington Park July 27, 2011 during Beach Day.
Ol’ MacDonald’s Farm
I love the county fair.
It stinks, it’s hot and the carnival rides always rip you off.
It’s summer.
This year, I decided to bust out an old Zenza Bronica and shoot portraits of the kids competing in the 4-H and FFA competitions. Not entirely sure why I decided to pursue this subject, but I figured that kids would be pretty eager to show off their animals (which they were) and I’d be able to work with them a little when shooting portraits. I found myself posing the kids a few times, but often just sat and waited until they looked “portrait-like” on their own.
I rarely shoot portraits, let alone on film, so this was a fun challenge. Maybe Dan Cepeda is rubbing off on me.
Abby Faxon, 12. // Wilson Stewart, 14.
Spencer Cuthbertson, 12. // Ben Campbell, 12.
Matasha Hock, 15. // Korina Potter, 14.
Taya Steffens, 10. // Hayden Loflin, 14.
Leland Mooren, 11. // Savannah Housholder, 12, and Ben Steffens, 12.
Cora’s Community Heart
Last week, I worked on a story with Star-Tribune (and fellow Mizzou alum) Kelsey Dayton about Cora, Wyoming’s post office, which is being considered for closure by the U.S. Postal Service in order to cut costs. In Cora (which has about 75 residents) the building is more than a mailbox, it’s the center, and only significant building, in town.