Picture Stories
The Animal Cops
A few weeks ago, a reporter here asked if I’d be interested in working on a story about Metro Animal Control here in Casper. He said they’d let me ride along with them as they caught dogs and cats, so I figured why not.
Fair warning: You will see dead animals below.
Here’s a few from half-a-day with them.
Jeral, the animal control officer I hung out with for a bit.
Some dogs won’t walk along with you, he said.
After an animal is brought in, they have to be checked and vaccinated.
Not as ferocious as he looks. I think he just needed a chew toy.
Cleaning the pens.
The not-so-glamorous part of the job.
The animal pit. Yeah, where they put roadkill and the like.
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.
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.
The Owens’: Saying Thanks
Last Sunday, I decided to drop back by the Owens’ in Sturgeon to bring them a few copies of the paper and a DVD of images I shot of Averi during my assignment. I was also asked if I could come back and photograph some more (they said yes) and just to say hi.
When I walked in the door, I saw Jill Halliburton from another family we profiled in our piece. A happy coincidence. The two mothers were positioning their babies on the couch (Wyatt was fussy, Averi was curious) so they could take a picture of the two together. Of course, while they were there the moms had to snap away.
“What’s this for?” I asked.
“Oh, well we wanted to put an ad in the paper to say thanks for doing the story and for the people who came to the benefit,” Amber said.
Somebody who actually wanted to thank us. Looks like we got it right.
The Owens’
This past Tuesday, I got an assignment to photograph two families in Sturgeon. Both have small children with severe medical conditions, and one, 6-month-old Averi Owens, has a very rare and incurable genetic disorder.
I called Amber, Averi’s mom, the day before and asked if I could come over and hang out a little bit before our reporter, Jodie Jackson, Jr., arrived to interview. I was there for a couple of hours, chatting with Amber and the hospice nurse, making faces at Averi and making photos. I’m grateful for how immediately open the family was with me, and I’d be lying if I said little Averi didn’t tug at my heart.
Amber, 29, left, looks at her 6-month-old daughter, Averi, at their home in Sturgeon. Averi was born with a rare, incurable and terminal genetic disorder, and may not see her first birthday. Before having Averi, Amber and her husband, Billy, had a son, Parker, who was diagnosed with the same disorder. “This time around, I kept asking ‘Why? Why again?’” Amber said. “This has tested my faith.”
Hospice nurse Debbie Williams plays with Averi’s hand.
Amber plays with Averi after suctioning liquids out of her mouth. Averi’s disorder primarily affects brain development, but also affects Averi’s ability to eat, suck or swallow. Because of this, Averi must have excess liquids removed from her mouth to avoid pulmonary aspiration.
A small image depicting Jesus Christ hangs on the wall inside the Owens’ Sturgeon home.
Amber wraps her arms around Averi.
Amber Owens, 29, gives Averi a kiss on the cheek.
Amber gives Averi an IV drug before putting her to bed. Because of her disorder, Averi suffers from seizures, which she is given drugs to help repress.
Jodie wrote a really great story about the Owens and another family, the Halliburtons. Well worth a read.
The Dream Deferred
Earlier this week, I went out with Greg Harmon, a sales associate with ReMax who’s job is to identify and assess foreclosed properties. It was probably the most interesting story I’ve worked on, especially because as we were driving around, he would point to houses, often times right next to each other, and say, “That house is in foreclosure…so’s that one.” Tribune reporter Kris Hilgedick wrote a great piece as well.
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The number of foreclosures in Boone County is on pace to set a new record this year. There were 294 foreclosures in the county in the first 10 months of the year, up from 247 in 2009 and 253 in 2008, according to the Boone County Recorder of Deeds.
Sole Man
I picked up a really cool business assignment last week at Dawson’s Shoe Repair. The store has been around since 1956, and Bob Wood, the man who runs it now, is the third-generation owner of the store. I’d always wanted to go in there and check it out when I was a grad student at MU, but never did for some reason. Now, I finally had my chance.
I also really enjoyed T.J. Greaney’s story. A good read on a Saturday morning.
James
I had my very own “Cynicism Can Suck It” moment this week.
A couple of weeks ago, I met the Mugabo family. Immigrants from Rwanda, they’re originally from Congo, but fled the violence there and went to a refugee camp in Rwanda. Eventually, they made it to Columbia. About a month ago, the father, Jean-Marie, drowned in Stephens Lake, leaving behind a wife and seven children, one of whom is 16-year-old James, his oldest.
James is going to grow up a lot. He has to learn how to drive, to communicate (his mother speaks very little English) and to take responsibility for himself and his family. The family has already graciously opened up their home to myself, so we’ll see where this story goes.
On a side note — and the real reason cynicism can bite me — I was out yesterday with James and a family friend, Wissel, while Wissel was giving James some driving lessons. Wissel got a call from somebody who had volunteered to fix up the family’s van, and we went to pick it up. I thought the couple who volunteered knew James’s family through church, but they actually volunteered to help the family out after reading a Tribune article that I shot a photo for. I can’t begin to describe the personal feeling that I had knowing this story caused somebody to act.
So there, anyone who tells you that journalism can’t make a difference, tell them to take a walk.
A Good One
I just finished one of the best days I’ve ever had as a photographer. I didn’t shoot anything amazing, but I connected with a stranger and my peers.
I want more. This is why I came here. To feel that connection, to know that I did something worthwhile today. Something that I can feel good about, and that my subjects and peers respect.
So, for all those who participated in the workshop today, thanks for the resounding “yes!”when this image came up on screen.
I think David will like it…
