a look back

This year has been a crazy one. I have come a long way since January and I couldn't have gotten to the place I'm at today without the help of many. I have met some amazing people and learned so much from them this year. Here is a (warning) BIG edit of my favorites from 2009. Some of them are personal, some are just fun.

See you all in 2010.

Ode to Maggie

The first photojournalist I ever studied was Margaret Bourke-White. This was at Knox in my "photojournalism" class that was really an art/photoshop class. We were supposed to choose a photographer and imitate their style. The most I learned from her back then was how to shoot "wide". Before that I didn't really know how to photograph people without being super tight.

This semester for my Introduction to Women's Studies class I chose to write my final paper on her. She was truly an amazing woman. She was one of few photographers allowed to shoot in Soviet Russia and she was a war photographer for Life magazine. She was also one of a few photographers who took photos during the liberation of the concentration camps in Nazi Germany. Life magazine's first cover was by Bourke-White.

This photo is my ode to one of my heroes. I've been trying to photograph this tree downtown for about 6 months. I noticed the way the light hit it at a certain time of day once while driving by and I never forgot it. I finally caught it at the right time of day today. I tried shooting it from street level but it didn't look the way I wanted it to. So I ended up climbing up into gardens that are stacked like stairs on the side of an office building accross the street. I then had to grab onto the ledge of the rooftop next to me and inch accross about 20 feet and while hanging partially over the edge, I took my photo.
I like to think that Margaret, who was no stranger to hanging over the edges of buildings to get the shot, would be proud.

“I did not know till later that the crew members had placed bets on me. If we were attacked, would the waist gunner knock me out so he could defend our airplane, or would I knock out the waist gunner so I would have room to take pictures?”–Margaret Bourke-White

Dirty hands afterwards.

the sweetest dreams

I am done with fall semester as of today. Sleepy time?

Natalie and Spanky

Parade of Lights

I was going to leave these in color, I swear, but I started converting them and liking the conversions much more because a lot of them were inspired by the light. I felt that for most of them, the colors distracted.

So here's the Parade of Lights in black and white:

Not sure this one was worth getting trampled for...

Last Call

This Tuesday we published our last issue of the semester.

Suddenly I find myself in December. The night dominates, the shadows are so long they seem to bend around corners and the sun sets before dinnertime. It's hard for me to believe that I've been at Metro for nearly a year. I have been at The Met for less time, so I looked over all my clips from that time and decided to post my favorites and most memorable.

My first clip:

My first front page photo at a paper:

I think our design has come a long way since this one, but I worked on this story for about three weeks:

I rarely enjoy rallies, but this one had great light and a really amazing father:

I was unhappy with my photos for this one, but this story reminded me of why I love being a photojournalist. I got to watch as they announced that this boy's wish would be granted through "Make-A-Wish" after years of waiting:

I had a little too much fun with this one:

My favorite front:

I have learned not only layout, but also how to write my stories:

One of my favorite layouts:

Who doesn't like burlesque and pretty photo layouts?

New Years Resolution: Get more photographers and somehow keep them.

black, white and red

"The word is about, there's something evolving

Whatever may come, the world keeps revolving

They say the next big thing is here

That the revolution's near

But to me it seems quite clear

That it's all just a little bit

of history repeating

Then newspapers shout a new style is growing

But it don't know if it's coming or going

There is fashion, there is fad

Some is good, some is bad

And the joke is rather sad

That its all just a little bit

of history repeating"

-- Shirley Bassey

mocking disaster

It's been a long day. When we were finished with production night last night at about 3:30am, I made the decision not to go to bed because I had to go shoot a "mock disaster" at 7am the "next" day. Like I said, it's been a long day.

Tried black and white today.

rhythm & soul

I had a lot of fun shooting the drumming ensemble performance for this week's center spread.

the crawl

Zombie crawl in downtown Denver Saturday night.

just for now.

I feel as though it's been a while since I've taken significant photos. I get antsy, depressed and anxious the longer I go without my camera.

Sometimes, when I don't have my real camera, I've got my phone. Thought I would share some random phone photos taken with my crappy VENUS over the last year.

This was taken at the "future of journalism forum". In my mind, this captures what everyone was feeling.

Ten points if you can name this lobby. Hint: They are reading its newspaper.