Wow

I updated both of my blogs today...

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/behindthefold/story/286569.html

Horses at the Fair

I hung out for about an hour yesterday at the Fair and put together a little photo gallery.

Here are my two favorites from the take.


Here, a very responsible 11-year-old cleans her horse's hoof before competing in bareback competition. I think it's a good argument that all little girls should get ponies...you know, to build character and instill work ethic.


A funny little guy then excitedly introduced me to all the horses that his extended family owned. Here, he's bragging about how a horse in a nearby stall blew diarrhea all over the stall.

New blog

I've just started one at the Herald.

Check it out at: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/1390

I'll still try to update this one in online-diary fashion, however.

Another Pseudo Update

I'm still trying to get better at this newfangled video stuff. What I've found most helpful in this process is actually editing my own footage. Nothing reminds you better about shooting more variety in your b-roll than not having enough while you're slapping something together.

Here's a recent one from a fun story about Wii being implemented in physical therapy for some Wiihabilitation.

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/958/story/268883.html

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Photo Galleries

Like so many of my self-improvement resolutions, the one to update my blog more frequently hasn't held true.

In my defense, the last two weeks have been hectic between my car dying in Seattle and boat race weekend, but even without that, this update would've been a month and a half late.

Oops.

In lieu of a legit update, here are links to some recent photo galleries I put together.

Baseball
Little Kids Baseball
Flea Market
July 4th Parade
Talent Show
Partners N Pals

A real update to come soon...I promise.

Pomp and Circumstance

Covering Walla Walla high school's graduation last year caused me to dread this year's round of coverage. The rigid affair was preceded by pat-downs for students.

This isn't a violent school. They weren't searching for weapons. They weren't even searching for drugs or alcohol. They were looking for beach balls and silly string. Needless to say, I was happy to see this during the ceremony.

Apparently, students had taped deflated inflatables, such as this orifice-equipped sheep (which I thought looked bovine), to the undersides of their chairs.

Clever.

Now, I understand a certain level of decorum should be present at these commencements, but to stifle the graduates' fun as much as they did takes the day away from them.

As the first smuggled beach balls started bouncing around, the veins in the administrators' heads protruded. When one got away from the crowd, they would angrily chase and stomp them down. I only wish I would've been more on top of my game to capture one of those moments.

As this past weekend loomed, I kept my expectations low. It didn't help that I had to photograph these two students who wouldn't be graduating earlier in the week.

The two had recently come to the U.S. from Sudan and India, where neither spoke English as their first or second language. After barely failing to pass the standardized WASL examinations, they were denied a chance to graduate with their classmates. You can read the full story here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/202556.html

So with low expectations in hand, I set out to cover this milestone for a couple hundred local students. As it has been with several assignments with low expectations, however, I was pleasantly surprised with my three: Othello, Connell and Kiona-Benton High Schools. Here are a few of my favorites, and you can see more at our graduation galleries: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/gradgalleries/

Bad Juju

I love shooting sports, but I loathe covering the Tri-Cities Fever, our local AF2 indoor football team. I think I'd be able to enjoy watching a game through a standard-lowering fog of beer, but covering it is torture.

There are few places to shoot from, a lot of tedious entertainment during the downtime, and the offense hinges on long bombs. All of this takes place on uneven, worn turf that you can trip on while walking around on it.

Now I have to add bodies in the river to that list of grievances.

Of the two games I have shot this year, both have been preceded by waiting in a Richland park for rescue crews to fish bodies out of the Columbia River.



"Where are the bodies?!" you may be screaming through your foam-coated teeth.

Well, we have a strict no body policy and even though the second guy survived (and is still in critical condition last I heard), the possibility of death was enough to nix the shots I had of dive rescue fishing him out.

Odds are, tonight's Fever game won't bring on a wet body hat trick (that would've been more clever if it was a hockey game), but as I prepare for work, I can't help but notice the dreary, windy, gray and, dare I say, deathly weather we're having today.

Wish me luck.