Anderson Funeral

This was a hard one to shoot since I had gotten to know Dante last month when I shot him as one of the Gainesville Sun's players of the year. And the accident in which he died was right in front of the Gainesville Sun office and my apartment.
He was a good sport for the portrait I did of him. I just wish it wasn't the last photo taken of him. I do remember telling him to imagine he was posing for something big like Sports Illustrated and that made him smile. I'm sure in a few years he would have been.

On the Railroad

I shot this little guy for the cover of next week's Scene magazine to illustrate the Yulee Days Festival that will be going on in Archer.
He wasn't too bad. Although his mother informed me when they got there that he had decided overnight that this may not be as cool as he had originally thought and wasn't all that happy during the car ride there. Great.
But once he realized I knew he didn't think it was cool to be dressed up like a train conductor, and once I got him to start talking about something he actually likes, Star Wars, then everything went smoothly.
He never did really smile. But I think that may have been a bit too cheesy anyway.
I like the last of these three, an outtake of him sticking his tongue out at his sister who was holding my light stand in the wind. Now that's a normal 6-year-old.

Unseen fund-raiser

This performance was part of a fund-raiser for the Chrysalis Community. The organization called the next day and told us they changed their minds and didn't want any photos to run with the article.
The Chrysalis program is for prostitutes to change their lives and get off the streets.

Softball Weekend

Gator softball girls win NCAA Regional Title
and move onto Super Regionals

I had softball duty this weekend, three days of games.

But it was worth it in the end. The girls walked away with the tournament title.

Weather Feature

Nothing like a last minute feature request.
And if it's weather that's a plus.Local artist trying to beat the rain while painting the clouds at Paynes Prairie.

WorkLife Portrait

My options were:

1. Messy and cramped office.
2. New EMPTY office that business is moving into.
3. Small lab with a machine that looked semi-impressive.

And on top of all that the CEO had on a shirt the same exact color as the machine.
I chose a yellow filter to place on the light to the back left of the CEO and had an umbrella give just a bit of fill to the front of him (which is really hard to see).
Not bad since he didn't want us in the lab for more than 15 mins, including set-up and break-down time.

05.16.07 Ride of Silence

FIRE FIRE FIRE

This is from a week's worth of covering the Bugaboo Fire.

Zucchini Festival

My only break from fire coverage until today. The Zucchini Festival in a small small town.

Wildfire week begins... 05.09.07

The north central Florida fires have certainly gained attention in the past week and I have been there covering almost everyday of it. These are from my first day out. Gov. Crist was touring Fla. that day to see how bad the wildfires across the state were.

Buddhists Come to Lake Santa Fe

For a story on the local Buddhist community planning to build a sanctuary on Lake Santa Fe we not only hiked through the property guided by one of the monks, but also visited with Melrose community members to gauge their reaction.
Let's just say the two worlds are as different as night and day.

Prom 2007: The Rising Cost of Tradition

In March and April I attended two local high school proms for a story of the tradition of prom and how it's becoming more and more expensive to attend each year.
The students I talked to had to pay $40-50 for just their prom tickets.
One girl had paid $600 for a dress.
Either way it was definitely prom.
Students were kicked out for being drunk and there were plenty of teenage hormones going around to account for all the bumping and grinding on the dance floor.
Prom 2007 Soundslides

Kentucky Derby

just a few...

2nd in Hearst - Photo Story Category

Imprisoned Innocence takes 2nd in Hearst photo stories.

I'm not a big contest person but here's one for the resume.