happy fourth

I have been shooting a lot of fight-related stuff recently. To borrow a line from the photog next to me, it's a tough way to make a living.


This one's from a UFC media workout.


and happy birthday dad!

the oddest presidential campaign picture you will ever see (readers say)

Because Nevada is a swing state, McCain and Obama come through Vegas like it's going out of style. Obama was here yesterday.



within a couple of hours of being posted on the online front, there was no shortage of critiques:

Steve T wrote on June 25, 2008 05:27 PM: A mccain supporter of note was an invisible ghost wearing a cowboy hat.

Area 51 wrote on June 25, 2008 05:49 PM: A large UFO in the shape of a Stetson was seen hovering near the Republican presidential nominee during his visit to Las Vegas. Dennis Kucinich later commented "I told you so."

Suffering Homeowner wrote on June 25, 2008 07:11 PM: What kind of a weirdass Beyondo shot is that? Last time I looked this isn't a San Francisco paper.

Sad Summerlin wrote on June 25, 2008 08:45 PM: Not only is this probably the oddest presidential campaign picture you will ever see, but it really shows the place that the RJ must hold at campaign rallies.

Barry H. wrote on June 25, 2008 10:02 PM: Finally, a photo that captures the true essence of republicans; all hat and no cattle.

lol. at least people are talking about photos.

I don't know why...

but I like this picture from the gallery I went to today.

good things come in threes

Of course for the first day of summer we needed a feature. I got my first front page image. yay.

The high was 107 F. I really wanted to get in with them but knew that it was probably that I would fall, taking all of my gear with me.




This was just from Father's Day. Features did a story about nicknames dads gave to their kids. This is Hannibal, Crash and Liquid.

showgirls

Features is doing a piece about pregnant showgirls and girls that are moms. Jennifer, left, is a goddess. Cece is pretty sweet too.

olympic trials

I had today off, and little on my agenda so I went with the other intern, Jason, to shoot the U.S. Olympic Team trials for wrestling. The guys who won two out of three matches are headed for Beijing. It's nice to have two people on an assignment so that you can try different angles and switch it up a bit.

without further ado...

here are are a few pictures from the first couple of weeks, in no particular order.

This is the Strip skyline on the way back from another assignment:



There's a column called 'Road Warrior" that needs art every week of, basically, cars driving down the road. This time I had to show semis in the left lane.




And of course, sports:



But as is usual in my sports shooting, I was looking for interesting people in between my main action shooting. Between the second and third period, these ladies, who are ushers, shared grievances.



and entertainment. Thursday night was Stone Temple Pilots.



this woman was awesome



and then, Friday, Panic at the Disco.
I don't know any of their songs, but I do know that this is one of my little sister's favorite bands. So, here's to you kid: the slideshow on the r-j website

I'll end on what I think is the most important picture I've taken so far, for both me and those who are pictured.

I have never really photographed grief. I don't know if I could have without reading Dave LaBelle's book, "Lessons in Death and Life." It's absolutely essential for photojournalists who struggle with just this.

These kids are friends of an 18-year-old who was gunned down in a drive-by. Sadly, this isn't that rare in Vegas.