I managed to rake in a few awards at this year’s Illinois Press Association editorial contest. The Rockford Register Star claimed six awards total. My photo of Byron’s Hunter Hill received second place in Personality Portrait, Division F. A shot that barely made it in the 2012 calendar year received third place in Spot News Photo, Division F. I don’t put a lot of weight in contests. Everything about them is subjective. A photo could do really well in one contest […]
For years and years, I’ve been shooting with the same camera. A trusty and reliable Canon EOS 1D Mark II (or Mark IIN). It may have been the finest 8 megapixel camera ever made. With that being said, it was getting a little long in tooth. Canon (and I’m sure other camera brands) only service their cameras for so long. After eight years or so, they stop manufacturing parts for and supporting “experienced” camera bodies. The 1d Mark II recently […]
Wrestling may not be in the Olympics by the end of the decade but in Northern Illinois, it will be just as popular as ever. I got my first taste of wrestling in high school. I was dragged in by a good friend that helped start our school’s team. As a new team, we weren’t very good. Wrestling in the 189-pound weight class, I was especially bad. You’d think that some of my opponents wrestled cattle. They were solid muscle. […]
On Sunday, I went out to a fire at an apartment complex on Rockford’s southeast side. When I arrived, I saw something that was new to me. A dog was laying in the parking lot under blankets breathing through an oxygen mask. A firefighter came over to adjust the mask. He also tried to comfort the dog. No people were injured in the fire but one dog did die. The pictured dog is reportedly recovering well.