Rockford is only about 1.5-2 hours northwest of Chicago. So it’s kind of sad that in my three years here, I haven’t gone into the city to see the sites even once. The last time I went around Chicago for leisure purposes was in fifth grade when we took a class trip from Kentucky. My girlfriend, Erin, has wanted to show me around the city for some time now. This last week, we were able to get the time to […]
I don’t always jump at the idea of waking up early. But when I had an opportunity to hop in the passenger seat of a Cessna to take sunrise aerials around Rockford, I had trouble sleeping. I had a whole list of places to photograph from above. The main shot needed to be an iconic shot of downtown Rockford. Here are a few of my favorites from the morning.
August was a busy month for photographers at the Rockford Register Star. We were brainstorming and shooting our annual Gridiron preview section. This special section releases on the day of the first high school game each season. Each team in the NIC-10 conference has a page featuring a portrait, a story and other related information. Each year has a theme. Two years ago, the portraits mimicked famous album covers. The layout was reminiscent of the Billboard Top 100 chart. Last […]
Spot news has a tendency to come and go in waves. Sometimes, there is a long dry spell. Other times, it’s a downpour. Of the spot news incidents photojournalists cover, hazardous material spills aren’t very common. June let me hit my hazmat quota for the year. Let me rewind. The last hazmat issue I can remember covering was when I was an intern in St. Louis. The Charter Communications headquarters received letters contaminated with a powdery substance. The powder was […]
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 […]