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Tag : rockford

Aerial photo shoot over Rockford

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.        

Gridiron Preview 2013: How the shots were made

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 […]

A week of Hazmat

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 […]

The 1DX and the daily grind

Let’s be honest. Many of the assignments photojournalists are sent to are mundane. Most of our sports assignments are at high schools. Most of the politicians we photograph  are members of the city council or county board. So how does the 1DX hold up with the daily grind of a photojournalist? Very, very well. Let’s start with the easy thing. Sports. As I mentioned in my previous post about this camera, the auto focus speed and accuracy is incredible. Twelve […]

First responders and mans best friend

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.