In my experience, the cold months are usually slow when it comes to spot news. Sure, you have accidents due to snow and ice, as well as a house fire or two. But overall, spot news is usually down. That has not been my experience during the last four months or so. I can’t count how many times I’ve been called out of bed in the morning or told to leave an assignment to get to breaking news these last […]
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 […]
At the end of the year, many “best of” contests roll around. This year has been no different. It requires you to go back through all of your work to find those few images that stand out from the crowd. The problem with this is that some images are personally significant because of challenges and problems that were overcome to make the photograph. Those don’t win contests. The judges don’t see the back story. Here are a handful of images […]
Photojournalists usually have a favorite part of the job. Some love shooting sports. Others enjoy shooting concerts and similar lifestyle events. For me, it’s the thrill of chasing spot news. Spot news differs from regular “news” photos in the fact that it isn’t planned or scheduled. It is a spontaneous event, be it a fire, shooting, car accident or the like. Many elements come into play when making a spot news photo. I think it is safe to say in […]
Some of my friends think my job is glamorous. I get access to many things the public doesn’t get to see other than through my pictures. Some of those things aren’t always easy to witness. I’ve seen fatal fires, hit-and-runs, homicides, devastating floods…the list goes on and on. This week I witnessed one of the worst car accident’s I’ve ever seen. I had just gotten off work. I was at home putting some food into a skillet to cook dinner. […]