It snowed today. Check your calendar, it's still September.



(The earlier snow was just in the mountains. These were big slushy snowballs smacking me in the face.) Sadly, it didn't still in the valley... the snowball fight will have to wait.

Gifts from God, via Liberia

The project I mentioned awhile back (the family with four adopted Liberian kids, one of whom just came to America this August) published this Sunday -- I have yet to see it in print, and the SoundSlides I did hasn't been posted yet, but, you can see all the published photos here. (For those of you that hate feature hunting: I literally stumbled across this family a day after their new daughter came home, while roaming around a park looking for art, and started work on the project two days later. So you never know what you'll find...) There were really two stories here: the story of Neomi coming to America, and the story of a big family. I tried to find a compromise between the two, but still feel like I could have kept on shooting for a couple more weeks with them (but, of course, work on the project ended when I moved to SLC). Here are a few of my favorites...

Neomi's first trip to the grocery store.



Blessing brushes E-man's teeth in the morning.



Dan, Neomi and Blessing cuddle up next to the campfire.

snow day!

Driving to an assignment this morning, waiting for my car to warm up, I caught a glimpse of the mountains.. with snow! In September! Which apparently is normal for Utah. Who's coming skiing with me on Thanksgiving?

down with Ravana!
From the Festival of India in Spanish Fork last weekend..

Climbing up to the temple


The littlest dancer


Mehndi Mama just opened a new henna shop in my neighborhood... how tempting...


At the end of the night, a giant effigy of Ravana is lit on fire.. it was pretty impressive to watch, but not so much to photograph. The crowd was in awe..

I'm in the middle of another project right now... let's call it Project Family Fireplace. I've been commissioned to dig through all my old photos to find something suitable to hang about the fireplace.. I'm not sure this, from this spring's bluebonnet crop, will make the final cut, but I sure like it. (With fall coming, I need to get up into the mountains soon.)

The Ave : Four for the Road

The group project by the YHR photo staff (four of us, thus the title) is publishing this week, and my part, about playing on Yakima Avenue, ran today. Read the article, then check out the slideshow that Sara put together of all the photos, with an essay written and read by Ed Stover, a retired journalist. "More than a way from here to there; rather the way to there from here and there, where we gather to work, to play, to shop and to pray. Or to walk, like today... You understand now why she's the Ave, and not just a street. She's us, you see, that makes it personal."

After this, I have one more project for Yakima that will publish next Sunday. I'm itching to post the photos.

But, here are a few of my photos from the project -- which somehow all involve defying gravity.

Fiesta!

Over the past two days, I photographed two festivals: Fiesta Mexicana and Festival of India. The art was held from the Indian festival, so I'll post them later, but here are a few from the Mexican Independence Day festival...

Members of Ballet Citali get ready for their next dance



A drum corps from Tijuana sings along with the performer onstage..

From three different days, three different assignments relating to 9/11. Flags, kids, and soldiers.

The Healing Field in Sandy held 2,998 flags, in honor of the victims of 9/11. This outtake was taken on Saturday, when the flags were being set up.. when I drove past yesterday, the field was still covered with them.


First, published, and second, an outtake from a Department of Public Safety service on Tuesday.




A different version of what ran on the front page today.. Scott Upton received the Distinguished Flying Cross for service in Iraq. He officially received it while in Iraq, and there will be a ceremony this winter.. so we're left with a portrait. After digging in boxes for while, he found his medal, and was quite a good sport about all the time the reporter and I took up. The photo that ran had a little more depth of field, but this is the one originally submitted.

The final goodbye

I was sent to cover the memorial service (maybe the last of the services?) of the nine miners killed in the Crandall Canyon mine collapse and rescue attempt. Since I hadn't been following the story very closely from Yakima, I gathered the past month's papers the day before the memorial and learned all I could about the miners and their families. It was a little overwhelming to try and take it all in over only a few hours, but it helped tremendously once I got to the service. Photographers had incredible access, which apparently hadn't been the case previously, and the families were very gracious to help us with names and other information after the service. Our paper reported about 1,000 were at the service.. another paper reported 5,000.
Below, the four year old son of one of the killed rescuers is comforted by his mother as the eulogy for his father is read. Four days later, my heart still breaks a little when I look at this.


The family of Don Erickson


After a brief run-in with the law in Huntington (while transmitting photos from a parking lot) I headed to Price for the night and covered the bureaucratic side of the mine story in the morning.. the first meeting of the Utah Mine Safety Commission. Sure, it's just a meeting, but this commission (and the three MSHA reps addressing them from the head of the table) is going to continue to be in the news for at least the next few months.



It was a long drive back after a long two days..

hello, salt lake

The transition to Salt Lake has been a little rough, with the whole being homeless thing (which should soon be taken care of.. long story..), and readjusting to life in the city (traffic?!? a commute of more than five minutes?!?), and jumping right in at the paper. I'm definitely going to have to step it up this fall, but I have a feeling it's going to be a great four months.

I shot my first football game of the season tonight..

As directionally challenged as I am, it helps to have these mountains to my east. (yeah, it's gorgeous here.)

v is for victory!

I went back in the fourth quarter after editing from the first half... and this is the only photo worth showing.

goodybe, yakima.

eloisa made sure my last night in town was memorable.. amazing mexican food ( i <3 eloisa's mom. can she adopt me?), fresh horchata, our own fireworks show, staring at the stars for what felt like hours, and great friends. it was the perfect way to end a perfect summer.

below, kris steals my camera and gets distracted by the lights.

eloisa and carl cuddle in the tent, in the only picture i took all night. please ignore the noise. (1/8th at 1600! on a nikon!)