hair art

This weekend I teamed up with hair artist extraordinaire Kelsey Smart to shoot a portfolio of her amazing creations. We (yep, I modeled too) are such an amazingly colorful bunch thanks to Kelsey's work. One quick favorite before I get to editing the more straightforward headshots...

zins

...one of my favorite restaurants in town. I was there just days after this shoot for a delicious brunch with friends, and 2 1/2 years ago after the flood.

111-50

An Iowa fan waves a photo cut-out of head coach Fran McCaffery as SIU-Edwardsville player takes a freethrow in the first period of the Hawkeyes'm 111-50 win Friday, Nov. 26, 2010, at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

Vigil for Jose

(Above) Jose Mendoza's sister Roxanne, 14 (top left), brother Alberto, 9, mother Ada and her boyfriend Ricardo Juarez hold vigil Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010, at the site of accident that killed Mendoza early Monday along Cottage Grove Avenue SE. The driver of the car has been charged with vehicular homicide.

Situations like this are so hard to cover without feeling somewhat like a vulture (or at least worrying that's what people are thinking). I just do what I can do be respectful, shoot sparingly, avoid the bright lights of the TV cameras, listen as people share their memories -- with friends, with strangers, with me -- and hope my photos do justice to those gathered and those they're remembering.

Ohio State 20, Iowa 17

Yeah, I knew he was going to stop.

Celebration surrounded by a lot of heartbreak.
Just out of reach..

media day

afternoon light

Medal of Honor

I was in Washington, D.C., this week to cover the Medal of Honor ceremony for Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, a native Iowan and the first living recipient of the medal since Vietnam. I briefly caught up with Biden photog David Lieneman, who answered allll my questions about working in the White House. Photojournalists go into situations blind every day, but this was obviously different, so I was glad for answers from David and help from Getty photog Chip Somodevilla (who knew me way back in the day when I was a high school intern in Ft Worth) in acquiring a stepladder. I had already heard Giunta's story several times, but hearing it from the President was pretty powerful.. plus trying to get a variety of images from my perch atop a stepladder squeezed between two TV guys, silently willing people in the audience to put their cameras down so I could see over them, then filing as fast as I could, knowing I wasn't going to beat the wire guys anyway. So. These are just a few images I liked. You can see the Gazette's full coverage here.

President Barack Obama awards Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta the Medal of Honor in the East Room at the White House on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010, in Washington, D.C.



President Barack Obama recognizes members of Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta's unit from Afghanistan before awarding Giunta the Medal of Honor.

First Lady Michelle Obama looks back to the parents of Sergeant Joshua Brennan and Spec. Hugo Mendoza, two members of Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta's squad who were killed in action.

White House behind the scenes

Erik (KCRG) and Orlan (Gazette) in the WH briefing room, waiting.

East Room before the ceremony.

Erik, pre-ceremony

That's a whole lotta media.
Giunta made a statement at the West Lawn stakeout spot.

vs Northwestern

Iowa had a disappointing loss to Northwestern last weekend. I was pretty weak in the first half (I blame the rain) but in the second half things were looking up (for me, not for the team). One more home game to go, and my season's done. It'll be a chilly one.. (good thing I just bought the best. mittens. ever. The kind of mittens a cold-fingered photographer like myself dreams about.)

vs Michigan

Iowa players enter the field for their game against Michigan State on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.

I took a 400mm lens and a rented 600mm lens to the upper deck of the north endzone at Kinnick for Iowa's game against Michigan a few weeks ago. It was so much easier to follow passing plays from up there (something I've always struggled with), and the images so much cleaner. The only obstructions were the occasional excited fan, and the wires for the field goal net. Beautiful.

Iowa running back Marcus Coker (34, left) eyes Michigan State's Trenton Robinson (39) as he runs up the field in the third quarter.

Iowa's Tyler Sash (9, right) laterals the ball to Micah Hyde (18) over Michigan State's B.J. Cunningham (3) after an interception in the first quarter. Hyde took the ball for a touchdown.

Iowa offensive lineman Markus Zusevics (56, right) reacts after Adam Robinson carried the ball for a first down against Michigan State in the third quarter.

Michigan State's Marcus Hyde (11, left) tackles Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi (12) after Stanzi had run out of bounds in the first quarter. A penalty of unnecessary roughness was called on Hyde.

Iowa players make their way through fans on the field after the Hawkeyes' 37-6 win over Michigan State.

this is football, pt 2

Iowa vs Northwestern, Ryan Field

Iowa vs Michigan, Kinnick Stadium

wherehouse

Myohmy, where did I disappear to? Lots to share from the past few weeks, so let's get started with something fun... I had heard about the Wherehouse here and there, but had no idea where it was, or even really what it was, until our reporting intern started working on a story and I jumped on board. The simplest way to describe it is "community arts space." Check out Justine's story, and more photos, here. Big thanks to Nelle Dunlap, the IC Kings and Blizzard at Sea.