Why I love my job

On the back of another 4-wheeler, this time at a Christmas tree farm on a perfect winter afternoon. Just feature hunting, and came upon this family and ended up hanging out for a while. I was sad to leave Seattle, and then there are little moments like this, happy and simple, and I love Indiana all over again.

Thanksgiving, Seattle

Moving back to Seattle would be a dream. We spent a perfect Thanksgiving on Camano, and island north of Seattle, with the dog (top) and Wylie's family.

Homecoming

Military Homecoming. The best kind of assignment, as far as I'm concerned. Minus the travel. Two long drives in the dark to Indianapolis, some black ice on the way coming home, and staying up until the early morning to process the pictures. These are a few that I liked.
Top: A hunting trip and a lasagna dinner were at the top of the list of things Trey T., 14, of French Lick, couldn’t wait to share with his father, Staff Sgt. Shawn T., who was among the 145 soldiers from the Indiana National Guard’s 76th Brigade who returned from the Mideast on Thursday. Children of returning soldiers took turns looking out of the single window of a building at Stout Field where they waited for the buses carrying the soldiers from the airport.
Center:Jolene M., of Jasper, anxiously awaited the arrival of her boyfriend, Sean S.. Members of the 76th Brigade, arriving in Indianapolis from a tour of duty in Iraq, spent an hour with family and friends before heading off to Camp Atterbury for five days.
Bottom: When the announcer warned families of the 1/151 that they had only five minutes left together, First Lt. David B. kissed son Trevor T., 7, goodnight. B., of Franklin, will spend a few days at Camp Atterbury for debriefing before returning home.

News Time

It's been an exciting few days, and since I have no new photos to share, I thought I'd share some news instead. First:



It's a small world. Tim Hussin, my fellow hot pink team member at Eddie Adams was named College Photographer of the Year, with this amazing portfolio. I was first runner-up. And Lane Christiansen, my fellow Herald intern and former roommate, got the bronze with this killer portfolio. What an exciting day for the Herald. And to top it off, this month's News Photographer magazine:



has a great story about the 30th Anniversary of the Saturday Feature, the engine that keeps us going and makes for a fascinating and challenging internship. Have I mentioned too that I'm the luckiest intern in the world? I was offered a second term as intern here, and I'll be here until June. Watching some of the CPOY judging with my dear friend Katie Barnes (multiple multimedia award winner) got me excited about turning some of my election series stories into multimedia. That's the next step. And along the way there's the turnip kraut canning, basketball season starting (a sport I've never shot . . . but it was the same with football this season, and I loved it), and some more Saturday features to track down. And that pile of internship applications to finish. Whew. Congrats to the other Missouri students who won awards in CPOY this year: Ben Fredman, Joon Hyoung Kim and August Kryger.

Rain and Loss

Another football season, over. This is the sport l enjoy shooting the most. lt's still raining now, and l'm drying out my gear for another game tonight.

Election Series

I've posted three of the five layouts from the election series on my website. Now that I'll be in Jasper for another seven and a half months, I have no excuse but to finish my Master's project. This series was the photographic part of the project. Now I'll be working on the multimedia. Yikes.

Wed

The cure for dark days? A heavy-handed tone job and some photos of a wonderful day.

Just Pretty

Taking some photos in an empty church today. Quiet, simple.

Been Kinda Slow

Reluctant to go home, Brynn Collett, 2, hides in plain sight from her mother Heidi outside of the Days Inn in Jasper, where the family brought a trunk load of antiques to be appraised by the Treasure Hunters Roadshow. This antique wooden and metal tricycle was passed over by the appraisers, and will return home with the Colletts. Workers at the Treasure Hunters Roadshow have seen everything from World War II Nazi memorabilia to antique watches during their stop in Dubois County.


Southridge led 35-7 at halftime, but Raider coach Kelly Murphy warned his team not to fade in the second half of Friday night's Class 2A sectional final at Raider Field in Huntingburg. North Posey scored three times in the second half but Southridge won 42-28 to secure its third consecutive sectional crown.


Avanish Subbiah, 7, of Jasper snaged one of the last seats in a game of musical chairs at a party celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights, a major Hindu holiday that is also a celebrated Indian cultural tradition. Though most traditional celebrations would include fireworks, the cold weather kept the party inside the Quality Inn in Huntingburg, where candles illuminated corners of the room and a variety of regional dishes were served, potluck style, on the countertops normally reserved for the continental breakfast. Hemang and Darshana Shah, the owners of the hotel, hosted this year's party.