Rainy Day

 Its raining today and everything seems cold now that Christmas is over. Thinking of Josh, so far away, and certainly not warm and cozy as he was the day we made this picture.

Veterans Day

Hurricane Sandy

Election Day

There were long lines, long waits to vote earlier this month, but I was happy to be up so early, with a thermos of coffee and my back seat set up like a roving office, as it often is. Election day is the one day that deadlines are exciting for me.

To Be Happy | Daily Work

Beautiful little things | Italy

Mama Said There'd Days Like This

Things that will never run in the paper.

Cynicism Can Suck It: Because It Must

And then they threw their babies into the air, and everyone smiled and even though I know this picture will run 2 columns wide, it was still lovely to be there, especially after the epic, calamitous week I had. Who needs a ton of camera gear anyway?

Coming Back

“Why aren’t you blogging anymore?” 

I don’t know.

Just yesterday, one of my editors, Bill Kelley, suggested that I should think seriously about it. I used to share my work all the time. Every day. Sometimes many times a day. I imagine that it used to flood your feeds and you would get sick of all the optimism.

I’m still taking pictures you would recognize. I still shoot gorgeous food and cute kids. I still fall in love every day on assignment. But I’ve also started looking at things differently. I’ve started thinking more about what I shoot. There are bigger ideas I’m reaching for. Some of them are the most beautiful ideas in the world: that love endures despite the worst possible circumstances. Others are darker: that getting hurt changes you forever, even if you move beyond it. Those are specific, long term stories that I can’t wait to share. Because I’m in the process of shooting them, and understanding them, I haven’t been posting about them. 

I think that’s why this blog is so quiet these days. Because, more than ever, I’m a work in progress.

These pictures are from a block party today. This kid is telling the police officer, "stop arresting my dad."

Father's Day

Breast Cancer Gene

After suffering through a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer, Iris Byrum, right, decided to undergo testing to see if she had a genetic mutation that predisposed her to cancer. She did, and so did her daughter Helena Byrum, who ended up having a double mastectomy. Some assignments get personal, but that's a beautiful thing.

General Martin Dempsey

Months Ago, This

Venus Transits the Sun

    There's no other way to say it. That was just so cool to see.

Cynicism Can Suck It Returns

This was a lovely daily story by Jennifer Jiggetts about a former foster child who recently aged out of the foster care system, and is now a fantastic mom to a spirited and insanely cute little girl. We watched Beauty and the Beast, ate popcorn and danced. Not a bad day at the office.

Log Fumigation

Even in a warehouse on a story for log fumigation, you have to make yourself happy.

Tragedy.

19-year old DJ Watts died on Sunday trying to save his mother from an angry ex-boyfriend with a history of domestic violence. I photographed his service today. It was extremely sad. I can't even imagine how his mother feels right now.

Portrait

Sometimes all you can do is make a portrait, but some portraits are better than others. I followed this family home from their press conference in the basement of police headquarters, and worked in different rooms of their house. They are looking for help identifying the person who shot and killed their son. It deserved more than a rough press conference photo, and I'm lucky that I had the time to make a tough assignment better.

Great Horned Owl

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Kestrel

Barred Owl

Screech Owl:

Bit by bit, I'll be putting up images of birds I made last week at the Virginia Living Museum. This one. So tiny.

Ribbon Cutting

On my way to an assignment a few months ago, Bill Tiernan shouted out "I hope you come back with something amazing from that ribbon cutting!" It was a welcome challenge. Of course, we should strive to make complicated and interesting images every day, but sometimes a ribbon cutting is a the short straw. Here's what I ended up with. I wonder if Thomas Simonetti has shot something better at a ribbon cutting . . .

Virginia Beach Jail

In part as a reaction to the August death of a woman who, while going through alcohol withdrawal, choked to death on her inmate ID bracelet the medical isolation unit is closed at the Virginia Beach jail, and mental health pods were created so that officers like Deputy Brandon Speers, right, can monitor those inmates who may be a threat to themselves.

The Bataan

When the Bataan returned in February, it marked the longest U.S. Navy ship deployment in nearly 40 years. I got a chance to ride with its sailors for their last day at sea. Their homecoming pennant was so long it had to be tied to the deck . . . pretty cool. We spent time with a sailor who helped manage the steam generators though out the deployment. A dark and thankless job, but absolutely critical. He was delayed getting off the ship once it was back in Norfolk because they had to power down the generators. It was a real lesson in patience.