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.

Feature Hunting

My friend Katie Barnes misses feature hunting. . . . me too . . . I absolutely don't do it enough.

Perfect weather for sprints

Spring training at Ocean Lakes High.

Virginia Animals

Sometimes you get exactly what you want: a chance to play around with animals at the Virginia Living Museum. I wanted to do something different for Earth Day, and so I'm working on a series of portraits of animals for the Sunday Magazine. This was my first day, and I got so much amazing help from George and Shannon and Travis and Virginia, who let me set up a studio in a classroom and brought me all the animals I could ever want. I'll be back in a few weeks to finish off the series with birds and more mammals. Stay tuned.