Happy Birthday Jesus!

We had a very hap-hazard dinner at Denny's Christmas Eve during which a very cute 3-year-old was overheard from a nearby table saying "Happy Birthday Jesus!" while her mom tried to get her to eat her macaroni and cheese.

Merry Christmas one and all!

Why Stop at Halloween?

Why stop with pumpkins?

I've been eating a lot of oranges lately. Gotta spice them up a little.

Action and Adventure

It's been a lot of fun watching my nephew, Joe, grow as a wrestler. When we walked in and started paying for our tickets to event, the salesman asked us if we had a wrestler. Joe put his hand on my belly and said our wrestler was still in there.











Keep up the good work, kid.

Recognition

I made this picture during the tricycle and scooter races at Rambling River Days, the town festival in Farmington, MN. The photographer from our competitor newspaper was shooting the same event and I remember watching and wondering what he was seeing and thinking of what I wanted to see.

It seemed the glory for these kids was at the finish line, so I put on my long lens and hoped for the best. Lo and behold, I'd read the situation right and the above photo is what emerged. I love the drama and whimsy of the image. It's clearly a simple event — the trike tells us this. Yet the emotion, the attempt to capture it for all time on video and the juxtaposition of the teenager in the left corner, inattentively and talking on her cell phone make this image very real for me.

This year, I took second place in our company-wide editorial contests for Best Feature Photo for this shot. It was nice to be recognized, especially for such a fun shot.

I was also excited to win a few writing awards, including a first place for Best Social Issues story for a piece I wrote about Oral Cancer. It's gratifying to win the award, though I'd already been heavily rewarded through feedback I'd received from people who were helped or enlightened by the article.

In both cases, I felt the award winning work was created because I had the ability to recognize the possibility in situations that evolved on their own. That's the beauty in journalism and photojournalism — using knowledge, skill and intuition, not to create, but to capture what has already been created and represent it in such a way that others are able to access its message.

Sweet New Wheels

note: future baby posts can be found on my new blog, Spellbound Baby.


(I'm 23 weeks, or about five and a half months here)



While I was on vacation in San Diego my family threw me an early baby shower. Among the mound of awesome gifts bestowed upon Spellbound Baby was this stroller, which we came in the mail yesterday and was assembled this evening. We brought the baby over to get acquainted with its ride.

It's amazing how much thought goes into choosing each of these baby things. After what seemed like a complicated series of algorithms, we decided on this one because it offered us a full sized stroller that was light weight.

Plus, it matches the blog =)

Thanks for the stroller Dad and Sally. I'll post more pictures of the baby shower once I get them from my mom.

It's Cold

Not much of a newsflash for anyone living in the Midwest, but it is cold today. When I got home from San Diego yesterday it was no-coat-necessary weather (in the thirties) so I was a little surprised at how cold I was when I walked outside this morning coat-clad.

The suddenly frozen lakes should have tipped me off that it was about 9 degrees around ten this morning.

The greatest thing about this winter is that the baby will emerge from it with us.

Half way there, baby

Spellbound baby is halfway here. So I thought I'd post a little update:

We kind of think the baby is a boy. We have no reason for thinking this because we're not finding out the sex ahead of time. But for whatever reasons we find ourselves saying "he is kicking" or "I wonder if he ..." When we do this, we usually recover with "or she," because the baby might be able to hear us now and we don't want to give her a complex if she is a girl.

My mom, niece Elizabeth and friend Amy think its a girl. Feel free to guess for yourself; the odds are great.

As implied above, I can feel the baby kicking now. I started feeling him or her around 16 weeks, but the movement of their little hands and feet are a lot more regular now. Joe even felt the baby the other day, but that was a super-ninja kick.

After the baby is born we will stick their ninja feet in these starfish booties.

In other news, I'm headed to San Diego tomorrow to visit family. I'll be gone for a week.

Fire Coverage From the U-T

The San Diego Union Tribune had an interesting article about people who didn't evacuate today. It talked about both those who died or were injured and those who were able to save their houses.

The story humanizes the fires by bringing to light an on-going battle we fight as human beings — is any kind of property worth risking your life for? It's easy to say no; but the question becomes complicated when you think about wedding and baby pictures, old letters and family heirlooms.

Even if you'd never dream of risking your life over a piece of property, you can understand how some feel a need to when you think of pieces of property as memories instead of paper, glass and wood.

A portion of the story:

On Sunday, four firefighters were injured trying to rescue a father and son who tried to keep their Potrero house from being destroyed. The father – Thomas Varshock, 52 – was killed and his son, 15, badly burned.

Yet as the fires progressed this week, even some firefighters couldn't find it in themselves to second-guess homeowners who remained on their land. It was as though the decision whether to flee or stay and fight was such a personal one that to question it would be like challenging someone's religious beliefs.

Jim Nadal, who stood ground Tuesday morning as the Rice Canyon wildfire roared toward his Fallbrook house, said he felt “a little sheepish” as firefighters approached him while he was attacking the flames with a giant hose. He knew he wasn't supposed to be there; his Red Mountain Heights Drive neighborhood had been evacuated the previous afternoon.

SEAN DuFRENE / Union-Tribune Jim Nadal, ignoring an evacuation order, sprayed down hot embers Tuesday morning as he battled to protect his Fallbrook home. Nadal said that had he not stayed behind, his house would have been lost.

Rather than yell at him or drag him away, the firefighters simply told him to be careful and to stay on the high ground. Then he and the crew attacked the flames together.

Nadal, 52, a real estate broker, credits the firefighters with saving his house. Still, they didn't arrive until dawn Tuesday, after he'd spent several hours battling the flames on his own. (His wife and 16-year-old son had evacuated the neighborhood on Monday night but returned Tuesday and joined the fight.)

“There's no question in my mind that if I weren't here, my house would have gone,” Nadal said.

View the whole story here.

Things You Can Do With A Macalester Education

Joe received this in the mail today from his Alma Mater:



They clearly have been thinking about him.

How I love my husband (name).

The Fire Through My Dad's Eyes

(from getty images, obviously)

My dad sent me this email this evening, which explains what the last few days have been like for him:

We had 3 days of fire to keep from burning our place. The CDF engine from across the road from us, our local guys were charged to save our home. They parked in front of the house from around 11am until the threat was over. God bless them, I can never thank them enough. I keep the grass low 100 yards or more from our house. Stucco house with stucco eves and a fire system inside. We were hit 3 times on the house. The first one came down slow and gave us some room from the big brush which was about 100 feet from the house. When the big hot fire came we had a dirt road to help, then a brush filled gully on our property that went up hot. The firefighters fogged my wife's garden that would have gone up next so it would not catch. I kept the horse and equipment barns alright by running around stopping little grass and wood chip fires from getting out of hand. After a neighbor's motor home went up the fire spread back to the north side of HWY 78 again which burned the Smokey the Bear sign, grass field and the old ranch house across the street. The old school house around the corner also went up as well many other homes in our valley. We are very blessed and lucky. It looked like a war zone that first day and night.

After the fire crew had the house secure they turned it back to me. I was alone and wound up stopping grass fires around the barn most of the night. It was super hot as you all know. Sometimes I literally could not see my hand in front of my face. Very scary.

The second day we had 3 engines on our west fence line as a grass fire was coming back into the wind which would have come to the house from down below. They handled it so professionally and at least one engine was here all day and parked across the road watching our hillside all night. We are so thankful. We have continued putting out hot spots up until 2am last night. Ironic as it is the last one was putting some dirt on what was left of the CDF Smokey the Bear sign. I was sitting there watching it finish up burning and the wind picked up so said goodnight to Smokey.

We are an evacuation facility for horses and have some here now. If anyone needs a place to go it is safe here now. We set up our stable area to protect the horses and it worked out so far. I did take the John Deere out and scrape a couple of places early on where I could not get to with water. The roads are not open. If you have horses and PM me to come here, I could meet you at the road block and help you get through.

Our hillside burned and we lost about 8 oak trees. There are still lots more there but from the front of the house to the road still looks normal. We are still on alert for spot fires.

On generator power and no phone. We are all helping each other out here and have no idea when power will be restored. Like camping now. We are all focused on water, food and power. We still have 16,000 gallons of water here. I am going to hook up my generator to the well pump eventually so we can keep our water supply up. Tim came by today and borrowed a water tank so we will keep water going over the hill for them for sure. Told Tim to come as often and take as much as they need and we will let him know if we get low.

We are fine so not worry about us at all. Now we can help some others.

More fire

I talked to my mom, brother and one of my college classmates that's in his senior year at USD today. My brother's fine and said he talked to my dad yesterday and he was doing well. My mom's doing well. My friend at USD said it wasn't raining ash there as it was in 2003, at least not yet. School's been canceled for the major colleges and all county public schools.

I had to share this pictures I saw under reader submitted images on the LA Times website. It's of a fire more in the LA area, but I thought it was striking.

Fire update

I got an update from my brother this morning.

Though fires are still raging strong in SoCal, the fire has passed my dad's house. As of 9 a.m. it was on its way to the town of Ramona, though Santa Ana winds are pushing it along quickly.

He's still alone up at his ranch, but he's just putting out small ash fires and doesn't have to worry about any big ones right now.

As long as we're all thinking positive thoughts, think a few for Brett's parents, who were visiting Brett and Amy in Iowa when the area they live in was evacuated.

With Santa Ana winds still raging, its difficult to fight the fires, which my brother said had now become four separate fires. They suspect the one that threatened by dad's house was caused by a downed power line, my brother said. He also said the 30-50 mph wind is so fierce that helicopters are unable to drop flame retardant on the fire.

We escaped the first fire, maybe not the second

My dad lives on a small ranch just outside of Ramona, CA. When the Cedar fire hit in 2003, his current house was in Escrow and he was lucky enough to have not been touched by the fire. My cousins, who also live in the area, had to evacuate, horses in tow. But, for the most part, everything turned out alright.

After the Cedar fire, which burned 300,000 acres in the area and sent ash raining down throughout the county and city of San Diego for nearly a week, a new fire station was put up across the road from my dad's new home. We always joked that his house was the best place to have a fire, because the proximity of the station. However, that station was put in specifically to protect the Cleveland National Forest — the forest in which the Cedar fire began. The firefighters always said they'd help my dad if he needed it but their first priority is the forest.

Right now, fire is threatening my dad's home. I don't know all of the details, but I know that my brother and step mom are safe away from the fire and that my step mom is not able to return because they have blocked all incoming traffic into the area. My dad is the only member of the house left to fight the fire.

I'm not exactly sure why it is safe for him to still be at the home (i.e. why he hasn't been evacuated) if there is fire threatening the home. However, that is the case. I'm not even sure if the fires he's been fighting are related to the massive fire burning in the area. All I know is that he has been fighting fires for a while, at least some of which are coming from piles of junk in his neighbor's yard.

San Diego is experiencing heavy Santa Ana winds, which create the ideal conditions for fire. It's possible he's fighting some sort of small backyard fire.

Though the fire department helped him the first day he was fighting it, they were called elsewhere today. I'm not sure if the firefighters that helped him were from the Ramona fire department or the forestry one across the road from his house.

My dad's very spiritual and I just wanted to ask that you think some positive thoughts for him, or pray, depending on your belief systems.

I'll post an update when I know more.

Art in Iceland

We launched a new section at work, which has been eating my time like a very hungry caterpillar, but I wanted to throw up a picture I took in Iceland.

I'm also working on a website, so stay tuned.

Spellbound Baby

Photo from our wedding
by Michelle King, MK Photography

As most of you know, we're expecting a baby around April 1st. The midwife due date has moved up to March 31. Maybe we'll have to get a pool started =). The baby and I are both doing great, now that I have recovered from my crazy bought with pneumonia. The illness doesn't seem to have affected Spellbound baby, who's measuring perfectly on schedule.

A few things about Spellbound baby:

First I thought it was a girl. Then we both thought it was a boy. Now I think it's a girl again. Whoever said the mother is 65% right, wasn't counting on me changing my mind =). At this rate, I'm going to be 100% right.

He or she is a wiggle-worm, ninja-kicker. Though I can't feel it yet, the baby was wiggling and kicking a ton when we had an ultrasound two weeks ago. Yesterday the baby kicked the machine the midwife uses to listen to the baby's heartbeat.

If our memory of genetics is as clear as we think it is (no guarantees) our baby will almost certainly have blue eyes, dimples and either positive or negative type O blood.

He or she will also have an awesome name we're not ready to share.

But we will share the sex, if the baby is willing to show us at our next appointment on a very special day, October 30. October 30 is also the anniversary of Joe's sister Jody and her husband Toby, as well as the birthday of their youngest, wrestler-dancer-kindergartner Joe E.

And, because the joke has already been said: Yes, this will be a highly photographed child.

Sneak Peak of Ali's Senior Portraits

I shot a few senior portraits for my niece, Ali, yesterday. Today is first day of her senior year of high school and her brother's (AKA wrestler, dancer Joe E.) first day of kindergarten. Have fun, both of you, and everyone else starting school today.

As always, more to come later.

A Few Photos From Iceland

Greetings from the Land of Fire and Ice

Here is a sampling of what we have done on our trip so far (you may need to use google to get the full picture):

- Seen the sights in the golden circle (geysir and gulfoss)
- Seen Pingvellir National Park (where Europe and the Americas are slowly growing apart, physically not metaphorically)
- Climbed to the volcanic crater of Mt. Hengill (inactive, we think)
- Walked behind Seljalandsfoss and walked to the top of Skogafoss
- Hiked the Skaftashedl Loop, seeing both glaciers including the great Vatnajokull, the largest ice cap in Europe and the third largest in the world
- Walked on Snivafellsjokull, part of vatnajokull, using crampons and ice axes
- Had lovely lobster pizza and lobster pasta in Hofn (pronounced "hup" as though you are hiccuping)
- Drove the windiest and windiest roads you can ever imagine (yes, those are two different words)
- Seen LOTS of sheep — shy ones, white ones, black ones, brown ones, brave ones, a few that really liked the grass near the road, and a few that even met us on the road.

Pictures when we return. Hope everyone is well.

Off to Iceland

By tomorrow morning (around 2am Midwest time) I'll be in Iceland. I'll return August 22 with stories and pictures galore.

Have fun while I'm gone!

Apparently, I'm a Goldfish

After a long absence, I reunited with my favorite Goldfish crackers today, the Parmesan flavor. And what did I discover on the package? A batty-eyed cracker version of myself. Would you look at that, my name is even trademarked as a cheese flavored cracker. I hope they don't send me a cease and desist letter ...

More of my lovely cracker doppelganger:

Moments like this make me glad I have a blog.

Smell of the Gas, Roar of the Engine

Standing in the dust and gas fumes taking this shot was made worth it by the lovely effect the 8pm summer sun had when it hit the particle in the air. I also like the way this shot looks like a well-orchestrated dirt bike gang coming to attack.

These, the first shots of my new beat in Savage and Scott County, were taken at the Supercross event at the Scott County Fair on Wednesday. More photos here.

Mmm ... Summer

To me, what you see above — in what appears to be a bunch of cucumbers that have been dropped on the floor — is what summer tastes like.

(it's garden cucumbers with lemon and chilli powder)

Business Cards

I'm working on some business cards. Let me know what you think. I wanted the image on the front to be evocative, colorful and speak to my style. I think the images on the back speak for themselves. How many shall I order?

My blog absence has been caused by adjustment to my new position at work. We're also working on launching a new arts section called Thisweekend Sept. 1. Since I am heading to Iceland for two weeks in August, I've been doing a lot of prep work for the section in the last week and a half.

A Little Bluegrass

I headed to the Dakota County Fairgrounds last Saturday to cover the Bluegrass in the Village festival. This video features Kegan Creek Bluegrass Band members playing with Jerry Hamel, of Eagan in a jam session at the end of the day July 7.

If These Walls Could Talk ...

In this week's paper I ran two house profiles for which I also created photo-tours.

You can view the Flynn house or read more about it. You can also view the T.C. Davis Manor or read more about it.

Incidentally, these will likely be my last Farmington stories as I transition to a new position as the city of Savage editor and Scott County reporter. I'll also be the Arts editor.

Panorama of Progress

After the Bluegrass in the Village Festival, I headed over to Pan-o-Prog to help our Lakeville editor, Derrick, cover the city festival. It was my gift to his wife, Carrie, who celebrated her birthday Saturday.

There are a few pictures I took during Pan-o-Prog in an online slideshow from the festival. The photos I took are the last seven in the slideshow. The other photos were taken by our staff photographer, Rick Orndorf and by Derrick Williams, the Lakeville editor.

Busy, Busy B

This post is dedicated to anyone who has been checking my blog and wondering if I dropped off the face of the earth in the last week. I did not. Here is what I have been up to recently:

My nephew Joe E.'s dance recital:





Portraits for my sister-in-law Nikki and her father, Roger:



Construction in Farmington, as seen in a post below. Head here for a slideshow:



Lakeville's Panorama of Progress festival:



(Taken during a wheel barrow race at the Beach Bash, a special event for teenagers)

Bluegrass Festival at the Dakota County Fairgrounds:



Farmington historical house profiles:





3-year Portraits of Jameson:



I took Jameson's portraits today, which also happens to be his mother's birthday. Happy birthday, Jolynn!

Full posts on each will come as I am able.

Ha! Connect Six

After having so much playing Connect Four on my birthday we bought ourselves a set and have had an on-going tournament. Joe chose his team name, "Good Guy," and then gave me mine, "Shiester Girl." We tally our wins and hang it on our fridge for bragging rights.

Well, Saturday I was behind 35-28, when I went on an unbelievable winning streak that included this rare Connect Six. The streak continued Sunday, until Joe finally broke it. Joe is now up by only two.

Construction Junction

After I trod around in the dirt Tuesday, I came upon this set of brothers digging for worms in the dirt. The older two were standing in the demolished street hacking into the side of their lawn and the youngest was out in the abandoned dirt road. The worms were for their new found friend — a bird that they assumed had been shaken from a tree by the construction. I photographed them trying to feed the bird.

As I was leaving this truck pulled up to help them remove some rubble and they excitedly hoped inside.

I don't wear anythinig I can't wipe my hands on

I haven't quite solved the problem wearing nice clothes to the office presents when my day involves shooting in the grass or water or mud. A lot of times this is because I don't know I'm going to be shooting in the grass or water or mud when I get dressed. But do I let wearing a dress stop me from taking pictures of construction on a rainy day? Of course not. I just slipped on my boots and trod through the mud, using a plastic bag to cover the camera from rain and to kneel on.




* The title is from an Ani DiFranco song.

Look for the Unexpected

I was shooting portraits of my sister-in-law, Nikki, and her dad today when I noticed this small flower dangling off of the edge of his shoe. We weren't near flowers at the time and he had just been walking around through rocks at the base of a large oak tree. For these reasons, it didn't make much sense for the little bloom to be there.

It reminded me to look for — and maybe expect — the unexpected.

And I'll Race, to Feel the Wind in My Face

Taken during the Big Wheel and Scooter Races June 22, and best viewed large. To view more pictures, head here. Because there are so many pictures, I think I'll do a post with some of my favorites in the near future.

Today, I leave you with one more picture from the Big Wheel Races as I head to shoot the Dew Run, Paintball and other aspects of the celebration.

And the Winner is ...

Last night I photographed the Miss Farmington Pageant. Although I took many photos of individual contestants, something about this one struck me. Something about the simultaneous anonymity and specificity of the photograph thrills me. Though you cannot see their faces, the iconic image of pageant contestants holding hands lets the mind decide what they look like. I tried to accomplish something similar with the Rosemount graduation photos I took a few weeks ago — create images that are iconic of a moment in the subject's life, not simply snapshots from an event.

To be able to make images like this, that communicate more than just the sum of the event at which they were captured, without interfering with the subject is the most exciting thing I accomplish as a photojournalist.

To see more pictures of the pageant, head here.

Tonight, I'll photograph Big Wheel Races, Bed Races and other things that happen at city festivals. It's going to be an exciting, but tiring couple of days.

p.s. Let me know what you think of the MyCapture website.

Ready to Roll

This ran as the dominant art on the front page this week. Farmington is gearing up for their annual celebration, Rambling River Days, this week. I came across the kiddie carnvial and snapped this shot while saftey checks were being run on various rides. The festival runs June 21-24, and it is where I will spend most of my weekend.

Expect pictures, lost of pictures.

Fire in Burnsville

Our Burnsville editor was out of town this week, so I covered an apartment fire for him. The fire destroyed 6 apartments Thursday and cleared out an entire 70-unit complex, leaving about 200 people without homes for the night.

Luckily, most people had family or friends they could stay with. The Red Cross helped others find a temporary place to stay.

By the time I arrived, police tape was everywhere and I could see no way of getting where the fire had burned the building. I was lucky to meet up with a guy who said he knew a way to the other side. After crawling through brush along a steep hill running side-by-side with 35W, we got to other side of the apartment building where I met several residents who had been heavily affected by the fire.

I really got the sense, while covering the fire, that I got a better story than other reporters because I was willing to wait, observe and listen to the residents.

You'll find the article here and more photos here.

The Future is Bright

UPDATE: More photos can be viewed here.



I shot Rosemount High School's graduation yesterday. I was entranced by this photo.

More images to come later; right now, we're off to hike in Lake Maria State Park.

(pictures of that to come later, as well =)

High Ho, High Ho, It's on a Hike We Go

(for full impact, view large)

We headed to Lake Maria State Park last Saturday for a hike. Now armed with a Minnesota parks pass, we will slowly discover the many preserves throughout the state (starting mostly in and around the Twin Cities). We're open to recommendations if you're ready or willing to give them.

Lake Maria State Park is the only Minnesota home of a rare breed of turtles (check out the turtle crossing sign below). It is also full of swamps and the mosquitoes that go with them. Yes, my legs are speckled with the battle-scar-bites that remind me it is officially summer: a.k.a construction/mosquito season.

We took the Big Woods Loop around the park.