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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.
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.
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.
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 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.
