A Very Visual First Year in Baltimore

In the last year I've shot so many new events and stories in new places, but I haven't been sharing it all with the internet. In my first year working as the staff photographer at the Catholic Review, my coworkers and I hauled in a bunch of contest awards from the Catholic Press Association and the MDDC Press Association, including the MDDC's award for newspaper of the year for non-dailies with circulations more than 20,000. Here's a random sample of photos from the last year shot around Baltimore and beyond. It includes the Preakness, graduation features, sports and other sundry pretties that caught my eye. Also, you can now view the photos larger. Just click the little, arrow-square-thingy in the bottom-right to expand the slideshow.

Explore Maryland Magazine

We switched gears this summer at the paper and delved into the world of travel magazines. Explore Maryland hits all the highlights "from the Mountains to the Shore" in the Free State. I got to travel all over the state shooting for all of the stories, including a feature on minor league baseball. Here are some of my favorite shots that didn't make it into the final production (save a couple). If you're in Maryland, keep an eye out maybe, you'll see it around.

Back to School

It's almost time for the kids to head back to school again. Last year for the paper's back to school issue we ran a story about a young lady with Down syndrome who was preparing to make the transition from middle school to high school. You can read the story here: Seton Keough to Welcome Student with Down Syndrome

Some Video

And now for something completely different... I've been shooting a bit of video lately for my paper. It's been a learning process but since I already know how to compose a frame and do all of that visual stuff I was already halfway there to start. The fun challenge has been learning how to weave a story together from a series of moments and trying to let the subjects fill in the details (I'm not a big fan of voice overs). I could definitely use a few pieces of equipment to help me in this video endeavor, but right now I've been doing what I can with what I've got. Below is a new, short video about some Baltimore City youths who spent a weekend camping out at Rocky Gap State Park. I also won some multimedia awards this past year for a piece I did about a church group who walked 100 miles to promote religious liberty. So, why not give that one a watch, too.

Super Bowl Champs Ravens' Party in the Streets

Last night the Baltimore Ravens beat the favored San Francisco 49ers to become champions of Super Bowl XLVII. Then the fans of Baltimore took to the streets. The party grew quickly as people emerged from homes and bars out into a chilly winter night, cheering and squirrel-dancing as they congregated around the city. It didn't take long before the revelers began impeding traffic, leading some drivers to just put it in park and crank the stereo. The dance party mixed with chants of the Ravens' pump-up song, Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes, as snow flurries mixed with the spray from cans of Natty Boh floating down onto the crowd. Thrice cast as the underdog, in a city that's no stranger to the role, the Ravens' win brought people together for the kind of party that, as I heard more than just a few people say, Baltimore needs and deserves.

Big Bonfire on a Farm

Over Memorial Day weekend I took a trip with some friends up to the Pennsylvania border to hangout by a bonfire and camp for a night. Lots of fun. My fellow phojou, Matt Roth, was doing the heavy documenting on the trip, but I grabbed a few photos along the way, too. The farm was full of barley and old Volvos. Neat place. The last shot is a view of the tree across from the front door of my apartment when it was in full bloom back at the beginning of the spring. At this small size you miss out on some of the fun little things in the photo, but I think the image looks pretty nice as the background on the 27-inch monitor I've got at work. Oh, I forgot to mention that I started a new staff job at the Catholic Review a couple of months ago, which is keeping me busy and shooting. Just wanted to put a quick edit of something up onto the internet.

Baltimore Walkabout

The other day I went on walkabout in the Fells Point area of Baltimore. I snapped a few shots, too. I'm looking forward to revisiting a few spots.