Out with the old, in with the new

The newspaper I work for launched its redesigned version this week. So for the last edition of the old version of the paper I was asked to come up with an appropriate photo for the front page. Lucky for me, a rancher friend was moving his herd of cattle from their summer pasture to the fall pasture. The cattle drive covers several miles and takes the herd along U.S. 40, and offers a variety of images as several hundred head of cattle make their way down the highway and bring traffic to a crawl. After an hour I still felt like I hadn't captured "the" image--I knew I had photos that would work for the paper, but nothing fitting the final edition of the paper. Then, as the last of the herd was moved off the highway into the pasture, the four cowboys (and girl) who were helping rode between some cottonwood trees, which were still in full autumn color and I then knew I had what I needed.



I then needed to find an image suitable for the front page of the new redesigned paper. Because we were starting a new era in the history of our newspaper, I thought a shot of a sunrise would work. Our editor agreed and I set off each morning on three days to try and capture a suitable sunrise. After trying several locations, I decided on the one which gave me a good view of the mountains and an interesting look at the valley in the foreground. It was the third morning which gave me the best color in the sky as the began to rise from the behind the Continental Divide.



And here are the two front pages...

Do I miss shooting pro sports?. . .not really

Now that I'm working for the newspaper I haven't had any time to shoot for US Presswire (the sports photo agency I have covered a variety of pro and college sports for during the past two-plus years), so I've had several people ask me if I miss covering things like the Broncos and Rockies--especially with this evening's play-in game on tap. I think a month ago there were times that I might have missed it, but I definitely don't miss the drives to Denver. And after covering high school sports for the paper during the last month, it's a pleasure dealing with the local schools who actually appreciate me being there and getting such great feedback from parents and other community members. The pure joy high school athletes play with is often a sharp contrast to the egos and attitudes of professional athletes. If there is anything I miss, it's having the opportunity to see photographer friends from Denver, but I'm hoping our paths will cross again soon.

Sure it would have been great to be at the Rockies game on Sunday and to go to the game against the Padres later today, but I will be having a great time applying what I have learned from shooting pro and college sports to the local high school volleyball game I will covering.

So far, so good

It's been a few weeks since I started working for the local newspaper, and it's been a great couple of weeks. I've been getting some great feedback from the community, which is one of the perks of working for a small paper. I'm still working on getting back in the swing of working a regular job again, as well as getting used to the workflow of the paper.

I'm still coaching soccer at Middle Park High School and our season is well underway. I'm coaching the junior varsity and they are progressing nicely, we're seeing improvement every day. The varsity boys are undefeated, but we have some tough games coming up this week starting tomorrow. Before I forget, I have to congratulate my son Erik (#12 below) on scoring his first varsity goals last Friday. A junior, he is settling in well to his role as the left midfielder. Good luck to the Panthers on their six games coming up in the next 10 days!

The First Day...

Today was my first day of work at my new job as the photographer for the Grand County Newspapers here in Granby, Colo.

It has been more than 21 years since I worked as a full-time newspaper photographer, hence the name of my blog. In the years between newspaper gigs I have worked as a meetings/group coordinator for a resort, done sales and p.r. for a small ski resort/hotel, managed Front Range sales efforts for a major Colorado ski resort, been the assistant media relations director for a major Colorado ski resort, been the staff photographer for that same ski resort, then having that job eliminated, I became a full-time freelance photographer, while driving a shuttle bus part-time for a ski resort and coaching boys and girls soccer at the local high school.

But now I return to my newspaper roots. This is actually a great opportunity as the paper is getting ready to get a major re-design and move towards being a daily county-wide paper. I'm really looking forward to the chance to be a part of the new and improved newspaper. We've got a great staff that is really easy to work with, which makes going to work a pleasure.

We'll see what the future holds...