Old Home Day Parade

Courtney Duclos, 12, stands with Storm near Memorial Field in Pembroke, where the Suncook River meets the Merrimack River, following Pembroke and Allenstown's Old Home Day parade on Saturday morning, August 28, 2010. Duclos and Storm participated in the parade with others representing the Velvet Green Stables in Pembroke and were both dressed up following the theme, "Under the Big Top." Storm was one of three horses from the stables painted with a water-based face paint and was brought to the river to remove the paint.

*Nerd Alert* I LOVE using this thing called an aperture and shooting at high depths of field.



From far left, Rachel Kline, 10, Allison Lessard, 11, Kaely St. Onge, 10, Alexis Jawiezik, 11, and Camryn Gagne, 8, wait for the start of the Pembroke and Allenstown Old Home Day parade Saturday morning, August 28, 2010. Representing the Granite State Curb Setters, they dressed as clowns to fit the event's theme, "Under the Big Top."




Joan and Bob Courtemanche watch the Pembroke and Allenstown's Old Home Day parade from the front of Bob's childhood home now owned by his son, on Saturday August 28, 2010.

Brehio. 13. Racecar Driver.

One of the better assignments I've had in the past weeks. Got to spend time with the Brehio's and Austin, 13, while he raced at a speedway north of Concord. He's 13 and has raced full-throttle, full-sized cars for the past year. He has 2 wins and is second in overall points for the track.

PR Plane Ride

Yello...w

Hurling

Feature Hunt

While driving around Concord, it's pretty easy to find people out doing things but a challenge to find people doing things that haven't been in the paper recently. Around town, there seems to always be people working in their gardens or doing something related to water. We've been running a summer series on the Merrimack River, so I feel like shooting a feature dealing with anything water becomes somewhat overkill, unless it's from a swimming pool. The one thing I think many feature hunters can attest to is if you're driving around and see something that remotely sparks your interest, more times than not it's worth getting out of your car.

Kandahar, Afghanistan to Boscawen, New Hampshire

Surrounded by family and people paying respects, Patricia Nicol stands over the casket of her son, Sgt. Andrew Cote Nicol, 23, of Kensington, following a service at the state Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen on Wednesday afternoon, August 18, 2010. Sgt. Nicol passed away on August 8, 2010 from wounds suffered by an IED in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. A member of the U.S. Army Rangers he was assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment out of Fort Benning, Ga.

Test Film Snaps

Some snaps from a few rolls of test film I sent through a Yashica I had never really used and an old Holga.

4-H Fair

Stump Speech

With the 2010 Midterm Elections well underway around the country, candidates were not quite stepping on each other's heels as they climbed one-by-one onto a tree stump with five minutes to appeal to a crowd of Farm Bureau and Timberland Owners Association members on Wednesday. As a photographer, events are some of the last things I want to shoot. They tend to be less personal, less intimate, and generally don't require much planning or effort to photograph. And typically, I find political speeches or press conferences, well, b-o-r-i-n-g. It's the typical grip and grins. The candidate or party member mugging for cameras and holding those handshakes with 'common folk' just a little bit longer waiting for a flash or the sound of a camera shutter's 'click.' But there's something different about election season and a sense of significance when several opposing candidates file one after the other onto a tree stump to address a crowd. Sure, there's still the stale politeness in the air accompanied with the forced smiles, but there's also a chance to be in the middle of history unfolding. One of these candidates will be a member of the U.S. Senate. One of these people will be voted to office and represent the rest of us. So, sure, it may be boring at times and maybe every event I cover dealing with the midterms won't be as unique as a speech on a tree stump, but there will always be the challenge to shoot something relevant, with context and have some sort of pleasing aesthetic. The challenege is to bring something different to the table besides the literal grip and grins, whether that be an off moment of a candidate before they make their rounds or take the stage, or a different perspective from an event.

split the scene to an island

Got back from an 8 day trip to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Had a blast and such an amazing time with my girlfriend and her family and found a new camera and a new project idea.