Not sure what to call this

Michele Bachmann at Memorial Day Parade

Memorial Day Parade

We've all seen a parade. We don't need to see the parade to get a feel of the day or what the day was about.

Gettin away

A trip to the beach became a rather quick trip after touching the water and realizing it's not yet warm enough for my liking. So I sat on the beach and watched the bootie-wearing, glove-bound people catching a few good ones. It wasn't worth the cold today. Maybe tomorrow if the sun comes out.

Different views

Kathy and her puppy Teddy

Jon Huntsman for USA Today

I spent a couple of hours on Saturday following around former Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr., of Utah, as he toured several businesses in the greater Manchester, N.H. area. I had a schedule of where Huntsman would be at what time and was fortunate when they made an unplanned stop at a Harley dealership. Saturday was my second time working with Susan Page, USA Today's Washington Bureau Chief and often guest-host on The Diane Rehm Show on NPR. We worked together covering Mitt Romney in March and she was just as awesome to work with this time around.

On Sunday, I tagged along with friend (and Concord Monitor photo intern), Neil Blake, on his assignment to photograph Huntsman at a house party. I figured there would be better access, real moments and he would be more apt to dropping his guard. Both Saturday and Sunday were my days off but I'm trying to immerse myself in as much as I can related to the 2012 primaries.

Shooting for yourself and putting it in the paper

Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but the act of taking a risk goes a long way in the learning process. If it doesn't work, I still think it's better than the typical 'newspaper' photo.

My assignment was to set up a background, lights, and shoot the teams participating in a benefit race here in Concord. Needless to say, it was a little uncomfortable being thrown into such a situation without having any input. Mid-way through, I realized this wasn't going to lend itself to anything that could run as a package, or at least how I was shooting it. It looked like those photos you get when you're on a soccer team when you're 5 years-old. It was hard to get creative and get anything unique besides just team photos. I shot until the race began, then we broke down the lighting setup and brought it to a spot just after the finish line. Something different. In hindsight I wish I brought a black backdrop too, so the runners would be completely isolated and illuminated only by the flash. It was a spur-the-moment idea but I think it works as a series. Alone, the photos don't necessarily work, but there's often power in numbers. I worked with a night editor and this collection of 8 images is running in Friday's paper.

Donald Trump in Nashua: Take 2