The Blocks: Grandma the Director

Donna Gnann, of Penacook, films a video project for her grandson, Chase Draus, 13, center, and his friends, including Duncan Nee, 13, left, at White Park in Concord on Monday evening, February 20, 2012. Draus and Nee, using toy guns, are seventh grade students at Concord Christian Academy and were filming the project for their English class along with their friend Sebastian Hart-Meyer, 13. The guidelines were to film 3 scenes from the book, "The Outsiders," and they were allowed only one death scene from the book. Gnann, who picked the boys up from school earlier that afternoon, said she thought she was just going to sit in her warm car with a book and wait as they filmed, but the boys recruited her to operate the camera. "When you die, just roll down the hill," one of the boys called out to another while they were filming.

Sports Shift

Sunday Adventure pt. II

Capping off the night with a black-tie event for Concord folk to celebrate the Oscars.

Sunday Adventure pt. I

Sometimes when you're in a funk, when you feel distant from everything, when you're at the point where things suck the passion from you and you just want to do something else all together, you need an adventure with friends to bring back the reason you are doing what you are doing and find out what you care about. Sunday was a start.

Sports shift

I've been on the sports shift for the last two weeks, so that means...sports. Duh.

368th Engineer Battalion returns home (in January)

I meant to post these photos a while back, but I have been slacking on my blog since the primaries.

A year ago, I photographed their departure ceremony as they were heading to serve in Afghanistan.  I bumped into a lot of familiar faces from that day and couldn't help be a little emotional when it was announced the battalion suffered no casualties during their tour. I have absolutely no connection to any of these people, but it's hard not to get caught up in the moment when you see how emotional and meaningful a ceremony like this is for the families and soldiers seeing each other after a year.

Ski Championships

Dean Toulas, of Boscawen, looks at his cat, Dobby, after it jumped on the couch next t him during a portrait shoot at his home. Toulas began purchasing and arranging flowers about every 10 days in honor of his wife of 43 years, Judith Griffin, who passed away last June due to bone cancer. Judith maintained a flower garden, Dean said, and always had flowers arranged throughout their home.

Announcing a Lawsuit

A press conference was held at the law offices of Devine Millimet in Concord regarding a a class action lawsuit being filed against the state of New Hampshire for, the lawsuit says, failure to provide adequate mental health services to state citizens with mental illness. Six state residents are plaintiffs in the case, all of whom are or have been institutionalized at a state-run psychiatric  institution.

Lively Still