Alternate Crop

• Home
• NewsOK | Photo

Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall

Bryan Terry just turned in this photo from the traveling recreation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial known as the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall. The Wall arrived in Piedmont, Okla., tonight and will be there until Sunday, July 5.

-Nate Billings

LibertyFest Car Show

Went to the LibertyFest car show this morning on the campus of UCO. It was hot and so were the cars! One of the best shows I’ve seen. Something from every decade from 1900!  I love the cars from the 50’s and 60’s. Back when the designers still ruled! Great car stories too. Here are a few of my favorite detail photos. Enjoy the full gallery here.

-Doug Hoke

Frog and Turtles races

A move to Dallas has not kept Lisa Cochell and her family from their tradition of attending Camp DaKaNi in Oklahoma City. Cochell starting attending the camp in 1973. Her little brother and sister joined soon after.

She now spends her summer vacations at the camp with her son, nieces and nephews. They have been attending since 1997.

The turtle and frog races have always been a favorite highlight at the camp.

“I love watching their faces. They are all so excited. I had a little camper today, she gave her turtle to the office because we had two turtles in the same category and her turtle won second. Even though it wasn’t for our group, she was like ‘My turtle won second’ and that is the best feeling. That is why I take my vacations to do this, ” Cochell said.

The night before the races, Cochell and several of the others counselor catch frogs on the pond at Camp DaKaNi. It is an activity they have done for several years.

“My son is great at catching frogs and it is because he has been doing it since he was four years old,” she said.

Click play to see all frog racing photos and to hear audio from the race.

-Sarah Phipps

Coyote Ugly Opening Night

- Ashley McKee

A new award

The Great Plains Journalism Competition, which is sponsored by the Tulsa Press Club, had their first awards ceremony on Saturday night in Tulsa. This competition was different than most of the ones we enter. Instead of awarding a first, second, third and honor mentions in each category, the Great Plains Journalism Competition awards only Finalists and Winners. Here’s how we did and some of the winning photos.

Winner in Sports Photo — Chris Landsberger

Winner in Web/Slideshow Photos –John Clanton

Winner in Spot News–Steve Gooch

Winner in Feature Photo, single — Jim Beckel

Winner in Photography Portfolio — Bryan Terry

Winner in News Photo –Paul Hellstern

Finalist in Feature Photography Multiple –Jim Beckel
Finalist in General Photography–Sarah Phipps

-John Clanton

An Agricultural Paradise: farmers, wheat dander, and … rattlesnakes?

I knew traveling roughly 1600 miles to a different state would set forth new challenges for me as a photojournalist.  I’m in a different place- different climate, different weather, different terrain, different people and strangely, different animals.

A few weeks ago I traveled southwest Oklahoma with reporter Bryan Painter in search of wheat harvesters.  I’m lucky I enjoy the open road and cruising down highways because we decided to look for the harvesters the day after Oklahoma had some heavy rainfall.  Wheat harvesting is a very particular craft- the wheat needs to be dry and crackling like that popping noise one hears after pouring milk on their Rice Crispy cereal according to Brian.  The day we decided to go out, none of the farmers were risking harvesting their already lower than average wheat supply.  So we kept driving south.

As the day rolled along and the driving became more routine, we were almost to the border of Texas near the Red River in Olustee, Oklahoma before we found our farmers.  A father and his son were confident enough to begin harvesting around 5 p.m. when the wheat already had enough time to dry out during the long, hot day after the rain from the day before.

In Montana, where I am from, I have witnessed farming practices several times before, from small family garlic farms to large grass-fed cattle ranches, but I have never been in the heart of true agriculture country so I was excited to see such heavy, colossal columbine tractors rip through the fields.  After introducing ourselves to the farmers I decided to take my cameras to the end of the gated field and get a wide picture of the situation.  I had seen the shot coming in and wanted to get it before the sun sunk deeper into the horizon.

While setting up my video camera and taking a few shots I had in mind I saw Bryan making his way toward me.  Thinking he was coming to tell me to move so the tractors could start doing their job I quickly tried to shoot some video of the wheat slowly moving with the wind before the tractors took it all away.  Bryan had a different report to give me.  At first he asked me what kind of shoes I was wearing, which I found odd, but I just told him I was wearing my hiking boots because my editor warned me the landscape was going to be a wee bit different than city streets and carpeted floors.  Bryan looked relieved and preceded to tell me I was in a Rattlesnake-infested wheat field.  There are rattlesnakes in Montana, but it has never been anything to worry about when perusing in nature.  Bryan looked a little concerned, but I told him I would be just a few more minutes.  As adamant as I was about shooting wheat blowing in the wind, my mind started to vear to serpentine reptiles popping their chilling heads out of unseen holes in the ground and biting me with their venomous-filled fangs.  The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to get out of there.

I try not to let things like that ever get to me, but the more somethings wraps its eerie-self around my brain, the harder it is for me to concentrate on why I am there in the first place.  The last thing I want is to have to be sent to an Oklahoma City emergency room for a totally new set of adventures, and bills…

-Ashley McKee

People on Sundays

Michael Childs is proud that three of his children have graduated from Midwest City High School. Proud that his youngest two are still there and on the honor roll for their grades.  And, as he knocks on a wooden end table next to his chair, proud that he has no grandchildren. Natasha, Chris, Michael Jr., Casey and Ebony live with their father in a three bedroom house in Midwest City. He’s had full custody of them for the last six years. On Father’s Day, Childs took his children to church and they shared lunch. In the evening he straightened the house and prepared for another week at work while the kids did the dishes. “It’s tough sometimes. But I make the most of it.”

To see a Father’s Day slideshow click here.

-John Clanton

Sparks America Bikers Week

I don’t think this photo by Jim Beckel will make it into the newspaper. However, it works perfectly well here. To see a photo gallery of other pictures from bike rally, click here.

-Nate Billings

Lawn mower racing

Here are some pictures and a video of the El Reno Grascar Association lawn mower races by staffer Bryan Terry. This looks like entirely too much fun.

-Nate Billings

Simon Says

Remember playing Simon Says when you were a kid? How fun it was? Well now the fun is taking photos of kids playing Simon Says as I did Monday night in Edmond’s Fink Park at the Girl Scout Twilight Camp. I came across a group of Brownies playing and took some photos as the command was “Simon Says Smile Big!” See more photos Saturday in the MyEdmond section and a photo gallery:  http://newsok.com/multimedia/photos/gallery/501195

-Doug Hoke

Powered by Wordpress | WP Premium theme by WP Remix
Copyright 2007. Alternate Crop. All rights reserved

• Home
• NewsOK | Photo