An Alamo Bowl win and plenty of galleries
OSU head coach Mike Gundy hands the trophy to Mathies Long (35), Bo Bowling (9) and Jordan Taormina (63) after the Valero Alamo Bowl college football game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) and the University of Arizona Wildcats at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Wednesday, December 29, 2010. OSU won, 36-10. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Staff Photographers Nate Billings and Sarah Phipps travelled to Texas to photograph the Oklahoma State Cowboys play the Arizona Wildcats in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Because of the late start and early deadlines at the paper, there were plenty of pictures you may not have seen in your morning paper. Click here to check out all of the pictures Nate and Sarah turned in.
It’s New Year’s Eve, so we’re out photographing the Oklahoma City Thunder, The Flaming Lips and Opening Night here in Oklahoma City, so there will be plenty more galleries coming soon.
OSU's Ugo Chinasa (91) sacks Arizona quarterback Nick Foles (8) with the help of OSU's Jamie Blatnick (50) in the first quarter during the Valero Alamo Bowl college football game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) and the University of Arizona Wildcats at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Wednesday, December 29, 2010. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Pictures I Like-Christmas leftovers
With an audience looking on, Greg Parker (center) commands his "powder monkey" Cole McGavock, 13, to help load the cannon during the annual Christmas Guns celebration at Ft. Reno in El Reno, Oklahoma on Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
With less than three days left this year, it seems unlikely that I’ll get through all of the best of the year pictures before January. I didn’t want to get too far away from Christmas though, before re-publishing a couple of pictures I liked from around the holidays. We’ll get back to the Best of 2010 later this week before we resume blogging as usual. You can take a look at our photo galleries including the best news and feature pictures of the year and the Christmas Guns, by clicking here.
Three-year-old Alejandro Sanchez watches as his plate is filled during the annual Red Andrews Christmas Dinner at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Best of 2010-Part 5 of 12
Bethel's Michael Ragland celebrates after the win over Eufaula in the Class 3A State Baseball Championships between Eufaula and Bethel at Shawnee High School on Monday, May 17, 2010, in Shawnee, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
May was a busy month and the hardest month so far to edit. The first really severe tornadoes hit in May and there was a bizarre hailstorm on May 16, 2010.We produced a couple of slideshows this month, one featured pictures from Dog Parks around the metro area, the other is the MOOD 2010 Swimsuit preview.
The Best of the Year gallery is now online, click here to take a look at the 95 best news and features pictures from all the Staff Photographers at The Oklahoman. There will be a seperate Best of the Year Sports gallery coming soon.
Riley Thompson, 8, of Edmond, Okla., plays on mound of hailstones in the Sam's Club parking lot on Pennsylvania Avenue near Memorial Road, Sunday, May 16, 2010 in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Standing on a fallen tree, Caden Bolles looks over damage to his family's home in Little Axe, Oklahoma on Tuesday, May 11, 2010. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Anthony Middleton, 11, left, makes bubbles as his brother Jackie Middleton, 9, right, chases the bubbles while parents Michael Snider and Jennifer Snider sit on the porch with DeJay Middleton, 6. at their home in Cordell, Okla., Thursday, May 6, 2010. Anthony, Jackie and DeJay have ALD (adrenoleukodystrophy). Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Chantz Whitehead takes photos of the grand entry before the Edmond Junior Rodeo on Friday, May 7, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Texas A&M celebrates their win over Baylor following the Big 12 Championship game between Texas A&M and Baylor, Sunday, May 30, 2010, at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Best of 2010-Part 4 of 12
J.J. Johnson kneels in front of his daughter Aja Johnson's casket during her funeral at Vondel L. Smith and Son's South Colonial Chapel in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, April 7, 2010. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
I realized the other day that by picking five or six pictures from each month, I’m probably watering down the Best of 2010 selections. In our staff collection in Merlin, there are some months with only a couple of pictures. Hopefully though, this will give you a good idea of the pictures that we take and a good overview of our favorite pictures of the year. April brought the basketball season to a close. The Thunder were elimninated from the playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, it was the 15th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building and the tragic story of Aja Johnson ended with her funeral on April, 7, 2010.
We also produced more slideshows in April than in any other month this year. Check out Maximum Dodgeball, Cleaning the Fence, Keepers of the Stories, Fifteenth Anniversary, 2010 OKC Tea Party Rally and Yukon Senior Games.
OU's Joanna McFarland sits in the locker room after Oklahoma's loss against Stanford in the Final Four of the NCAA women's basketball tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas., on Sunday, April 4, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Tracie Harper pauses near the chair dedicated to her sister Christi Jenkins before the Fifteen Years Respect and Resolve ceremony at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 19, 2010. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka (9) fights LA.'s Shannon Brown (12) for a loose ball during the NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder in game six of the first round series at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Friday, April 30, 2010. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Holiday stories
Janet Biggers gets a kiss from her brother Corey Preciado as they talk about their mother Angela Biggers outside the family's home in northwest Oklahoma City on Monday, Dec. 20, 2010. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
My favorite pictures never simply show that an event happened or that a building exists. The most meaningful pictures show how an event felt. Often it’s the subtle moments that have the most meaning. A hug, a kiss, a pat on the back, a head bowed in prayer. The moments that we all relate to are the ones that connect the reader to the image and tell the story.
Staff photographers at The Oklahoman did a good job telling some important stories this holiday season by looking out for those important moments. You can read more about Angela Biggers and her family, watch a video about Christie King and her daughter or read about soldiers from Ft. Sill going home for the holidays.
Shelly McKinzie of Neosho, Mo., welcomes her son PFC. Collin Chenoweth of Pittsburg, Kans, at the Military Welcome Center at Will Rogers World Airport, Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010, in Oklahoma City. Soldiers from Ft. Sill waited at the center for flights home for the holidays. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Brendine and her mother Christie King gets a ride home from The Children's Center with EMSA paramedic Preston White on Thursday, December 23, 2010. Brendine, 4, has been comatose since being under water in May and went home for the first time for Christmas. The Teddy Bear was give to Brendine by EMSA paramedics when she was transported home. Photo by David McDaniel, The Oklahoman
Justin Baylor holds his daughter Brooklynn Baylor, 2, (CQ) as they sing "Silent Night" during a Christmas Eve service at Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City, Friday, Dec. 24, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Lunar eclipse on the winter solstice
Complete lunar eclipse Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
Tuesday’s lunar eclipse was the first time that it has coincided with winter’s solstice since 1638, 372 years! A once in a lifetime occurrence, so I decided to stay up and take photos. First thing was look up the times that the eclipse would occur and hope that there were no clouds. I gathered my equipment and then took a nap for an hour, setting my alarm for 12:40 am., which was the start time. After waking and going outside to see if it was clear, I grabbed my camera gear.
Before the lunar eclipse Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
To shoot the moon you need a long lens, 300mm minimum, the longer the better. I used a 300mm f2.8 Canon L lens and added a 2X extender to create a 600 f 5.6 lens. I then used a 50D body which has a 1.6 crop factor for the chip, which basically gave me a 960mm f 5.6 lens. Next thing to grab was the sturdiest tripod I had which had a Slik Pro Ball head on it. The eclipse was almost straight up, so the ball head worked well.
Start of the lunar eclipse Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
Not having a remote cord handy, I set the self timer to the 2 sec. delay. That allows the camera to settle down after the shutter button is pushed. Next thing is to determine exposure. Because of the 2X extender, I knew I wanted to use f8 so that the lens would be stopped down one f-stop from wide open to improve sharpness. I started with iso 800. While the sun was still on the moon that gave me a shutter speed somewhere around 1/500. There were light clouds that cut the exposure down some.
About halfway to the lunar eclipse Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
I used the camera in manual mode and proofed the exposure on the camera monitor. Automatic will not work in a situation like this because of all of the black surrounding a bright white object. If your camera has a “spot” meter setting, this is the time to use it!
About 1/4 to go to the lunar eclipse Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
Once the earth’s shadow had completely covered the moon, about 1:40 am, I had to move my iso to 2500 and slow the shutter down to about 1/2 sec. to expose the red glow of the moon. I was really glad the Oklahoma wind was still, or everything would have been shaking at those slow shutter speeds. Next time there is a lunar eclipse, plan ahead and give it your best shot!
Down to the last sliver of moon left before the complete lunar eclipse Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
-Doug Hoke
Best of 2010-Part 3 of 12 (Brought to you by basketball)
Kevin Durant (35) of Oklahoma City tries for a rebound as he is fouled by Josh Powell (21) of Los Angeles during the NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Friday, March 26, 2010. Oklahoma City won, 91-75. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
In March, the photo department put 3,418 pictures into Merlin. Almost half of them had the word ‘basketball’ somewhere in the cutline. With high school and college teams in playoffs and championship games and the Thunder season in full swing, we spent plenty of time sitting on baselines around the state. Needless to say, basketball pictures dominated this month’s selections.
OU's Amanda Thompson reacts in the second half of the 74-67 loss to Texas A&M in the women's college basketball Big 12 Tournament championship game between the University of Oklahoma and Texas A&M University on Sunday, March 14, 2010, in Kansas City, Mo. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
An Oklahoma City Police Officer carries a handcuffed George Rodriguez to a police car near 2200 SE 47th after being arrested in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma March 09 , 2010. Rodriguez was arrested at the scene after a woman was set ablaze. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman
Okarche's Kristen Meyer celebrates the Lady Warriors win over Chattanooga in the finals of the Class A girls high school basketball state tournament between Chattanooga and Okarche at the State Fair Arena, Saturday, March 6, 2010, in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Boynton coach Shartese McHenry celebrates after their win over Frontier in the Class B girls basketball state tournament at the State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City, Friday, March 5, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Laneacea Smith prays during the Shadows of the Cross service at chapel at Eddie W. Warrior Correctional Center, Sunday, March 28, 2010, in Taft, Okla. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Remember to click on the images above for a larger view and remember to click here to see photo galleries created by our photo staff.
-John Clanton
Best of 2010-Part 2 of 12
Cody Delaney, a sixth-grader, wrestles at Perry Junior High School in Perry, Okla., on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
I’ve written before about searching through Merlin. About how memories of assignments come back as you scroll through the images. Unique or unusual assignments can stick with you, make you feel like you photographed them just a few days ago. Other times assignments feel very distant, like you wouldn’t have remembered them without searching through Merlin to find the pictures. The Perry High School wrestling assignment is one that feels like I was just there a few weeks ago. You can click here to watch the slideshow I made about the history and importance of wrestling in the small Oklahoma town.
Chris Landsberger revisited Catherine Titus, who lives in Wilson, Oklahoma with her dogs, while Sarah Phipps began a story about an injured firefighter. His recovery took most of the year and she checked in to photograph him through the process of getting back to work. If you want to skip ahead to that slideshow click here, but I was going to save it for October. Sarah published another slideshow in February about a wheelchair basketball team, you can watch it by clicking here.
Catherine Titus walks with her dogs on Monday, Feb. 22, 2010, in Wilson, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Dallas Junior Wheelchair Mavericks head coach JT Terry celebrates a score during the National Wheelchair Basketball Association's 2010 Southwest Conference, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010, at the University of Central Oklahoma Wellness Center, in Edmond, Okla. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Covered with water and smoke, an Oklahoma City firefighter works on a church fire in Spencer, Okla., on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
I wrote yesterday that we’d try to squeeze in a few of our best pictures from each month and so far we’re on pace to do that. As always, you can click here to see our current photo galleries.
-John Clanton
‘Tis the Season-Best of 2010 part 1 of 12
Wayne Coyne with The Flaming Lips performs at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City on Thursday, December 31, 2009. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
It’s that time of year again when we search through Merlin and make folders of our best images of the year. So far, we’ve got a general folder and a Best Sports Photos of the Year folder. Since there are 12 days left in they year, I’m hoping I’ll find five or six pictures from each month to put up on Alternate Crop and bring another drought to a close. That’s what I’m hoping, but you both know that I’ll probably string the Best of 2010 blog entries well into February of 2011.
At any rate, here’s a few images that caught my eye from January 2010. Sarah Phipps worked on a couple of Slideshows in January that accompanied a multimedia project about Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Oklahoma City. Watch the first slideshow here and the second by clicking here. You can see all the slideshows we’ve produced by clicking here.
Stephen Lee kisses his newly adopted daughter Biverlie as they meet at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City early on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Summer Rust's mother Susan Rust and Robbie Booth, Summer's brother, hold each other during a vigil for Summer Rust and her four children in El Reno, Tuesday, January 12, 2010. Summer Rust and her four children were murdered one year ago in El Reno, Okla. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
A shop is pictured at 1300 Martin Luther King Avenue, Oklahoma City, Okla., Monday, Jan. 11, 2009. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (0) tries to slip between the defense of Denver's Ty Lawson (3) , left, and Chauncey Billups (1) during the NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Friday, January 29, 2010. Oklahoma City won, 101-84. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Armando Matlala, 15, of Edmond Santa Fe holds his head after getting hit during an Edmond Rugby Club practice in Edmond, Okla., Tuesday, January 26, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Pictures I Like-This weekend and gold ball version
Heritage Hall's Cooper Cloud celebrates after Heritage Hall's 28-21 win in the Class 3A high school football state championship game against Kingfisher at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Friday, December 10, 2010. By Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Here’s a few nice pictures taken by staff photographers over the last couple of days. Take a look at galleries of high school football championship games, holiday parades, college basketball and Thunder games by clicking here.
Civil Air Patrol 2nd Lt. Chris Dare salutes after laying a wreath on a grave during a wreath ceremony at Union Soldiers Cemetery in Oklahoma City, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
OSU's Jean-Paul Olukemi (0) dunks the ball in front of Caleb Patterson (21) of Missouri State in the first half during the men's college basketball game between Missouri State and Oklahoma State at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, December 11, 2010. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
The Hennessey Eagles celebrate with the gold ball championship trophy after the Class 2A high school football championship game between Hennessey and Davis at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, December 11, 2010. Hennessey won, 14-0. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
