Smokin’ !!!
Last night I was at the Douglass/Weatherford football game and while switching ends of the field going through the Trojan bench area I saw something amazing. Of at one end of the bench stood Nicholas Nealy and it looked like he was on fire! I’ve seen players steam before, but never rising as high and as fast as it was coming off his head. It looked like he was on fire. This photo didn’t make the paper, sp I thought I would share it with you here.
SMOKIN' Steam rises from the head of Nicholas Nealy as he rests on the sideline during the high school football game between Douglass and Weatherford at Douglass High School Friday, Oct. 23, 2009. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
-Doug Hoke
32 years and counting…
Recently I covered the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Boone Pickens Stadium at OSU before the Georgia game. Not one to normally be nostalgic, I none-the-less started thinking back about the 32 years I’ve been covering football at OSU and OU too. Maybe it was wearing the 1970’s denim photo vest that staffer John Clanton and his wife Julie had dared me to wear. I accepted and then went full retro (except using digital cameras instead of film). See photo. I somehow convinced Epperson’s Photo of how smart it would be for them to give me the vest, since I was such an important photographer! LOL
Doug Hoke with his denim 1970's photo vest and retro look.
OSU coach Mike Gundy and OSU president Burns Hargis watch as Boone Pickens cuts the ribbon to officially open the new stadium before the college football game between OSU and the University of Georgia at Boone Pickens Stadium on the campus of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
When I started coming to Stillwater for The Oklahoman the stadium was not much more than rusty bleachers and now it is one of the finest facilities in the Big 12 if not the country. As I made my way through the press box and worked the sidelines there were only 5 faces I saw that had been around as long. Mike Holder who was golf coach back then is now the Athletic Director. Pat Quinn was the SID when I started, but long since retired. Dr. Cooper is still patrolling the sidelines as is Steve Ingram, an OSU campus police officer who I have seen just about every season. And John Biever with Sports Illustrated was at the game too.
Not many working peers left, but lots of athletes in front of the lens. A few stand out. The best receiver I ever covered was Hart Lee Dykes. The guy could catch anything thrown his direction. Speaking of throwing, another OSU player named Mike Gundy stands out. Don’t know if he’s the best, but I have covered him at MWC high school, OSU as a player and now a coach. That’s history.
Hart Lee Dykes is congratulated by teammates after a touchdown in 1988 against Texas A&M. Photo by Doug Hoke.
OSU head coach Pat Jones, left, talks with an assistant coach as quarterback Mike Gundy looks on Saturday. Photo by Doug Hoke
oach Mike Gundy talks with an official during the college football game between OSU and the University of Georgia at Boone Pickens Stadium on the campus of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
Thurman Thomas and a guy named Barry Sanders are near the top of the running back list. But my favorite all time running back to photograph was Billy Sims. I just like the way he glided around the field. Add two other Heisman winners, Jason White and Sam Bradford and that’s four Heisman players I’ve covered.
A couple of others who stand out are Brian Bosworth and Adrian Peterson. Bosworth played with passion and Peterson is, well, AD. I’m horrible with names, so I’m sure there are others I should mention, especially members of OSU’s swarming defenses over the years that I made iconic images of.
Barry Sanders 89 yard TD, outruns the Miami of Ohio defense. Staff Photo by Doug Hoke
1/2/79. Orange Bowl. OU-Nebraska. Oklahoma halfback Billy Sims outruns Nebraska's Jim Pillen on his way to his first Orange Bowl touchdown as the Sooners downed the Huskers 31-24 in Miami. Staff photo by Doug Hoke
University of Oklahoma vs Baylor University in Norman, Okla. on Saturday October 20, 2001. OU quarterback Jason White scrambles looking for a receiver late in the game. Staff photo by Doug Hoke.
Sam Bradford, Putnam City North, high school football. Staff photo by Doug Hoke.
Sam Bradford throws a pass during the first half of the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008, in Stillwater, Okla.
After a week off for a wedding, I’m back in Stillwater today covering the game with Rice. Please, no rain! I’m starting to feel old.
-Doug Hoke
Great Ball of Fire!!
When I left the office tonight (Sept. 1) at Britton and Broadway Extension a little after 7:00, I noticed the sun was a big red ball in the sky. Knowing the conditions for this type of sunset are rare I kept an eye on it while looking for something to put in front of it during the drive home. As it fell lower and lower, it opened up a lot of opportunities. As I headed west on 33rd toward Coltrane I spotted the tall grass I put in the foreground, which luckily was right by a turn-off in the road. I whipped the car in and jumped out to get my Canon 40D and 300mm f2.8 lens and plopped on the ground and started shooting. For situations like this, I like to shoot in the jpeg + raw mode which allows quick editing for the newspaper deadlines, but also gives me more detail if I need it. The great thing about these type of sunsets is the exposure is so close to the ambient light, thereby maintaining detail in the sun. I varied the size the sun appeared by using different f-stops. The larger the aperture, the larger the sun. This frame was shot at iso 200 1/1600 at f2.8 to give the sun its maximum size. I think it was worth pulling over for and I hope you do to.
Tall grass is silhouetted against the setting sun along 33rd street in Edmond near Coltrane Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
-Doug Hoke
Just a lightning strike away…
Hugh Scott doesn’t get many bylines in the paper because most of his work is for the advertising and marketing departments at OPUBCO. But he has a collection of lightning photos that is insane! Here are a few from an early August storm. Seems like we’ve had more than normal for this time of the year.
Lightning strikes over the OPUBCO Communications building late Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009, night as storms rolled across central Oklahoma. Photo by Hugh Scott, The Oklahoman.
Lightning strikes over the OPUBCO Communications building late Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009, night as storms rolled across central Oklahoma. Photo by Hugh Scott, The Oklahoman.
Lightning strikes over the OPUBCO Communications building late Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009, night as storms rolled across central Oklahoma. Photo by Hugh Scott, The Oklahoman.
Lightning strikes over the OPUBCO Communications building late Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009, night as storms rolled across central Oklahoma. Photo by Hugh Scott, The Oklahoman.
-Doug Hoke
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.
What detail! Radiator cap on a 1927 Buick belonging to Randy Dekker at the LibertyFest Car Show on the campus of UCO Saturday, June 27, 2009. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
1955 Chevy Bel Air convertible belonging to Annette Myers at the LibertyFest Car Show on the campus of UCO Saturday, June 27, 2009. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
1955 Ford F-100 pick up belonging to Kathy Bernhardt at the LibertyFest Car Show on the campus of UCO Saturday, June 27, 2009. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
Donna and Brandon Krist look at an original, unrestored 1959 Chevy Impala Sport Coupe with 50,000 miles owned by Dennis and Sharon Doughty of Edmond at the LibertyFest Car Show on the campus of UCO Saturday, June 27, 2009. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
1962 Chevy Corvette at the LibertyFest Car Show on the campus of UCO Saturday, June 27, 2009. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
1966 Cord Repro belonging to Dale Williams at the LibertyFest Car Show on the campus of UCO Saturday, June 27, 2009. This car is number 37 of 97 built in Tulsa. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
-Doug Hoke
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
Natalie Delpha, 7, plays "Simon Says, Smile!" during a class in Fink Park during Edmond Girl Scout Twilight Camp Monday, June 15, 2009. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
-Doug Hoke
Ashley McKee
Ashley McKee
Ashley McKee, The Oklahoman’s 2009 photo summer intern started this week. Ashley comes to us from The University of Montana in Missoula. Ashley went to her first assignment Friday, the reopening of the Rock Cafe in Stroud after its destructive fire last year. Here are a couple of her photos. Some were published on Saturday May 30 and more will run with the Food Dude’s column in the Life section this week. Look for more from Ashley as we get her up to speed and she finds some projects to work on.
The reopening of the Rock Cafe happened Friday, May 29, 2009, a year after the historic building burnt down. Photo by Ashley McKee, The Oklahoman
The reopening of the Rock Cafe happened Friday, May 29, 2009, a year after the historic building burnt down. Photo by Ashley McKee, The Oklahoman
-Doug Hoke, Dir. of Photography
High Jump
This photo has extra meaning for me, not only because I think it turned out really well, but because the subject, Toni Young, is a high jumper. I was a 3-year-letterman high jumper in track in high school. When this assignment to shoot Toni, who tied the national record with a jump of 6′-4″ earlier, came up last week as a promo for the state 6A championships it brought back a few memories.
Her school, and the track we would shoot at, Del City High School, is where I set a personal best in 1975, my senior year. My 5′-11″ pales compared to her record, but was still my personal best. My senior season had a couple of distractions for me. One, senioritis–my hat goes off to all those spring sport seniors who can stay focused, and photography, which has become my life-long passion and vocation.
Toni Young eyes the high jump bar at 6'-4", the height of her national record tying jump earlier this season. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklaoman
Doug Hoke high jumping during a dual meet at PCW in 1975.
-Doug Hoke
Capturing the joy of others
Last Saturday I was at Cops Cooped Up, an event to raise money for Special Olympics by the Edmond Police Department and also a safety fair. It got its name because Officer Aaron Randall stayed in a tent in the parking lot of Academy Sports from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm. The Edmond police and fire departments brought out a lot of their equipment to show the public. Safety fairs are mainly put on to help educate children and let them meet these real life heroes. And kids there were. Which brings me to the point of this entry, capturing the joy of children and their parents photographically. It has always been one of the parts of my job I enjoy the most. Most young children have an innocence that allows them to enjoy things we (adults) take for granted. A young boy watching a fireman climb the ladder on a fire truck. Sitting on a police motorcycle or peering into the K-9 car to get a close look at the dog. Or just saying things to make us laugh. I hope you enjoy the following photos as much as I did taking them.
Matthew Coomes, 6, watches with amazement as a firefighter climbs the ladder on a fire truck during the Cops Cooped Up-Special Olympics fundraiser and safety fair in Edmond Saturday, May 9, 2009. Randall spent the day inside the tent. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
A firefighter climbs the ladder on a fire truck during the Cops Cooped Up-Special Olympics fundraiser and safety fair in Edmond Saturday, May 9, 2009. Randall spent the day inside the tent. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
Melayna Croan, 3, sits on a police motorcycle during the Cops Cooped Up-Special Olympics fundraiser and safety fair in Edmond Saturday, May 9, 2009. Randall spent the day inside the tent. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
K-9 Officer Neil Martin talks about his dog Mambo with Angela Yaw and her daughters Angelica Yaw, 9, and Trista Yaw, 5, as they get a closer look during the Cops Cooped Up-Special Olympics fundraiser and safety fair in Edmond Saturday, May 9, 2009. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
Officer Sean Bryant, left, laughs with Officer Aaron Randall, right, as 7 year old Tyler Evans, the son of Det. Tom Evans, entertains them during the Cops Cooped Up-Special Olympics fundraiser and safety fair in Edmond Saturday, May 9, 2009. Randall spent the day inside the tent. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
To see a gallery from last Saturday, click here
Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service
Jim Beckel covered the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service this morning and came up with some nice photos.
Oklahoma County Sheriff's Deputy Leroy Scott touches the brim of his hat as he lowers his head while standing among honor guards from police departments throughout the state.at the 41st annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial Service on the grounds of the Department of Public Safety offices at NE 36 and MLK, Friday morning, May 8, 2009. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
Chris Haney, Lighthorse police chief, shows his son Austin, 8, names on one of the memorials after the ceremony. Lighthorse is the police agency for the Seminole Nation. Fallen law officers were honored at the 41st annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial Service on the grounds of the Department of Public Safety offices at NE 36 and MLK, Friday morning, May 8, 2009. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
Honor guards from police departments throught the state honor fallen comrades at the 41st annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial Service on the grounds of the Department of Public Safety offices at NE 36 and MLK, Friday morning, May 8, 2009. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
Honor guards from police departments through out the state honor fallen comrades at the 41st annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial Service on the grounds of the Department of Public Safety offices at NE 36 and MLK, Friday morning, May 8, 2009. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
To see the complete gallery click here
-Doug Hoke
