Introducing the summer interns
Anil Gurung from the UK dives off the blocks during a practice for the Endeavor Games at UCO's Hamilton Field House in Edmond on Thursday, June 9, 2011. Photo by Zach Gray, The Oklahoman
This summer, The Oklahoman’s photography department has three interns. Zach Gray is a student at Oklahoma State University, Ashley R. West is a student at the University of Oklahoma and Garett Fisbeck is a student at the University of Central Oklahoma. Here’s a couple of pictures that they turned in during their first week of work.
You can see photo galleries from the students or our staff photographers by clicking here.
University of Alabama's Jazlyn Lunceford (2) dives for a ball as Jennifer Fenton (7) looks on during the Women's College World Series game between Flordia and Alabama at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Sunday, June 5, 2011. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Oklahoman
Steve Bearfoot participates in the parade during the Red Earth Festival at the Cox Convention Center Friday, June 2, 2011. Photo by Ashley R. West, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Spring Jam Spencer Rodeo
The sun sets behind a calf roper during the Annual Spring Jam Spencer Rodeo in Spencer, Oklahoma on Saturday, May 14, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
I photographed a small rodeo in Spencer a few weeks ago. Former bull riding champion Danell Tipton puts the event on every year. I wasn’t there for the sports department, and I wasn’t looking for sports action pictures. There was no PR escort and no press pass that restricted me to a certain area. No deadlines and no story angle. The Spring Jam Spencer Rodeo is held in a small, outdoor arena. It starts as the sun goes down and I was welcome to wander around and photograph whatever I wanted. It was a chance to concentrate on seeing nice pictures.
A Pony Express rider flips her hat to a friend as she rides into the arena during the Annual Spring Jam Spencer Rodeo in Spencer, Oklahoma on Saturday, May 14, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Jake Nelson gives the signal to release the gate and start his ride during the bull riding event at the Annual Spring Jam Spencer Rodeo in Spencer, Oklahoma on Saturday, May 14, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Jamelle Knight prays underneath the announcer's booth before he rides a bull during the Annual Spring Jam Spencer Rodeo in Spencer, Oklahoma on Saturday, May 14, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Flag girl Kori Liddell gets into position as the Annual Spring Jam Spencer Rodeo begins in Spencer, Oklahoma on Saturday, May 14, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
DaDa Carter plays on the support poles holding up the announcer's booth as he waits for the Annual Spring Jam Spencer Rodeo in Spencer, Oklahoma to begin on Saturday, May 14, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Three photographers and thousands of Thunder pictures
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant (35) dunks the ball as Russell Westbrook (0) celebrates near Mike Conley (11) and Shane Battier (31) of Memphis in the fourth quarter during game 7 of the NBA basketball Western Conference semifinals between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the OKC Arena in Oklahoma City, Sunday, May 15, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday at the OKC Arena. They’ll advance to the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Three photographers covered game 7 for the Oklahoman. Using remotes, hand held cameras and one photographer roaming the OKC Arena for pictures of fans reacting to the game, we took a total of 8,916 pictures. Then we spent several hours sorting through the images that we use to tell the story of the game.
You can see all of our final images by clicking here or read more about the Thunder and their win over the Grizzlies by clicking here.
Wearing a foam finger and cheering from Loud City, Sabrina Darville, of Oklahoma City, celebrates a Thunder basket during the second half of game 7 of the NBA basketball Western Conference semifinals between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the OKC Arena in Oklahoma City, Sunday, May 15, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (0) takes the ball to the hoop past Marc Gasol (33) of Memphis in the first half during game 7 of the NBA basketball Western Conference semifinals between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the OKC Arena in Oklahoma City, Sunday, May 15, 2011. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Day of prayer
First Lieutenant Montana Dugger, with the Oklahoma National Guard, bows his head in prayer during the National Day of Prayer at the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City on May 5, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
The second floor rotunda at the Oklahoma State Capitol is not well lit. Not much is at the capitol. I watched a sunbeam move across the floor in the minutes before the event started, but it never passed over anyone. Instead, I dialed the ISO on my cameras to 4000 and looked for nice moments under the best light I could find. Here’s a couple of my favorite images from the event.
You can see a few more pictures by clicking here or take a look at all of our photo galleries.
Carol Hardin, of Madill, Okla., (center) bows her head in prayer as she watches the National Day of Prayer from the third floor at the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City on May 5, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Thunder numbers
Fans hold cardboard cutouts of Thunder players before game two of the Western Conference semifinals between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA basketball playoffs at Oklahoma City Arena in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, May 3, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
The Thunder tied up their playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night with a win at the OKC Arena. Staff Photographers Chris Landsberger and Bryan Terry turned in 82 pictures from last night’s game and the pre-game festivities outside the arena. Including remote cameras on the floor and attached to the post, Chris and Bryan used a total of 9 camera bodies to cover game two.
Since the playoffs started a few weeks ago against the Denver Nuggets, we’ve turned 437 pictures into our archive system, called Merlin. Since the Thunder name was officially revealed during a press conference on Sept. 3, 2008, we’ve turned in 5,349 pictures with the word Thunder in the cutline.
Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (0) and Oklahoma City's Kendrick Perkins (5) defend Mike Conley (11) of Memphis during game two of the Western Conference semifinals between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA basketball playoffs at Oklahoma City Arena in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, May 3, 2011. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Mike Conley (11) of Memphis tries to get past Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (0) during game two of the Western Conference semifinals between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA basketball playoffs at Oklahoma City Arena in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, May 3, 2011. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant (35) goes past Tony Allen (9) of and Sam Young (4) of Memphis Memphis during game two of the Western Conference semifinals between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA basketball playoffs at Oklahoma City Arena in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, May 3, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka (9) calls for the ball to go to the Thunder during game two of the Western Conference semifinals between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA basketball playoffs at Oklahoma City Arena in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, May 3, 2011. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Here’s a few of the pictures that were turned in last night. You can see all 82 images from last night’s game by clicking here or you can read more about the Thunder by following this link.
-John Clanton
Watching the Clouds Go By
The other night I had a few minutes of down time before the start of a high school soccer game that I was shooting at Deer Creek. As I waited for the game to start, my mind began to wonder just like a kid that plays the outfield in t-ball, and I began to notice the very interesting cloud formations that were floating by overhead. In order to not let them go to waste, I grabbed my camera and went to work. Here are a few of the clouds formations I captured. You can see a few more photo in the photo gallery.
Cloud formations in the sky on Tuesday, April 12, 2011, in Edmond, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Cloud formations in the sky on Tuesday, April 12, 2011, in Edmond, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Cloud formations in the sky on Tuesday, April 12, 2011, in Edmond, Okla. This photo was shot under exposed to capture the gold light in the clouds from the sunset. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Cloud formations in the sky on Tuesday, April 12, 2011, in Edmond, Okla. This photo was shot under exposed to capture the gold light in the clouds from the sunset. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Springtime Macro
A dandelion outside a home in The Village on Saturday, April 2, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
My daughter and I collected a dandelion bouquet at the park last week. Well, I was the one holding the bouquet. She likes to pick the flowers and occasionally try to blow out the seeds, but she doesn’t like to hold more than one flower at a time. Over the years, I’ve killed thousands of dandelions in my yard, but standing out in the park the other day, I held the flowers in the sunlight and looked at how beautiful and complex they really are.
We have a 50mm macro lens in our pool closet up in the office. Since that trip to the park, I borrowed the 50mm for a few days to collect some pictures of dandelions. Here are three of my favorites.
The wind pulls at the last remaining seeds on a dandelion at Bumpass Park in The Village on Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
A dandelion at Bumpass Park in The Village on Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
AP/ONE Awards
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
Winners in the annual AP/ONE Awards were announced last night during a banquet in Oklahoma City. The awards recognize the best photographs, stories, and websites during the 2010 calendar year. The Oklahoman Photo department won a host of awards including first place in every category for still photographers; Sports, Spot News, General News, Feature, Website Photo and Photo Package, as well as the Sweepstakes Award in Photography. Here’s a couple of the winning images. Readers of Alternate Crop will recognize some of these pictures, since we’ve written about them in previous posts.
When contest time rolls around, we start gathering up our favorite pictures from the last year and put them in a folder in our archives. Here’s a gallery of all the pictures that were nominated for this year’s AP contest. Not all of these were used, of course, but it still makes for a gallery of nice images. You can see more images from The Oklahoman’s photography department by clicking here, or you can read a story about the awards by clicking here.
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
Catherine Titus gives and receives love from her dogs on Monday, Feb. 22, 2010, in Wilson, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
People leave in a haze of smoke following the LibertyFest fireworks show at the University of Central Oklahoma, Sunday, July 4, 2010, in Edmond, Okla. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Moore head football coach Scott Myers talks with quarterback Vova Razryvin before a game at Norman High School in Norman on Friday, Sept. 10, 2010. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
A member of the Oklahoma State marching band keeps playing while walking through praying members of the Oklahoma football team during the Bedlam college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Fashion, basketball and other recent assignments
Curbside advertiser Aaven Ross waves to traffic that passes by Liberty Tax Service at Pennsylvania Avenue and Hefner Road on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, Oklahoma City Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
I have gathered up a few photos taken over the last few weeks that I thought you might enjoy. Some of the photos made it to publication in the Oklahoman and others did not, so there is a chance you might have seen a few of these already. Nevertheless, I thought they might be of some enjoyment even though it might be your second time to see them. I will do my best to make a consistent post once or twice a week to offer a closer look at photos you just might like. If you would like to see even more photos check out the Oklahoman Photo Gallery page as well.
Northwest Classen soccer player Ericka Ramirez poses for a photo with her father Luis at the Northwest Classen soccer field on Wednesday, March 23, 2011, in Moore, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Matt Shepard of Catoosa reacts after a first round loss to Tuttle's Isaac Beard in the in Class 4A 145 pound match during the 90th annual Oklahoma High School state wrestling tournament on Friday, Feb. 25, 2011, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Mood Retro Fashion Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Fort Gibson's Nana Wallace, front, celebrates with her teammates after the 52-51 overtime win over Cache during the championship game of the 4A girls state championship tournament at the Big House in the State Fair Park on Saturday, March 12, 2011, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Cache's Katelynn Martine (21) reacts after missing two free throws in the final second of the 52-51 overtime loss to Fort Gibson's Jodi Glover (14) and the Lady Tigers during the championship game of the 4A girls state championship tournament at the Big House in the State Fair Park on Saturday, March 12, 2011, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Corn Bible's Ellie Troyer (30) reacts after the 42-36 win over Timberlake as Lady Tiger Erin Overton (12) walks off the court during the opening round of the Oklahoma high school Class B girls state basketball tournament between the Corn Bible Academy and Timberlake High School at the Big House in State Fair Park on Thursday, March 3, 2011, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Deer Creek Lamont fans show their school pride and cheer on the Lady Eagles during the opening round of the Oklahoma high school Class B girls state basketball tournament between Deer Creek Lamont and Erick at the Big House in State Fair Park on Thursday, March 3, 2011, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
-Chris Landsberger
Thunder and a gallery update
Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook missed this shot as he is pressured by Toronto's defense during their NBA basketball game at the OKC Arena in downtown Oklahoma City on Sunday, March 20, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Last week a reader commented on this post, that I mentioned 250 images of the Devon Tower under construction but the provided gallery had only 16 pictures. With a construction site of that magnitude and several photographers getting pictures when they can, a Merlin search of the images starts to look a little redundant. I tried to find interesting pictures from different stages of the construction and from different vantage points around the city.
I’ll admit though, that 16 images is a very tight edit. Too tight probably. So, I went back through Merlin and grabbed a few more. Here’s a gallery that features 41 images from the construction of the Devon Tower. You can also click here to see all the images I tuned in from tonight’s Thunder game against the Toronto Raptors.
-John Clanton
