Pictures I Like-The last 21 Days
Sofie watches her owner, Tim Burch, help install a new sign at the Cock O' the Walk bar, N 36th and Western, Sunday, March 20, 2011, in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
If you’re new to Alternate Crop, or if you haven’t checked in for awhile, this installment of ‘Pictures I Like’ is a good look at the work we’ve been busy with in March. We’ve photographed grass fires in the state, seen a change in the weather and covered the end of high school basketball season. We’ve also gotten nice pictures from the Timed Event Championship, The Big 12 Basketball Tournament and troops returning home from service overseas.
Some of these pictures were used in the newspaper, but for a few of them, this is the first time they’ve been used. Remember that you can click on each of these pictures to see a larger version, or you can see a collection of photo galleries, by clicking here.
Jim Ross Cooper rolls over his steer while competing in Steer Wrestling during the Timed Event Championships at the Lazy E Arena, Friday, March 4, 2011. Photo by David McDaniel, The Oklahoman
Courtney Walker (23), left, and Tamara Lee (20), right, of Edmond Santa Fe kiss the gold ball trophy after the Class 6A girls basketball state championship game between Edmond Santa Fe and Midwest City at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla., Saturday, March 12, 2011. Edmond Santa Fe won, 56-36. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
William Hunter hugs his son, William Hunter, Jr., 4, as Hunter and other members of the 507th Air Refueling Wing, U.S. Air Force Reserve, return from duty overseas to Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, March. 9, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
A grass fire burns near a neighborhood close to South County Line Road and SW 29th, Sunday, March 20, 2011, in Mustang, Okla.. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma State's lacrosse team hold up their sticks after getting instructions during a timeout in the Bedlam lacrosse game outside Cheyenne Middle School in Edmond, Okla., on Sunday, March. 6, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
OSU's Jean-Paul Olukemi reacts after the Cowboys' loss to Kansas in the college basketball Big 12 Championship tournament game in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, March 10, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Basketball in Kansas City
Oklahoma State's Reger Dowell (5) tries to get past Nebraska's Jorge Brian Diaz during the college basketball Big 12 Championship tournament game between Oklahoma State and Nebraska in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, March 9, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and the other teams in the Big 12 Conference are in Kansas City this week to compete in the Big 12 tournament. Staff Photographer Bryan Terry has been covering the games, transmitting pictures and making online galleries. Take a look at more pictures from the tournament games by clicking here.
OU's Cade Davis reacts next to Baylor's Quincy Acy during the college basketball Big 12 Championship tournament game between the University of Oklahoma and Baylor in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, March 9, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Better than a poke in the eye
Jimmie Cooper, of Monument, New Mexico, gets a horn to his face as he competes in the steer wrestling event during Timed Event Championship at Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Okla., on Sunday, March. 6, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
It’s customary for news photographers to stay busy with sports assignments in March. The Big 12 college basketball tournaments are underway in Kansas City, while back in Oklahoma City, high school teams from around the state compete for a state championship at the State Fair Arena.
Some of the smaller schools have already played for championships, while the larger schools’ playoffs continue. Finding the best pictures from these games is a challenge, because so many nice images have been turned in from our staff photographers. Here’s a few pictures from last week along with one of my favorite steer wrestling pictures from the Timed Event Championships at Lazy E Arena in Guthrie. Today is a good day to check our photo gallery page if you’ve never seen it. We have galleries up from National Guard training at Camp Gruber, high school basketball playoffs, Oklahoma City Thunder against the Phoenix Suns, and OSU Spring Football practice.
Carson Perry, 17, at left, Ashlyn Yancey, 15, and Katie Hart, 14, react as Fort Cobb-Broxton wins the boys Class A boys basketball state tournament championship game between over Cheyenne-Reydon at State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City, Saturday, March 5, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Graham's Dylan Harmon (32) puts his head on the shoulder of Kyle Hart (24) as Hart holds the state runner-up trophy after the Class B boys basketball state tournament championship game between Graham and Forgan at State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City, Saturday, March 5, 2011. Forgan won, 81-47. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
The Calumet team, including Morgan Renbarger, center, celebrate after winning the Class A girls basketball state tournament championship game between Calumet and Cyril at State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City, Saturday, March 5, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
More sports pictures
Garrison McCualey of Comanche celebrates after winning the Class 3A 160-pound match in the state wrestling tournament at State Fair Arena, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
If you’ve followed Alternate Crop at all, you’re aware that a healthy portion of our assignments are from sports events. We’re always looking for sports action pictures during these assignments, but getting storytelling images doesn’t stop just because we’re at a game or a match. A player’s reactions in those moments after a game can be even more important than a photo of him driving the lane.
Bryan Terry photographed the state high school wrestling championships last weekend. The pictures that stand out are the ones taken in the moment that the wrestlers become state champions. You can see the hours of training and the intensity of the tournament in Garrison McCualey’s face and body language as he celebrates his win. Meanwhile, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant celebrate an exciting and exhausting win over the Thunder. OU’s Carlee Roethlisberger comforts teammate Danielle Robinson after Robinson’s last second shot doesn’t fall and the Sooners lose to the Baylor Bears. In all these cases, whether the pictures were used in the newspaper or not, it’s the players’ reactions to the game that tells the story.
Oklahoma's Danielle Robinson reacts while teammate Carlee Roethlisberger tries to help her up following their women's college basketball game against Baylor at Lloyd Noble Center on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. The Sooners lost to Baylor 82-81. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Lakers' Pau Gasol (16) and Kobe Bryant (24) celebrate the Lakers' win as Oklahoma City's Nick Collison (4) and Thabo Sefolosha (2) walk off the court during the NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, at the Oklahoma City Arena.Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Conner Cline of Blackwell celebrates on top of Gunner Laffoon of Tuttle during the Class 4A 112-point match in the state wrestling tournament at State Fair Arena, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Click these links to see photo galleries from Thunder against Lakers, high school wrestling, or OU women against Baylor.
-John Clanton
Random acts of art
A mural in a walkway on the east side of the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
There’s a tunnel on the east side of the capitol that is decorated with a series of murals depicting different regions and events in the state of Oklahoma. The sand dunes at Little Sahara, wheat harvests, city skylines and Barry Sanders as the OSU running back are a few of the scenes in the poorly lit walkway. My favorite of the whole bunch is this scene of a firefighter climbing through smoke while children play in the foreground. Every time I visit the capitol and see this mural, I think it would make the perfect cover to the science fiction novel Hellstrom’s Hive by Frank Herbert.
As for random acts of art, if you somehow missed this slideshow from October 2009 you should give it a quick look.
-John Clanton
Some unpublished sports pictures
Norman's Nathan Sheely swims the Boys 100 Yard Freestyle during the finals of the Class 6A State Swimming Championships at the Oklahoma City Community College Aquatic Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. Sheely finished fourth in the event. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Staff photographers at The Oklahoman covered a wide variety of sports events around the city in the last few weeks, from high school swimming championships to college wrestling to NBA basketball. Here are a few images that were not selected to run in the newspaper. You can see images from these events as well as other sports, news, feature and entertainment assignments by clicking here.
Oklahoma State's Dallas Bailey wrestles with Oklahoma's Tyler Caldwell (top) during their dual at McCasland Field House on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, Okla., on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011. Tyler Caldwell won this match. Oklahoma State won the dual 24-9. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (0) goes to the basket between Los Angeles' Blake Griffin (32) and DeAndre Jordan (9) during the NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers at the Oklahoma City Arena, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Pictures I Like-So far this month
A motorist tries to dig a path for their car on the access road to I-235 near Britton Road during a major winter storm that hit central Oklahoma Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
So far this month, Staff photographers at The Oklahoman have put over 1,100 images into our archive system. I thought that seemed like a high number and attributed it to the snow storms. When I looked up the same time period over the last few years, however, we turned in about the same amount in the first 13 days of February 2010 and 2009 we turned in nearly 1,400 images.
We’re getting back into a more normal routine after the recent snow storms. No early deadlines or assignments canceled because of ice and snow this week. There are plenty of images to catch up on from the end of last week and some good stories to look for on the Alternate Crop blog site in the next few days. Here’s a last look at some of the blizzard images you may have missed last week, as well as gymnastics and Rumble the Bison. We’ve put up galleries about the PBR events in Oklahoma City over the weekend as well as galleries from Oklahoma City Thunder games that you can watch by clicking here and remember that you can click the images on this post to see them on a dark background.
Abby Hoffman, 12, of Jenks Gymnastics competes on the bars during the Nadia Comaneci International Invitational at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Friday, Feb. 11, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
The sun sets at a frozen Lake Hefner, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011, in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Guilherme Marchi's ride ends during the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) 2011 Built Ford Tough Series event at the OKC Arena in Oklahoma City on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka (9) blocks the shot of Washington's Kevin Seraphin (13) during the NBA basketball game between the Washington Wizards and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Oklahoma City Arena in Oklahoma City, Friday, January 28, 2011. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Jennie Linck (right) slips and falls as she and her sister Meg Linck (in pink) help push German exchange student, Alexander Kauschanski, down their street in Heritage Hills during a snow storm in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Firefighters battle a house fire in the 1900 block of E Harrison in Guthrie County, February 3 , 2011. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman
Greg Rosino surprised his wife Krystale at work when Thunder Mascot Rumble delivered a Valentine Surprise on Saturday, February 12, 2011, in Norman, Okla. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Best of 2010-The rest of the months
John Pfeiffer, of Pfeiffer Angus Farms, walks across a dried up part of one of his ponds on his ranch near Orlando, Wednesday, December 15, 2010. Photo by David McDaniel, The Oklahoman
I’ve strung this out too long. I think that by Jan. 12, 2011, we should be looking at pictures from this year and not looking backwards. So this is it. A colossal blog post featuring some of our best pictures from the last four months of 2010. Click on all the links to past posts, galleries and slideshows and you’ll be all caught up on 2010.
Roderick Norwood Jr., 2, trick-or-treats, Saturday Oct. 30, 2010, in the Mesta Park Neighborhood in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
We’re always busy in the fall with high school and college football, RedHawks baseball, feature stories and the usual newspaper assignments. We produced slideshows about Route 66 Bowl, Moore High School football Head Coach Scott Myers, and Kody Turner, a high school football player who died after football practice in September. Sarah Phipps worked on a story about Oklahoma City Firefighter Kent Collins, that was published in October, and there’s a nice slideshow about the 2010 Bedlam football game.
OSU's Justin Blackmon (81) catches a pass for a touchdown in front of Aaron Williams (4) of Texas in the second quarter during the college football game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) and the University of Texas Longhorns (UT) at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, Saturday, November 13, 2010. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
James Bowman gets a hug from one of his caregivers, Sherry Spangler, at a home he shares with roommates in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, August 25, 2010. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Our interns, Miranda Grubbs and Mitch Alcala left us at the end of July. We wrote about their pictures, and we had some other interesting posts toward the end of 2010. Some of our memorable pictures and posts include Welcome to the South Pole, OSU and OU pictures just days before Bedlam, 5 years at The Oklahoman, Happy Halloween, the State Fair, black mud and minnows, the most photographed rainbow of the year, Bryan Terry’s pictures, and Of Light and Shade.
Visitors to the Oklahoma State Fair ride the tram on Wednesday, September 22, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
School principal JoAnn Simpson-Miller talks with a distraught Jorge Gonzales, 5, as he sits on the floor outside his kindergarten classroom at Sunset Elementary School on the first day of classes in Edmond Thursday, August 19, 2010. Photo by Paul B. Southerland, 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
If you haven’t already, click here to see our best news and feature pictures of the year or click here to see our best sports photos of the year. We publish new photo galleries everyday at this site and this page holds an archive of our slideshows going back to Feb. 1, 2008.
I looked through thousands of pictures from 2010 to write about them for Alternate Crop. If we had a Photographer of the Year Award at The Oklahoman, I would nominate for Bryan Terry. His name is the only one that made the final edit during every month of the Best of 2010 series. He routinely brings back compelling pictures from a wide variety of assignments. In 2010 he he got nice images everything from Division 1 college football and NBA basketball to junior rodeos, candlelight vigils and neighborhood picnics. If such an award actually existed, Bryan would likely received a refurbished soccer trophy from 1984 during a banquet that would be held on my back porch.
So, that’s it for 2010. We’ll get back to concentrating on our newest pictures and multimedia projects.
-John Clanton
Best of 2010-Part 7 of 12
Tyke Kipp of Lordsburg, N.M., takes cover after falling off his horse in the saddle bronc event during the International Finals Youth Rodeo in Shawnee, Okla., Friday, July 16, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
We’ve made it up to July. At this rate we’ll get through last year’s highlights by next week. One of my favorite fourth of July pictures was taken by Sarah Phipps this month. We also had more flooding, International Finals Youth Rodeo in Shawnee and the 2010 Sitting Volleyball World Championships in Edmond. There were a couple of slideshows worth looking at, one about watermelon seed spitting, the other one is about catfish noodling. Remember, you can take a look at all of our photo galleries or you can click on these images to see larger versions.
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
Oklahoma City Fire Department Chaplain Ted Wilson comforts the mother of drowning victim after he told her the body of her son had been found in the Oklahoma River. Oklahoma City firefighters and nearby residents searched the receding waters of Lightning Creek in south Oklahoma City Tuesday morning, July 7, 2010. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
Veteran Paul Jones, of Guthrie, hugs his daughter Allison Robinson, after he looks up names on the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall at Reaves Park in Norman on Sunday, July 4, 2010. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
USA's Kari Miller (10) and Nichole Millage celebrates a point during the 2010 Sitting Volleyball World Championships Women's gold medal match between USA and China, Sunday, July 18, 2010, at the University of Central Oklahoma, in Edmond, Okla. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Ryan Hammer, the father of Chasity Hammer, pauses in front of the casket during the funeral for Katrina Griffin and her children, Christian Griffin, 8, and Chasity Hammer, 6, at First Baptist Church in Blanchard, Oklahoma, Friday, July 30, 2010. The bodies of Griffin and her two children were found burned in their home near Dibble, Oklahoma, on July 23, 2010. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Best of 2010-Part 6 of 12
The Amazing Boobzilla breathes fire during the Carnival of Cleavage sideshow, Friday, June 11, 2010, in Bricktown in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Two days ago I found an old fortune cookie in my coat pocket. The fortune inside said ‘under-promise and over deliver.’ Clearly, I could have used that advice before I started the ill-fated attempt to get 12 months of pictures written into blog posts late in December. So here we are in January looking at pictures from June of last year, but I’m determined to get through the Best of 2010 series. Most of the pictures in Best of 2010 deserve another look and in some cases, this is the first time they’ve ever been published.
There was a slideshow about Vietnam Veterans in June that you can watch by clicking here. And, of course, there’s the entire Best of 2010 gallery and the Best Sports photo gallery.
Ana Gonzalez (right) and a friend join hundreds of other participants as they watch a performance during a street show before the Oklahoma City Pride Parade on Sunday, June 27, 2010. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Zachary English, 8, stands in the bed of a 1945 Ford fire truck during the LibertyFest car show on the University of Central Oklahoma campus in Edmond, Okla., Saturday, June 26, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Rylee Cook, 7, swims at Pelican Bay Aquatic Center, Saturday, June, 19, 2010, in Edmond, Okla. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Daniel Parker splashes water while sitting on his mailbox in front of his house in the Palo Verde Addition in Edmond, OK, after flood waters inundated a number of homes in the area, Monday, June 14, 2010. By Paul Hellstern, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
