Storm coverage in Oklahoma
Miranda Lewis makes the best of a bad situation as she models a dress that was undamaged by Tuesday's tornado that destroyed her family's home west of El Reno, Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Staff Photographers at The Oklahoman went out Tuesday night to photograph the severe thunderstorms east of the metro area. Early Wednesday morning, the same photographers went back out to the areas most affected by the tornadoes hoping to meet people and help tell their stories.
We made a photo gallery with 73 pictures that were sent in on Tuesday, May 24, 2011. You can see photographs from Wednesday, or look at any of our photo galleries by clicking here.
A family photo is stuck through the wall in the home of Robert Todd west of El Reno, Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
A half-mile-wide tornado moves north in Canadian County having just crossed SH 3, the Northwest Expressway, west of SH 4 moving towards Piedmont Tuesday, May 24, 2011. Photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman
Sonny Hale comforts his mother Debra Lee after a tornado swept through the area, tearing the roof off of their house on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, in Newcastle, Okla. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman
Branches of a tree are snagged in the wires of this bent utility pole on SH 74 near Cashion, Oklahoma after a tornado touched down in the area on Tuesday, May 24, 2011. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Westbrook the photographer
Before the start of game 3 of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA basketball playoffs Russell Westbrook walked by my remote camera and pressed the shutter button.
It was nice of him to make sure my camera was working before the start of the game. Below is a picture I took of him taking a picture and the photo he took with the remote camera.
See our photo gallery of game 3 by clicking here.
Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook takes a picture with Oklahoman photographer's Sarah Phipps' remote camera before the start of game 3 of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA basketball playoffs between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the OKC Arena in downtown Oklahoma City, Saturday, May 21, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook takes picture on Oklahoman photographer's Sarah Phipps' remote camera before the start of game 3 of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA basketball playoffs between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the OKC Arena in downtown Oklahoma City, Saturday, May 21, 2011. Photo by Russell Westbrook, Alternate Crop special contributor
— Sarah Phipps
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
In case you missed it
Zoo officials invited Oklahoma City media on Thursday, April 28, 2011, to get their first look at their baby elephant, born recently at the zoo. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
Staff Photographers have been busy in the last few days photographing everything from baby elephants to music festivals. Here’s a couple of images that you may not have seen in the newspaper. We’ve made plenty of photo galleries from our assignments as well. Follow these links to see images from the Norman Music Festival, 89er Day Parade, the 2011 Festival of the Arts, the new baby elephant at the zoo, or the Thunder’s second round loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. You can read more about the Thunder by clicking here.
Tyler Glaze of Bethany, Okla., takes cover from the rain prior to the 11th Annual Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in Oklahoma City on Sunday, May 1, 2011. The start of the marathon was delayed 30 minutes due to the weather. Tyler Glaze went to the marathon to support friends who ran the race. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Kevin Durant (35) of Oklahoma City walks to the baseline to inbound the ball after a Memphis bucket as Eric Maynor (6), Serge Ibaka (9), James Harden (13) and Nick Collison (4) walk back on defense in the second half during game one 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, Sunday, May 1, 2011. Memphis won, 114-101. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Memphis' Marc Gasol (33) blocks a shot by Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant (35) during game one 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, Sunday, May 1, 2011. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Unpublished pictures and catching up
Five-year-old Kendall Hoorman runs down a sidewalk in search of eggs during the LIVE on the Plaza Easter egg hunt in Oklahoma City, Friday, April 8, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
In the last 10 days or so, Staff Photographers at The Oklahoman have turned in some nice pictures, not all of which have gotten published in the newspaper. Here’s a few pictures that deserve a second look.
We’ve turned in plenty of photo galleries, that you can see by clicking here, including galleries from the start of the NBA playoffs in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma State’s win during the Bedlam baseball series and the Southwest Street Rod Nationals. We’ve also put up a few slideshows recently, including one about sidewalk chalk and one about singers auditioning to sing the National Anthem for the RedHawks.
Paul Cates rides "Tilley" in an exercise arena at State Fair Park, Thursday, April 14, 2011, during the Oklahoma Centennial Horse Show. Cates is from Paul Cates Stables in Round Rock. Texas. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant (35) is greeted by fans as he walks off the court after the 107-103 win over Denver during the first round NBA basketball playoff game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, April 17, 2011, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
-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
Best of Thunder
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant hangs on the rim after a dunk as New Jersey's Kris Humphries, left, Stephen Graham, and Devin Harris react during the NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Jersey Nets at the Oklahoma City Arena, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Since the LA Lakers ended the Thunder season in April 2010, we’ve turned in over 1,300 pictures of the Oklahoma City Thunder. That number includes press conferences, appearances by players at schools and community centers, practices and, of course, all the games from the 2010-2011 season played at the OKC Arena.
We’ve gathered 104 of our favorite images and put them into a gallery that you can see by clicking here. To read more about the Thunder click here.
From left, Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (0), Eric Maynor (6) and Kevin Durant (35) react after Westbrook made a shot and was fouled in the fourth quarter during the NBA basketball game between the Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City, Thursday, January 13, 2011. Oklahoma City won, 125-124. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
James Harden poses for a photo during the Oklahoma City Thunder media day on Monday, Sept. 27, 2010, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka (9) blocks Utah's C.J. Miles (24) shot during the NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz, Wednesday, March 23, 2011, at the Oklahoma City Arena. Photo by Sarah Phipps, 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
The Big Question
This week was a good week that kept me busy shooting, but the bad part of that is most of everything I shot is to be published at a later date. That means those photos are not ready to hit our blog just yet.
After looking back over the week, there was a very fun moment that I was able to witness. On the cold Tuesday March 29th night at the Bricktown Ballpark where the Oklahoma City Redhawks were playing an exhibition game against the Houston Astros. Baseball fan Mitchell Walser had put together a plan to take his girlfriend Heather Carlquist by complete surprise.
It was late in the game and the Redhawks were having fun with the fans by spotlighting couples with the ‘Kiss Cam’ to broadcast them on the outfield monitor. The fun was wrapping up when the camera targeted Mitchell and Heather as the last couple to give each other a kiss. Mitchell calmly gave Heather a kiss, stood her up, led her to the center isle, and to her surprise Mitchell got down a one knee and asked Heather the big question. In Heather’s reaction, all she could do was smile ear to ear and cover her face in her hands as she was presented the ring.
Heather Carlquist reacts as she is surprised with a marriage proposal by boyfriend Mitchell Walser during the exhibition game between the Redhawks and the Houston Astros at the Bricktown Ballpark on Tuesday, March, 29, 2011, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
By the way she did say yes! Congrats to Mitchell and Heather.
-Chris Landsberger
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
