OKC Boathouse District at dusk
Chesapeake Finish Line Tower at dusk on the Oklahoma River, Friday, November 11, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
Doug Hoke made some beautiful photos of Oklahoma City’s growing Boathouse District last Friday evening before a society assignment he had there.
Check out more of his photos from the Boathouse District in this gallery.
Devon Boathouse at dusk on the Oklahoma River, Friday, November 11, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
-Nate Billings
Faerie Sightings
Last Saturday, Sept. 24, seems like everywhere I went I saw “Faeries”. Around noon I was in Edmond for the Krazy Kids Dog Show and there were lots of “Faerie Dogs”. Then in the evening I went to The Paseo for the Faerie Ball put on by StarDanceSwan Studio.
Daisy, a Cocker mix, belonging to Pam Lanman, rests after competing in the Look Alike category with Katie Thornton, 5, Pam's granddaughter during the Krazy Kids Dog Show at Shannon Miller Park in Edmond Saturday, September 24, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
Riley Cranford, 2 1/2, plays with her wand during the Faerie Ball in the Paseo Saturday, September 24, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
Amanda Lane watches her daughter play during the Faerie Ball in the Paseo Saturday, September 24, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
Faerie dancer performs during the Fairy Ball in the Paseo Saturday, September 24, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
To see a photo gallery from the Krazy Kids Dog show click here.
To see a photo gallery from the Faerie Ball in Paseo click here.
In all, it was a magical day taking photos.
-Doug Hoke
All-American images from the holiday weekend
Boy Scouts of America and Cub Scout troops carry a large American Flag during the LibertyFest Parade in Edmond, Okla., Monday, July 4, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
The Oklahoman photo staff collected some pretty pictures from events of the Fourth of July weekend. We photographed parades, flags, fireworks, and festivals. It wouldn’t be complete though, without pictures of people in the 100 degree heat or firefighters putting out grass fires.
Here’s a few pictures from the weekend if you missed them. There’s a gallery of some interesting images from the weekend or you can follow these links to see pictures from the fireworks at LibertyFest in Edmond, the LibertyFest parade, the Summer Classic Dog Show, or the Blackberry Festival in McLoud.
Fireworks show concluding LibertyFest at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond on Monday, July 4, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
Eight-year-old Emily Winstead of Midwest City takes a bite of watermelon during a watermelon-eating contest at the McLoud Blackberry Festival on Saturday, July 2, 2011, in McLoud, Okla. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Amanda Cone, a handler's assistant from Dallas, holds Amber, left, a Burnese Mountain Dog and Bonnie, a Mastiff, during the OKC Summer Classic Dog Shows at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Thursday, June 30, 2011. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Duane Fletcher, 7, of Clinton, Oklahoma, reaches into a lion water fountain to fill up a water bottle at the Oklahoma City Zoo in Oklahoma City on Thursday, June 30, 2011. Fletcher and other children from First Baptist Church in Clinton visited the zoo on Thursday. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
So you think you can dance…
I had a fun assignment Wednesday night in Edmond. Hundreds of Thunder fans gathered together for a “flash mob dance” tribute for Ellen DeGeneres. In case you didn’t know, the Thunder have been trying to get Ellen to commit to supporting the Thunder for the playoffs and get her court side for a game. Oklahoman Kristin Chenoweth was on her show and brought along Rumble to load Ellen up with Thunder gear.
The mob dance was organized by the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City to post on the “Let’s Make Ellen our #1 Thunder Girl” Facebook page. Thunder Girls taught the crowd a dance routine that goes with a Thunder song. If I hadn’t been there and seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have thought you could teach several hundred fans of all shapes and sizes a dance routine in 30 minutes, but they did. I was amazed at how in synch everyone became in such a short time. Great team work!
Tania Way-Garcia, left, and Ashlee Paul practice the dance moves during a Thunder mob dance to send to Ellen DeGeneres at Hafer Park in Edmond Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
The crowd practices the dance steps during a Thunder mob dance to send to Ellen DeGeneres at Hafer Park in Edmond Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
Girls with Ellen on their shirts learn the dance steps during a Thunder mob dance to send to Ellen DeGeneres at Hafer Park in Edmond Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
The crowd practices the dance steps during a Thunder mob dance to send to Ellen DeGeneres at Hafer Park in Edmond Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
Leah Sparks learns the dance steps with an Ellen mask on her head during a Thunder mob dance to send to Ellen DeGeneres at Hafer Park in Edmond Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
A lot of energy and fun! To see more photos click here.
To watch video of the mob dance click here.
Go Thunder!
-Doug Hoke
Energy and Enthusiasm are Contagious!
Saturdays are normally my day to sleep late, laze around the house and generally relax and recharge from the work week. But this last Saturday I worked to fill a void in the schedule. I’m not a coffee drinker, so getting my motor up to speed in the morning is a slow process. This last Saturday though, I had some help from the Metropolitan School of Dance, an inner city dance program for young girls. If you have ever been around 5 year-olds in a dance class, you know that what they lack in skills, they more than make up for in energy and enthusiasm! Being around those young girls and picking up on their excitement carried me through the day.
Young girls work on their ballet routine during practice for Metropolitan School of Dance Saturday, May 7, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
Donnavya Neal, 5, works on her ballet during practice for Metropolitan School of Dance Saturday, May 7, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
Akia Johnson, 8, left, and Michelle Taffe, 9, during ballet practice for Metropolitan School of Dance Saturday, May 7, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
Madison Edwards during ballet practice for Metropolitan School of Dance Saturday, May 7, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
Thanks girls!!!
To see more photos click here.
To watch a video click here.
-Doug Hoke
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
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
A look back at Bedlam football
Here’s a look at some of the OU and OSU football photos from the history of Bedlam. We’ve made a photo gallery with these shots and more pictures of Bedlam football history here. We hope these will help to get you in the mood for Saturday’s big game.
"The University of Oklahoma-Oklahoma A&M game was complete in every respect when the inevitable dog got in the picture. The eyes of the some 30,000 Stillwater spectators, however, were on Jack Mitchell, Sooner quarterback, about to cross the double stripe. Mitchell took the ball on the Aggie 14, cut around end on the optional play and headed for the corner for the score. Oklahoma won the bell-clapper battle, 19-15." Staff photo taken with Big Bertha by A.Y. Owen on Nov. 27, 1948
Cowboy quarterback Charlie Weatherbie is about to lose his helmet and his head may not be too secure after a smothering tackle by Lee Roy Selmon during the Bedlam college football game between OU and OU on Nov 30, 1974. OU won, 44-13. Staff photo by Bob Albright
Charlie Weatherbie, OSU quarterback who came in to lead his team to victory over OU, spends a personal moment on the sidelines in Norman after the outcome was assured in the Bedlam college football game on October 23, 1976. Staff photo by Bob Albright
The Oklahoma defense puts the skids on a rushing attempt by OSU fullback Will Timmons during the Bedlam college football game on Nov. 30, 1985. Staff Photo by Paul Hellstern
OU head college football coach Barry Switzer is carried off the field on the shoulders of Billy Dykes, left, and Chris Wilson after defeating OSU on Saturday, Nov 5, 1988 in the Bedlam college football game. Staff photo by David McDaniel
The OSU sideline erupts after a fourth-quarter touchdown gives OSU the lead and win over OU during the Bedlam college football game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, Saturday Nov. 24, 2001, in Norman, Okla. Staff photo by Nate Billings.
OU's Adrian Peterson leaps over OSU's Daniel McLemore during the University of Oklahoma at Oklahoma State University Bedlam college football at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., October 30, 2004. By Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
OU's Sam Bradford is flipped out of bounds by OSU's Orie Lemon during the second 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. STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER
OU's Ryan Broyles celebrates after the Bedlam 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. STAFF PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY
Be sure to check out more photos in our Bedlam gallery. We’ll have an update this weekend with pictures from the game. Until then, have a happy Thanksgiving.
-Nate Billings
For the Love of Cars
A 1952 Porsche 356 Cabriolet owned by Dr. Robert Wilson is the oldest surviving Porsche sold in America according to Porsche. It was rescued from a salvage yard and restored. Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
Make no mistake, being a photographer for a newspaper is a great job, but most of the time we take photos for stories that, while interesting and challenging, are not by choice. Oct. 27 was different. There was an assignment I wanted to do. I mean REALLY wanted to do. The oldest Porsche sold in America, a 1952 Porsche Cabriolet.
As a life-long car enthusiast, there are few things I would rather do than photograph cars or talk about cars. I got the bug from my Dad. During my middle and high school years he bought, worked on and traded sports cars and I went along for the ride. At one point Dad had a yellow 1956 Porsche 356a with a sunroof, so that piqued my interest in Dr. Robert Wilson’s Porsche.
I love to explore the lines of the older cars that were built when the designers ruled, not the accountants and marketing teams. And this 356 is a jewel. Learning about the history of the car was exciting. To learn more, watch the video.
Hope you enjoy looking at the photos as much as I did taking them. To see a gallery click here
The front hood of a 1952 Porsche 356 Cabriolet owned by Dr. Robert Wilson is the oldest surviving Porsche sold in America according to Porsche. It was rescued from a salvage yard and restored. Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman.
-Doug Hoke
October sports highlights
Aaron Williams (4) of Texas tries to make an interception but cannot hold on to a pass intended for OU's Ryan Broyles (85) in the second quarter of the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Texas Longhorns (UT) at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010, in Dallas, Texas. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
I’ve been meaning to put some sports pictures up for a few days. With staff photographers covering football, volleyball, softball, and now Thunder basketball, we’ve had some remarkable pictures to look at in Merlin. Here are some of my favorites from the last few weeks. Most of these you may not have seen because they weren’t published in the newspaper. After the games that we cover, we always post a gallery full of images, you can see all the photo galleries by clicking here.
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant (35) is introduced before the preseason NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and CSKA Moscow in Oklahoma City, Thursday, October 14, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Micha Hancock gets a hug from assistant principal Carrie Higdon afyer receiving her championship medal during the 6A Volleyball state championship game between Edmond Memorial and Edmond Santa Fe at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
OSU's Dan Bailey makes the game-winning field goal during the college football game between Texas A&M University and Oklahoma State University (OSU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
OU's Jonathan Nelson (3) reacts after the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Texas Longhorns (UT) at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010, in Dallas, Texas. OU won, 28-20. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
OSU's Josh Cooper (25) tries to get past Cody Davis (16) of Texas Tech in the second quarter during the college football game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys and Texas Tech University Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday, October 16, 2010. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Yukon's Kendall Smith, center, celebrates Yukon's win over Jenks during the Class 6A fast-pitch softball championship at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
