Another Sneak Peek
Here’s another set of pictures that will be in The Oklahoman photo staff’s Best of 2009.
Antonio Aguirre fulfills a promise as he and his family visit the National Shrine Infant Jesus of Prague at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Prague, Oklahoma on Sunday, August 2, 2009. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman
A group of children look on as they watch firefighters battle a four-story apartment fire near the intersection of Covell Road and Kelly Avenue on Monday, Oct. 19, 2009, in Edmond, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Tech. Sergeant Raul Estrada hugs his 4-year-old daughter Jade during a deployment ceremony for members of the 137th Air Refueling Wing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma December 21, 2009.Just before departing the group's flight was canceled due to bad weather on the east coast. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman
We’ve been working to compile or favorite videos, slideshows and photographs for the year. Look for the webpage soon on NewsOK.com.
-John Clanton
Best of 2009 preview
Over the last couple of days the photographers at The Oklahoman have been compiling their five best pictures from 2009. On the 8th floor, the NewsOK.com designers are getting a page designed for us to display our favorite images, slideshows and videos from the last year.
We’re still working on the details, trying to get it down to 5 pictures per photographer but here’s a few pictures that will certainly make the cut.
Virgil "Cowboy" Kalbaugh places his hand against a panel of the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall on the name of Brent Street, Sunday, July 5, 2009, in Piedmont. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
OU quarterback Sam Bradford (14) lays on the turf after being injured late in the second quarter during the college football game between the Brigham Young University Cougars (BYU) and the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, September 5, 2009. Bradford left the field after the play and did not return. BYU won, 14-13. By Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Tre Porter, of Carl Albert, for the cover of the high school football playoff special section themed, "Dark Horse" at OPUBCO studio Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
Look for the Best of 2009 photo page at NewsOK.com
-John Clanton
Suspect in Custody
Officers arrested this suspect after searching door to door, looking in trash carts, parked cars, back yards and behind fences on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
Staff Photographer Jim Beckel left the office on Tuesday morning looking for weather art. Less than five minutes later, he heard an interesting call over his police scanner. Here’s what Jim wrote in his cutlines:
“Headquarters, Suspect in Custody.” Police officers converged on a northwest Oklahoma City neighborhood Tuesday morning, Nov. 10, 2009, after responding to a call of a suspicious subject. Officers said the subject then ran from them and attempted to break into an occupied residence. After searching door to door, looking in trash carts, parked cars, back yards and behind fences, an officer spotted the suspect hiding between houses near NW 81 and Harvey Place. The man ran again, sprinting across a park and into the back yards of neighboring homes. Within 5 minutes, the officer in pursuit radioed to headquarters that the suspect was in custody. He was arrested in the 300 block of NW 79, just a few blocks from where he was originally sighted.
A suspect runs through a northwest Oklahoma City neighborhood, trying to evade capture by Oklahoma City Police. Officers converged on a northwest Oklahoma City neighborhood Tuesday morning, Nov. 10, 2009, after responding to a call of a suspicious subject. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
Jim ended up with interesting pictures and an exciting morning, but we still don’t have any weather art.
-John Clanton
A busy night in Edmond
Firefighters battle a four story apartment fire at the Enclave luxury apartments near the intersection of Covell Road and Kelley on Monday, Oct. 19, 2009, in Edmond, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
When news of the apartment fire in Edmond got to the Photo department at The Oklahoman, Staff Photographer Chris Landsberger was sent toward the smoke. From the ninth floor windows at The OPUBCO tower, DOP Doug Hoke and I could see the flames from the fire that was about 8 miles away. Landsberger ended up spending about 4 hours photographing the fire, taking breaks to send pictures back from the car, in order to meet deadlines back at the paper. Meanwhile, just two miles away, I photographed a candlelight vigil for Bicycle Bob, a homeless man in Edmond, who was killed this week. A young man named Bryce Camp organized the event that drew hundreds of people to the Market Place in Edmond.
Bryce Camp bows his head during a candlelight vigil, that Camp organized, for Dwight Morgan, or Bicycle Bob, who was killed earlier this week. The vigil as held at the Market Place near Second and Broadway in Edmond Okla., on Monday, Oct. 19, 2009. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Pictures I Like
Rebecca Tyberg, a junior at Piedmont High School, puts on her blindfold as she enters a ballroom for Dining in the dark at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond on Monday, Sept. 28, 2009. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Boone Pickens, center, holds court for a group of past and present Holdenville, Okla. residents during game day of the Oklahoma State University Cowboys and the Grambling State University Tigers at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, in Stillwater, Okla. By Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
The Oklahoman Photo Department has been busy in the last seven days. Henry Bellmon’s funeral, OU vs. Miami football, a feature story about T. Boone Pickens and, of course, high school football are a few of the assignments we’ve photographed. Here are a few images that stand out over the last week.
Gov. Brad Henry and his wife Kim pay their respects at the casket of former governor Henry Bellmon as they remove it from the State Capitol on Friday, Oct. 1, 2009, in Oklahoma City, Okla. By Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman.
Miami's Thearon Collier (28) just misses catching a pass in front of OU's Quinton Carter (20) during the college football game between the University of Oklahoma (OU) Sooners and the University of Miami (UM) Hurricanes at Land Shark Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, Saturday, October 3, 2009. Miami won, 21-20. By Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Military Funeral
Michele Wright kisses the top of her son's, U.S. Army 1st Lt. David Timothy Wright II, casket as her husband Moore Police officer Tim Wright wipes the tears from his eye during graveside service at IOOF Cemetery on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, in Norman, Okla. Wright was one of two soldiers killed Sept. 14th by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
On Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2009, I covered the funeral for U.S. Army 1st Lt. David Timothy Wright II who was killed Sept. 14th by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. He was only 26 years old.
Unfortunately, I have had to cover many of these military funerals over the last few years, and over time I have developed a love/hate relationship with covering them. I hate to see another young military person passing away before their time, and the pain their family goes through. On the other hand I want to be there to cover these funerals, and capture these emotional moments to document, pay tribute to these fallen heros, and show our readers who this person was and what sacrifice this person and family paid for our country and each and every citizen of the United States.
Sometimes there is a big misconception that I, being part of the media, am there to exploit the situation. I can say for sure that the photographers I know and for myself, this is the furthest thing from the truth. When I am photographing a funeral, I have had many reactions to my presence. I am met with some that are very upset, and can not believe that I am there doing ‘this’ to the family. Others are of complete gratitude that I am there to remember the one that has fallen. The latter is always the reason that I am there. I never attend a funeral without the family’s permission, and in doing so I comply to the fullest extent to the family’s wishes. Each family is different, some have given almost full access, and others very limited to none at all. These request are absolutely fine with me, because these difficult situations are about the families not about me, it is a privilege for me to be there.
In doing my job I want to be able to do the best I can to pay tribute, and not let them be forgotten for what they have done for all of us. I admit it is not easy for me though. I am a husband and a father, and it is hard for me to see the pain these families go through. I see these difficult situations, and I put myself in their shoes at every funeral I attend. I can not begin to comprehend the pain they are going through. It is an emotional roller coaster for me, because I do get emotionally involved, I have a job to do and it never gets easier. I am not afraid to say that I have had to take pictures through many tears that roll down my cheeks. All in all, I am always honored to be there, and always very sorry for the family’s loss.
I do want to say thanks to all the families for allowing me and my coworkers to be in attendance, and to say thank you to those that have fallen and to those that continue to serve on their missions. I wish you all God Speed.
-Chris Landsberger
Military personnel salutes the casket for U.S. Army 1st Lt. David Timothy Wright II during graveside services at IOOF Cemetery on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2009, in Norman, Okla. Wright was one of two soldiers killed Sept. 14th by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman.
Please take the time to view the slideshow from the funeral of U.S. Army 1st Lt. David Timothy Wright
Media-Out of Play
Members of the media stand "out of play" during a training exercise at the former post office building near SW 5th and Hudson in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, July 22, 2009. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Both of you may have noticed some commotion outside the old post office building on SW 5th in Oklahoma City on Wednesday morning. Oklahoma City Police and other emergency responders were participating in a training exercise inside the building, which they called ‘Fawlty Towers.’ Mock terrorists took over Fawlty Towers, complete with volunteers, mock injuries and mock fatalities. I joined other photographers and reporters behind the Out of Play signs and tried to make pictures of the event.
I caught a flashlight right in the lens as I joined other news photographers in following Oklahoma City Police Officers search through rooms at Fawlty Towers. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Eventually, the media joined the officers as they searched the first floor of Fawlty Towers. We photograph assignments like this fairly regularly, whether its Oklahoma City Police, Oklahoma County Sheriffs department or local fire departments. Police and firefighters take their training seriously, so it’s important to show that in the pictures. But it’s also important to give some perspective to the event. I tried to include something in these pictures to make it obvious that this is training. Sometimes it can be as simple as composition, but in this case, most of my pictures include members of the media, and one of them includes my own reflection.
News photographers watch as Oklahoma City Police Officers search through rooms at the old post office building during a training exercise at the building near SW 5th and Hudson in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, July 22, 2009. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman
To see more pictures from this assignment, and other photo galleries, click here.
-John Clanton
Your AP monthly contest results
I have gotten behind on posting our department’s winning images from the monthly AP photo contest. Here are our winners from recent months. Congratulations to all.
FIRST PLACE, FEBRUARY: Residents work to clean up damage to a home in the Oak Tree housing addition on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009, after a tornado hit the area on Tuesday in Edmond, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
THIRD PLACE, FEBRUARY: Firefighters work to extinguish flames in a barn that was set ablaze by a grass fire near SE 108th and Maguire Road in Slaughterville, Oklahoma, on Friday February 20, 2009. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman
SECOND PLACE, ARPIL: Flames leap out of a broken gas line in Midwest City, Okla., Thursday, April 9, 2009. Fire crews in Oklahoma and Texas raced Thursday to control wind-whipped wildfires that destroyed dozens of homes, forced evacuations and shut down parts of a major highway. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
THIRD PLACE, APRIL: Iowa Tribe volunteer firefighter David Milby with his wife Bonnie Milby at the Integris Baptist Burn Center in Oklahoma City Monday, April 13, 2009. Photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman
FIRST PLACE, MAY: Oklahoma City public school students swim during the Wacky Water Wahoo water safety class at White Water, on Thursday, May 21, 2009, in Oklahoma City. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
SECOND PLACE, MAY: Graduates watch fireworks following the 2009 University of Oklahoma Commencement at the Gaylord Family -- Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Friday, May 15, 2009, in Norman, Okla. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
-Nate Billings
VORTEX2 Day 4 Back to Oklahoma
Jacob Carley, Purdue, uses his computer in luxary in the lobby of the hotel as VORTEX2 prepares to leave the panhandle of Texas back to Oklahoma on Wednesday, May 13, 2009. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman
After four days trying to shoot researchers deploying a research pod in the path of a storm, my safety minded driver drove past the deployment of the distrometer (laser rain guage) and by the time we turned around and I had jumped out of the car, the pod was out and on the ground. I got off three frames with a flash on camera. Two minutes and a mile later, the rain came in sheets, hail made the researchers put on bicycle helmets, and the light dropped to nothing. My flash shorted out after a coouple shots of the outside of the van. With my second camera maxed out at 3200 ISO I had to shoot at 1/15 second at f2.8. One shot was somewhat sharp.
Isaac Hankes and research scientist Glen Romine from the University of Illinois deploy a laser distrometer to measure particle size, rate, and direction (raindrops) as members of VORTEX2 track an emerging super cell in central Oklahoma on Wednesday, May 13, 2009. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman
Isaac Hankes and research scientist Glen Romine from the University of Illinois deploy a second laser distrometer to measure particle size, rate, and direction (of raindrops) as members of VORTEX2 track an emerging super cell in central Oklahoma on Wednesday, May 13, 2009. Less than a mile from deploying the first unit, the light falls to almost nothing, the rain comes in torrents, and they must now don head gear to protect from the quarter sized hail. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman
–Steve Sisney
VORTEX2 Destination Clinton, OK.
I heard from the Erik Rasmussen, co-chief investigator for VORTEX2, that the best staging area for Tuesday weather is in Clinton, Okla. The vehicles are leaving throughout the day to rendezvous in Clinton. I saw a team member in the parking lot of the Norman Holiday Inn putting Rainx on the windows of her vehicle. She is from Oklahoma City. Saw a guy carrying his computer around the parking lot and thought he was testing equipment. Turns out he is from Italy and was using his laptop web cam to show the radar and other vehicles to his friends and co-workers back home. Small World.
Jennifer Standridge with the National Center for Atmospheric Research puts rain shedding material on her vehicle as the group prepare to leave for Clinton, Okla. on the second day of VORTEX2 prepares to leave for Clinton, OK as a staging area from the Holiday Inn in Norman, Okla. on Monday, May 11, 2009. Standridge is from Oklahoma City. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman
Gabriele Formentini from Italy uses his computer web cam to give a tour of the parking lot to his friends back home on the second day of VORTEX2. He and other scientists are preparing to leave for Clinton, OK to stage for Tuesday storms. The Italian audience get a tour of vehicles parked at the Holiday Inn in Norman, Okla. on Monday, May 11, 2009. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman
Clinton residents Pauline Lee and her daughter Jennifer Lee couldn't help notice the Doppler on Wheels, command and support vehicles lined up in the parking lot of the Ramada Inn on the second day of VORTEX2 as the team arrives in Clinton, Okla. on Monday, May 11, 2009. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman
Doppler on Wheels, command and support vehicles line up in the parking lot of the Ramada Inn on the second day of VORTEX2 as the team arrives in Clinton, Okla. on Monday, May 11, 2009. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman
See Monday’s VORTEX2 gallery by clicking here
-Steve Sisney
