Jim Thorpe Award winner Morris Claiborne, left, is fitted for a cowboy hat by Tener's Western Outfitters general manager Heath Jones in Oklahoma City, Monday, February 6, 2012. Tener's gives the recipient of the Jim Thorpe Award a pair of cowboy boots and hat each year. Photo By Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

While the banquet for the Jim Thorpe Award is tonight, maybe the coolest part of the winner Morris Claiborne’s trip to Oklahoma City happened yesterday when he visited Tener’s Western Outfitters to receive his cowboy hat and pair of boots. Staff photographer Steve Gooch was there for the annual tradition.

Jim Thorpe Award winner Morris Claiborne looks for a pair of boots at Tener's Western Outfitters in Oklahoma City, Monday, February 6, 2012. Tener's gives the recipient of the Jim Thorpe Award a pair of cowboy boots and hat each year. Photo By Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

-Nate Billings…

A cormorant takes flight with a white pelican in the background at the Oklahoma City Zoo lake during its migration south in Oklahoma City, Thursday December, 8, 2011. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman.

We’ve been a little behind on posting here lately. I hope this will start things back up.

Steve Gooch spent some time at the Oklahoma City Zoo earlier this month and made some nice pictures of birds at the lake. Here’s some of his shots, and you can see more in this photo gallery.

White pelicans make a stop at the Oklahoma City Zoo lake during its migration south in Oklahoma City, Thursday December, 8, 2011. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman.

A group of white pelicans make a stop at the Oklahoma City Zoo lake during their migration south in Oklahoma City, Thursday December, 8, 2011. Oklahoman Photo by Steve Gooch

A cormorant takes flight at the Oklahoma City Zoo lake during its migration south in Oklahoma City, Thursday December, 8, 2011. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman.

-Nate Billings…

John Marshall High School Air Force JROTC Kahlil Denson presents the colors during the 45th Infantry Museum's Veterans Day ceremony in Oklahoma City , Friday November, 11, 2011. Photo by Steve Gooch

More important than being 11-11-11, Friday was Veterans Day. Across the country, communities honored our veterans, and photographers hoped color guard members would be wearing polished helmets at the ceremonies (it always makes a pretty picture).

Thank you, veterans. We appreciate your service and sacrifice.

Here are more of our Veterans Day photos.

William D. Trumbly, Norman, stands at the Cleveland County Veterans Memorial wearing his World War II uniform with his Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals during the Veterans Day ceremony in Norman Friday, Nov. 11, 2011. Trumbly was a 1st Lieutenant in the 2nd Infantry in Europe and was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge. Photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman

Retired Air Force SSgt. Brown Hudson (left) and Dr. Calvin Turpin, retired Army PFC, salute during the presentation of the colors, as the University of Central Oklahoma Veteran Support Alliance honors veterans with a ceremony on Veterans Day at UCO's Plunkett Park in Edmond, OK, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011. By Paul Hellstern, The Oklahoman

-Nate Billings…

A concerned resident watches as the fire burns through a field near 63rd and Sooner Road on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman

Staff photographers at The Oklahoman have been busy in the last 24 hours covering wildfires in northeast Oklahoma City. Here are a few of the images that you may not have seen in the newspaper. You can see more wildfire images in this photo gallery, or click here to see more pictures by The Oklahoman’s photo staff.

Grave markers stand in the center of the charred Wright's Cemetery after Tuesdays wildfires swept through the area in Oklahoma City , Wednesday, August 31, 2011. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

Marvin Coleman uses a shovel to spread smoldering ashes on the property of his friend on NE 66, east of Sooner Road, after wildfires ravaged land and property that stretched from NE 50 on the south to Hefner Road on the north. The fire extended from Sooner Road to Midwest Blvd. Coleman does not live on the property but he keeps two of his horses there. Coleman's friend's house was spared in the fire. Photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman

Cattle move to avoid the flames of a large grass fire in a farm off of Air Depot between 63rd and Wilshire in Oklahoma City, OK, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011. By Paul Hellstern, The Oklahoman

-John Clanton…

A young female Komodo Dragon on display at the Oklahoma City Zoo, August 01, 2011. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

Staff Photographer Steve Gooch photographed Komodo Dragons at the Oklahoma City Zoo on Monday. He used an off-camera strobe to light the lizards, while he took the pictures through the glass at the exhibit.

Seeing his pictures in the paper this morning reminded me to look back through some of the interesting pictures that our staff photographers have taken at the zoo over the years. Follow this link to see a gallery of some of the animal pictures we’ve collected, or click here to see more photo galleries. Remember that you can click on any image featured on Alternate Crop to get a closer look, or look for Oklahoman Photography Department on Facebook.

A young female Komodo Dragon on display at the Oklahoma City Zoo, August 01, 2011. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

-John Clanton…

Oklahoma City police take a suspect into custody after a brief chase near NW 10th and Doris Drive in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma , Wednesday June 29, 2011. The suspect received bites from a K-9 unit. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

Spot News is a term we use to describe news events that aren’t planned. Fires, tornadoes, shootings, floods and robberies would all be considered spot news. Staff Photographer Steve Gooch chased down an interesting spot news event on Wednesday and got some unusual  pictures. Using one of our police scanners, he got into position to photograph a suspect who was taken down and bitten on the face by a police dog.

While looking for a place to park close to the event, but not too close, Gooch heard police alert each other to a white male in a black Impala driving slowly through the neighborhood. That just so happened to match the description of Gooch. While he was watching the Oklahoma City Police, they were watching him too.

You can read the story by clicking here or you can follow this link to see more pictures by photographers at The Oklahoman.

A suspect is taken into custody by Oklahoma City police after a brief chase near NW 10th and Doris Drive in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma , Wednesday June 29, 2011. The suspect received bites from a K-9 unit. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

-John Clanton…

Bill Zitzow, of Oklahoma City, holds an historic 15 star flag during the Flag Day Celebration ceremony at Midwest City Elks Lodge #1890 in Midwest City, Okla., on Sunday, June 12, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman

Some interesting pictures have been turned in by staff photographers at The Oklahoman over the last week or so. With only one exception, this collection of pictures was never published in the paper. There are galleries with more images from the Flag Day Celebration, the endeavor games, the Ozarka Oklahoma City Nationals Drag Boat Races, Mugglefest, the Mission Academy Graduation, and pictures from the last day of the NCAA Div. 1 Men’s Golf Championship at Karsten Creek.

The main dish at the Crawfish Festival in Yukon, June 4 2011. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Oklahoman

Richard Browne, Endeavor Games athlete from Jackson, Mississippi practices the high jump in Edmond, Oklahoma , Friday, June 10, 2011. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

Team Oklahoma's Taggart Lockhart of Talihina, left, collides with Daniel Green of Team Texas during the Faith 7 Basketball Bowl at the Noble Complex on the campus of Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Okla., Saturday, June 11, 2011. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

The 2011 graduation class gathers in prayer with Oklahoma Outreach Foundation Board of Director Karen Mather during the Mission Academy graduation at the OPUBCO Auditorium on, Tuesday, June 7, 2011. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman

-John Clanton…

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…

A man walks through deep snow on E Charter Oak Road in Logan County, Oklahoma February 1, 2011. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

Staff Photographers at The Oklahoman have been out since early this morning getting pictures of the blizzard conditions in Oklahoma City. Click here to see the gallery of images they’ve produced so far today.

-John Clanton…

Kevin Durant (35) of Oklahoma City tries for a rebound as he is fouled by Josh Powell (21) of Los Angeles during the NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Friday, March 26, 2010. Oklahoma City won, 91-75. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

In March, the photo department put 3,418 pictures into Merlin. Almost half of them had the word ‘basketball’ somewhere in the cutline. With high school and college teams in playoffs and championship games and the Thunder season in full swing, we spent plenty of time sitting on baselines around the state. Needless to say, basketball pictures dominated this month’s selections.

OU's Amanda Thompson reacts in the second half of the 74-67 loss to Texas A&M in the women's college basketball Big 12 Tournament championship game between the University of Oklahoma and Texas A&M University on Sunday, March 14, 2010, in Kansas City, Mo. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman

An Oklahoma City Police Officer carries a handcuffed George Rodriguez to a police car near 2200 SE 47th after being arrested in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma March 09 , 2010. Rodriguez was arrested at the scene after a woman was set ablaze. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

Okarche's Kristen Meyer celebrates the Lady Warriors win over Chattanooga in the finals of the Class A girls high school basketball state tournament between Chattanooga and Okarche at the State Fair Arena, Saturday, March 6, 2010, in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

Boynton coach Shartese McHenry celebrates after their win over Frontier in the Class B girls basketball state tournament at the State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City, Friday, March 5, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

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

Remember to click on the images above for a larger view and remember to click here to see photo galleries created by our photo staff.

-John Clanton…