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Welcome back NBA

sarah phipps — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:57:08 +0000

Kevin Durant (35) celebrates a basket during the opening day NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma CIty Thunder and the Orlando Magic at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

The Oklahoma City Thunder kicked off their season Christmas night with a win over Orlando.

See all the photos by clicking here

Oklahoma City Thunder's James Harden (13) celebrates a 3-point shot during the opening day NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma CIty Thunder and the Orlando Magic at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant (35) celebrates a basket during the opening day NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma CIty Thunder and the Orlando Magic at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

See all the photos by clicking here

— Sarah Phipps

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Faerie Sightings

dhoke — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:00:59 +0000

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…

Labor Day quarterbacking

john clanton — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:00:18 +0000

OSU's Kye Staley (9), middle, leaps on the back of Joseph Randle (1) in front of Tracy Moore (87) as they celebrate a touchdown run by Randle in the second quarter during a college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) Ragin' Cajuns at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

Staff Photographers at The Oklahoman covered the start of the 2011-2012 college football season on Saturday. The Oklahoma Sooners beat the University of Tulsa in Norman, while in Stillwater, the Cowboys beat the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Here are a couple of pictures that the staff turned in from the games.

You can follow these links to see pictures from the OSU game or the OU game, or read more about the games by clicking here.

Sooner fans celebrate after a touchdown by Oklahoma's Dominique Whaley (8) during the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Tulsa University Hurricanes (TU) at the Gaylord Family-Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011, in Norman, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman

Fans pass a fan through the crowd after a score during the first half of the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Tulsa University Hurricanes (TU) at the Gaylord Family-Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011, in Norman, Okla. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman

OSU's Markelle Martin (10) defends a pass intended for Andrew Joseph (18) of ULL in the third quarter during a college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) Ragin' Cajuns at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

Oklahoma's Landry Jones (12) and Ryan Broyles (85) celebrate after a touchdown during the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Tulsa University Hurricanes (TU) at the Gaylord Family-Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011, in Norman, Okla. Oklahoma won 47-14. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

Oklahoma State's Joseph Randle (1) and Tracy Moore (87)celebrate a touchdown during a college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) Ragin' Cajuns at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

-John Clanton

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It is hot

sarah phipps — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 23:41:11 +0000

While looking for hot weather features on Saturday, I stumbled across this crayon that lost its battle with the sun. Photo intern Garett Fisbeck and I also traveled to Arcadia Lake and found a nice family with their puppy cooling off in the lake.

A melted crayon sits on concrete outside Pops in Arcadia, Okla., Saturday, July 2, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

Sadie cools off in Arcadia Lake, Saturday, July 2, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

See all the Oklahoman pictures by clicking here

— Sarah Phipps

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So you think you can dance…

dhoke — Thu, 19 May 2011 05:00:24 +0000

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!

dhoke — Mon, 09 May 2011 11:00:30 +0000

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

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Lunar eclipse on the winter solstice

dhoke — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 01:06:07 +0000

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…

Pictures I Like-This weekend and gold ball version

john clanton — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 02:23:55 +0000

Heritage Hall's Cooper Cloud celebrates after Heritage Hall's 28-21 win in the Class 3A high school football state championship game against Kingfisher at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Friday, December 10, 2010. By Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

Here’s a few nice pictures taken by staff photographers over the last couple of days. Take a look at galleries of high school football championship games, holiday parades, college basketball and Thunder games by clicking here.

Civil Air Patrol 2nd Lt. Chris Dare salutes after laying a wreath on a grave during a wreath ceremony at Union Soldiers Cemetery in Oklahoma City, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

OSU's Jean-Paul Olukemi (0) dunks the ball in front of Caleb Patterson (21) of Missouri State in the first half during the men's college basketball game between Missouri State and Oklahoma State at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, December 11, 2010. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

The Hennessey Eagles celebrate with the gold ball championship trophy after the Class 2A high school football championship game between Hennessey and Davis at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, December 11, 2010. Hennessey won, 14-0. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

-John Clanton…

Happy Halloween

sarah phipps — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 03:32:55 +0000

The Flaming Lips lead singer Wayne Coyne's displays his 500-pound human brain, Saturday Oct. 30, 2010, at his home in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

I spent Saturday evening photographing trick or treaters in Oklahoma City’s historic Mesta Park neighborhood. I also photographed Flaming Lips lead singer Wayne Coyne’s 500-pound brain at his Oklahoma City home.

See all the photos here

— Sarah Phipps

Alex Spiropoulos, 4, trick or treats, Saturday Oct. 30, 2010, in the Mesta Park Neighborhood in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

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

Trick or treaters looks at the Flaming Lips lead singer Wayne Coyne's 500-pound human brain, Saturday Oct. 30, 2010, at his home in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

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The Cowboys and Sooners fall

sarah phipps — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 21:30:48 +0000

Oklahoma's Landry Jones (12) reacts as he walks off the field after a Mossis Madu fumble in the red zone during the first half of the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Missouri Tigers (MU) on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, in Columbia, Mo. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman

Oklahoman photographers were busy this weekend covering football games. Chris Landsberger covered the Sooners’ loss to the Tigers in Missouri, while Nate Billings, Sarah Phipps and Bryan Terry covered the Cowboys’ loss to the Huskers in Stillwater, Okla. Larry the Cable Guy was also in Stillwater to watch the Huskers.

See more OU photos here

See more OSU photos here

OSU's Brandon Weeden walks off the field after OSU's 51-41 loos in the college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the Nebraska Huskers (NU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

Oklahoma's James Hanna (82) catches the ball for a touchdown during the second half of the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Missouri Tigers (MU) on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, in Columbia, Mo. Oklahoma lost the game 36-27. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman

OSU's Justin Blackmon (81) makes a catch next to Prince Amukamara (21) of Nebraska on the way to an 80-yard touchdown in the second quarter during the college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the Nebraska Huskers (NU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD

Nebraska fan and comedian Larry the Cable Guy waves to fans during the college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the Nebraska Huskers (NU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

Nebraska's Niles Paul slips past OSU's Quinn Sharp as he returns a kickoff for touchdown during the college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the Nebraska Huskers (NU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

See more OU photos here

See more OSU photos here

— Sarah Phipps…