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It's been almost two years since I've updated this blog....since then a lot has changed. Guess that's why I chose the above photo: it's from move-out night 2009, when nearly everyone in Madison is homeless from 11:59 p.m. on August 14 to noon on August 15 due to lease turnover in the city. The guy in the photo is moving on from one place to the next, as have I. Plus I smoke Camels.

So, let's see....what have I done since my last post?

-I finished up my internship at the Wisconsin State Journal, where the above photo is from.

-In October 2009 I won a few awards at the Associated Collegiate Press convention in Austin, TX during Halloween and saw my high school friend Doug aka Portland, OR-based Emancipator play a show, where I shot this:

Emancipator plays a show during Halloween in Austin, TX.

-In March 2010 won the Wisconsin News Photographers Association award for 2009 College Photographer of the Year...the photo below got first place in the sports feature category:

Wisconsin's John Leuer celebrates while being raised by fans that rushed the court after Wisconsin (5-1) upset No. 5 Duke (6-1) 73-69 on December 2. in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin's win not only helped clinch the Big Ten's victory in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge for the first time in the 11 year series, but also marked the first time Duke has lost a game in the challenge.

-Then I shot the NCAA Men's Hockey National Championship game in Detroit, Michigan:

Wisconsin forward Jordy Murray evades Boston College defenders for control of the puck during the national championship game on April 10, 2010. Boston College won the game 5-0.

-Oh yeah, then I made this video for Shinobi Ninja at Summerfest:

(click the "YouTube" button on the right to watch in HD)

-....and then I went on tour with them for two weeks in October 2010:

Shinobi Ninja performs at Sullivan Hall in New York City during the 2010 CMJ Music Marathon in October.

-And then I won a few awards for the 2011 WNPA competition a few weeks ago, including Best of Show for this photo:

A member of the Fargo-Moorhead Acrobatic Team flies high over the court of the Kohl Center in Madison, WI, during a halftime performance for a Wisconsin Badgers basketball game.

...so that's a pretty short rundown of the past two years. More posts coming!

Madison's Peregrines

(from left) Steve, Jenny and Cole, three peregrine falcon chicks, sit after being banded by peregrine experts. The chicks are the first peregrines born in Madison in over a decade.

Once again, it has taken me a while to post photos from an event. This is due to the fact that the State Journal does not always publish photos the day after they were taken, but sometimes waits almost two weeks depending on the story. I cannot post photos on my blog taken for the paper that have not yet been published; as a result some photos end up sitting on my computer with me being unable to put them on here.

Anyway, here are three peregrine falcon chicks at Madison Gas & Electric, sitting against a wall after being banded and being the most well-behaved they had been all day. Steve, the one on the left, I think looks a bit scared and unhappy...but then again all three were only two weeks old had been separated from their parents for well over an hour so I suppose they have good reason to not be happy.

These peregrine chicks were the first to have been born in Madison in over ten years, products of parents that settled in a nesting box high above MG&E. The box had been there for almost a decade but no falcons had settled in until this spring, eventually hatching these three chicks. Scientists of course want to band the chicks so they can track the birds throughout their lives; banding is how it is known where exactly the parents came from. So yeah. Here are some photos.

Greg Septon of the Peregrine Trust leads the way to the top of MG&E before removing three peregrine falcon chicks from their nest box, seen in the upper right of the photo, beneath the crossbeam. The father falcon is seen sitting on top of the structure on the right side of the photo.

Peregrine expert Greg Septon removes a peregrine chick from its carrier before banding the falcon's talons and taking a blood sample.

Cole Schultz, 19, holds the talons of one of the peregrine falcon chicks after they get banded. Cole helped build the nesting box in 1999 that now is home to the first nesting pair of peregrines in Madison in over a decade and their three chicks.

Memorial Procession

Friends and family members of James Porter, including his daughter, Jessi Johnson, second from left, and granddaughters Olivia and Greta, watch as a processional of highway department vehicles pass by Gunderson East Funeral Home on Friday, June 12, 2009.

James Porter, 61, was killed on June 4 when he was struck by a pickup truck while working on a Dane County road maintenance crew. A procession was held in his memory outside Gunderson East Funeral Home in Monona on Friday, June 12, comprising 37 highway department vehicles, which I was sent to document. I honestly felt really strange being there; I tried to stay out of the way but everyone was aware that a photographer was in their midst and some did not like it. Can't do much about that I suppose.

Friends and family members of James Porter watch as a processional of highway department vehicles pass by Gunderson East Funeral Home on Friday, June 12, 2009.

The highway truck assigned to James Porter sits outside Gunderson East Funeral Home on Friday in Monona in honor of its fallen driver. Porter's co-workers draped part of the truck in black cloth and added his last name to the driver's side door.

Been a long time....something simple first.

(Clockwise from front) Bill Mansfield, Vic Levine, Roger Wiebe and Tom Shipley are the newest members of the Madison Sports Hall of Fame, seen in the Hall of Fame before their induction on June 3, 2009.

I was sent to the Madison Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony on June 3rd...here's the photo. I know it's almost two months old but I still feel the need to post it...I'm decently proud of how it turned out because I pulled a total Hail Mary for this shot and prayed one of the four frames I fired off turned out before they were all whisked away to the ceremony. Yup.

Blood Transfusions for Pets

Frannie, a pitbull belonging to Dr. Tobin Eshelman (DVM) has blood drawn from her neck to be used later in a blood transfusion for a dog who may need one. A universal donor, Frannie has donated blood three times before.

So today I shot a story involving a sedated pitbull donating blood...not your everyday occurence. Veternery Emergency Service in Middleton has begun taking blood from dogs, cats, ferrets and other animals for use in procedures that may require animals to have blood transfusions, such as if a pet got into and ate rat poison. For now the procedure is not completely open to the public but will be shortly; I was there for a doctor drawing his own pet's blood before he performed surgery on the same dog's lip. It was an interesting process to watch, and was very much like when a human donates blood, even down to the quantity of a pint. Pitbulls aren't exactly the same size as humans so a pint seems like a lot of blood to take, but such an amount is taken because the blood bags have anti-coagulent measured out for exactly one pint of blood. Any less and the proportions would be off, creating problems when put into another animal. The entire sedation, preparing and drawing process took about 20 minutes, and then Frannie was off to surgery.

Dr. Eshelman gives his pitbull Frannie a treat to get her to calm down before sedating her and drawing blood.

Frannie's neck gets shaved before insertion of the needle can take place.

Blood begins to be drawn from Frannie's neck for safe storage in a refrigerator for up to six weeks.

After a pint of blood has been drawn, Frannie has her neck wrapped to prevent excess bleeding or her scratching the area.

Kids & Trains

Keyon Boyd, a first grader from Middleton Heights Elementary, watches as classmates board a train to take them from downtown Madison to Middleton as a part of a program to teach children about the dangers that exist near railroad tracks.

Scene: 250 excited, loud first-graders, me, another photographer, a narrow and crowded train.

Governor Jim Doyle declared May 27, 2009 "Operation Lifesaver Awareness Day" in Wisconsin, a ridiculous name if you ask me. Part of the program brought 400 first-graders to Madison Gas & Electric's downtown headquarters to watch a film on safety around trains, then give them a ride back to Middleton. Steve Apps, the State Journal photographer I was with, and I both failed to see how a train ride taught them about safety. I figured the least the train operators could do was run over something on the tracks and show the kids what happens....maybe that's not how you deal with first-graders though. Oh well. Here are some photos.

First-graders from Middleton-area schools board a Wisconsin & Southern Railroad passenger train to enjoy a ride to Middleton after watching a video on safety around train tracks.

The train ride offered a scenic view of Madison, Middleton and what lies between.

First-graders from Middleton Heights Elementary enjoy the ride from downtown Madison to Middleton.