Lights

I'll be honest, I've harbored hateful animosity towards my lighting kit since the day I got to Midland. They're heavy enough to make a grown man cry and they never work right (for me)! My first assignment was a Friday night girls basketball game on deadline in a dungeon they liked to call a gym. So I lugged out my lights (which i'd never used before) and tried to follow their instructions bouncing around in my head. My pictures looked like poo, sure there was extra light but was it ever nasty looking! Last night I revisited that old nightmare, the same gym, with the same lights only this time at the 2008 girls basketball district final (no pressure). I am happy to report that I conquered those turd lights!

Justin

Justin relaxes in his father's arms while receiving wrestling tips after losing a match. He has been legally blind since he was a baby, but demands to be treated like everyone else. After multiple cornea transplants he has shadowy vision a few inches in front of his face, but began wrestling on the Gladwin High School team with his older brother Cody even though an errant finger or impact to his eyes could render him completely blind.

Meet

After covering multiple wrestling meets (while following my story) you get bored with squirming bodies on the mat and start looking for different ways of shooting.

Centenarians

Age looks uniquely different on everyone, sometimes I would like to try it on to see how it will fit fifty or sixty years from now. I had the pleasure of hanging out with one self described "ornery" old heartthrob and another patrician centenarian each with a passel of tales and experiences to share.

Teen Valentines Dance

This weekend has been filled with teenage hormones and public displays of mushy awkwardness. It was surprisingly endearing to watch the uncertain approach, roughly executed come-on lines, and then the jubilant "SCORE!" as they lead their female victim onto the dance floor. I found myself squirming uncomfortably or cheering for them behind my camera lens as I recognized their humorous first attempts at a thing called "love."

Circling

Gladwin Wrestlers