The Pink House

Marguerite was tired of having a white house. So, more than a year ago, she painted it pink. Renters tried to destroy it back in the '70s, when Marguerite was traveling the country developing nursing programs. "If it hadn't been concrete block," she said, "it wouldn't have survived." But it did survive, and now it is pink. Really Pink. "It looks pinker to me every day," she said.

Horfy

I shot this image of Al Horford a few minutes after The Oh-Fours announced their intention to hire agents and enter the NBA Draft. It never ran in the paper, but I like how the shadows on the wall frame Horfy. And if you're wondering, he was training in Gainesville last week, but should be with his former teammates in Los Angeles now.

Freshman All-American

Today I had the opportunity to photograph Calvin Smith, a freshman All-American sprinter at UF. He recorded the nation's third-fastest time this year in the 400m a few weeks ago, when he notched a 45.74 at the SEC Championships.

NCAA Women's Tennis Round 1

It's been about two years since I last shot tennis, and I forgot how much I enjoy the sport. I'm covering the first two rounds of this year's NCAA Women's Tournament in Gainesville. Here are several of my favorites from Florida's match against Jacksonville.

Sportraits

I've been shooting sports portraits lately. Today I worked with UF tennis star Jesse Levine, the third ranked player in the country. I tried lighting his face in profile, but I think the safe horizontal shot worked better.
Here's Santa Fe Community College baseball coach Johnny Wiggs, who I photographed last week for a state baseball tournament preview story.

Firebugs

Lately I've been lazy. Weimer Hall veterans tell countless stories about how they covered hurricanes or the fires of '98. Those tales, about ambitious college photojournalists who load the car with supplies and chase after the big story, have motivated me over the last few years. So far, I can only tell one, and it didn't end up so well. After Katrina hit New Orleans, I decided I would cover the next big storm to hit Florida.

So when Rita came, I gassed up the Toyota and arranged to stay with a news buddy in Ft. Meyers. The storm came through overnight. Around 10 a.m. I headed to Naples with my girlfriend Kristen, who is also a photojournalist, to cover the storm's aftermath.

We got some nice pictures and then I made a mistake. The Toyota is not a boat, but I sure tried to make it one. I flooded the engine near the beach when the water level reached about 15 inches. Ooops. Grandad came to save me, the truck eventually re-fired, and I learned my lesson.

Since that fall day in 2005, I have covered several big stories, but no fires or natural disasters.

Until yesterday.

Sun reporter Jack Stripling and I headed north to Waycross, Ga., to report on the slowly-expanding two-week-old fires there. More than 100 square miles have burned. When the wind shifts south, the smoke settles in over north Florida.

We met up with Travis Dugger and other personnel from the Florida Division of Forestry. Clad in green nomex pants and bright yellow fire-retardent long sleeve shirts, we didn't see much fire. We sure did look the part, though.

Maybe wildfire photojournalism is in my future?

On a side note, our media cadre included a reporter for CNN Radio. I enjoyed listening to him describe the scene into his audio recorder as the chopper rumbled and the dozers squeaked. It takes talent to tell a story for radio.