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Archive for September, 2012

Holistic

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Daily Record/Sunday News, York on September 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. With headphones plugged into a CD player, Emily Ryktarczyk of Harrisburg reclines amid a Dominus Cervix StarGate — a geometric arrangement of 24 “orbs” that is supposed to amplify musical frequencies and enhance the meditation experience — on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, at the 12th annual Celebration of Life! Holistic Expo and Conference in the York Expo Center’s Memorial Hall East. The expo featured about 100 vendors offering massages, selling jewelry and clothes and providing psychic readings, among other services.

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College football: Penn State defeats Temple 24-13

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, Sports, The York Daily Record/Sunday News, York on September 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Shot my second Penn State game of the season yesterday. It’s also now exactly a year to the day that I got knocked over by two high school football players, couldn’t walk for about 10 minutes and suffered an impact fracture at the top of my tibia — all of which is relevant because shooting football even a year later can be a little painful.

But it was one of my better games to shoot. Take that, knee.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. With help from fellow Penn State sophomores Jon Pigeon (left) and Hayes Clark (right), Stefano DiPietro gets a child abuse prevention ribbon outlined in white against his blue body paint outside Beaver Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012. State students held a “Blue Out” in support of child abuse victims, during the game against Temple.

It also rained a bit. Nothing dramatic — just a steady drizzle — so when the sun came out and finally created enough contrast for the water droplets to show up in-camera, I seized it:

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. The sun comes out and rain continues falling as Penn State’s Kyle Carter rushes with Temple’s Ahkeem Smith at his heels in the second quarter on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012.

I guess I’d be angry, too, if I were getting tackled:

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Penn State’s Da’Quan Davis leaps to bring down Temple’s Montel Harris in the fourth quarter on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012, at Beaver Stadium.

It’s almost ballet-like, the way it seems as if Rumer is lifting Zordich. Almost:

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Penn State’s Michael Zordich leaps in the air to try evading Temple’s Thomas Rumer, but instead crashes into him, in the second quarter on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012.

And finally, a “whaaa–?” moment from QB1 and coach:

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin and head coach Bill O’Brien exchange looks with a referee (off-camera) during the first half against Temple on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012.

Be sure to check out more photos on the YDR website!

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Fiber mill: From fleece to yarn

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Daily Record/Sunday News, York on September 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

These photos, which were published in the May/June issue of Smart magazine (starting on pg. 28), are way overdue. Basically, back in March, I made some pictures in a fiber mill run by a husband and wife, plus the husband’s cousin. From cleaning and carding the fleeces to spinning the yarn, everything’s done via completely mechanical machinery.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. (Left to right) D.J. Wilt, Heather Sweitzer and Jason Sweitzer work to get the spinner machine set up to spin roving into yarn in their Springfield Township fiber mill on Saturday, March 3, 2012. Heather Sweitzer, who owns a yarn shop just outside of Seven Valleys, recently opened a fiber mill nearby with her husband Jason and Jason’s cousin D.J. Wilt. Heather Sweitzer said people from all over Pennsylvania have sent in different types of animals’ fiber to be spun into yarn, but they have also received orders from Oregon and Wisconsin. Working in the mill is still a part-time job for Jason Sweitzer and Wilt, but they said they hope to quit their day jobs and work full-time in the mill once business picks up. Heather Sweitzer hopes to one day use her entire storefront for yarn made in the mill, and keep the back rooms stocked with yarn made elsewhere.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. D.J. Wilt uses a hanging scale to measure out semi-raw alpaca fiber before loading it onto the carding machine in the Springfield Township fiber mill he owns with his cousin Jason Sweitzer and Jason’s wife Heather, on Saturday, March 3, 2012.

It was pretty neat. But after spending time with those machines, I could see why labor laws against children working in similar mills and factories were enacted in the early 1900s.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. The storefront window of Heather Sweitzer’s Countryside Yarn Store in Springfield Township.

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Pole exercise class

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Daily Record/Sunday News, York on September 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Pole Zen Fitness instructor Kimberly Kerr demonstrates a technique to a Level II pole exercise student, Andrea Miller of Mount Wolf, on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, at the Manchester Township studio. Kerr opened the Pole Zen Fitness studio in May after teaching herself to exercise on a pole and getting certified. She and other instructors offer classes of varying difficulty in pole exercise.

Shot a pole exercise class for a story last month. I’d never watched nor seen pole (dance) exercise before, and these ladies definitely get a legitimate workout in their arms, core and legs. That said, I’ll stick to my favorite mode of exercise: running.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. (Left to right) Maria Kostalas of Spring Garden Township, Erica Kunkle of Manchester Township and Harriet Gray of Springettsbury Township take a breather during their “Intro to Pole” pole exercise class on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, at Pole Zen Fitness in Manchester Township.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. (Left to right) “Intro to Pole” students Maria Kostalas of Spring Garden Township, Tanika Vaughan of York, Harriet Gray of Springettsbury Township and Erica Kunkle of Manchester Township arch their backs against their poles during their pole exercise class on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, at Pole Zen Fitness in Manchester Township.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Pole Zen Fitness instructor Kimberly Kerr, center, leads the “Intro to Pole” class in a few pole exercises on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012.

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College football: Penn State defeats Navy 34-7

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, Sports, The York Daily Record/Sunday News, York on September 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The last time I shot Navy football, I was pretty frustrated. Not because the Midshipmen defeated the Missouri Tigers in the Texas Bowl, but because their triple-option offense utterly confused me and had me falling for more than a few fake plays.

The last time I shot Penn State football was the first game without Joe Paterno. The second-to-last time I shoot Penn State football was Joe Paterno’s last game — a victory that got him the title of the winningest Division I football coach. And all that was stripped when the NCAA vacated all the Nittany Lions’ wins since 1998.

Which made yesterday’s victory over Navy Penn State’s first victory since 1997 — and Bill O’Brien’s first win as head coach.

A lot has happened since the first time I stepped inside Beaver Stadium. But, as I walked onto the sidelines yesterday, all I could think about was how not to fall for more fake plays in the Midshipmen’s offense.

I think I did reasonably okay. You can check out all the (action) photos on YDR’s website, but here’re a few of my favorites:

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Two military jets perform a fly-over from the south end of Beaver Stadium for military appreciation day as the Blue Band finished playing the national anthem on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012. Penn State won its first 2012 game, 34-17, against Navy at Beaver Stadium.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Penn State’s Mike Hull rushes for a 74-yard touchdown after a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Penn State head football coach Bill O’Brien greets quarterback Matt McGloin after a Penn State touchdown in the first half on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012.

On an unrelated note: Armed with editor Brad’s iPad, I was able to tweet out a few photos — from my DSLRs — during the game. The signal was pretty shaky at times, but it was a neat exercise in being actually digital-first. Editor Eileen had reassured me before the game that tweeting wasn’t my priority and, if it felt overwhelming, that I could just put it aside. But I had a lot of fun with it (at least, when the signal worked), didn’t let it get in my way and got some good feedback from Twitter as well as fellow photographers on the sidelines.

Would I do it again? Absolutely.

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Ramadan: Breaking of the fast

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Daily Record/Sunday News, York on September 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Ramadan ended a bit ago, so I’m a little late in sharing some pictures I made a while ago at a community gathering to break the fast together.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. (Left to right) Hira Ahmed, 13; Ohanna Mohammad, 13; and Sanya Ahmed, 12, all of York Township, eat dessert together in the women’s section in the Masjid At-Tawheed mosque on Saturday, July 21, 2012. Sunni Muslims in the York area gathered for communal dinners each Saturday during Ramadan at Masjid At-Tawheed in York, for the breaking of the fast.

I’ve made pictures of Muslims before, but it was always in a public, diverse setting. This community gathering was the first time I was in an exclusively Muslim setting, so I had to learn quickly about various cultural differences that were complicated by my being female and having a camera. Fortunately, several men and women helped me tread the waters, and I think I was able to produce some good frames and, more importantly, some goodwill among the community.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. (Left to right, starting with the pink hijab) Runi Yasmin of York Township, Shaika Rizal of Mechanicsburg, Yasmin’s 9-year-old daughter Ibnat Irteeza, Beauty Ishaq of York and Kamrun Nahar of York break fast and eat dinner together in the women’s area in the Masjid At-Tawheed mosque on Saturday, July 21, 2012.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Abul Hasan of Springettsbury Township helps serve the men and boys at a communal dinner to break the fast during Ramadan on Saturday, July 21, 2012, at the mosque Masjid At-Tawheed.

© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Ibna Irteez, 9 of York Township, sits in the back of the women’s section as the older women prostrate in prayer at the conclusion of a communal dinner to break fast during Ramadan on Saturday, July 21, 2012, at the mosque Masjid At-Tawheed.

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