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Archive for the ‘Pennsylvania’ Category

Growing season

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Dispatch, York on March 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Young broccoli sprouts are slowly but surely growing at Hueter's Greenhouses. The broccoli are just one of many of the vegetable varieties that the workers at Hueter's are planting and growing in preparation for the spring season.

Yesterday afternoon, I’d gone to Rocky Ridge County Park for the first time, to look (unsuccessfully) for mountain bikers, and en route, I noticed some greenhouses just off the road. So today, knowing that the paper would need us photographers to get some more enterprise/feature photos, I went to the greenhouses to make some pictures.

It’s not quite time for the tulips, lilies and hyacinths, but the ladies working there were planting seeds and transplanting young plants. Two of the pictures I turned in to the paper are pretty similar. One is a little more “artsy”; the other is more functional. I’ll let you decide which you prefer.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Hueter's Greenhouses employee Jane Gurreri works to transplant hundreds of young begonias from trays to pots in one of the facility's eight greenhouses on Tuesday, March 22, 2011. After a slow January-February season, the workers at Hueter's Greenhouses are planting seeds for various vegetables and transplanting young flower plants.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Hueter's Greenhouses employee Jane Gurreri waters newly-transplanted, potted begonias in one of the facility's eight greenhouses on Tuesday, March 22, 2011.

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Throwing season

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, Sports, The York Dispatch, York on March 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. York Suburban freshman pitcher Lewis Myers throws the ball under the tutelage of head coach Josh Leik during practice in the Luther Memorial Church parking lot on Monday, March 21, 2011. A few members of the York Suburban baseball team practiced in the parking lot because the morning rain had washed out the field. York Suburban plays its first game of the season on Friday, March 25.

I drove almost 50 miles in the immediate York area — a number I didn’t think was possible — yesterday in search of enterprise/feature photos. So when I pulled into the York Suburban High School parking lot and saw baseball players in the neighboring church’s parking lot, my interest was piqued.

Unfortunately, after I found out that a) yes, they were the home team and b) they were in the lot because their field was flooded out, I also found out that both my camera batteries were dead. So I raced home in rush-hour traffic, grabbed my old camera body (after checking that its battery still had juice) and raced back to the school. I was able to make pictures of just a few more pitches before they wrapped up practice.

That was a close call on my part, and that’s not happening again!

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Ballet: The Velveteen Rabbit

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Dispatch, York on March 21, 2011| 1 Comment »

When I was five years old, I wanted to be a ballerina, an author, a teacher, an artist, an astronaut, an equestrienne and, of course, a mommy.

When I was six or seven years old, my mother put me into a ballet class. After I-don’t-know-how-many weeks or months (not that many), I became fed up that we weren’t doing anything fancy. So my ever-patient mother let me quit the class. I don’t know if she was counting on my eventually learning from my impatience and my mistake of quitting prematurely, but that’s what happened: I ain’t a quitter.

And neither are these Greater York Youth Ballet dancers, and I was so excited to photograph them as they prepare for their first show of the calendar year: “The Velveteen Rabbit.”

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Jack Miller, 11 of Dallastown, performs as the young boy who just received a new toy: the Velveteen Rabbit, performed by Allison Smith of West York. "The Velveteen Rabbit" ballet was choreographed by Cynthia Ridler of the Pittsburgh Youth Ballet Company and School, and is based on the children's tale of a beloved stuffed animal.

The lighting was ideal, and I was welcome to move around the dancers as they rehearsed (“It’s okay, ladies, you can run her over if you have to,” the artistic director told them). This was absolutely a fun, beautiful assignment to shoot on a non-working day, and I’m really excited about the pictures I was able to make.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. The young adult members of the Greater York Youth Ballet stretch before beginning the final dress rehearsal for "The Velveteen Rabbit" ballet at the Greater York Center for Dance Education on Saturday, March 19, 2011.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Jeanne Mallorey of Dover stretches before beginning the final dress rehearsal of "The Velveteen Rabbit" ballet at the Greater York Center for Dance Education on Saturday, March 19, 2011.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Rebekah Coup, center, of York Township performs with other members of the Greater York Youth Ballet in the final dress rehearsal for "The Velveteen Rabbit" ballet at the Greater York Center for Dance Education on Saturday, March 19, 2011.

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High school tennis: Spring Grove defeats Northeastern 7-0

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, Sports, The York Dispatch, York on March 20, 2011| 2 Comments »

Shot tennis for the first time in over a year, on Thursday.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Spring Grove's Chris Mathews returns the ball to Northeastern's Lance Sanderson during a match at Spring Grove Area High School on Thursday, March 17, 2011.

One of the coaches was initially hesitant to let me inside the court to make pictures during the matches.

“Well, you can take pictures while they’re warming up,” she said. “It’s just that last time there was a photographer from [another newspaper], the shutter clicks really bothered the boys.”

I said I couldn’t run photos of practice — I had to get the matches themselves. I also didn’t want to get stuck taking photos from outside the fence.

“Did the other photographer just take photos incessantly? Was he or she just gunning the camera on motordrive?” I asked.

The coach said yes.

“Well, that’s not how I shoot tennis,” I said. “For me, I take one shot for every one of their shots. I don’t motordrive tennis. I’m a lot more selective, and it won’t be distracting to the boys.”

She let me go inside.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Spring Grove's John King returns the ball to Northeastern's Stuart Reilly during a match at Spring Grove Area High School on Thursday, March 17, 2011.

I’m not naming the other photographer nor where he/she worked, but I was surprised that someone would want to shoot tennis — or baseball, or softball — that way. In my experience, you either get the peak action, with the ball in the frame, or you don’t. Gunning your shutter is a futile and noisy waste of frames.

In my experience, at least. That said, my camera can only give me 3.9 frames per second in continuous mode. I guess if I had a faster frames-per-second rate, motordriving would be more appealing… but again, not in tennis, baseball or softball.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Northeastern's Lance Sanderson serves the ball to Spring Grove's Chris Mathews during a match at Spring Grove Area High School on Thursday, March 17, 2011.

Or maybe I’m just crazy.

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Free ice

Posted in Food, Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Dispatch, York on March 20, 2011| 3 Comments »

Rita’s is having its 19th annual First Day of Spring Free Ice Giveaway today, until 9 p.m.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. York College junior Blair Foster serves up a cup of strawberry-kiwi Italian ice at Rita's Italian ice on South Queen Street on Sunday, March 20, 2011. March 20 was Rita's 19th annual First Day of Spring Free Ice Giveaway.

These cups of Italian ice usually cost somewhere between $3 and $5, but today they’re free (plus $1 for the optional custard topping). And, according to the owner of the store on South Queen Street, people sometimes come from as far as Maryland, New Jersey and New York just to get free ice.

Which, if true, is incredible. I haven’t had Rita’s yet — when I have my Italian ice, I’ll pay for it — so maybe the ice really is just that good.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. People line up to get free ice at Rita's Italian Ice on South Queen Street on Sunday, March 20, 2011, for the company's 19th annual First Day of Spring Free Ice Giveaway. Store owner Rick Pickett said he has seen people come from Maryland, New Jersey and New York to get free ice, which normally costs about $3-5 per serving, and that he expects to see as many as 3,000 people come to the story today.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. (Left to right) Olivia Small, Katelyn Fissel, Dylan Small and Nate Geiger, all of Spring Garden Township, eat their free Italian ices outside of Rita's Italian Ice on South Queen Street on Sunday, March 20, 2011.

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Ride on the trout train

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Dispatch, York on March 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »

A week after I tagged along with volunteers releasing young trout into York County creeks, I returned to ride the trout train.

Yes. An actual train.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Jeremy VanSickle of Dover carries out a bucket of trout from the motor-car train, where volunteers tended to five barrels containing 500 trout as part of the preseason live-release program on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. A motor-car train on almost four miles of the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad line in Chanceford Township was put to use to release trout in parts of the north branch of Muddy Creek that are otherwise inaccessible by public roads.

On actual tracks.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. The motor-car train, operated by Terry Smith of Yorkana, is maintained by the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Preservation Society. The railroad, nicknamed the "Ma and Pa," ran between York and Baltimore from 1901 to the 1950s. The Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Preservation Society also maintains almost four miles of original track between Muddy Creek Forks and Laurel in Chanceford Township.

With 500 fish.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Joe and Jeremy VanSickle of Dover carefully transfer young trout into one of five water barrels standing on a platform car in a motor-car train in Chanceford Township on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. About a dozen volunteers released the 500 young trout throughout almost four miles of the north branch of Muddy Creek by taking a motor-car train on the remnants of the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad line between High Rock and Laurel.

It was a really pleasant way to start the day.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Jerry Eberly of Winterstown and Tim Gladfelter of Windsor discuss future stops in their route on the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad line along the north branch of Muddy Creek on Tuesday, March 15, 2011.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. About a dozen volunteers came for the ride on the motor-car train on almost four miles of the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad line, along the north branch of Muddy Creek in Chanceford Township, to help release 500 live trout as part of the preseason live-release program on Tuesday, March 15, 2011.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. (Left to right) Jerry Eberly of Winterstown, Johnny Enfield of Winterstown and Sam Oberdorff of Windsor Township watch the passing scenery as they and other volunteers ride a motor-car train on the remnants of the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad line along the north branch of Muddy Creek in Chanceford Township on Tuesday, March 15, 2011.

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Preparing for the PSSA

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Dispatch, York on March 16, 2011| 1 Comment »

It’s that time of year again for Pennsylvania students: time to take the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment exams.

How did one school in York County handle exam time? By holding an academic pep rally.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Northeastern Middle School students race out to stomp on other teams' colored balloons during one of several competitive activities in the school's annual academic pep rally on Monday, March 14, 2011. Northeastern Middle School held its annual academic prep rally for the seventh and eighth grade students on Monday, March 14, 2011, to honor students with high grades and good attendance and behavior records, and to help students blow off some steam on the day before the school will administer the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Northeastern Middle School principal Michael Alessandroni wears his school loyalty on his socks as he participates in the carpet relay during the school's annual academic pep rally on Monday, March 14, 2011.

I wish my prep school had been this cool.

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Pickled beet eggs

Posted in Food, Pennsylvania, Photography on March 14, 2011| 1 Comment »

Something I’ve noticed in grocery stores here that I’ve never seen anywhere else: plastic tubs of eggs soaked in bright red liquid.

I never knew what they were until my roommate — who was born and raised in the area — said they’re “beet eggs.” Pickled beet eggs. Apparently they’re a big thing among the Pennsylvania Dutch.

The basic recipe? Apple cider vinegar + sugar + water + beets + beet juice + hard-boiled eggs. Refrigerate overnight.

They tasted less “beet-y” than I’d anticipated. But my roommate suggested actually eating them with the beets, which I’ll try next time.

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All about the watering holes

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Dispatch, York on March 13, 2011| 3 Comments »

If anything, I’ve learned that people like to congregate at watering holes, whether they’re collecting water, imbibing alcoholic beverages or actually, literally gathering around a watering hole.

As far as the actual, literal watering hole goes, I’ve seen it in Georgia…

© 2010 by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The infamous mud pit at the conclusion of the 2010 Redneck Games in Dublin, Ga.

…and now I’ve seen it in Pennsylvania.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Bikini-clad Tyler Rutter of Dillsburg attempts to pond-skim at Roundtop Mountain Resort in Lewisberry on Sunday, March 13, 2011. To celebrate the end of the 2010-2011 winter season, the resort created a waist-high "pond" for its popular, annual pond-skimming event, which requires participants to ski or snowboard partway down the snow slope and then water-ski/-board across the pond.

Roundtop Mountain Resort closed its winter season today, and to celebrate, they dug out a trench, filled it with water and invited skiers and snowboarders to attempt to pond-skim. I’d never heard of pond-skimming until last night when I looked at the event flier and had to ask Jeff what it was.

“You go down a regular snow hill on skis/snowboard,” Jeff said, “and try to make it across a semi-frozen/half-melted pond without falling in. They do it at the end of the season.”

An employee at the resort told me the trick is to switch your skiing styles, seamlessly. A snow skier leans forward, whereas a water skier leans backward.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Kyle "Toast" Heintzelman of Dillsburg successfully pond-skims across a manmade "pond" at the bottom of the Minuteman slope at Roundtop Mountain Resort in Lewisberry on Sunday, March 13, 2011.

As a Southerner, I thought the whole thing sounded ridiculous — and, of course it was that. It was awesome, too.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Sam Palumbo of Dillsburg shouts, "Shiver me timbers!" as he is helped from the manmade "pond" after unsuccessfully pond-skimming at Roundtop Mountain Resort in Lewisberry on Sunday, March 13, 2011.

As was the case with the Redneck Games, photographing pond-skimming at Roundtop is an occupational hazard in and of itself. One of the employees there told me I was squarely in the “splash zone,” and was I ever. Whereas after the Redneck Games I was covered in mud, I was soaked to the skin and shivering after one hour of photographing people trying to make it across the water.

Should’ve brought my rainjacket.

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Rasslin’: PIAA Class AAA State Championship preliminaries

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, Sports, The York Dispatch, York on March 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I went back to Hershey tonight to cover the first round of the PIAA Class AAA State Wrestling Championships. Which meant I had to drive 80 miles — most of which was on the interstate — in the big rainstorm. Which meant, for the first time since Sunday, I had to drive in (very) wet conditions. Which is now a terrifying concept and made me really apprehensive and agitated.

But I survived and made it there and back without incident. And, between each 40-mile stretch of road, I covered each of the nine wrestlers that York County sent to the state preliminaries. Here are a few shots:

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Spring Grove's Trey Duncan, top, wrestles Northampton's Cole Sheptock, in orange and black, in the 145-pound class during the first round of PIAA Class AAA State Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Spring Grove's Neal Grudi, top, wrestles La Salle's Nick Burns in the 171-pound class during the first round of PIAA Class AAA State Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Kennard-Dale's Chance Marsteller, bottom, wrestles Abington Heights' James Fruehan in the 152-pound class during the first round of PIAA Class AAA State Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Central York's Jake English, in black, wrestles La Salle's Shane Springer in the 160-pound class during the first round of PIAA Class AAA State Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Check out a lot more shots in the York Dispatch on-line gallery!

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A fishy fascination: Releasing live trout

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Dispatch, York on March 10, 2011| 1 Comment »

Warning: This post will have “city girl” written all over it.

I didn’t work on Sunday or Monday for obvious, logistical reasons, but this week still seems like a two-day work week — because I had so. much. fun. on assignment on Tuesday when I followed a pre-season trout-stocking trip.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Charlie Meads of Hallam Borough releases trout in Fawn Township on Tuesday, March 8, 2011. During each trout-stocking trip, the caravan of trucks tries to stop at least four times per mile per creek to release fish, provided there is enough road access to that creek. Volunteers from three different York County fish co-ops helped Waterways Conservation Officer Darrin Kephart and Jay Bucher stock several public-access creeks with 3,000 young trout as part of the pre-season live-release procedure. The fishing season opens on April 2.

I’ve been fortunate to do and see a lot of cool things in my relatively young life, but I’m not kidding. This was easily one of the neatest things I’ve ever covered.

There was one big fish-tank carrier truck, followed by the Waterways Conservation Officer and a caravan of almost a dozen pick-up trucks driven by volunteers (most of whom are older and retired). Several creeks were to be stocked with young trout that day, so the access points were planned in advance according to which landowners gave permission. And each time the caravan stopped at an access point, they’d scoop the fish out of the truck and either dump them into the creeks via buckets or carry them out via float-boxes.

Riding in a truck, hopping out and photographing people putting fish in a creek may not seem very glamorous or interesting to a lot of people, but I was truly and honestly fascinated by the whole thing.

And, of course, I made a video, so check it out!

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Dozens of trout splash around in a float-box pulled by Rick Leader of Dallastown and Larry Bennett of Stewartstown, who would disperse the fish down South Branch Muddy Creek on Tuesday, March 8, 2011.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Dean Snyder of New Bridgeville hands a bucket full of young trout to Dennis Leicht of Lower Windsor Township, as Jay Bucher of Shippensburg fishes out more fish with a net in Fawn Township on Tuesday, March 8, 2011. The truck is outfitted with seven different tanks, and can contain up to 3,000 young fish at a time. Volunteers released brown trout, brook trout, rainbow trout and palomino trout.

I went along for the whole, four-hour trip. Later, some of the old-timers remarked I’m the first photographer to do so, as photographers in the past have accompanied the caravan for only one or a few stops. I didn’t care, and they didn’t seem to mind.

And I’m going to try to accompany them again on another trip — next time, with a pair of waders so I can get into the water with them.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Larry Bennett of Stewartstown and Rick Leader of Dallastown pull a float-box down South Branch Muddy Creek on Tuesday, March 8, 2011. If a creek has only one or a few good access points from a road, volunteers would wade out for a few miles in the creek to disperse the fish evenly. These volunteers were stationed at several points along the fish-carrier truck's route, to be ready to carry the fish out in float-boxes in the creeks.

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“For dust you are”

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Dispatch, York on March 9, 2011| 2 Comments »

I went to a 7 a.m. Ash Wednesday service today at the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist. I’ve never regularly attended traditional church services, much less ones for special days, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

It was sparsely attended, which is understandable given the time of day and the fact that the church scheduled four services throughout the day.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Marked with ashes, Kathy Johnson of York City reads along in the liturgy during the 7 a.m. Ash Wednesday service at the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist on Wednesday, March 9, 2011.

Similar to another assignment, I kinda felt like a jerk for walking around and making camera-shutter noises that echoed in the largely empty sanctuary. But I was as discreet as I could possibly be, and I’d asked several attendees for their permission and names before the service began. Everyone seemed focused on the service and not at all distracted by my movements, which was relieving.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Kathy Johnson of York City kneels in prayer during the 7 a.m. Ash Wednesday service at the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist on Wednesday, March 9, 2011.

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Public service announcement

Posted in Pennsylvania on March 6, 2011| 3 Comments »

Slow down before you start hydroplaning on a wet road. Even if you’re already going at/below the speed limit.

In Mill Creek, alongside Camp Betty Washington Road in York Township.

I’m thankful that I wore my seatbelt (as always), that the windshield didn’t shatter upon impact and that other drivers stopped to call 9-1-1 and kept me company as I was stuck in the driver’s seat and waiting for a rescue crew.

I wish I could’ve thanked those drivers, but they were gone by the time the rescuers extricated me.

License plate is blurred out for my mom's peace of mind.

So, um, yeah. Slow down on wet pavement. Especially on curvy roads that are conveniently next to creeks.

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High school basketball: Victory dance at District 3-AAAA title game

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, Sports, The York Dispatch, York on March 5, 2011| 4 Comments »

I shot the District 3-AAAA girls basketball title game last night in Hershey. It was the lowest-scoring game I’ve ever shot, but it was also the best game I’ve shot since I acquired this full-frame. So I’m happy.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Red Lion's Gisselle Truiett gets a mouthful of the basketball as Wilson's Ivory Bailey fouls her in the third period of the District 3-AAAA title game on Friday, March 4, 2011, at the Giant Center in Hershey.

And so are the Red Lion girls, who defeated Wilson 39-20 and won the District 3-AAAA title…

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Red Lion's girls varsity basketball head coach Don Dimoff joins the team and cheerleaders in a cheer and dance on the court after defeating Wilson 39-20 for the District 3-AAAA championship on Friday, March 4, 2011, at the Giant Center in Hershey.

…despite there being quite a few weird moments, as well as fouls, in the game.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Wilson's Carley Brew fouls Red Lion's Shanley Harlacker in the second period of the District 3-AAAA title game on Friday, March 4, 2011, at the Giant Center in Hershey.

(more…)

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High school basketball: Cheer and despondency at District 3 championships

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, Sports, The York Dispatch, York on March 4, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Last night in Hershey, I photographed victory…

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. York Catholic's Morgan Klunk, Patrica McGann and Giana Lupinetti clap as their head coach Kevin Bankos awards them their District 3-AA title medals on Thursday, March 3, 2011, at the Giant Center in Hershey. Thursday's 61-45 victory over Delone Catholic marks the York Catholic girls' sixth consecutive district title.

…and defeat.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Eastern York boys basketball players stand wearing or holding their second-place medals as the Lancaster Catholic team receives its District 3-AAA title medals on Thursday, March 3, 2011.

As well as some game action:

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Eastern York's Andrew Nicholas catches the ball against Lancaster Catholic in the District 3-AAA boys championship on Thursday, March 3, 2011, at the Giant Center in Hershey.

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Silence, after 127 years and 100 steps above ground

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Dispatch, York on March 3, 2011| 1 Comment »

On Tuesday, I climbed 115 steps (not including 14 landings) to reach the belltower of Christ Lutheran Church in downtown York. Twice.

The first time, church secretary Tracey led me up there so I could make pictures and do some video. You see, for the first time since 1884, the church’s main bell — the one that dates to 1800 and that strikes hourly — is silent due to repair work.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Chuck Roeser, a tower clock renovation specialist from Lockport, N.Y., is one of two clockmakers commissioned by Christ Lutheran Church to renovate its bell system. Roeser, a tower clock restoration specialist from Lockport, N.Y., and Bob Desrochers, a clockmaker from Lancaster County, have been hired by the church to renovate the clock and bell system. The larger bell, which dates back to 1800, is having its striker replaced to improve the sound of its ring. After the bell and various gears and cables are renovated, the clock will undergo renovations.

But when Tracey and I arrived, the workers were gone. There was no note nor any indication of when the workers would be back.

So, figuring the workers would return soon, I hung out in the top level of the belltower (not including the crawlspace right below the cupola, which is accessible by an upright ladder) for a bit. It was a little strange. Normally, when you’re high up in a building, you’re in an insulated, soundproof area. But in the belltower, you’re still exposed to the cold air, you can hear the street traffic below and yet you’re apart from it all.

That top level happens to be where the four clock faces are, as well as all the gears and rods and cables needed to synchronize the clock and the bell. There’s also a lot of dust and graffiti.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch.

Tracey brought the pastor up to talk to me, and I interviewed him as we were surrounded by the four clock faces. Shortly thereafter, when it was apparent the workers weren’t coming back too soon, I descended the belltower and returned the office. On my way down, I counted the steps and made more pictures.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch.

(more…)

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Westboro Baptist Church: 1, Grieving father: 0

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Dispatch, York on March 2, 2011| 3 Comments »

Besides Apple’s iPad 2 announcement, today’s big news was that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of protesters’ rights at military funerals.

I didn’t know it until today, but the grieving father who sued Westboro Baptist Church for protesting his Marine son’s funeral and criticizing him on its website is from the York area. He and his lawyers held a presser in downtown York that was attended by more media than I’ve ever before seen in the area.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Flanked by counsels Craig Trebilcock and Sean Summers, Albert Snyder of Spring Garden Township approaches a press conference on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at the York County Administrative Center to address the U.S. Supreme Court's 8-1 decision in favor of Westboro Baptist Church's right to protest military funerals.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Albert Snyder, of Spring Garden Township, addresses the press at a conference on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at the York County Administrative Center to address the U.S. Supreme Court's 8-1 decision in favor of Westboro Baptist Church's right to protest military funerals. Snyder said, "It's been a long five years, and I'm ready to put this behind me and move on."

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Vignettes (II)

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Dispatch, Vignettes, York on March 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Shirley Ausherman of Windsor Township scans used books before placing them on the correct shelves in the correct rooms at the Book Nook in Windsor borough on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011. The Friends of Kaltreider/Benfer Library sponsored a sale at the Book Nook at 144 West Main Street in Windsor borough. Open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19, the sale featured used books at one dollar for hardbacks and 50 cents for paperbacks. The Friends of Kaltreider/Benfer Library already donated $7,000 to the library, and hoped to recuperate that cost via this book sale.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Valley View at Yorkshire secretary Peggy Dunty ("Little Cat in the Hat") pokes reading specialist Amy Hare ("Cat in the Hat") on the nose as they and other Valley View teachers read Dr. Seuss's "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" to students in an all-school assembly to kick off B.E.A.R. ("Be Excited About Reading") Week on Monday, Feb. 28, 2011. Monday kicked off B.E.A.R. Week, in conjunction with Dr. Seuss's birthday and Read Across America Day, at Valley View at Yorkshire.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Ray Bradley, of York City, sits with his dirty vodka martini at the bar in The Roosevelt Tavern during happy hour on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011. A proposed law would ease up on when and for how long restaurants and bars can have happy hour. Under current law, establishments can hold happy hour for 14 hours per week and two hours per day. The proposed law would keep the 14-hour-per-week cap but allow establishments to choose how to divide those hours among days of the week.

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Quidditch for Muggles

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, Sports, The York Dispatch, York on February 28, 2011| 1 Comment »

I’m not shy about admitting I know nothing about Harry Potter. I was a firm Lord of the Rings fan when the Harry Potter franchise started to take over the world, and as a matter of principle (and adolescent tenacity), I neither read nor watched anything related to Harry Potter.

So I was at a distinct disadvantage when my editor assigned me to photograph the first-ever Central Pennsylvania Open Quidditch Tournament on Sunday.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Ursuline School senior Sean Watson, of New Rochelle, N.Y., scores against Trinity High School in the Central Pennsylvania Open Quidditch Tournament on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, at Roof Park in New Cumberland. Ursuline was the only out-of-state team in central Pennsylvania's first-ever Quidditch tournament, and was also the tournament winner.

Going into the tournament — right after covering Daren Hidalgo’s memorial service (talk about a messed-up emotional state) — I knew only a few things about Quidditch:

  1. It involves balls.
  2. It involves goals.
  3. It involves flying.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Spare brooms lie on the ground during downtime in the first-ever Central Pennsylvania Open Quidditch Tournament on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, at Roof Park in New Cumberland. While a broom is necessary in playing Quidditch in Harry Potter's universe, the brooms for Muggles (non-witches) are of little functional use, except when the human Snitch is defending himself.

Since Muggles cannot fly, these high school and college students instead ran. And tackled. It was basically a combination of rugby, dodgeball, basketball, tag and soccer. There was a thick International Quidditch Association handbook available, but the game still made no sense — but it was fun.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Ursuline School senior Amanda Ungco passes the quaffle against Trinity High School in the Central Pennsylvania Open Quidditch Tournament on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, at Roof Park in New Cumberland.

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Remembering Dallastown’s fallen

Posted in Journalism, Pennsylvania, Photography, Photojournalism, The York Dispatch, York on February 27, 2011| 2 Comments »

Last week, Daren Hidalgo was killed in Afghanistan. Today, his friends and the Dallastown community gathered to honor his memory.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. A memorial service was held Sunday, Feb. 27, at Dallastown Area High School to honor Army First Lt. Daren Hidalgo, who graduated from the school in 2005 and was killed in action in Afghanistan on Sunday, Feb. 20.

Photographing this service was difficult for several reasons. First, I felt like a jerk walking around with a camera while people were grieving, so I did my best to exercise the utmost discretion. Second, I initially didn’t know if his family would be attending (they weren’t — they’re in Wisconsin). Third, I didn’t know who among the hundreds of attendees were the ones who knew him best and were most affected by his death… but was able to find out.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. A memorial service was held Sunday, Feb. 27, at Dallastown Area High School to honor Army First Lt. Daren Hidalgo, who graduated from the school in 2005 and was killed in action in Afghanistan on Sunday, Feb. 20.

After making the above picture, introducing myself to Phil and almost crying myself because of his immense grief, I then felt even more like a jerk, making camera clicks during the memorial service.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Levi Mattas of Lewisberry and Phil Bayliss of Philadelphia smile as Ali Merrifield of York Township recalls fond memories of their classmate and friend Daren Hidalgo, during a memorial service for Hidalgo at Dallastown Area High School on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. The three friends were among several speakers at the service who gave witness to Hidalgo's life. Members of Hidalgo's family, who now live in Wisconsin, were not present and will hold their own service on Wednesday, March 2.

© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Members of the Dallastown Area High School Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps unfold the American flag in preparation for the playing of taps at the end of a memorial service held for Dallastown alumnus and Army First Lt. Daren Hidalgo on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011.

But it was really wonderful, seeing veterans, members of the Dallastown community and Daren’s old high school friends gather to honor his memory.

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