After some agony, a nearly two-month delay and a lot of hemming and hawwing, I’ve finally edited together what I think are the best of my photos from 2011.
2011 was good: It was the first full year in which I shot on assignment, full-time, every week. In January, I left my home in Texas for an internship at a paper in York, Pa.; in May, I left my internship for a job at the other paper in York. I’ve since been learning my way around York County, exploring the rest of Pennsylvania on occasional outings and making friends among various local and regional journalists.
2012, so far, has also been good. We’re only about a month and a half into the new year, but I’m already looking forward to compiling next year’s “Best of,” as well as looking back at 2011 again and coming up with an entirely new selection. But — in the meantime, here’s what I have from last year.
Hope you enjoy.
© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Blake Cooper hauls a piece of plywood to board up a lower-story window of 136 W. High Street in Red Lion on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011. Cooper, who works for Major Restoration Services, said the fire damage at this duplex was among the worst he has seen. The fire, ruled as arson, was caused by trash bags filled with gas that were thrown onto the porch of 136 W. High Street and ignited. Both families living in the duplex were displaced.
© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Penn Manor's Colby Graham wrestles Spring Grove's Neal Grudi in the 189-pound bout at Spring Grove Area High School on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011. Grudi pinned Graham; Spring Grove defeated Penn Manor 44-19 in the first round of the District 3-AAA Team Tournament, but lost to Cumberland Valley 35-19 in a quarterfinal match later that night.
© 2012 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. With the help of her father Reggie Ross, Miracle Ross reaches for the ceiling fan switch in their home on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. When she was born four months early on Jan. 23, 2009, Ross weighed 13 ounces and couldn't leave the hospital until that July. Now almost three years old, Ross was diagnosed with liver cancer in May 2011 and receives chemo treatments every day at home when her blood levels are high enough. Ross also has a feeding tube and underwent a tracheostomy because her diaphragm and lungs are not strong enough to support her. Doctors have evaluated her to be at the same stage of mental development as that of a 10-month-old - an evaluation with which Ross's mother Sherrie Baker disagrees.
© 2011 by The York Dispatch. In search of a toy to comfort her upset 4-year-old daughter Mariah, Katie White bends over to pick up an undamaged slinky in her fire-damaged home the day after the fire, on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. White is nine months pregnant with her third child and first son, whom she and her husband Anthony will name Darius. The White family had occupied the downstairs apartment of a rowhouse on the 600 block of Wallace Street in York, Pa., for about two years when, on April 26, 2011, their upstairs neighbor left her cooking unattended. The resulting fire destroyed three rowhouses, including a condemned property, and displaced seven adults and three children. The Whites' renters insurance had elapsed, and they are currently staying with family.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Zach Cline, 10 of Mechanicsburg, sits atop a barricade and eats his popsicle as he and other Summer Adventure Camp participants wait their turn to go down the slope in the H2 OGO ball at Roundtop Mountain Resort's Mountain Adventure area on Thursday, July 14, 2011. Roundtop Mountain Resort is offering its fourth year of five-day Summer Adventure Camps, during which kids ranging in age from 8 to 15 participate in activities including fishing, kayaking, Frisbee golf and high ropes.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. York Revolution outfielder Val Majewski and other teammates celebrate their 2011 Atlantic League Championship win with Champagne in the locker room on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, after defeating the Long Island Ducks 6-3 at Sovereign Bank Stadium and becoming back-to-back champions.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. DeWayne Boyer of Ashton, Md., laughs in response to one of his friends' remarks as he stands in chest-high water on what used to be the patio of his summer house in Goldsboro on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011. With the help of family and friends, Boyer stripped the carpets and relocated valuable items in his family's summer house in the 70th block of Water Street, as the Susquehanna River's floodwaters flowed into the house's basement and neighboring houses.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. FightRight MMA promoter and fighter Eric Albright lies splayed out on the wrestling mats after a three-minute match against former Red Lion wrestling coach Biff Walizer, on Wednesday, June 8, 2011, at Red Lion Area High School. Albright and Walizer are training to fight in the Brawl in the Hall mixed-martial arts tournament on June 18, 2011, at the York Expo Center. Albright, who wrestled at Red Lion Area High School in 2004 and 2005, is promoting the tournament via his organization FightRight MMA. Walizer, who was Albright's wrestling coach, just ended his final and 12th season coaching at Red Lion and has fought 16 MMA fights.
© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Red Lion's Gisselle Truiett gets a mouthful of the ball 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. Red Lion defeated Wilson 39-20 and won the title. The Wilson Bulldogs failed to score until the second period, and didn't bring their total into the double digits until after halftime.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Tah'ryzma Holland, 3, looks up at her grandmother Rebecca Moore as Moore prepares to leave the house for a while on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. The girl, known as Nana to friends and family, and her father live with Moore on Parkway Boulevard. Nana calls Moore "Mommy" and gets separation anxiety whenever Moore leaves the house without her. Moore is a resident on Parkway Boulevard, where she has seen the level of crime and violence rise in the past six years. Moore has since formed Operation Stand Up -- an organization that assists residents and police officers at crime scenes -- and become an outspoken member of the community against the Parkway Gang's activities.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Penn State corner back and senior Chaz Powell leaves the field visibly upset after Penn State lost 17-14 to Nebraska in the Nittany Lions' first game in 46 seasons without former head coach Joe Paterno at the helm at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Brian Keefer, center, and his family react after seeing their newly renovated home for the first time on Sunday, June 26, 2011, in Newberry Township. Per "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" tradition, the show's bus blocked the family's view of the house until host Ty Pennington, the family and 1,000 supporters shouted, "Move that bus!" Greeted by 1,000 supporters, the builders and the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" crew, the Keefer family returned to their Newberry Township home, which is renovated and features a connected wing for son Brian Keefer, on Sunday, June 26, 2011.
Words and Light 