Joey Mastraccio swims for Rome Free Academy in the Boys 200Y Medley Relay during the Rome Free Academy v. Holland Patent Swim meet Tuesday evening in Rome.
Joey Yagey swims in the Boys 200Y Individual Medley for Holland Patent during the Rome Free Academy v. Holland Patent Swim meet Tuesday evening in Rome.
Tom Warcup swims for Rome Free Academy in the Boys 200Y Medley Relay during the Rome Free Academy v. Holland Patent Swim meet Tuesday evening in Rome.
The Christmas Season has begun! Here are a few shots from the holiday events this past week.
Caroline Entwistle, 6, sits with Mrs. Claus at Holiday on Main Street in the Children's Museum Saturday November 26, 2011 in Utica.
Sandie Craven-Griffith, an employee of The Olde WIcker Mill, lets Ryan Trevisani, 6, squeeze her light up rudolph nose as his brother Robert Trevisani, 7, watches in The Olde Wicker Mill at the New Hartford Shopping Center Friday. Craven-Griffith walked around the store helping customers. Laura Misiaszek, owner of the store, said "Thats why people come here. Because we're different and we're fun!"
Isaiah Ugalde, 3, sits with Santa at Christmas on Main Saturday November 19, 2011 in Utica.
So its thanksgiving week and the end of November, which means I’ve shot a lot of shopping stories this week. When I end up shooting various assignments that all resemble each other, its fun to try and find something different. Sure this doesn’t scream ‘black friday’ or ‘shopping extravaganza’ but that’s why I like it. In this photo an employee of a local store walked around with a light up Rudolph nose that squeaked when you squeezed it. She helped various customers and let kids see her nose whenever they wanted. It was an adorable moment in an otherwise unremarkable assignment. So I thought I’d share the photo.
Adams Story, Part 2 of 4 of our Autism series, is out today in Texas! Here are some pages in case you aren’t in the area to see them. As usual, Kiko and the design team did a great job with the photo layout. It makes me so happy! Hope you enjoy the pages and definitely check out the video here. It was one of my favorites to make because Rosemary was so open with letting me come spend time with her and her family.
One of my favorite shots from a game last week.
For those not in Texas, I wanted to share the pages of my and JR Ortega’s Autism series that started this weekend. There are three additional parts for the next three Sundays. Below are the pages from today! Also, please visit here to watch the Video. You really get to hear the mother’s story in her own words and see their everyday life with Autism. I think its a really important piece of the series because everything is said and shown straight from those struggling with this disorder.
Last week I got to photograph an awesome young lady who lost her leg due to a rare genetic disorder that makes it hard to heal. Despite this setback, she is training for the paralympics. Though she only got her new leg 3 weeks ago, she is already walking and training on it. Covering stories like these really makes me realize the strength people are truly capable of.
Alli Morgan, 21, exercises her arms Tuesday November 1, 2011 at Sitrin Rehabilitation Center. Morgan had a surgery for an ACL tear six years ago which didn't heal properly due to Ehlers-Danlos type III, a connective tissue disorder. Due to her body's inability to heal, Morgan has had her leg amputated and over 40 surgeries. Three weeks ago she got her prosthetic leg and is not only learning to walk, but is training for the paralympics. "I'd love to be able to run by the end of the year." Morgan said.
Alli Morgan, 21, exercises Tuesday November 1, 2011 at Sitrin Rehabilitation Center. Morgan had a surgery for an ACL tear six years ago which didn't heal properly due to Ehlers-Danlos type III, a connective tissue disorder. Due to her body's inability to heal, Morgan has had her leg amputated and over 40 surgeries. Three weeks ago she got her prosthetic leg and is not only learning to walk, but is training for the paralympics. "I'd love to be able to run by the end of the year." Morgan said.
Alli Morgan, 21, exercises Tuesday November 1, 2011 at Sitrin Rehabilitation Center. Morgan had a surgery for an ACL tear six years ago which didn't heal properly due to Ehlers-Danlos type III, a connective tissue disorder. Due to her body's inability to heal, Morgan has had her leg amputated and over 40 surgeries. Three weeks ago she got her prosthetic leg and is not only learning to walk
Alli Morgan, 21, practices on a outdoor version of a sled hockey sledge Tuesday November 1, 2011 at Sitrin Rehabilitation Center. Morgan had a surgery for an ACL tear six years ago which didn't heal properly due to Ehlers-Danlos type III, a connective tissue disorder. Due to her body's inability to heal, Morgan has had her leg amputated and over 40 surgeries. Three weeks ago she got her prosthetic leg and is not only learning to walk, but is training for the paralympics. "I'd love to be able to run by the end of the year." Morgan said.
Today we went to Beardslee Castle in Little Falls, New York, for a psychic fair. My friend was determined to get her fortune read and I’m cool with anything interesting and new. The castle itself is a lovely structure (I wish I could afford to buy it and live there. How cool would it be to tell people ‘lets go back to my castle!’) so I wandered around outside taking photos of the beautiful scenery. Thought I’d share a few from the day.
This week we had a structure fire around 2:30 am on Thursday. It was contained around 4:30am, so most of these photos were taken between 3 and 4 am, which is why it is so dark. We didn’t run anything in the paper (way too late for print deadline) but I just wanted to share some of my favorite shots from morning here. When we got to the location, the fire had reached the top floor and the firefighters were pouring water continuously into the building from the ladder to put it out. If you look at the fourth photo, you’ll see the water streaming from the building like its flooding, I’ve never seen that before at a fire. There are lots more here if you’d like to see the gallery on the OD website.
Since I’ve gotten to New York, I’ve shot a lot more sports than I have in over a year because here, I’m the night photographer everyday. That means I’m at soccer, field hockey, football and various sports games, everyday. Its been a lot of fun to shoot the actual games, but I thought I’d dedicate an entry to all those wonderful expressive moments that we get outside of the action. One of the aspects of sports I really enjoy is the sheer volume of intense emotion that goes into these events. And not always by those who are playing. Though the athletes have dedicated hours of practice and hard work to being the best, they’re not always the most expressive. Sometimes, its those on the sidelines. Every state I’ve lived in has told me “People are intense about football here.” The truth is, people are intense about Sports, everywhere. What other event do you attend regularly where people are screaming, full out screaming in joy, frustration, disappointment, anger or pride? Where people will go out on a field in front of hundreds of people and do ridiculous things to show their dedication to their town or team? They paint their bodies, decorate their cars, wear ridiculous outfits and stand in freezing rain, snow and storms just to be able to show their spirit. Sports inspires a kind of dedication and mania unheard of in any other kind of event, which is why its so much fun.
These guys painted on their shirts (ish), unfortunately I didn’t see a cuss word on the boy on the left, we had to crop it out for publication. That’ll teach me! Must always read chests.
Nothing shows dedication like bringing your own bullhorn.
Kid on the right = super intense.
Making O’s for Oneida.
These kids got to run through paper at halftime, they were SO excited about it.
So very excited, some of them fell. But they seemed to have fun doing that too.
Yelling with all his might!
Andrew Scalise, 10, screams "Go Bulldogs!" on the sidelines as the first half ends during the Westmoreland v. Oriskany football game Saturday, October 8, 2011, in Westmoreland, NY.
And a couple of the athletes who of course, inspire all that spirit in the first place. These are from a game yesterday. Honestly I don’t know if these boys didn’t expect to do so well or are just generally really excited by winning, but every goal was like Christmas morning and you could see it on their faces.
Bulldog Ian Dunning (13) celebrates after he scores a goal during the Poland v. Westmoreland game Saturday, October 15, 2011 in Utica, NY.
Bulldog Jason Dee (2) reacts after scoring a goal during the Poland v. Westmoreland game Saturday, October 15, 2011 in Utica, NY.
Ian Dunning (13) hugs Matt Falcone (17) after scoring a goal during the Poland v. Westmoreland game Saturday, October 15, 2011 in Utica, NY.
I think this was my favorite. The goalie just laid on the ground, completely defeated, after the fifth goal he missed. Better luck next time!
Bulldogs Ian Dunning (13) and Tyler Krebs (6) high five as Poland goalie Mitch Jones lies on the ground after missing a goal, during the Poland v. Westmoreland game Saturday, October 15, 2011 in Utica, NY.
