Spot News Update

Oconee County Firefighters walk through steam as they put out a fire in Clarence T. Maxey's 1985 Dodge Ram pickup truck outside his house on Hog Mountain Road in Watkinsville on Thursday, November 20, 2008. Maxey said that he received a phone call from a neighbor asking if he was burning leaves in his yard and stepped outside to find his pickup truck on fire. No one was injured in the small blaze.

This blog is called f/8 and be there because thats what i do, thats what I'm passionate about. Breaking, spot news photography. Confusing situations and being right there as the events unfold.



Victoria Huynh cries after she struck a six-year-old boy while he was riding a bike while the boy's father Murphy Lawrence, right, walks the bicycle away on Thursday, November 20, 2008 in Athens. Huynh was exiting Tower Place Plaza, across the street from Charmar Flower and Gifts, onto Gaines School Road when six-year-old Murphy Matt road his bicycle in front of Huynh's Honda CR-V while riding his bicycle ahead of his family. Huynh struck the rear tire of Matt's bicycle, knocking him off. Matt was not injured.

Last week was "Spot News Thursday" as i caught a car fire and a girl who hit a kid on a bicycle. (The child was ok and the photo is more powerful than what happened) Tuesday, i caught a fully involved structure fire.

The hardest part of Spot news is getting to the scene. Just because news is happening, you still have to obey the traffic laws, despite the fact that adrenaline is flowing and every bone in your being is saying that it's okay do drive 80 down the backstreets. You can't do that. Even when you see the smoke rising from 8 miles away, you can't fly down the roads.... generally because the prevailing traffic won't let you.

You have to know the streets and what will get you there for the shot. You have to rely on every driving instinct you have to get to the scene and once you get there, you have to size up the situation and making photos fast. Its all instinct and experience, knowing how far you can go without endangering yourself or someone else.



Jackson County Firefighters work to knock down a fire that completely destroyed a house in the 8800 block of Jefferson River Road in South Jackson County on Tuesday, November 25, 2008. Firefighters from South Jackson County, Arcade and Jefferson responded to the multi-alarm fire.

ISS in 3 Minutes?

Okay, somehow it escaped my grasp that the space station would be viewable high in the sky tonight.

I found out 3 minutes before it was due overhead. Not even enough time to remember which was was SW and NE.

I went ISO 100, 17mm at 5.6 and just opened up the shutter. It works but isn't what i would have done if i had known about it.

Friday Night Lights: Oconee Revisited

Running back Blake Burgess, left, and Hutch Roper, right, celebrate after Burgess' touchdown run in the second quarter as the Oconee County Warriors beat the Morgan County Bulldogs in Watkinsville on Friday, November 7, 2008

SO this week, i ran into two major obstacles. First, it rained. AGAIN. Third time in a row for me having Friday Night light-rain-and-mist-meaning-no-second-camera and I was stuck using my 300 f/4 as the other 300 was with one of my colleagues and the really good lenses were off with the rest of the staff at an away game for UGA.





Morgan County Bulldogs' Domonique Hall drops a pass on the one-yard-line as the Oconee County Warriors beat the Morgan County Bulldogs in Watkinsville on Friday, November 7, 2008.

Between the rain and dealing with the cold i was fighting and perpetual sneezing, i think i made some decent photos. Deep down, i really did care. But a 20 point lead over a one-win team in the rain means I'm leaving at halftime.



Running back Blake Burgess falls into the end zone for a touchdown late in the second quarter as the Oconee County Warriors beat the Morgan County Bulldogs in Watkinsville on Friday, November 7, 2008.




Quarterback Zach Mettenberger drops back to pass as the Oconee County Warriors beat the Morgan County Bulldogs in Watkinsville on Friday, November 7, 2008.

Election Night Redux

University of Georgia students cheer as President-Elect Barack Obama speaks after winning the Presidential Election on Tuesday November 4, 2008.

Leftover Obama-Mania from around here. It was cool to see history made and the great strides that this country has made.

It got cold by the time Obama finally went on stage around Midnight. What killed me was trying to get a shot of people cheering while Obama was still on screen, as CNN was rapidly cutting from camera to camera. Not as sharp as i would have liked, but Obama on a 30 foot tall screen worked to tell the story.



A cardboard standup of Sen. Barrack Obama joins students on Myers Quad on Tuesday November 4, 2008.



UGA student Alan Goodno, left, dances while dressed like Uncle Sam on Myers Quad on Tuesday November 4, 2008.

In the stars.....

Howard Sims, 72, stands outside his observatory on Thursday, November 6, 2008 in Comer. Sims, an amateur astronomer, built his observatory when he moved from Chicago.


Howard Sims is 72 years old.



Howard Sims, 72, looks through his 12 1/2 inch telescope in his observatory on Thursday, November 6, 2008 in Comer. Sims, an amateur astronomer, built his observatory when he moved from Chicago.

He has his own observatory. He has his own 12 1/2" telescope. (900 inch focal length or 22860 mm lens) He built it, ground the mirror and put it together while living in Chicago. Then he moved to Madison County and built his own observatory alongside his house.

Don't you wish you were that cool?





Howard Sims shows off pictures of the construction of his observatory on Thursday, November 6, 2008 in Comer. Sims, an amateur astronomer, built his observatory when he moved from Chicago.




The moon as seen through Howard Sims' 12 1/2 inch telescope in his observatory on Thursday, November 6, 2008 in Comer. Sims, an amateur astronomer, built his observatory when he moved from Chicago.

Veterans Day

CWO Ray Fairman (USMC) stands before a Veterans' Appreciation Day ceremony in Pittard Park in Winterville on Saturday, November 8, 2008.

This past Saturday, there was a local Veterans Day event, to celebrate and to tell the stories of the men who took up arms and defended us from the Nazis. Both my grandfathers were part of this "greatest generation" and its generally cool to hear the stories of people who were actually there (like a PFC who was with Gen. George Patton and overheard some of what he said to the Germans while at a "camp").

What annoys me is the community not showing up for these. There are fewer and fewer men who can tell the tales of coming under fire and what they did to help liberate people (and those people actually wanted to be liberated!) and how the country came together, united against men who seemed to want to rule the world.




Medals and ribbons hang on the chest of CWO Ray Fairman during a Veterans' Appreciation Day ceremony in Pittard Park in Winterville on Saturday, November 8, 2008.


The greatest resource our country has to offer is the lives of its citizens. Those men should only be sacrificed when the cause is beyond reproach. To question the cause is not unpatriotic; rather it is a service to all those who have given their lives in the defense of our country. It seems that the causes for risking good men's lives seem thinner and thinner as days go by.




CWO Ray Fairman (USMC) talks during a Veterans' Appreciation Day ceremony in Pittard Park in Winterville on Saturday, November 8, 2008.

Take a quiet moment and remember that all this, everything we have in our lives, would not be this way if it weren't for the courageous few who give their lives.

Stairway to the Redcoats

The Georgia Redcoat Marching Band is getting their own practice facility, so i hung out with them for a rehearsal as they rehearse in a parking lot due to field constraints with the football program. (When you have a top-10 football program in the nation, i really don't think they can be asked to move off the field so the band can rehearse. Just doesn't work that way)

Anyways, i made a lot of pictures and came back the next day with Mr. Audio Recorder so i could put it together as a slideshow below.



All in all it was a lot of fun to shoot and produce, even if it meant hearing the same ending to "Stairway to Heaven" over and over. Although hearing "Kashmir" on the windchimes was pretty neat.

13 Blocks in 3 Hours: The Tim Tebow lovefest

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is congratulated by Florida fans as the #8(BCS) Florida Gators beat the #6 (BCS) Georgia Bulldogs 49-10 in Jacksonville on Saturday, November 1, 2008.

Florida. Georgia. World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party Traffic Jam.



Florida's Ahmed Black, left, and Joe Haden celebrate as the #8(BCS) Florida Gators beat the #6 (BCS) Georgia Bulldogs 49-10 in Jacksonville on Saturday, November 1, 2008.


To anyone who ever, EVER, entertains thoughts of going to this game. First, Don't. Seriously, this game is for professional alcoholics people who can endure the worst traffic on the planet. We exited I-95 to travel 13 blocks down Union St. and to the stadium at 11:30AM. (It's a 3:30 kickoff.) We managed to get to the parking garage at 3PM. Thats utterly ridiculous and completely unacceptable. There's no earthly reason why it should take 3 1/2 hours to travel less than 2 miles, especially when you are following the signs to the stadium.

Both Athens and Gainesville handle 90 Thousand plus fans (in the stadiums!) every fall. There's no conceivable reason why a city with the resources of Jacksonville, Fl. has horrendous traffic problems when one of the poorest city in Georgia can handle traffic without a problem.

So after a quick sprint from the car and through/over legions of Florida fans (most of whom were trying to get in through the press entrance), there was a game to play.




Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno stiff arms Florida defensive end Justin Trattou as the #8(BCS) Florida Gators beat the #6 (BCS) Georgia Bulldogs 49-10 in Jacksonville on Saturday, November 1, 2008.

Georgia showed up, had a good statistical first half, made a few errors but was down 14-3 despite outplaying Florida. Made some nice pictures. Finally got a decent picture of Knowshon Moreno and made a decent sack photo, only to have it called back on an offsides penalty. NEARLY made the 'shot of the game' photo - Knowshon having a TD pass go in his hands and off his head - alas it was backfocused. (I'm going to blame the lens because it can't be user error... right?)




Florida quarterback Tim Tebow looks up after being stopped just short of the goal line in first quarter the as the #8(BCS) Florida Gators beat the #6 (BCS) Georgia Bulldogs 49-10 in Jacksonville on Saturday, November 1, 2008.

Second half came and they didn't answer the bell. I went to work on trying to get deject/jube shots as it rapidly became the 'Tim Tebow' show, between him doing the 'Gator Chomp' (I've seen alligators living in the wild before firsthand and never seen them do that) and the victory lap after the game. It got out of a hand in a hurry as dejected Georgia fans left in a hurry. It was 1/2 a stadium, as no one was on the Georgia side while everyone was still there on the Florida side. (Should have went into the stands and made that picture)



Florida quarterback Tim Tebow does the "Gator Chomp" after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter as the #8(BCS) Florida Gators the #6 (BCS) Georgia Bulldogs 49-10 in Jacksonville on Saturday, November 1, 2008.



Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, left, looks dejected on the bench as the #8(BCS) Florida Gators beat the #6 (BCS) Georgia Bulldogs 49-10 in Jacksonville on Saturday, November 1, 2008.

I made solid, game telling pictures. Thats the best you can do I suppose.

Georgia defenders Geno Adkins, left, and Roderick Battle, right, combine to sack Florida quarterback Tim Tebow before the play was nullified on a Georgia penalty as the #8(BCS) Florida Gators beat the #6 (BCS) Georgia Bulldogs 49-10 in Jacksonville on Saturday, November 1, 2008.