Mystic - Ah, the week after Christmas. It seems that all I have been talking about lately is how quiet it has been or how many features I have had to find. No different for this post. I did not have an easy time finding this one. He was warming up for an all-ages concert that started after my shift ended. I was only a little bit late going home however.
New London - This is a photo that I took near the end of my shift last night but did not get to post. I am working night desk again today so I have nothing new to put up. Normally I like crisp, stop-action, action photos of spot news, but in this case I think the lighting and the blur brings a certain drama and tension to the photo. Eight people went to the hospital from this wreck, seven of which were in the minivan. All should be okay.Thursday Dec. 27, 2007
Groton - For anyone who has been hitting my site tonight you may have seen that I am having some issues. As you can see I am going BIG with my photos. The process for this convoluted at best. But I think I have got it figured out now. So keep watching to see how it all ends up. This is a night feature. I took it at night because drizzle and rain looks better at night. I must have typed this description 5 times by now. During the day drizzle is gray and cold. During the night it reflects the light making it much easier to take.
Waterford - So over the last two days I have had no real assignments...in fact no assignments at all. Both days I was sent out to feature hunt. Both days I came back with two different photos for the paper. Friday's pictures were not very good, and in some ways I am not upset that they did not see the light of day. These ones fell victim to there not being enough room in the inn.
We did not do anything on the Salvation Army this year, so I was hopeful to remind our readers that the Christmas Kettle Campaign comes to an end Christmas Eve. Maybe they will run one in tomorrows paper. I have not passed a kettle all season without dropping at least a buck into it.
Mystic - Okay, so this one was more predictable. I knew the band would be there, and they had been there on the weekends all season long. Today was their final performance for this year. I was hopeful to give them a bigger audience...which I am sure they had. Holiday Brass bands are a lot of fun to listen to. Even if these photos did not make it to press, I still had a lot of fun shooting them.Tuesday Dec. 18, 2007
New London - It seems that I had a good lighting day. The shot above was a last minute, "we did not have enough art", desparation stand-alone photo on deadline, and believe me, I wish I could be this desperate more often. Late afternoon winter light in Connecticut can be wonderful. I just wish that I had arrived here twenty minutes earlier, or that this woman was taller.
Lyme - This is a portrait of sorts. This gentleman owns a statue of Santa Claus that he keeps in a large window over-looking the road outside of his garage. He has been doing this for many years. This year however someone offered to buy Santa. He was about to go ahead with the sale when his neighbors began an outcry as to "where did Santa go?" So whether it be the time of year (or maybe he will sell Santa off in January) the owner decided to keep Santa in his usual place. And they all lived happily ever after.
...makes me feel like this cat! Not a lot of activity...well let me correct that, there has been too much activity lately, just not the type of activity that I like. I have been working "night desk" twice a week for the last two weeks now. This means instead of shooting, I work from 4:00 p.m. to midnight getting photos ready for the next day's paper. In other words I am the photo end of the copy desk, and it is the pits. Hence, combine this schedule with Christmas shopping and I have not been doing much photography. These are just a few photos that I managed to squeek out over the last few days. 
Saturday Dec. 8th - Griswold - Christmas tree shopping. 
Thursay Dec. 13th - Groton - Clean up from Thursday's snow/ice storm. Just great, I get to shoot and have to set out in the cold and snow. I love this business.
Friday Dec. 7, 2007 
Norwich - This is a shot that I liked from a Pearl Harbor Day ceremony at the Norwich Vet Center this afternoon. There is nothing great about this photo, and due to the location and lighting it is fairly traditional. This gentleman was an anti-aircraft gunner in the European theater late in the war. He was almost re-assigned into the infantry, but was not needed. He is very glad for this. He told me "It is probably why I am still here. The unit I would have gone into got the Hell kicked out of it". I always enjoy and respect working with veterans.
