Editorial

Snow Emergency in Michiana

January 6, 2014

My assignment today was to cover the snow storm and extreme cold weather. We here in South Bend are under a “Disaster Emergency Declaration” through noon on Tuesday. I had trouble finding people because the entire city was like a ghost town. It was quite an eerie feeling to look down the main drag of downtown South Bend to see no cars or traffic on a Monday morning. (Because of the emergency declaration, people are being advised to stay off the roads with the threat of $500 citations by police.) The only people I saw outside today for the most part were plow drivers, USPS workers and – you guessed it – fellow journalists. The lack of people ended up being the basis of a lot of my photos today: eerie streetscapes where people should be (third photo). All things considered, it was a decent day at work with only one near-death experience. Looking forward to shooting a few more things on my “hit list” tomorrow as the snow removal continues.

Snow Emergency — Morning light illuminates steam rising from the St. Joseph River near “The Keepers of the Fire” sculpture on Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in downtown South Bend. Late Sunday the City of South Bend and the St. Joseph County Emergency Management Agency issued a Disaster Emergency Declaration effective through Tuesday, Jan. 7. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)

Celebrating the Scottish New Year in South Bend

January 2, 2014

South Bend New Year's Eve — Ed Wolf celebrates the Scottish New Year with his nine-month-old son, Joaquin, just after 7 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013, at Fiddler’s Hearth in downtown South Bend. The restaurant marked the Scottish New Year with a toast from the first-foot – the first person to cross the threshold after the New Year. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)

Notre Dame hockey’s “Practice on the Pond”

January 2, 2014

Notre Dame Practice on the Pond — Notre Dame goalie Joe Rogers, left, shares a laugh as he interacts with Heather, Zara, right, and Tim Dukeman, background, during an open Notre Dame hockey team practice on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013, at Merrifield Park in Mishawaka. The team practiced outdoors as part of its annual “Practice on the Pond” for fans. Tuesday’s event was the seventh time the Irish hockey team has practiced at Merrifield Park. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)

2013 Notre Dame football

December 23, 2013

The 2013 Notre Dame football season was my second covering the team. Last season, I was surprised – as I imagine most people were – to see the Irish go 12-0 in the regular season, eventually losing to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game. As a follow-up to their perfect regular season, the Irish struggled to an 8-4 record and will play Rutgers in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28. The big difference for me between last season and this season was comfort. I was more comfortable working within the crammed confines of Notre Dame Stadium because I was more accustomed to it and knew my way around the stadium. After checking it out last year, I used the photo deck of the stadium on a few occasions this season to find interesting and unique angles. I would be lying if I didn’t mention probably the biggest difference though: gear. This summer our staff upgraded me from a Canon EOS-1D Mark III to a Canon EOS-1D X. This made a huge difference. With the 1D X, I was better able to capture peak-action moments I often missed and/or back focused last season with the 1D Mark III. Despite Notre Dame’s disappointing follow-up to their title-game berth, it was a fun season for my colleague Robert Franklin and me.

Notre Dame Navy Football — A formation of six F/A-18 Hornets from the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron, fly over Notre Dame Stadium as the Band of the Fighting Irish spells out “Irish” on the field before a game against Navy on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013, at Notre Dame. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)

Notre Dame Michigan State Football — Michigan State running back Jeremy Langford (33) gets physical with Notre Dame cornerback Bennett Jackson (2) during an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013, at Notre Dame. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)

See more photos

Downtown South Bend nightscape from above

December 21, 2013

I had the opportunity on Friday evening to get on top of the County-City Building to photograph a firework and lights show marking the 50th anniversary of the end of local Studebaker production. While I was waiting for the show to begin, I shot a few nightscapes of the city’s skyline below. It was a foggy evening, which didn’t work great for my fireworks photos but made for some neat nightscapes.