When I got out of bed Friday morning, I thought I’d be on a golf course all day photographing a tournament in Cheyenne. But when I got into the office – dressed like a golfer – I learned that I would be instead heading up to Wheatland, Wyo. to photograph the scene of a quadruple homicide. Slight change of plans. Wheatland is a town with a population of roughly 3,600 people located about an hour north of Cheyenne along Interstate 25. It’s got a real small-town feel. Reporter Lindsey Kroskob and I arrived at the scene around 10 a.m. just as a couple crime scene investigators (pictured below) where working inside the home. I shot a press conference at 11:30 a.m. followed by a very good calzone at Terra Grano Pizza as we waited for the suspect’s initial appearance in court later in the day. After the suspect’s court appearance, I was able to get a shot of him as he was lead across an alleyway from the courthouse to the county jail. This is the first time I’ve shot a big spot news assignment like this in a while. One of the striking things was how relaxed access was. For example, I was shocked I was able to get so close to the scene. The frame below is more or less the entire frame shot with a crop body camera, 300 mm lens and a 1.4x teleconverter.
Spot News
Storm topples part of tree in Cheyenne
Truck rolls over in downtown Cheyenne
An editor grabbed me this morning to tell me that there was a truck rolled over in downtown Cheyenne. I immediately thought it must be a mistake. The speed downtown is 20 miles per hour. Sure enough, I showed up about the same time as the police to see that a full size Chevy pick up had rolled completely upside down. I’m interested to read the police report later to see how it happened.
Brush fire burns field north of Cheyenne
High winds flip semi truck
One thing I have quickly learned in Wyoming: it’s very windy here. I don’t mean breezy. I mean hurricane-force winds windy. I photographed an example of this on Thursday when wind gusts in the neighborhood of 57 mph flipped a semi truck along Interstate 25 between Cheyenne, Wyo. and the Colorado state line. When I got out of my truck to take a photo of the wreck, I was nearly swept into oncoming traffic by the winds.