Weezer performs at Bradley University
Peoria Journal Star
West Peoria’s favorite trash collector
As a photojournalist, you get to experience and photograph a wide variety of things on a daily basis. Today was no different as I shadowed West Peoria’s trash collector, Jeff Reagan. Reagan is well known and liked by the community. In fact, he’s liked so much so that the mayor is trying to resign with Waste Management (the company Reagan works for) just to keep him as the local trash collector.
At the speedway with Todd Bennett
I spent part of my Saturday evening out at Peoria Speedway photographing Todd Bennett, a local racer who is doing well in the points and has a growing local fan base. The photos are for a profile story that’s running about him sometime soon. I love shooting out at local race tracks because it’s a very unique slice of American culture. The drivers and fans are a blue collar, roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-stuff-done type of folks who are incredibly friendly and nice. For anyone looking for a good story, I would recommending heading out to the local speedway on a Saturday night. I guarantee you’ll find some interesting people with interesting stories.
First month in the books
It’s hard to believe I’ve already been here in Peoria one month. Time has flied because it only feels like my first or second week since I’m still figuring out the newspaper’s work flow. When it comes to my work, I’m my own worst critic. I’m brutal and harsh because I badly want to improve in a highly competitive industry. I’m ticked if I hit a single since I’m forever swinging for the fences. Sometimes I have to step back and take a look at a group of work as a whole as a sort of self reality check. Here are a few of my favorite frames from my first month interning in Peoria:
Illustrating the story
One of the fun – and by fun I mean challenging – aspects of daily newspaper photojournalism is illustrating a story that by nature isn’t very visual. While photojournalists shouldn’t be considered a service department for the rest of the newsroom, there are times when you have to illustrate something for a writer. It’s just part of the job. Such was the case today when I got sent out to find a photo to go with a story about coffee prices increasing. My editor sent me to the Sterling Family Restaurant to find people drinking coffee. The restaurant was very folksy and reminded me of a similar place in Albany, Ind. (Osborn’s Restaurant) where I would go with my grandparents to eat when I was a child. The head waitress on duty was very helpful and started pouring coffee for patrons more or less so I could take photos of her in the act. I obliged her by snapping a few frames of this, but continued to look for a more genuine, candid moment. I found one, and this was far and above my favorite frame from the take:
