Cheyenne Frontier Days Cattle Drive
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
One hail of a night
Tuesday started off as a very slow day until it wasn’t. I was on my way back from Wheatland Tuesday afternoon when a severe thunderstorm rolled through town. Luckily, I was miles north on Interstate 25 when a hail storm pounded much of the central part of the city, leaving cars across the city dimpled with hail dents. When I drove past the Wyoming State Capitol, it became apparent this wasn’t a typical hail storm. There was a ton of hail. I swung by the office then headed back out to look for storm aftermath shots. I parked near Pando Park and shot a few kids playing in the park that was submerged in about 40 inches of water. A parent mentioned Pershing Avenue got pounded by the hail. I jumped in my truck and drove over to Pershing. A few blocks down the street, I noticed some extreme fog in a cemetery and doubled back to shoot a ghostly shot of the fog rising amongst the tombstones. At this point, I had to put my truck into four wheel drive to make it down the streets. A police car caught my eye as I headed south. One of the intersections – 23rd Street and Bradley Avenue – was completely submerged and covered in hail. I noticed a lot of people gathered at the intersection as some residents tried to clear drains. I ended up shooting most of my take at that intersection. I’ve been in Cheyenne for seven months now, and this is by far the craziest story I’ve covered. I have never seen hail like this before, especially with such a large accumulation. It reminds me of a scene from “The Day After Tomorrow.”
Wyoming Open
Four dead in Wheatland shooting
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.
National handball champion Lloyd Garcia
On Thursday I had the opportunity to photograph a portrait of Cheyenne native Lloyd Garcia, who recently won a handball national title in a 50-55 age group at the 61st annual U.S. Handball Association’s Four-Wall Championships in Fridley, Minn. The title was the one thing missing from Garcia’s trophy case that is filled with accolades from a career spanning more than 30 years. I decided to shoot the portrait on the roof at our downtown Cheyenne office. I was tempted to shoot in the studio, but I liked the cloud formations from an incoming storm. The lighting was extremely simple: one Canon 550EX shot through an orange gel and an umbrella at full power. I asked Garcia to get into his windup as though he were serving into the camera lens.
