Selectman Debate

Candidates for Danvers town selectman (l-r) David Mills, Tom Manuel, and Dan Bennett prepare for the start of their debate at the DCAT Studios.

I recent was assigned to cover a televised debate at the local television studio in Danvers. I've photographed many debates before, mostly in town halls or school auditoriums, but having a debate in a television studios is added visual candy for a photographer. I was allowed on set briefly before the start of the debate and was able to capture a few creative images, here is one of them.

Nikon D3s, 1/320 @ f/4, ISO 4000, 70-200mm

Discus

One of the benefits to having photographed a sport many times in the past is gaining knowledge about that sport as well as knowing the best (safest) angle to photograph from.

Photographing high school discus athletes can be a little dangerous if your not paying attention. Knowing where NOT to stand is one of the most important parts of photographing track. I was able to find a safe spot and using a wide angle lens I captured this Gloucester athlete as he prepared to throw the discus during their meet with Saugus at Gloucester High School.

Nikon D4s, 1/640 @ f/10, ISO 200, 24-70mm

Rebecca Nurse Homestead

On the second day of spring, it seemed like winter wasn't ready to release its grip. As much I'd enjoy some bright green foliage and flowers, I'm was just as happy to photograph the Rebecca Nurse Homestead with a light coating of snow.

Nikon D3s, 1/160 @ f/14, ISO 200, 70-200mm

Harlem Wizards Selfie

Georgetown students pose for a selfie with Harlem Wizards, Sky-Walker and Big J before the start of the Harlem Wizards vs. North Shore Thunder basketball game at Masconomet High School.

I arrived early to this assignment and as I walked into the school I saw a group of students following a few of the Harlem Wizard players into the locker room. I knew there was potential for a "behind the scenes" type of image to be made. I hung around as the ex-pro players talked and goofed around with the kids. I saw one of the players setting up to take a selfie with the kids and I positioned myself using a telephoto lens to focus on the cellphone screen for this image.

Nikon D4s, 1/1250 @ f/2.8, ISO 6400, 70-200mm

Missed Opportunity

Beverly goal keeper Madison Jalbert is unable to make this save on a shot by Austin Prep's Courtney Colarullo during their Division 1 state tournament game at the O'Brien Rink in Woburn.

March is usually a busy month for sports photography. Between all the different sports tournaments there are a lot of good games to cover. One of my biggest problems with photographing hockey is shooting through the glass. Most of the hockey rinks I've been to have very marked up glass which makes focusing and getting a clean sharp image difficult at times.

Nikon D4s, 1/1,000 @ f/2.8, ISO 8,000, 70-200mm

Victory and Defeat

High school wrestling can be a challenging sport to photograph. There are a lot of little burst of peak action as well as arms, legs and a referee to get in the way of clean images. Along with soccer, wrestling is great for capturing expressive moments, which are unobstructed by a helmet and face mask. The image below only happened for a split second and being able to see the athletes faces helps portray a sense of emotion after their match.

Nikon D4s, 1/1000 @ f/2.8, ISO 6400, 70-200mm

Hotel Fire

A hotel guest stands outside as Wakefield firefighters survey the roof at the scene of this two alarm fire at the Lakeside Inn on North Avenue in Wakefield, MA.

I heard about a the hotel fire as I was finishing editing one of my assignment from earlier that morning. Once I was done I drove about 20 minutes and finally arrived on scene. There was no smoke or flames when I arrived, so I walked around photographing the firefighters as they overhauled the building. As I walked around a tree I noticed a man wrapped in a blanket and was able to compose the image you see below. More can be read about the fire here.

Nikon D4s, 1/640 @ F/8, ISO 200, 24-70mm

Eating Snow

Kit Nichols watches her daughter as she takes a bite of snow from her shovel, outside their home in Medford during a recent storm.

For a photojournalist covering snow storms can be part of your daily assignments. I usually spend part of the storm driving around looking for people outside doing various activities like, shoveling or walking dogs. I got lucky when I drove upon Kit and her daughter shoveling. I hung around for a while and photographed them as they worked and played and then drove off to find more images.

Nikon D4s, 1/160 @f/9, ISO 125, 24-70mm

Thacher Island Sea Smoke

Having the experience to capture sea smoke at the South Lighthouse at Thacher Island in Rockport is an amazing experience. I arrived at my location around 7:00 am, with a temperature of -9 degrees!! Needless to say it was very cold, but well worth it. I spend with morning with fellow photographer Kirk Williamson, check out his sea smoke photos from that morning. I've photographed sea smoke before and I'm sure the next time will be just as exciting.

Nikon D810, 1/400 @ f/11, ISO 100, 500mm

Annisquam Lighthouse at Night

I was hoping to capture a beautiful sunset on my day off, but I got a late start and arrived just as the sun was almost below the horizon. There was some nice cloud cover in the sky but the colors never really came through, so I decided to wait for "blue hour." The main challenge with this images was keeping detail in the both the dark beach as well as the street and city lights in the background.

Nikon D810, 30 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 1600, 24-70

Fighting the Flames

A firefighter exits the building at the scene of a two alarm house fire at 61 Sagamore Avenue in Medford.

As I was walking into the Medford Vocational School for one of my assignments, I received a text notifying me of a fire 10 minutes down the road. I couldn't abandon my scheduled assignment, so after I finished I raced to the location of the fire. By the time I arrived the fire had been extinguished. I hung around and photographed some of the clean up before racing to my next assignment.

Nikon D3s, 1/2000 @ f/4, ISO 200, 70-200mm

Breakheart in the Snow

Two people walk a dog at Breakheart Reservation during a February snow storm.

Driving around in the middle of a snow storm can be a little tricky. I had a few newspapers I needed to capture images for and spent the afternoon looking for people and interesting scenes. Snow storms always bring people outdoors, whether to shovel or enjoy the beauty and serenity. I made my first stop at Breakheart Reservation in Saugus, hoping to find someone there walking the trails. This image was captured in the parking lot a few minutes after I arrived.

Nikon D3s, 1/320 @ f/6.3, ISO 400, 70-200mm

Wonder Woman Workout

Instructor Loralee Wood leads the new fitness program, Body Pump, while dressed in a Wonder Woman costume inside the Boston North Fitness Center in Danvers.

I didn't expect to see Wonder Woman while working!! I was at the Boston North Fitness Center to photograph an assignment for a Weight Loss Challenge program the center was offering and to my surprise one of the instructors was leading a class all in costume. The best part about this was how it seemed like I was the only one surprised by this and it makes for a fun photograph. 

Nikon D3s, 1/200 @ f/4, ISO 2200, 70-200mm

Inaugural Ceremonies

Melrose Mayor Rob Dolan and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker lift up Mayor Dolan's daughter, Kiley, as they walk towards the stage at Memorial Hall during the beginning processional of the City of Melrose Inaugural Ceremonies.

Along with the start of the new year comes various inaugurations and state of town and city addresses. For this image I positioned myself in the center isle planning on capturing the mayor as he walked towards the stage. I was surprised to see the mayor, his daughter, and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker walking towards me. I was ready as they spontaneously lifted up Kiley Dolan.

Nikon D4s, 1/80 @ f/2.8, ISO 8000, 24-70mm

Salem Christmas Tree Burning

Christmas tree burnings are a fun way to bring people in the community together. This images is from the annual tree burning in Salem. As I approached the crowd gathered around the burning blaze of trees it was easy to spot a photo that could be made of people silhouetted against the fire. I including the use of a slow shutter speed to help add a little more interest to the image.

Nikon D4s, 1/15 @ f/14, ISO 280, 70-200mm, hand held

IUP Magazine

I'm a photographer that has always loved seeing my images in print. Whether it be mounted and framed, printed in magazines or newspapers, I feel it completes the process. Don't get me wrong, I love digital, but I still enjoy when images I've captured are used in print in creative ways.

I recently photographed Baptist minister Jeffrey Brown outside the St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Roxbury. Jeffrey Brown was an influential part of what became known as the "Boston Miracle," which helped reduce crime and violence around Boston's neighborhoods. For this assignment I was given a few parameters from the IUP Magazine editor about what type of image they were looking for. I photographed in various locations close by to the St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Roxbury after one of his services. This is how the image was printed in the IUP Magazine (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) fall / winter edition.

Nikon D4s, 1/250 @ f/8, ISO 100, 24-70mm, SB-910 flash

Mayor McGlynn Leaving Office

Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn and Mary Merrill, Personal and Confidential Secretary to the Mayor, review paperwork inside the mayor's office at City Hall.

Mayor McGlynn is the longest serving mayor in Medford, having dedicated 28 years to the city. I was assigned to photograph the mayor throughout part of his day as well as to document some of the historic items he received during his tenure. Check out more images here.

Nikon D4s, 1/125 @ f/5.6, ISO 4000, 24-70mm

Viewing Gallery

Students from Medford High School view artwork in the William I. Koch Gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston during a tour to teach the students how to become tour guides for the museum.

This was a fun assignment. It's not everyday I get to do the job I love as well as view historic pieces of art. As students were allowed to wander around one of the galleries I was able to freely move around and take candid photographs. I was able to take a few frames of this scene before people moved and the symmetry of the image was interrupted.

Nikon D4s, 1/125 @ f/5.6, ISO 12800, 24-70mm

Game, Set, Match!

I always enjoy meeting new people and after more than decade as a photojournalist I've meet a lot of interesting and talented people. I photographed this young lady who played in the New England Junior tournament.

I'm never quite sure what I will have to work with when I show up at a persons house to photograph them. I happened to luck out with this one, because she had everything I was looking for including a tennis court.

Nikon D3S, 1/200 @ f/10, ISO 400, 24-70mm

Emotion without the Facemask

A Masconomet athlete celebrates his winning overtime goal during a Massachusetts state soccer tournament game.

It's great to be able to capture emotion without the obstruction of a face mask. When I photograph sporting events I'm not just looking for action shots, capturing emotion also plays a role in telling the story of the game.

Nikon D4s, 1/2000 @ f/2.8, ISO 6400, 300mm