Up in smoke

I saw the smoke from this fire from several miles away and drove until I found the source. I've never seen a house so devastated in person. Shooting spot news is great when you've got time...I had another assignment and was en route. So, the photographer who showed up after me made the pictures of the family crying in front of the burning building. It kind of took the success out of these images a little.

Fire breaks

Another new word for today - it's the churned up earth around a controlled fire that keeps it contained. This was exciting, but now I smell really bad...

Half-block

I love when nice light happens that close to the paper. Had 10 minutes between assignments and saw these men laying the foundation for a new homeless shelter. Anyone ever heard of a boul float?

Happy Inauguration Day

Local elementary school children, filled with hope, celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama.

Next stop Westminster

The trainer described Alaskan Malamutes as "the 18-wheelers of the Huskies." He weighs as much as I do.

It only took 6 hours

To get from Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream to Barak Obama's inauguration. Chattanooga's incredibly warm congregations shared their moments of inspiration and outlook with me today.

Quiet

An unusual thing at a national cheerleading competition. Had 20 minutes to make a picture and get out.

Posing

Best he's ever looked. And longest he's been still for the camera.

Since 1901

This Chattanooga mill closes its doors in April. The company president expressed concern that the jobs we need most, the ones that will bolster the economy, are the manufacturing jobs we're losing. What happens when we can't make anything anymore, and we can't afford to buy it either?

New angle

I rode a Habitat for Humanity house down Main Street today. It may be the only time in my life I get to lift a power line to go under it.

Good old Goodwill

They're expanding by more than 9,000 square feet. Sales are up. It may be the only business whose sales are up theses days.

Polly's Produce

They built the fruit stand around a 60-year-old tree, which now towers above Polly's store. The boiled peanuts aren't bad. But the radishes are ravishing.

Why is wrestling so awkward?

Thankfully, the newspaper's policy is not to run anything anatomically correct. I don't think the cheerleader thought anyone in the stands was watching when she pretended to photograph the wrestlers' backsides.

Perfectly at home

This woman had a great sense of humor and more time than most of us. She's been remodeling her bathrooms off and on for the last two years. This may be the most interesting lifestyle home feature portrait I've shot yet.

Miniature boxers

Not of the canine persuasion. These boys were so darling trying to keep up with the teenagers and twenty-somethings in this Hispanic gym in Georgia. This may have been my favorite business story so far.

Lift

An unusual technique for driving your opponent out of the ring, or simply driving him batty.

Rain drops keep fallin'

After weeks of rain (it seems that way), the sun finally broke today. It's been a lot of fun working night shift, no daily pressure and time to find things still moving despite the weather.

"Our family taking care of yours"

It was the quote painted on one of the approximately seventy emergency vehicles that preceded Engine 1, today serving as the hearse for a 24-year-old firefighter. The engine he was driving ran off the road on New Year's Eve. There were nearly 600 people at the funeral, and the building lobby was spilling over with those who could not get into the hall. Fire departments from as far as Atlanta drove here to escort one of their own, killed in the line of duty.

Seen

Today was foggy, rainy and underassigned. Drove too many miles to make these pictures in the dark at the end of the day. It turned out alright. Tomorrow seems a bit more promising.

Happy New Year

Thank goodness for holidays. Even working them seems less strenuous when everyone around you is at play.