The Third Degree

2012-02-02T00:40:00.000-05:00

An odd assortment of photos from the last week.

2012-01-26T11:23:00.001-05:00

Louisville Zoo polar bear Qannik celebrated her first birthday on Saturday with a fish-flavored ice cake, a new toy and a large crowd. Found alone on the Alaskan Qannik oil field owned by ConocoPhillips, the cub has made a remarkable recovery at the zoo.

2012-01-09T00:17:00.002-05:00

First assignment for the newspaper - farmers market on a Saturday morning, a hunt for winter greens and root vegetables worthy of great recipes. Neighbors catching up and exchanging local fare and the local gossip.

2012-01-02T00:20:00.001-05:00

Margaret Fenton Photography

Click link above to visit my updated website.

2011-12-30T22:43:00.000-05:00

May your days be merry and bright...

2011-12-24T08:13:00.002-05:00

Final trip to Macau last week with a look back at Central Hong Kong. A disapproving look from the ferry station manager and a set of well-dressed shopkeepers hosing down a storefront at closing time.

2011-12-19T03:25:00.001-05:00

Back in Hong Kong, I ran into this poor dog at breakfast with his owner. The scene above was taken at the bus station in Sai Kung - spring planting already underway and hats to block the sun, despite the cold.

2011-12-19T03:05:00.001-05:00

Dancing couples in Guillin park, Shanghai. They come to practice daily, some to meet new partners.

A small boy jumps into a pile of clothing bags outside one of Shanghai's wholesale clothing markets.

Guards at the Shanghai South bus station nap during their break.

A small cab driver looks to oncoming traffic as he makes a turn in Chungshu.

Members of Shanghai's older generation pass the afternoon in Guillin Park.

A driver waits for the light to change in Chungshu.

Sunset through the smog, Shanghai.

A group of young people wait for the last bus to Shanghai from Chungshu on Sunday evening.

2011-12-19T03:03:00.003-05:00

One of Shanghai's many bird and flower markets mid-week and virtually deserted. The birds sounded and alarm and peered through the wooden bars, inspecting the new arrivals. The rooster above picked a fight with one who got a bit too excited.

2011-12-04T09:43:00.001-05:00

A few frames from my wanderings this week in Shanghai, China.

2011-12-04T09:04:00.001-05:00

An odd combination of photos from the last few weeks. The Halloween crowd in Central Hong Kong. A couple out after their wedding on Shek O island. A little girl reading in the back alleys of Mui Wo. Fishermen in the East China Sea. A small boy watching the wilderness go by on the double-decker bus. And the waves crashing in with the tide in Teung Leung.

2011-11-26T22:01:00.001-05:00

A few photos from recent programs in Hong Kong. Archery and a junk boat. Lots of vitamin D.

2011-10-28T13:16:00.000-04:00

Morning exercise in and around the sea.

2011-10-28T13:13:00.001-04:00

Another week in the water.

2011-10-24T07:04:00.000-04:00

Children play outside a restaurant at the Sai Wan surf spot.

Crossing the street in Mong Kok, the most densely populated place in the world.

Waiting at the bus stop outside the nearest hospital after having my wrist x-rayed.

Chickens for sale in Wan Chai.

A little girl lies nearly asleep at her father's feet on the Hong Kong MTR.

A young couple fights on the MTR late at night.

2011-10-24T06:59:00.001-04:00

A visit to Mr. Ng's fish farm in Tung A with a tour of his humble floating abode as well.

2011-10-24T06:56:00.000-04:00

Photos taken from our site visits in preparation for the weeks ahead.

2011-10-24T06:37:00.002-04:00

Sai Kung, the closest city to our small town.

2011-09-24T11:01:00.002-04:00

Went on an incredible climbing trip to an island off Shek O and ended up back on the pier at the end of the day.

2011-09-24T11:01:00.001-04:00

We came across a series of wedding photo shoots in Shek O on our way back from climbing on the island. I took a picture of each couple as they laughed at the rag-tag foreigners walking past.

2011-09-24T11:01:00.000-04:00

Today I had to go to Hong Kong Central to apply for a new passport. The architecture got the best of me and I took pictures as I tried to locate the MTR station once again.

2011-09-24T10:45:00.000-04:00

Staff training wears me out for all the right reasons. We have been going to all the little towns on the island doing every possible activity in preparation for the activities we will lead later this fall.

2011-09-24T10:39:00.003-04:00

My first grocery trip into the closest town, Sai Kung, from the house in Hoi Ha.

2011-09-24T10:37:00.001-04:00

A four-course lunch, a scavenger hunt, a long hike, a pit stop at the beach and a startling introduction to the local flora and fauna.

2011-09-24T10:35:00.002-04:00

My first few days were spent doing training in the small town of Mui Wo on Lan Tau Island. It hardly feels like work when you spend most of your day on the beach.

2011-09-24T10:32:00.002-04:00

From Chicago O'Hare to Hong Kong Central. Great climbing overlooking some of the world's tallest skyscrapers and much mass transit on my first day back in Asia.

2011-09-07T02:55:00.000-04:00

End of summer blues

2011-08-24T20:47:00.001-04:00

Family near and far

2011-08-16T22:39:00.010-04:00

Kerala, India

2011-08-16T22:02:00.002-04:00

Pilgrims climb the stairs of the Nimishamba Temple in Mandya, India, on a feast day. They pour incense in piles on the street, praying and lighting flames. As they climb the 1,000 stairs up the mountain, they leave fingerprints in brightly colored incense on each.

2011-08-16T21:57:00.002-04:00

Himalayan landscapes

2011-08-16T21:51:00.001-04:00

George Everest's house, Mussoorie, India

2011-07-15T03:43:00.002-04:00

2011-07-15T03:23:00.003-04:00

2011-07-15T03:08:00.001-04:00

2011-06-24T01:44:00.004-04:00

2011-06-24T01:34:00.003-04:00

2011-05-15T05:49:00.007-04:00

The Mary Diana Samuel Trust, founded in 2007. Thiruvallur, India.

There are so many questions to ask them, Maria, Sandra, Karen, Donna, Daisy, Ruby and the rest. What was it like to have to leave home? What was it like to be wandering the streets? What does it mean to chose an education over having a childhood with your parents? Or food over family? Are you sad? Do you miss your family?

Instead, one asks the five-year-old what is her favorite color, food, activity, Bible verse. They all smile. There is giggling in the back of the room. So many sisters in one space. They fill in every available gap - knees touching, arms stretched across the others. It is a sea of fidgeting, adjusting, fixing the hair, necklace, fasteners on the closest girl.

The older ones are responsible for the younger ones. They spend hours each day as guides through bath time, meals, bed, and prayer. With only a single couple running the orphanage, there are few hands to care for the 37 charges. And so it is delegated in as many ways.

In the morning and evenings of this summer vacation, there is Bible study. Verses memorized from John, Samuel, 1 Corinthians - the love chapter. Songs with dances to accompany them echo through the corridors. It's strange, but Jesus seems to really have saved them from a worser fate in India. If only because of some Christian's faith in Tennessee, it has provided the funding that will send these children to college. It is Christianity that has given them dreams of a future, as a doctor, nurse, engineer or perhaps even a flight attendant.

2011-05-15T05:22:00.006-04:00

Morning at the Taj Mahal is pretty miserable: blistering heat, no breeze, hundreds of tourists everywhere. I find them fairly uninspiring for the most part. It's actually hard to fill an entire day in Agra once you've seen the monuments. I ended up walking in circles through the town and the garden connecting the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.
As soon as I reached the fort, the skies tore open into a torrential downpour. Wind, rain and sand blew in circles through the monuments and their entryways. It rescued my day and my mood. Stuck with Indian families in the rain, moments happening all around me, there was no way to keep my fingers from the shutter then.

2011-05-15T05:15:00.003-04:00

Brief foray into Chennai. Glad to be going back at the end of the summer for more light.

2011-05-10T02:11:00.003-04:00

2011-05-10T01:06:00.004-04:00

2011-04-25T06:54:00.004-04:00

I went to edit my photos for the week and realized I had been taking pictures of hands and feet, and a few faces. I think this group of kids needed to use those things most, though. Hands to learn to help each other, feet to learn to get up and do things for themselves.

2011-04-25T06:21:00.002-04:00

2011-04-17T06:21:00.004-04:00

2011-04-01T00:10:00.004-04:00

Spent my first week in Delhi running around and trying my best to avoid the tourist traps. Among the highlights - a dance party for my host's birthday, complete with ice cream fight. The town is full of beautiful colors, to say the least.

2011-03-31T22:49:00.007-04:00

My first week in the Himalayas in India, filled with mountains, rivers, rice and forty-four girls.

2011-03-12T21:02:00.003-05:00

Trying to find words for this experience elicited a sigh.
I was sent to find people evacuating their homes along the river. The only problem was that the water had been rising for almost a week - anyone who was leaving left days ago. I managed to find a handful of people coming and going across the waters now separating their homes from their vehicles. I even stalked a flock of wild turkeys stranded on this island, to no avail.
I spent hours driving street by street up the river with only these to show for it. Then I got a call from the newspaper at 5:30 wondering if this was all I was going to send. Apparently, I was supposed to get different art for the Indiana section as well. And I had no idea, and I had called every phone number on the assignment sheet twice to try to get more information. So, I felt a bit "washed up" in the end. Live and learn!

2011-03-11T14:13:00.002-05:00

A group of local middle school students spent two weeks learning acrobatic techniques used in circus acts and put on a show for the community this weekend. Lights, sound, backdrops created the feel of a circus ring, with high-flying students doing flips overheard. How wonderful to be able to make your parents gasp aloud at what you can accomplish.

2011-03-11T14:08:00.003-05:00

Almost 90 second-graders dressed as historical figures, from Johnny Appleseed to Squant0, Sarah Palin to Laura Ingalls Wilder, and everything in between. The young man at the top brought his sister as a prop. The students, lining both sides of the school's narrow hallways, gave presentations to their families and teachers.

2011-03-05T14:16:00.002-05:00

The New Neighbors projects at Indiana University Southeast brought together Southern Indiana's Hispanic Community at Parkwood Elementary on Tuesday evening. The event included a panel of ESL teachers from Louisville and Southern Indiana to field questions from parents, followed by a health discussion from a Walgreen's Take Care Clinic nurse. Children participated in a bilingual art program.

2011-03-05T14:11:00.003-05:00

The Louisville Leopard Percussionists, led by artistic director Diane Downs, performed their "The Big Gig" fundraising concert at the Brown Theatre on Sunday afternoon.

2011-03-05T14:02:00.002-05:00

University of Louisville soccer team members learn to assemble and operate water purification systems at Edge Outreach last Saturday morning. The group will install the systems on a trip to Brazil in March.

2011-02-22T11:26:00.002-05:00

Nothing better than watching 5-year-olds make gigantic messes in the name of art on a Saturday afternoon.

2011-02-22T11:17:00.002-05:00

This was the most frustrating assignment I've had in a while. I was sent to photograph a women's health fair, and I had to make 10 pictures with different people in them. In two hours, seven women walked through the door. Most of them were coming to have their annual mammogram, which means about half of them said 'no' when I asked to take their picture.

2011-02-17T01:49:00.003-05:00

Approximately 800 people attended Wednesday's Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Forum at the Kentucky International Convention Center, with speeches by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.
I love assignments where the light is terrible and the only thing happening is talking heads talking and business suits shaking hands. It forces my brain to work. There's nothing better than filling a frame with your own creativity. Well, there's a different sort of satisfaction than comes with photographing something beautiful in its own right.

2011-02-17T01:12:00.003-05:00

The circus came to town this week. Clowns, elephants, lights, rigging, sequins, snowcones and all.

2011-02-08T14:48:00.003-05:00

I've been helping to teach a photography class over the last month to adults with severe and persistent mental illness. Most of this group has been diagnosed as paranoid- schizophrenic. It has been an incredible experience. One of our first assignments was to create a still life using objects that represent their recovery from mental illness. Everyone talked about the objects they had chosen, then constructed a piece using backdrops and various types of lighting. They've been running around the city shooting landscapes, and this week it's on to portraits.
At the end, the group hosts an "Art as a Part of Healing" gallery opening to display and sell work as a fundraiser.

2011-01-23T23:54:00.001-05:00

Sing it. To an empty room. On a Monday night.

2011-01-14T16:26:00.002-05:00

Students from a local private school have managed to fill an entire semi-trailer full of clothes, books, medical supplies and classroom furniture to send to Louisville's sister city in Ghana. Many of the children and professors from the school have already visited the city, and many more have plans in the works. On a bitter cold morning, this group of seniors carried another load out to the trailer, only to find the once-organized space now overflowing with new arrivals. Not necessarily a bad thing in the end.

2011-01-09T22:57:00.002-05:00

Just a few portraits in passing from the week. Some of them easier subjects than others.

2011-01-09T22:15:00.002-05:00

One of my proudest moments as a photographer was the moment I mastered the art of skating backwards at the same speed as my subject without running over anyone. Capturing other people wobbling on ice - managing a near miss of the complete wipeout - is incredibly fun.
And then I fell. Just standing. Just for good measure.
Revisiting this ice rink was a sentimental venture. I shot my third photo assignment in school here: panning.

2011-01-02T13:07:00.003-05:00

A white Christmas this year sent Kentucky families out in the snow on Christmas day. Snowball fights and sledding in local parks.

2010-12-18T01:58:00.002-05:00

My first assignment for the paper without a necessary editorial bend. A group of elementary students celebrating their fund-raising success with a pizza party and limousine ride. My assignment had me arrive long after the children had disembarked, and I caught only the last three pieces of pizza going in. The challenge of creating 10 interesting and diverse photos in 20 minutes becomes even more challenging when there are only 10 people to photograph. For some reason you feel like you're taking pictures of the same kid over and over again. Some decent images after all.

2010-12-18T01:50:00.004-05:00

There's nothing more entertaining than a stage full of sleepy elementary school children dressed as shepherds and angels. An hour of telling the Christmas story left them all but horizontal across the stage. I realized about halfway through the performance that none of my pictures managed to convey that this was a musical performance. In every image, children looked in all directions some singing, some not, wholly distracted. Great faces all over the place, but probably not quite what the directors were looking for.

2010-12-18T01:46:00.005-05:00

Zumba has taken Louisville's South End by storm. Women of all ages, colors, shapes and sizes are shaking what they've got two hours a week. As I talked to women in the room, about half of them told me of the weight-loss success Zumba has brought them. A number of them said they had lost between 35 and 50 lbs. in the last year on two hours of exercise a week. Three older women in the front row were incredibly inspiring: a seventy-six-year-old in golden high tops, an 82-year-old and an 86-year-old (fourth above) who was headed to Tai Chi class afterward.

2010-12-06T16:40:00.002-05:00

Spent the afternoon at a nursing home with students doing a practicum for their Certified Nursing Assistant program through the Clark County American Red Cross. It's amazing how a handful of smiling, young faces can brighten the mood.

2010-11-29T13:51:00.004-05:00

This woman served up 36 lbs. of turkey, 15 lbs. of ham, 10 lbs. of green beans, 5 quarts of gravy, not to mention the potatoes, macaroni and cheese and dessert at a free community Thanksgiving dinner for seniors. The meal brought in nearly 200 thankful neighborhood residents out of the rain and cold on Thursday afternoon.

2010-11-18T14:04:00.003-05:00

Horses are more curious than cats.
I spent Tuesday playing in the rain and mud in Kentucky's horse country - Midway. Dramatic lines, dramatic eyes and dramatic moments. I watched a new foal pushed for the first time into a vehicle, off to a whole new life.

2010-11-18T13:50:00.006-05:00

Milwaukee: beaches, brains, breweries, and beans. Who knew?

2010-11-18T13:49:00.004-05:00

Climbing in the nice light means moving fast - the lower the light, the sooner what goes up must come down.

2010-11-18T13:49:00.003-05:00

Sight-seeing in downtown Louisville, with the fun-house mirror outside the science center as a backdrop.

2010-11-18T13:47:00.003-05:00

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert wrote their permit for 60,000 people - barely touching the 215,000 or more that came to the national mall. Many signs, discussions and bizarre costumes dotted the crowd, which fell silent each time one of the men spoke.
Among the roadside attractions was a giant copy of the preamble to the Constitution, which thousands signed in the course of the day.

2010-11-18T13:46:00.002-05:00

Dog and owner relax in a new condo, still with more floor space than furniture.

2010-11-18T13:41:00.003-05:00

I was out on the road at 6 a.m. as polls opened in Southern Indiana. Poll workers greeted their neighbors in the small-town districts and caught up on local news. Signs coated the entry ways to every building, and volunteers stood outside handing out fliers to those still undecided. The Clarksville fire inspector volunteered for the first time as a poll inspector, a task slightly more complicated than he had anticipated.

2010-10-19T10:52:00.003-04:00

Ten thousand Boy Scouts and their families gathered at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky., this weekend to mark 100 years of scouting. Centennial Jamborees are happening all over the country throughout the year.
Fog filled the valley in the early hours of Saturday, giving way to full sun as the scouts filed in for the opening ceremony, where each group, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Venture Crews reiterated their oaths. Among the activities were the traditional Pinewood derby races, various games, nature lessons and merit badges to be earned. Several troops had constructed towers and bridges using nothing but rope and timber.
Glowing balloons filled the evening hours, followed by games in the dark with new friends and old ones.

2010-10-19T10:35:00.003-04:00

Robert Haswell is a recipient of one of this year's 10 Bell Awards, celebrating those who have given generously to the community over the course of their lifetimes.

2010-09-30T20:51:00.000-04:00

Another day in the garage, pulling apart the 1970s clunker of a motorcycle.

2010-09-23T16:22:00.002-04:00

St. Johns County Sheriff's Department, beach patrol and fire and rescue searched St. Augustine beach Tuesday for the body of a 68-year-old local man who went missing while swimming with his 10-year-old grandson. The boy was comforted by passersby on the beach.
Rip tides are prevalent during hurricane season and are known to sweep swimmers rapidly out from the shore. The water rescue team, using multiple watercraft and a helicopter, was unable to locate the man before the sun set.

2010-09-23T16:15:00.002-04:00

Heather Tucker is living her dream. The one she announced to her parents at the age of 6. Very few people seem to arrive at this point - becoming the ballerina or firefighter they desired in their childhood. Tucker told her parents she was going to live in St. Augustine and open a catering business on the beach. When her life in Louisville, Ky., started falling apart a year ago, she sold everything, quit her job and did it. Sitting in a bar now, in St. Augustine, things are coming together. Surrounded by new friends and support, Tucker and Heather's Heavenly Delights are making their way.

2010-09-23T16:03:00.006-04:00

Scenes from the beach in St. Augustine, Fla. Visitors, locals, sunrise, sunset, surfers, sunbathers and jellyfish.

2010-09-23T15:52:00.003-04:00

Salvatore Antonio is a big name to grow into. Sitting with his parents, both 22, at the Lunch Box greasy spoon in Bowling Green, Ky., he is all smiles.

2010-09-14T19:35:00.001-04:00

The infamous boot glass at Tremont Tavern holds somewhere between six and eight beers, though not even the bartenders can tell you for sure. The birthday boy poured out glasses to strangers nearby.

Stacey Wysong and Ryan McCray laugh together as they walk past a historic yellow station wagon during a car show at the Chattanooga farmers market.

Matt Fields-Johnson looks for friends at Nightfall, a weekly outdoor concert in a downtown plaza.

2010-09-14T19:34:00.001-04:00

The Unitarian Universalist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn., hosted a birthday celebration for Krishna, with a brief prayer service allowing families to appeal to the deity individually, followed by a meal together.

2010-09-14T19:31:00.001-04:00

Bendabout Farms team captain Owen Rinehart, left, knocked elbows repeatedly with Maryland player Jeff Sheisenger during Sunday's polo match at the farm in Ooltewah, Tenn. During halftime, spectators stomped, or in this case placed, divets back into the field.

2010-09-14T16:01:00.002-04:00

Contra dancing in Chattanooga, Tenn., draws an interesting crowd of first dates, old-time experts, teens dressed to the nines and others looking for an excuse to shake hands or do-si-do with strangers. Laughter echoed through the dance hall at All Saints Academy as friends and strangers tripped over one another and swang their partner.

2010-09-13T16:03:00.002-04:00

Lots of action in the student center. The online polling for student government gave out at lunch time, sending the current president into a tizzy. The student intern for the gallery space was staring at the walls frantically looking for spots to clean before the opening that afternoon.

2010-09-06T21:38:00.001-04:00

Pat, left, and Ervin Caldwell have spent almost every evening the past 14 years at Highlander Bowl, in Glasgow, Ky. They bought the bowling alley as their retirement venture and were initially commuting from a small Tennessee town nearly 50 miles away. At one point during the first year, they found themselves sleeping at the bowling alley so often that they installed a shower. Then they moved to Glasgow. Thirteen years later and $30,000 in college scholarships to youth league bowlers later, they have become an integral part of the community.

2010-09-06T21:24:00.003-04:00

Ready, set, go!
Saturday was Rebecca Barnett's second attempt at wakeboarding and her first time to make it to her feet.

Maddie Opacinch, 9, jumps from the back of her grandfather, Richard Leezer's, jet ski on Saturday. The extended family spent the weekend at their lake house on Barren River Reservoir in southern Kentucky.

2010-09-06T20:44:00.004-04:00

End-of-summer wedding
Pierceton, Ind.

2010-09-06T17:53:00.002-04:00

Three of the news/ed students got together and created their own sports radio show. They were broadcasting live for the first time this week from VSC's new Studio C, which is a fishbowl of sorts. Everyone walking to the smoothie stand next door can hear what's going on in the booth.

The facts they were throwing around as I walked in? Was Vanderbilt the only school in the SEC that didn't win a single game last year? Nope. My dear alma mater, WKU, was sinking in that ship as well. Sigh.

2010-08-24T19:33:00.002-04:00

Dividing 1600 freshman into balanced teams is quite a challenge. So is keeping track of them, which the student above learned as she was troubleshooting a missing student incident from across campus. Despite the stress, spirits were high today. There was war paint and cheering in the afternoon jeopardy round.

2010-08-24T19:32:00.001-04:00

The freshmen are here.
Brace yourselves.

This much excitement, and it was only 9:00 a.m.

2010-08-24T19:15:00.003-04:00

A group of Nashville residents placed sandbags along the banks of the Cumberland River downtown last Thursday as waters rose after days of heavy rain in the region. The Hands On Nashville volunteers, mostly women, came running to the riverfront straight from work and some from home, the woman above is unemployed, the one below an underemployed musician.

2010-08-24T19:10:00.003-04:00

They have been immersed in media. I wonder if they'll ever come back. We had a three-day workshop for 24 incoming freshmen last week. After hours of learning, documenting, editing and laughing in the newsroom, their first edition comes out tomorrow.
Best question of the week? "What do people in China call their nice plates?" Investigative journalism at its finest.

2010-08-17T22:47:00.002-04:00

My last week in New York was full of adventures and packing, and last-minute trips to touristy venues (The Museum of Natural History, a beach on Long Island, a Deutchebank conference room and the UN - filled with foreigners). Back to work!

2010-08-12T08:50:00.003-04:00

Anyday

2010-08-12T08:35:00.002-04:00

I thought today would bring weather features, but the rain quit after about 5 minutes. My mid-afternoon coffee stop brought the sleeping businessman photo to light - he was there when I walked in and hadn't moved an inch an hour later. That evening, walking to the train in Harlem, I heard a loud voice testifying through a microphone and followed it. I came across the New York tent revival equivalent a few blocks later.

Oh, Canada

2010-08-12T08:16:00.002-04:00

These photos somehow got lost in the shuffle between countries this summer. This was a yearbook workshop in Manitoba where I was privileged to lead the photography portion of the show. It was great to watch the students and advisers talk about photography, see photography in new ways and then run around in circles practicing the techniques. The scene at the bottom was by far my favorite - photography had taken on a life of its own that afternoon.

The run-around

2010-08-02T20:52:00.003-04:00

A trip to the lake with ridiculous stunts - whipping around the front of the boat; standing on a ladder, then on your head; then barefoot and backwards. A series of storms threatened to chase us off the water, but the sunset was worth waiting it out.