I LOVE COVERING RODEO

I returned to Farmington last month to help the Daily Times cover the 2009 National High School Finals Rodeo. This is an awesome event to cover with more than 2,000 of the nation's top high school cowboys putting it all on the line for a national title.

Around town...

Rain, Pomp and Circumstance

This is for Steve

because he misses Mooney...and the sexy red couch.

Senior Olympics

I love shooting Senior Olympics....



It was this woman's first year participating in the Senior Olympics. Not only that, it was her first time trying most all of the sports she signed up for, including bowling. This was her very first day bowling.

And I got to see her roll a strike!!:) She was having a blast.

Applying new knowledge

I went on the good 'ol wild art hunt today. I was photographing some adults playing volleyball at a family picnic when I saw this little guy behind the tent, tinkering with an air pump and the gas cap of a truck. By the time I got over to him, he had found a spot to stick the nozzle and was figuring out how to use the pump. I found it a bit challenging to write a caption, because I'm not sure if he was "putting gas in the car" or "air in the tires." Regardless, I think he is learning how the world works and is mohawk is pretty awesome.



After watching family members use an air pump to fill up footballs and volleyballs at a picnic in Berg Park on Sunday, 2-year-old Jamal Eaglefeather got to work on the gas tank of a nearby truck.

Shiprock Marathon

7 am

Shaun Martin makes it look easy from the very beginning of the race, setting a pace around of around 5 minutes, 30 seconds per mile. Martin finished the race first and set a course record - 2 hours, 36 minutes. Easy.

A friend helps pace Teo-Sean White, left, who won the half-marathon Saturday.


waiting for mom....

Blood and sweat

With about 10 minutes to edit a few hundred photos, this is what I came up with from the 5 pro boxing bouts tonight... tomorrow I will look through and see if I overlooked anything. I had a lot of fun, despite the splattering of blood and sweat. Yuck. Now I'm off to shower and bed;)




Victory

Dancers

I love photographing the Mann Dance Group. The director is wonderful to work with and the dancers are a blast to watch, with a ton of variety and great costumes. The stage light was challenging this time, but still fun. Enjoy.

Baseball highlights

A glimpse at last week

Too close for comfort:

Jami Telford, 4, displays her discomfort sitting next to a bear while posing for a picture with friend, Cody Sprague, 10, left, at the Jordan World Circus on Tuesday evening.

Jimmy Blakley, 23, rides the quarter pipe at Brookside Skate Park on his snowboard after dropping in from the top of the bowl Tuesday morning. Blakley is a student at San Juan College, which was closed Tuesday because of the snowstorm.

Chase Islas, 5, opens wide for Dr. Gene Hilton, of Desert Hills Dental Group, on Friday during the "Give Kids A Smile Day" event at San Juan College.


JROTC Drill Meet.

Jillian Tull looks up at her mother as she sticks her fingers into a chocolate rendition of the Shiprock pinnacle just before the start of the judging of the Sweet-Art Soiree Chocolate Challenge on Saturday at the Sycamore Park Community Center.

Four-year-old Jillian Tull sneaks a taste of her family's entry in the Sweet-Art Soiree Chocolate Challenge.

uninterested cheerleaders

When I first sat down to shoot this wrestling match a few days ago, I saw this sea of blue cheerleaders as a nice backdrop. But after shooting a few matches, I noticed the "backdrop" was hilarious, the epitome of boredom. We ran a nice action shot for the paper, so I thought I would share this one with you, here. :)

Sledding

First Baby of the Year

Sisters Kia'auni, 2, far left, and Nauni, 4, take a close look at their baby brother, Nuashkii Naljahih Francisco sleeping in the arms of his mother, Debra Naljahih, on Friday afternoon in Northern Navajo Medical Center. Nuashkii was the first baby born in 2009 at Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, N.M.

Santa's gone fishin'

Native American Day

Bluffview Elementary School students watch as Roman Johnson walks into the room to perform a traditional dance for the school's Native American Day program.

Shiprock Fair

Gold!

The New Mexico Press Association liked this photo and named it the second place feature photo in the state during last weekend's annual awards banquet. It's all in her expression. She was too cute. I remember panning for gold when I was this age and being thrilled to see those sparkling flakes.



Allison Kitchens, 5, spots gold in her pan after a long process of shaking and sorting gold flakes from the gravel and sand with her grandfather at the Gem and Mineral Show on May 2, 2007.

It's been a while...so here are a few from the last week:)

Toadlena Trading Post

Click play on the player below to watch a photo slideshow with audio from the traders and weavers at the Historic Toadlena Trading Post.