Christopher Halloran Photography » editorial

Premiere of The Muppets movie

Chris H. — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:52:50 +0000

I don’t know that I was fully prepared for the craziness surrounding the premiere of The Muppets movie on November 12. An army of photographers, videographers and assorted other media types all jockeying for position in a space large enough for about half as many as showed up. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen dozens of middle-aged photographers screaming at the top of their lungs, “Miss Piggy, Miss Piggy, over here, give us a look over your shoulder.”

Despite the chaos, it was fun and I got some good images. Next time I’ll wear Kevlar.

Premiere of The Muppets at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood

Filed under: celebrities, editorial, events, photojournalism Tagged: Alyson Hannigan, Amy Adams, Anthony Hopkins, Chris Cooper, El Capitan Theater, Hollywood, James Carville, Jason Segel, Josh Radnor, Katie Leclerc, Nancy Grace, Neil Patrick Harris, Oscar Nunez, premiere, Rashida Jones, Rico Rodriguez, The Muppets

Republican Leadership Conference – Pt. II

Chris H. — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:45:18 +0000

In addition to the various Presidential candidates who appeared at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans a week ago, a number of additional GOP luminaries – some of them former or soon to be candidates – also gave speeches. These included Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint. And, finally, there was the controversial Barack Obama impersonator, Reggie Brown, whose tasteless and racist spiel got him yanked from the stage. Here they are:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry

Mike Huckabee

Senator Jim DeMint (R – SC)

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal

Barack Obama Impersonator Reggie Brown

Filed under: adults, celebrities, editorial, events, photography, photojournalism, politics Tagged: arizona, Bobby Jindal, celebrities, christopher halloran, christopherhalloran.com, events, Haley Barbour, Jim DeMint, Mike Huckabee, phoenix, photographer, photography, politicians, politics, portraits, Reggie Brown, Rick Perry

Republican Leadership Conference – Presidential Candidates

Chris H. — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:53:23 +0000

I have just returned from several days in New Orleans where I was photographing the Republican Leadership Conference, an annual gathering of 2,000 or more of the party faithful. It was an interesting glimpse into Republican philosophy and strategy for the 2012 Presidential election and a revelation about the nature of grass roots politics. The conference felt as much like a religious revival as it did a political event. The forces of evil were embodied by Barack Obama and his liberal minions and the instrument of salvation, the messianic figure, was personified by Ronald Reagan, whose image appeared constantly on huge video screens and whose memory was invoked by nearly every noteworthy speaker over the course of the three days. The quality of the rhetoric varied greatly, from tough but thoughtful speeches by Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum to bombastic invective by a variety of lesser party lights. I was disappointed by the absence of Pawlenty, Huntsman and Romney, but the potential 2012 Presidential nominees were otherwise well represented. Here are a few images of those who have declared:

Michele Bachmann

Newt Gingrich

Ron Paul

Herman Cain

Rick Santorum

Gary Johnson

Filed under: celebrities, editorial, events, photography, photojournalism, politics, portraits Tagged: campaign, candidate, candids, celebrities, christopher halloran, christopherhalloran.com, events, Gary Johnson, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, new orleans, Newt Gingrich, phoenix, photographer, photography, politicians, politics, portrait, President, republican, republican leadership conference, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul

W

Chris H. — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:32:49 +0000

President George W. Bush was in town last night to speak at a fundraiser for Arizona Christian University held at the Phoenix Convention Center. Photographers were only given access for three minutes (that’s 3!), so I didn’t get a chance, obviously, to hear much of the speech. He began with a couple of quips about the sense of liberation he felt when he and Laura left Washington for their ranch in Crawford, TX. Here he talks about coming into the living room and saying to Laura, “Free at last!”

Although, again, it’s difficult to gauge the tone of a speech based on three minutes of exposure, he was genial and seemed very relaxed.

Filed under: celebrities, editorial, events, news, photography, photojournalism Tagged: arizona, arizona christian university, celebrities, christopher halloran, christopherhalloran.com, events, george bush, george w. bush, phoenix, photographer, photojournalism, president bush

Drive the Dream Gala | Arizona Event Photography

Chris H. — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:11:30 +0000

Every year, Childhelp, an Arizona-based charity founded to aid abused children, holds its principal fundraiser in conjunction with the Barrett Jackson automobile auction in Scottsdale. The event attracts a number of local celebrities and politicians and usually features a musical performance of some kind. The featured artist this year was Willie Nelson:

Other celebrities in attendance included NFL quarterback Kurt Warner:

Actors Cheryl Ladd and Jane Seymour:

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer:

And controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (note the tie pin):

Filed under: celebrities, editorial, events, photography, photojournalism, portraits Tagged: arizona, b&w, black and white, celebrities, cheryl ladd, christopher halloran, christopherhalloran.com, events, jan brewer, jane seymor, joe arpaio, kurt warner, phoenix, photographer, photography, photojournalism, willie nelson

Election Night

Chris H. — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 22:10:26 +0000

Yesterday was a big day for Republicans and the party was in full celebration mode last night at its Election Night Event in downtown Phoenix. The star of the evening was John McCain who beat back a Tea Party challenger in the primary and then rolled over his Democratic opponent in the general election.

The crowd was largely sympathetic with Sen. McCain’s point of view about Nancy Pelosi.

Jan Brewer, who replaced Janet Napolitano as Governor when Napolitano became Secretary of Homeland Security, won her first election easily, in part because of her championing of SB 1070.

While my fellow photographers were swarming early in the evening, by the final speeches they were long gone.

Jeff Flake was elected to his sixth term as the United States Representative from Arizona’s 6th congressional district…

…while Ben Quayle, the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, was elected to his first term as the U.S. Congressman from Arizona’s 3rd congressional district.

Tiffany Quayle, Ben’s wife of six months, didn’t win anything, but she’s pretty, so she makes the cut.

Finally, Kimberly Yee was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in District 10, becoming the first Asian American woman ever elected to the Arizona State Legislature.

Filed under: adults, celebrities, editorial, news, photography, photojournalism Tagged: arizona, celebrities, christopher halloran, christopherhalloran.com, events, jan brewer, jeff flake, john mccain, michelle yee, phoenix, photographer, photography, politics, tiffany quayle

Nine Eleven

Chris H. — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 17:26:46 +0000

The city of Tempe has raised more than 3,000 flags to pay tribute to each man, woman and child who died in the cowardly terrorist attacks nine years ago. Early this morning a ceremony was held to commemorate all of those victims, in particular the many emergency response personnel who died that day.
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Filed under: candids, editorial, photojournalism Tagged: 9/11, arizona, candids, christopher halloran, christopherhalloran.com, events, heroes, phoenix, photographer, photography, september 11

McCain and Romney: Strange Bedfellows

Chris H. — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:14:52 +0000

John McCain continues to pull out all the stops to fend off Republican challenger JD Hayworth in his quest to be re-elected to his fifth term in the Senate. This past weekend, Mitt Romney, one of Senator McCain’s challengers for the Presidency in 2008, traveled to Arizona to participate in a town hall meeting to help buoy up McCain’s campaign. As with Sarah Palin’s appearance at a McCain rally two months ago, it seemed that the majority of the crowd had come out not to see the Senator, but the Senator’s guest. Governor Romney has issues to overcome before he can hope to run successfully for President, but he is undeniably charismatic and articulate on a variety of issues.

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Filed under: candids, celebrities, editorial, events, photography, photojournalism Tagged: arizona, candids, celebrities, christopher halloran, christopherhalloran.com, events, john mccain, mesa, mitt romney, phoenix, photographer, photography, politicians

Sarah Palin and John McCain, Together Again

Chris H. — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:28:59 +0000

Senator John McCain is facing a tough fight in his campaign for re-election, so he has started calling in the big guns, beginning with Sarah Palin. He held two rallies this past weekend – first in Tucson and then in Mesa – at which Ms. Palin offered her endorsement of her former ticket-mate’s candidacy. I won’t opine on policy and politics, but there is no denying that Sarah Palin is a rock star to one segment of the Republican faithful. I don’t have any more scientific evidence than the volume of the reception they each received, but it seemed clear to me that the vast majority of the overflow crowd had come to see and hear Ms. Palin. The welcome she received was both lengthy and loud. Here are a handful of images from the event:

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Todd Palin

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Filed under: candids, celebrities, editorial, photography Tagged: arizona, candids, celebrities, christopher halloran, christopherhalloran.com, dobson high school, events, john mccain, mesa, phoenix, photographer, photography, sarah palin

Rodeo | Arizona Event Photographer

Chris H. — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:03:16 +0000

For the second year in a row I was able to spend a couple of days in Apache Junction, Arizona photographing the Lost Dutchman Days rodeo, which this year celebrated its 46th anniversary. As I’ve said before, one of the things I like most about what I do is having the opportunity to watch amazing people do incredible things. I am a city boy from the East Coast, so one wouldn’t expect that I would have a natural affinity for the rodeo. But, it is a thrill to witness the skill and fearlessness of the men and women who compete in this sport.

I had a short conversation with the parents of a former rodeo contestant who retired after having his face kicked in by a bull. They told me that their son, who had competed in a number of sports, used to say that there was no rush comparable to an eight second ride on the back of a bull. I believe that. These animals are HUGE – 2,000 pounds of twisting, slashing fury – and they have absolutely no regard for the safety of the cowboys on their backs. As one of the cowboys said, at least the horses have some sense of rapport with humans. The bulls would just as soon kill you.

Here, a bull spins out of the chute:

It’s hard to predict what he’s going to do, but sometimes he’s just going to go vertical:

And sometimes he’s going to throw you off like you’re a rag doll… and then he’s going to try to trample you:

It is not, however, all about the bulls. There are also equally wild rides on horses, both with and without saddles. Here is a cowboy coming out of the chute:

Sometimes the rides are almost balletic:

And sometimes it’s just hanging on for dear life:

There are calf-roping events:

And an event where a cowboy jumps off the back of a perfectly good horse and tries to wrestle a steer to the ground:

Sometimes it works… and sometimes it comes up a draw:

Women compete in two events – calf-roping and the barrel race:

And behind it all is a value system grounded in church and nation – the devotion to country is palpable:

Filed under: adults, animals, editorial, events, photography, sports Tagged: animals, apache junction, arizona, christopher halloran, christopherhalloran.com, cowboy, events, lost dutchman days, phoenix, photographer, photography, rodeo, sports