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Newt Gingrich Iowa Campaign Tour

January 11, 2012
candids, celebrities, events, photography, politics
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On the day after Christmas, I got a call from the Gingrich campaign asking if I could fly to Des Moines to document Newt’s Iowa “Jobs and Growth” bus tour. I spent the next eight days following the campaign bus around the state – two thousand miles, 40 hours in the car, 22 cities, 4-5 hours of sleep per night, and 10,000 photographs.

It was a great experience, both personally and professionally. I was impressed by the caliber of the campaign staff, touched by the kindness and generosity of the many Iowans I met along the way, and amazed by the stamina and discipline required of anyone who runs for the Presidency.

Here are a handful of images from the tour:

Newt and Callista Gingrich in Mason City, IA

Spencer, IA

Le Mars, IA

Televised town hall in Des Moines, IA

A campaign supporter attends a meet and greet

Taking questions from the national press

Independence, IA

Walford, IA

Davenport, IA

Muscatine, IA

Greeting supporters in Muscatine, IA

Campaign bus in Burlington, IA

Iowa Caucus in Cedar Falls, IA

Cedar Falls, IA

Premiere of The Muppets movie

November 14, 2011
celebrities, editorial, events, photojournalism
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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

Bonneville Speed Week

August 23, 2011
events, landscapes, photography, photojournalism, sports
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It is said the Bonneville Salt Flats are so huge and so flat that from certain perspectives one can see the curvature of the Earth. It is also one of the few places on the Earth wide enough and flat enough for motorized land speed records to be set. Several times each year, hundreds of highly modified cars and motorcycles converge on the flats to see who can push the speed envelope just a tiny bit further. Some of the vehicles don’t look much different than what you might see driving on a neighborhood road and others bear more resemblance to aircraft than they do to automobiles.

Bonneville Speed Week, one of the largest annual events on the salt flats, was held last week and I was able to get out on the salt for a day to capture some of the action. I had a great time, met some fantastic people and saw a bunch of cars and motorcycles go really, really fast. Here are a couple of the images:

Bonneville Salt Flats

An unblown fuel streamliner getting ready to go fast.

Monochrome – Bonneville Speed Week

Some folks come to go fast and some come to ogle.

This is the short course. The long course is seven or more miles long.

Spectators. Mountains. Salt.

Arizona Celebration of Freedom – Night 1

July 2, 2011
candids, events, photography, photojournalism
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Decided to wander downtown last night to check out the first night of a two night Fourth of July celebration. It was still meltingly hot – 109 at 7 pm – but seemed relatively tame after the combined heat and humidity of my recent visit New Orleans. Maybe there’s something to this whole “it’s a dry heat” mantra after all. Lots of activity and interesting people downtown last night. Here are a few:
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Republican Leadership Conference – Pt. II

June 27, 2011
adults, celebrities, editorial, events, photography, photojournalism, politics
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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

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Mike Huckabee

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Senator Jim DeMint (R – SC)

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Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour

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Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal

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Barack Obama Impersonator Reggie Brown

Republican Leadership Conference – Presidential Candidates

June 20, 2011
celebrities, editorial, events, photography, photojournalism, politics, portraits
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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


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Newt Gingrich


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Ron Paul

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Herman Cain

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Rick Santorum

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Gary Johnson

Trek

June 13, 2011
adults, candids, children, events, photography
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I was invited recently to photograph a re-enactment of the 19th century trek across the Great Plains by Mormon pioneers. Approximately 350 teenagers, aged 14-18, along with their adult leaders were divided into 30 or so “family” groups and assigned handcarts that they would spend two and half days pushing and pulling through sometimes rugged terrain in the Arizona mountains 150 miles east of Phoenix. Both the adults and the kids dressed in pioneer clothes, left their smartphones at home, and slept on tarps under the stars.

For many reasons, it was a great experience. It was inspiring to see sometimes squirrelly teenagers band together to accomplish something difficult and way outside their comfort zone. Over the course of the two and a half days, I’m not sure I heard a single complaint about the difficulty of the task, nor did I see any evidence of the cliquishness that can be such a cruel part of adolescent life. It was likewise inspirational to witness the sacrifice and selflessness of the adult volunteers who made this massively complex event come off so smoothly.

Here are a few of the photos from that event:

An adult leader waits for the action to begin

One of the teenagers channeling a pioneer.

The trek gets underway.

A re-enactment of an event during which the women and children had to fend for themselves for a period of time.

The effect of pulling a heavy handcart at 7,000 feet of altitude.

Getting an early start.

After a particularly difficult climb, the handcart groups were serenaded by this harmonica player.

The trail boss greets some stranded pilgrims along the way.

Brothers.

The evening square dance was fun, but a dust-fest.

A pine illuminated by a not very pioneer-like spotlight.

Elevation of 7,000 feet. More than 100 miles from the city. No moon. Lots of stars.

Actors playing Jesus and Mary at the Garden Tomb, part of a devotional the last evening of the trek.