Community cleanup

Jalen Robles, 10, left, gets help from her sister, her friend, and her mother while reaching for a piece of trash in a creek during a community cleanup day at a Charles Gardiner Park in Roseburg. The park is the site of frequent alcohol related criminal activity and the girls were volunteering with Umpqua Partners for a Drug-Free Future. 

The Prom Photographer

I'll be the photographer again on Saturday at the Glide High School prom. Maybe Disney should make a silly teen movie and call it "The Prom Photographer".

Gollywhopper

A crane fly clings to a blade of grass in a city park in Roseburg, Ore., on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. According to wikipedia the long-legged fly has many aliases: mosquito hawk, mosquito eater, skeeter eater, gallinipper, and gollywhopper. In the United Kingdom they are commonly referred to as daddy long-legs.

Tamil Tiger child soldier

A young Tamil Tiger rebel soldier pauses while on patrol in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.  I took this picture about 20 years ago while traveling in South Asia after college. I often wonder if this young man survived the bloody Sri Lankan civil war. I would love to go back and see the country again now that the war has ended. I'm thinking about a trip for 2012. It would be great to get an overseas assignment, but I'll probably stay closer to home. 

Senior portraits on the ranch

 

Friends Josie and Rachel did their senior portrait shoot together on our ranch near Elkton, Oregon last week.  It was really fun, and a little challenging.

 When I shoot senior portraits, it's the person being photographed which is important.  The background is nice, it's really all about the light and the subject.

 Check my website for rates.  My studio is in Roseburg, Ore., but I'm happy to travel to any location.

Gray digger on watch

 A California ground squirrel, also known as a gray digger squirrel, keeps watch near its burrow in a meadow at Whistler's Bend Park near Glide, Ore., on Friday, April 22, 2011.  Did you know California ground squirrels are often preyed on by rattlesnakes, but some populations have developed varying levels of immunity to rattlesnake venom.  I had no idea, but Wikipedia says so, so it must be true.

Hummingbird and cattail

A rufous hummingbird collects fluff from a cattail at the edge of a marsh in Dixonville, Ore., on Wednesday, April 20, 2011. The little bird was probably using the fluff to build a nearby nest.

 I was very lucky to spot this cool little bird collecting the fluff.  I waited for about an hour and she came back twice.  Check out more of my nature pictures here.  Reprints are available from the gallery.

 The folks at Zuma Press used one of the hummingbird photos in their Pictures of the Day Gallery.