Last month I entered several shots in the Harvest Farm & Preserve photo contest. Final winners were announced today, and I’m proud to announce that one of my images was the overall winner! I was quite honored considering the quality of the other prints in the running. Incidentally, if you don’t know about Harvest Farm & Preserve, you should click on the link and check out their site. It’s a pristine green space right in Iowa City, that I didn’t even know about until recently. Doug and Linda Paul and family are doing a great thing by keeping this land natural and undeveloped. My winning image is posted below, and you can see a larger version, plus some others I submitted, by clicking HERE. Ten contest finalists had their images printed and framed, and they will be on display in the spring at the Englert’s Doug and Linda Paul Gallery, and I believe most of the prints will be for sale.

Also, I am a little behind in blogging my senior sessions this year, but I decided to brag about myself first. Expect more posts in the coming days.

Several local groups showed up at the Coralville Reservoir this afternoon to raise money for the Special Olympics by jumping into the freezing water. Well, it wasn’t actually freezing, but rather, a balmy 44 degrees. One of the participants, a Coralville police officer, was nice enough to save me a spot in the Sheriff’s boat, so I had a great vantage point to shoot the action. It was pretty cold out there, and my hands are still stiff and numb, but…..I guess I won’t complain, since I stayed dry. There are a few pics below, and a gallery of larger images HERE.

I did some dress rehearsal shots for City Circle’s production on Arkansaw Bear. It’s a really good show for kids, and there will be performances at the Iowa Children’s Museum through March 15th. Click HERE to see a larger version of this photo at Photernal.com, and be sure to click on the link to the gallery in the text below the image!

I haven’t shot anything like this before, so was thrilled to have the opportunity. There was a controlled house burn in Shueyville this morning, for purposes of demolition and a training exercise for the firefighters. A new friend on Twitter invited me to come along, and I’m glad I did. Thanks, Tiffany! More HERE.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to photograph this event for the Englert Theatre last night. Ashton was giving a press-conference and using the screening of his new movie, Personal Effects, to raise money and awareness for midwest flood relief. I thought he was very thoughtful and intelligent during the Q&A. I guess that shouldn’t surprise me…he IS from Iowa, right?

Demi was along to support him, but stayed very much out of the spotlight. I did manage to grab one nice candid of her, looking on with obvious pride as Ashton took questions.

The Englert Theatre had a brilliant production of the Nutcracker this weekend. Lots of gorgeous sets and talented people made for a wonderful opportunity to get great photos, and I was glad they asked me to shoot it. Once you’ve viewed the pics below, go HERE for the full gallery of 55 images.

My son and I stopped by the Prop 8 protest at city hall today, on our way to lunch, and I took a few snapshots. I sent one to Andrew Sullivan, at The Daily Dish, and he included it in his review of the nation-wide protest. Obviously, the Iowa City group wasn’t as big as in many larger cities, but it was a very energetic bunch, and I got a strong positive vibe. Sullivan thinks this battle will certainly be won, and I have to agree. I could just feel the activism working.:)

I attended the Pack 215 Rocket Launch in Scott Park yesterday.  Beautiful weather and the kids really had a great time.  You can see how into it some of these guys were in the pictures HERE. Fun shots…..the only thing I wished for were some BIGGER rockets…..hehehe…

An evening of killer blues at the Englert last night.  I’ve been a Robert Cray fan for a long time, and was eager to see him.  I had no doubt he would be incredible.  Iowa’s answer to Robert Cray, Kevin BF Burt, was every bit as fun to watch.  What an amazing voice, and a HUGE sound for just one guy with a guitar.  Both of these guys were ON last night, and I’m really glad I got to see them.  Of course, I got a few pics, too!

I took pictures at Paws for a Cause this afternoon. The rain stayed away, attendance was good, and people and dogs alike seemed to enjoy themselves, participating in games and contests, sharing their stories of successful adoptions, and of course, joining the canine/human walk-a-thon. The full gallery (300++ pics!) can be viewed HERE. You might recall the sad situation in Solon last year, where many dogs were seized from a hoarder. Today there was a reunion of sorts of many of the dogs that have since found good homes. You can spot the Solon dogs in the pics because they are the ones wearing turquoise bandanas.