Four Sports and an OWS Elkhart

Here are a just a few shots that I liked from the past few weeks.  Honestly I have been shooting more sports than anything lately so most of this post is sports.  I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Central's Terell Street (21) tries to shoot a basket while Northridge's Sam Ahonen (14) tries to block the shot during Wednesday's game at Northside Middle School gym.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Notre Dame's Michael Floyd runs with the ball while attempting to avoid being tackled by Boston College's Steele Divitto, left, and Kevin Pierre-Louis, right, during the last home game of the season on Saturday, November 19.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Central's Shelby Mecklenburg swims the 50 Free against Washington during Thursday's meet at Central High School.  Mecklenburg won the heat with a time of 29.90.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Terri Clark, of Elkhart, participates in an Occupy Wall Street protest on the corner of Main Street and Franklin Street to celebrate the 2 month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests on Thursday at noon.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

A Good Week.

Overall this has been a pretty good week.  Whenever I had free time in between my normal daily assignments over the past few weeks I worked on two feature pieces about two women who painted their stories on elks for this project called Elk Art on Parade in Elkhart, In.  These two pieces ran on Thursday.  Then on Saturday I discovered that the pieces that I did for my capstone class at WKU about the Tea Party movement in Kentucky placed third in the Multimedia Projects section of CPOY, which was really cool for me because this is the first time I have placed in CPOY.  Today, was my day off and I spent the day hanging out at a coffee house in downtown Elkhart, and then I came home and working on my portfolio update for my website while I watched the newest Harry Potter movie.  It has been a pretty good week.  I have a few more photos that I would like to post but since they are on the computer that I use at work I will post them later in the week.  Until then, here are the two pieces that I produced this past week, a link to CPOY and a detail image from the coffee house.

Link to CPOY: http://www.cpoy.org/index.php?s=WinningImages


The Story Behind the Elk - Part 1:
Donielle Boal began playing flute when she was in elementary school and it has continued to play a major role in her life every since. The flute that she has been playing since she first learned how was made in Elkhart, In. After deciding to participate in CAPS Elk Art on Parade, she chose to paint her elk to show her love of her flute and the impact it has had on her life. To learn more about the CAPS Elk Art on Parade project please visit www.elkartonparade.com.

The Story Behind the Elk - Part 2:
Mary Masters is a descendant of Chief Pierre Moran of the Pokagon band of the Potawatomi and she painted the story of how her great-grandmother and great-grandfather married and their connection to Elkhart County. The elk was painted as part of the CAPS Elk Art on Parade project. To learn more about the CAPS Elk Art on Parade project please visit elkartonparade.com.

©2011 Delayna Earley and The Elkhart Truth

I wanted to end this with a HUGE congrats to all the CPOY winners, especially all the ones from WKU!

Mostly Football

So between high school football on Friday nights and Notre Dame football on Saturday, I have been shooting a lot of football over the past few weeks.  Most of this post is football but I have put a few others in too, just to break it up a little bit :-)

Memorial Charger Urston Smith celebrates after scoring a touchdown by catching a 32 yard pass thrown by Brody Rosenberg in the 2nd quarter of Friday's game against the Central Blazers in the first round of the IHSAA Class 5A sectional at Memorial High School.  The Chargers won the game 31-27.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Nathaniel Manthey, 16 of Elkhart, cleaned the veteran section headstones at Rice Cemetery as his Eagle Scout project.  Manthey received help from Danny Gobble, an area veteran, and Brian Thomas a city councilman from the 2nd District while completing the project.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Notre Dame's Cierre Wood evades being tackled by Navy's Chris Ferguson during the first half of Saturday's home game at Notre Dame Stadium.  (Truth Photo by Delayna Earley)

Notre Dame's Cierre Wood evades being tackled by Navy's David Sperry, left, Jonathan Web, middle, and Parrish Gaines, right, during the first half of Saturday's home game at Notre Dame Stadium.  (Truth Photo by Delayna Earley)

Notre Dame cheerleader Farah Tahmassebi performs during the Notre Dame v. Navy game on Saturday, October 29, 2011.  Farah is a graduate of Concord High School in Elkhart and is currently a junior cheerleader.  (Truth Photo by Delayna Earley)

Victoria Pendleton, second from right, holds a photograph of her mother, Veronica Pendleton, and her sister, Ariana Pendleton.  Ariana was killed in a shooting on October 22 on Dr. King Dr. which was one of the locations where the marchers stopped to sing and pray.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Timeira Ulmer, left, Adrianna Wilson, middle, and Isaiah Sanders, right, carry signs and walk in the front of the march against violence held on Wednesday evening in Elkhart.  The march began at Agape Missionary Baptist Church and was inspired by the recent homicides in the south side of Elkhart.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Concord Minutemen Taylor Miller tackles NorthWood Panthers Andrew Hahn during the first half of Friday's Class 4A sectional championship game at Andrews Field at NorthWood High School.  The Panthers won the game 26-13.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

NorthWood Panthers Andrew Hahn pushes through Concord Minutemen Taylor Miller, left, and Timothy Yoder, right, during Friday's Class 4A sectional championship game at Andrews Field at NorthWood High School.  The Panthers won the game 26-13.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Concord Minutemen Franko House lunges to tackle NorthWood Panther Andrew Hahn during Friday's Class 4A sectional championship game at Andrews Field at NorthWood High School.  The Panthers won the game 26-13.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

2nd Update from Elkhart

Here are a few of my favorite images the past month in Elkhart.  It was a very exciting month, I got to shoot some cool festivals and I shot my first spot news fire (even though it was pretty much out by the time we got there).   Let me know what you think, I miss the feedback that I would get at WKU :-)

Firefighters assess if they have contained the fire located in a detached garage on Friday afternoon off of C.R. 44 in Wakarusa.  The owner came home to find smoke and fire coming from the garage.  Fire officials suspect the cause of the fire was a wood burning stove.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

From left, Roshelle Glazman, Dorotea Skalitzky, Alina Hubska and Alla Marshall wait for instructions while practicing folk dancing on Thursday evening in preparation for the 6th Annual Russian Festival on Saturday in Goshen.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Left to right, Leann Hochstetler, 15, Maria Borkholder, 14, and Amanda Esh, 14, all of Nappanee, ride the ferris wheel at the Nappanee Apple Festival on Friday evening in downtown Nappanee.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Shelby Mack, 5, looks at the seven foot apple pie in the window of La Fogata Mexican Restaurant in Nappanee on Friday afternoon during the Nappanee Apple Festival.  "It's bigger than my dad!" Mack and her two brothers said about the pie.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

An Osolo emergency responder braces the injured driver of a Fed Ex truck while Porter firefighters work to free him from the accident on Saturday afternoon on Cassapolis Street just past the intersection at Redburn Road in Cass County, Mich.  The Fed Ex truck ran into a tree around 2:30 p.m. after swerving to avoid hitting another car.  Two people were injured but there were no fatalities, according to a Cass County Sheriff Officer at the scene.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Anja Martin, 3 of Goshen, watches the rain during the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale on Saturday morning at the Elkhart Co. 4-H Fairgrounds.  Martin and her family come to the Relief Sale every year.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Two girls walk through a puddle during the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale on Saturday morning.  Despite the rain there was a large turnout to Saturday's event.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Chuck Marshall speaks to members of the media during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon at the Elkhart Municipal Airport regarding the War Birds Fly In.  The Fly In is scheduled to take place at the Elkhart Municipal Airport on October 8, 2011 from 7 a.m.-5 p.m.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Mishawaka Cavemen Sam Schrader, middle, is tackled by the Central Blazers during the first quarter of Friday's game at Elkhart Central High School.  The Cavemen won the game 49-38.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Last 3 Weeks in Elkhart

It has been a very long time since I last updated, so this blog post is a big one.  I started my internship at The Elkhart Truth in Elkhart, Indiana at the end of August and here are a few photos from the past three weeks that I have been here.

April Zehr, 18 of Tiskilwa, Illinois, left, unpacks her clothes with the help of her sister, Heidi Zehr on Saturday, August 27, during move in day at Goshen College.  April is a freshman and plans to study history.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Maria Aguilar lets go of her emotions as she follows the caskets containing her two sons, Ricardo and Adolfo, and her husband Jose out of St. Vincent de Paul Church after their funeral service on Tuesday evening.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

The caskets containing the remains of Jose Aguilar and his two sons, Ricardo and Adolfo, sit at the front of St. Vincent de Paul Church during their funeral service on Tuesday evening.  The church was filled with members of the community paying their respects to the deceased.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Actors Kevin Egelsky, middle, and Scot Purkeypile, right, prepare backstage to run Act 2 of the play "Greater Tuna" during a dress rehearsal on Wednesday evening.  The play is the first for this upcoming season which marks the 50th anniversary of Elkhart Civic Theatre performing in the Bristol Opera House.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Scot Purkeypile delivers his lines during a dress rehearsal for "Greater Tuna" on Wednesday evening.  The play opens next week marking the 50th anniversary of Elkhart Civic Theatre in the Bristol Opera House.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Kevin Egelsky prepares for his entrance backstage at the Bristol Opera House on Wednesday evening during a dress rehearsal.  The play "Greater Tuna" features two male actors who portray more than 20 different characters during the performance.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Toy commercial vehicles found at the booth owned by Jan and Phil Biehl, of North Webster, during the 24th Annual Labor Day Toy Show at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Goshen.  The toy show is one of the largest one day shows in the U.S. with almost 2000 people attending the six hour event.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Jeremiah Weaver, 5 of Millersburg, takes Lyndee Mikesell, 5 of Rochester, a ride on his father's wood powered tractor during the Bonneyville Mill Celebration in Bristol on Saturday afternoon.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Steve Hunsberger visits the the memorial on the afternoon of Thursday, September 8 in Memorial Park in Wakarusa that is dedicated to his son, Staff Sgt. Travis Hunsberger, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2008.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Students from Memorial High School released red, white and blue balloons into the air after reciting the National Anthem before the football game on Friday night against Warsaw to commemorate the tenth anniversary of September 11.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Concord Minutemen Alec Stubbs fights Central Blue Blazer Elliot Miller to get to the ball during the first half of Saturday's game at Central High School.  The Minutemen won the game 3-2.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Kane Rickey of the Memorial Chargers is tackled by Kyle Heckaman, left, and Gabe Furnivall, right, of the Warsaw Tigers, during the game at Memorial High School on Friday night.  Rain started to fall after the first quarter.  The Tigers won 20-13.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Spectators attempt to keep dry due to the inclement weather.  Rain began to fall after the first quarter of the game.  (Truth Photo By Delayna Earley)

Crab

This is kind of a sad post.  My family's dog passed away on June 24, 2011 and I know it is delayed but I wanted to make a personal post on my blog in honor of him.   You never really know how much you are going to miss a pet until they are gone, and Crab was our fourth pet to die from old age in the past year.  He was a good dog who never asked for anything from anyone.  He shared his food with every other dog in the neighborhood and was known by most as "Bear" because of how big he was.  We all loved him and will miss him.

Canoes, Kayaks and a Wedding

Here are some images that I have shot in the past few weeks for the Free Lance-Star.  I shot a canoe and kayak race down the Rappahannock River and a wedding between an injured troop and his wife.

Teams wait on the bank of Motts Run Resevoir for the second heat of the downriver race in the Great Rappahannock Whitewater Canoe Race to begin.  (Delayna Earley/Free Lance-Star)

Tom Eick makes his way to the finish line of the downriver race in the Great Rappahannock Whitewater Canoe Race on Saturday morning at Old Mill Park.  Eick used a pole to propell his canoe forward instead of a paddle.  (Delayna Earley/Free Lance-Star)

Rob and Josh List navigate the rapids before reaching the finish line at Old Mill Park during the downriver race in the Great Rappahannock Whitewater Canoe Race on Saturday morning.  (Delayna Earley/Free Lance-Star)

Retired Army Sgt. Jude Recendez and his wife Kristine, now of Stafford, share a kiss during their first dance in their new garage after their wedding.  Sgt. Recendez received a house from Homes for our Troops after being injured by an IED in Iraq.  (Delayna Earley/Free Lance-Star)

Retired Army Sgt. Jude Recendez and his wife Kristine, now of Stafford, join hands in lieu of exchanging rings as they reaffirm their vows at their new home on Saturday afternoon.  The Recendezes' received a house from Homes for Our Troops after he was lost both of his legs during his second tour in Iraq.  (Delayna Earley/Free Lance-Star)

1st after Graduating

So I graduated from the WKU photojournalism program two Saturdays ago and I am currently back at home in Virginia and fortunate enough to continue shooting freelance for the Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, VA. I shot my first assignments since I have been back this past weekend and here are a few of my favorites. I shot a high school track meet and a Civil War re-enactment. I love shooting for the paper on the weekends.

Cory Rodriguez, from King George High School, falls during the final heat of the 400 Meter Dash.  Rodriguez was in the lead before he fell. 

Noah Shipman, 11 of Sunbury, Pa., stands in the shade to stay cool while waiting for guests to walk by and see the tents.

Civil War re-enactors prepare their camps for visitors to view them after eating dinner at the Spotsylvania Courthouse Civil War re-enactment.  

Grassroots

For my final project in the WKU photojournalism program I decided that I wanted to tackle a subject that I had never really worked with much before, politics. My goal was to make an interesting piece which is informative but also interesting and helps to inform about the actual people involved in the movement as opposed to just their political goals. I hope you like it!  To view the other projects that were produced by the students in my class they are located at http://commonwealth.wkupj.net .

Take Back The Night

So these photos are a couple of weeks old but being so busy with my capstone photojournalism project (which will be posted either later tonight or tomorrow) that I am just now getting a chance to post them to my blog.  These are from Take Back The Night 2011 in Bowling Green, Ky. which is a march to raise awareness about sexual violence.