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1 Comment [ View ]HOT SHOTS
HOT SHOTS
The Standard-Examiner photographers pick their favorite images of 2008
(Be sure to click the photo thumbnails to see the complete photos.)
BETH SCHLANKER
Whenever I go to an assignment, I try to take a photo that isn't expected. That means I usually photograph behind the scenes of the event in hope of catching people off guard. On this particular day, I headed backstage of a performance to see if anyone was getting ready. As I peeked in this doorway, I saw Mrs. Tueller, dressed as Michael Jackson, warming up for her dance. She was so focused that I took a number of photos before she even knew I was there.
DJAMILA GROSSMAN
This photo never ran in the paper because I didn't get the name of the boy who is in it. For the most part, we have to identify every person in every photo we submit for print. At funerals like this one in Morgan, I only ask for names when I have a good photo because interrupting grieving family members to get their names is hard for me. I saw this scene out of the corner of my eye while working another, more obvious situation by the casket. The hand on the boy's head and the arms around his neck struck me. Enough that I moved over and shot two frames before they kept moving on and I ran off to get names of people in the other photo. I never saw the boy again. My bad. Sometimes this happens. But this photo has stuck with me. It is the grass stain on his knee, the gentle gestures of the hands, the juxtaposition of youth and death, the little bit of skirt flowing into the lower left and how I feel looking at it. Often, the photos I like best never make it in the paper. But each one reminds me of a scene I have witnessed because someone trusted me enough to let me document a piece of their life.
NICK SHORT
Oftentimes, photographers are sent out to hunt for interesting photographs in the community. Some days, you find nothing, and some days, you come across something really unique like a group of sunbathers surrounded by the product of what seemed to be an interminable winter. Though there were still icicles hanging from the chairs, the group wasn't deterred from getting a tan on one of the first sunny days after weeks of snow.
ROBERT JOHNSON
The tough thing about photographing snow kiting is getting the skier and the kite in the same frame. There are only two ways to do this: Be very far away or directly under the skier as they catch air. I wandered aimlessly though deep wind-packed snow on a slope at Powder Mountain trying to guess where a skier might randomly jump over me without hitting me in the head. It was exhausting in boots without skis and the wind was howling all day. This guy was crazy and jumped right over me. If I had been standing instead of kneeling in the snow, he would have taken my head off with his ski edges. Many people look at this photo and just see a skier jumping and don't notice the kite he is attached to. This is my favorite photo of the year because I remember the difficulty and luck involved in getting it and I love the lines the skis make and the position overhead flying through the air in the opposite direction the kite is pulling him. It was rewarding to get this frame because I didn't just stand there and shoot the pretty kites in the distance, I got out in the middle of the action and took a risk that paid off with a great image.
DREW GODLESKI
When asked which was my favorite image over the past year, I had several come to mind. The Junior Player Development league story on the NFL I covered, the numerous Jazz play-off games that always gave me the goose bumps, or the Layton football game against the Northridge Knights, which I covered with some amazing photographers from across the state. All these stories left amazing impressions on me, but the one I was the proudest of, believe it or not, was an Ogden Raptors baseball image I shot on July 8. I had shot as much of the game as I dared to in order to make deadline when my computer began to slow to a crawl, so instead of just sitting there waiting for my images to upload, I popped a fresh memory card into my trusty camera and proceeded to shoot from the press box. It was an angle I had never shot from before, due to the fact I couldn't get eye level with the players. No matter, after about a minute of play I was able to capture this shot, a shot I can't say I'd seen before. No awards or anything like that, I just felt good about actually listening to a great piece of advice I was told a long time ago, and which I share with younger shooters all the time. Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness.
MATTHEW HATFIELD
One of my favorite photographs of the year is this photo I took of Deron Williams during Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers. The camera is mounted on the post behind the standard and fired remotely by me as I sat on the baseline shooting the action with a hand-held camera. I like the photo because it shows the game action and the environment of the arena in one photo. You can see some of the fans raising their arms, while others don't yet realize what is happening. It really captures the feeling of being there.
NICHOLAS DRANEY
Growing up in Salt Lake City, my family and I have always been fans of the Utah Jazz. As a kid, I remember going over to the neighbors' house and watching the famous duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton. During high school, my dad sometimes would take us with him to his law firm's suite at the then-Delta Center, where we would get to watch the Jazz play while he entertained clients. Coming back to Utah as a photo intern for the Standard has afforded me the opportunity to cover a few Jazz games, and it has been a very memorable experience. The first time I walked into the press room at the ESA, I saw Jerry Sloan, to me, the only coach the Jazz has ever had. The next game I covered, I saw Hot Rod Huntley and remembered his signature euphemisms I used to hear while watching the Jazz on television as a kid. As the newbie, I have gotten a wide range of assignments so far, but nothing has been as memorable as reliving a piece of my childhood as I have while covering the Utah Jazz.
ERIN HOOLEY
Robert Johnson entices his 6-year-old goat Wire onto his doghouse with a cup of grain on his farm in West Haven in March 2008. "He's a racing goat," said Johnson, who has photos of the animal running alongside his grandchildren at family gatherings. Not long after this photo was taken, Wire was attacked and killed by stray dogs during the night. Johnson's daughter-in-law, Meghan, who lives next door, said her poodle was attacked by two large dogs when she let it out one morning. Her husband, Doug, chased the dogs and discovered the dead goat. Wire, who had a twin named Barb, was an icon in the neighborhood because of his curly hair and tendency to perch on the doghouse.
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This was very interesting. I enjoyed seeing what the photographers themselves thought was good work. The reasons behind the pics make them all the better.
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