Six Months & Counting...

Tomorrow is February 5th, 2014... a date that marks my 6-month milestone at the Telegram. Sometimes it feels like I've been here for years, and other days I still feel like its only my first week on the job. I've been thinking a lot about how Rocky Mount and my experience at the Telegram has changed me (for better or worse) and what I've learned in the past six months... Here's a short list:

1. I learned to love shooting sports. I never thought this was possible. Throughout college and my internships, I DREADED shooting sports of any kind. Now I actually look forward to my night shift stints of basketball, wrestling, volleyball, football, etc. When I started at the Telegram, I had maybe 5 solid sports action/feature photos. Now I have a full sports portfolio on my website. I'm really proud of this change.

2. I learned to be patient. Rocky Mount has been slow going for me... I haven't really added anything to my portfolio aside from sports. I've been chasing and craving that one big, amazing image that will bolster my portfolio and just put me over the moon. But it hasn't really come. I do my best every single day to shoot to the best of my ability, but that image just hasn't found me yet. So I'm trying my best to be patient... and to focus on the task at hand and let that revelation come to me in it's own time.

3. I learned a bit about what I never want to become in this business. There are people out there, and I've met more than a few at my internships and beyond, who have lost their passion for this business. If you don't love it, live for it, crave it... then why are you still doing it?

4. I learned how to make something from nothing. Living here has been a challenge to say the very least. 600 miles from anyone I know and care about... and living in a town in which it is notoriously difficult to form friendships. I'll admit, I had my dark days. But rather than focusing on the bad, the lonely, the miserable, I learned to make something out of nothing. To find the joy in my alone time, to find the human interaction I needed in non-traditional ways. To lower my expectations and shift my perspective of what life should be. This may confuse some of you who have never experienced a situation like mine... Consider yourself lucky that you don't understand what I'm saying!  Rather than mourning the loss of my social life, I found new ways to keep it alive, even if it was only enough to keep me going for another day, another week... And that has made all the difference.

Here are some images from the past 5 weeks or so. Enjoy and constructive criticism is always welcome.

Tavoris Parker, 7, holds his eye and cries after falling down during a foot race Wednesday at the Lucy Ann Boddie Brewer Unit of the Boys & Girls Club of Nash & Edgecombe Counties.

From right, Adam Zammiello, 28, Ricky Richmond, 27, and Jason Gumpton, 27, tumble laughing down the hill after wrecking their sled Wednesday at the Tar River Reservoir.

Pastor Florence Nicholson, of Restoration Church of Christ in Wilson, N.C., sheds a tear during the Concert of Prayer, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, at Word Tabernacle Church in Rocky Mount, N.C. Nicholson came to the concert to support her home community of Rocky Mount. Police in this North Carolina town are searching for a man who sprayed a church playground with gunfire, striking four youths and leaving a 12-year-old boy gravely wounded. 

Rocky Mount High's Rayshawn Elliot scores a nearfall against Southern Nash's Clinton Whittaker during Thursday's wrestling meet at Southern Nash.

The "Bucket Team," from left, James Jones, 13, Michael Smith, 17, Shyheim Battle, 12 and Timothy Bridgers, 14, rest against the gymnasium wall after shooting hoops Wednesday at the Lucy Ann Boddie Brewer Unit of the Boys & Girls Club of Nash & Edgecombe Counties. "I'm only 12 and I've been robbed three times in Rocky Mount," Battle said. "There's nothing to do around here so kids get bored and join gangs to cause trouble." 

Corey Jabar Alexander Jr., weighing in at 6lbs and 7oz was born at 11:56am Wednesday morning, the first baby born in Rocky Mount in 2014.

Members of the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church and members of the NAACP celebrated the life of Martin Luther King during a special service featuring Dr. William Barber, II, President of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP.

Northern Nash High School wrestler Alan Johnson, left, sticks his tongue out while straining to pin Southern Nash High School's Jacob Brantley during their match Wednesday January 8, 2014 at Southern Nash High School in Bailey, NC.

Standing at only 5-feet tall, Nash Central High School's point guard Ni'Ya Styles is still the team's rising star. 

April Batchelor, left, watches as wildlife rehabilitator Ricky Atkinson, right, winces in pain as an injured Red-tailed Hawk's talon rips through his glove and punctures his finger.

Jazmine Ortega, 7, makes a snow angel Wednesday at her aunt's Kirby Drive home in Rocky Mount, NC.

Rocky Mount High School's Jaquell Bryant looks for an opening to pass in a Southern Nash player's defense on Friday January 24, 2014 at Southern Nash High School in Bailey, NC.  

NC Wesleyan's Taylor Paige, left, grabs a rebound while Maryville's Lailah Farmer, right, attempts to steal during Saturday's game.

Destiny Bridgers, 10, sips on a hot chocolate to stay warm in the chilly early morning air outside a church building in downtown Rocky Mount on Saturday January 18, 2014. 

Charita Grant, left, holds Karey Pierre, right, while she cries out in prayer on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, after the Concert of Prayer at Word Tabernacle Church in Rocky Mount, N.C. Pierre, a teacher at SouthWest Edgecombe High School, was at the church when four youths were shot Monday behind the building on the basketball court. Police in this North Carolina town are searching for a man who sprayed a church playground with gunfire, striking four youths and leaving a 12-year-old boy gravely wounded. 

Rocky Mount High's John Mebane swims in the 200-yard freestyle competition at the Big East Conference Championship swim meet Thursday at Harrison Family YMCA.

Left in the Dark & November/December Images

It's been a over a month since my last post. The past month or two have been fairly productive. I have been working hard on growing and developing a body of sports work, both action shots and athlete portraits. There were a couple really crazy days or weeks throughout this period, maybe even a few days where I had to remind myself over and over that there is no crying in journalis. There were times when I wanted to call off work, drive back to Ohio and call it quits... but of course I stuck it out and tried to learn as much as I could from a bad situation. Sadly this happens a little more often than I'd like it to. Rocky Mount is a tough place to live. It's not made for newcomers, especially newcomers ages 19-30. It's a place where you grow up and never leave, taking those same friends from childhood onward into the rest of your life. The rest of us are left out in the dark... or at home night after night watching Netflix alone. But hey, the good news is that I am surviving.

This post will feature some of my favorite images from the past month or so. I will create a separate post soon featuring some of the athlete portraits I've done for the twin counties "All Area High School Athletes" series. It's been a lot of fun getting to experiment with lighting, even though I've been really rushed to complete a few of them. Regardless, I think it's nice to see what I can pull off even when I'm working against the clock.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite images from the Rocky Mount Telegram from the past month. As always, feedback and constructive criticism are very much welcome. Thanks guys, see you next time.

Boys & Girls Club members watch and cheer as James Jones, 13, left, takes a winning shot during a game of Club Ball Monday at The Boys & Girls Club of Nash/Edgecombe Counties.

Rocky Mount High School senior Immanuel King eyes the basket as South Central defenders double team him during Tuesday night's game at Rocky Mount High School.

Jakivyeon Bell, 5, leans on his uncle Mark Bell's shoulders and watches parade floats drive by during the Christmas Parade on Sunday on Main Street in Rocky Mount, NC.

Clarence Henderson, a bellringer for The Salvation Army, sings "The 12 Days of Christmas" and encourages shoppers to donate to a good cause Friday at Hobby Lobby. Henderson says his dream is to one day be Salvation Army Bellringer at Macy's in Times Square in New York City.

Wallace-Rose Hill quarterback Bobby McKenzie jumps to tackle Tarboro running back Radja Bobbitt just a few yards from the goal line during Friday's game at Tarboro High School.

Jonathan Diaz, 7, left, and Joseph Hernandez, 10, right, play with a Nintendo 3DS while waiting for Diaz's family to finish their Black Friday shopping Thursday night at JCPenney.

Pat Sullivan, left, and his granddaughter Karsen Riggs, right, take a moment to sit and enjoy Christmas lights at Autumn's Lights in Tarboro, NC.

Nash Central's Cal Lewis swims in the 200-yard Freestyle competition at the Big East Conference Swim Meet on Thursday at the Harrison Family YMCA.

Nash Central's Ni'ya Styles tries to wrestle the ball from East Wake's Ciera Williams during Tuesday's game at Nash Central High School.

Sergeant Ricky Parks, middle, of the Rocky Mount Police Department, shows off some pink girl's clothes to Shykia Lee, 10, left, during the Cops With Kids program Saturday at Kmart.

Jason Baird, 28, plants a kiss on the forehead of Ichiban, a 4-month-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever and service dog in-training. Baird suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of his 2007 deployment to the coast of Somalia with the United States Navy. Baird says his PTSD had reached a point where he could not sleep for 2-3 days at a time and was self-medicating with alcohol. In mid-2008, Baird started training with one of his other dogs and his life has improved tenfold. Recently, Baird was denied entry to a local gun store because Ichiban was by his side.

Mary Mebane stretches her back and shoulder muscles during a water aerobics class Monday at the Rocky Mount Senior Center in Rocky Mount, NC.