The hardest assignment

Rose Hockersmith, left, hugs her daugther, Leslie, as they and hundreds attended the "Celebration of Life Service" for Stephanie and Rachel Works who were shot to death during a shooting at New Life Church. Photo by Bryan Oller/The Gazette


Melissa Gonzalez, left, and Aimee Donahue collect flower petals from a flower arrangement at New Life Church following the service. Photo by Mark Reis/The Gazette

Memorials are the hardest assignments to cover as a photojournalist. They're even harder when the memorial is for someone as young as Stephanie Works, 18, and her sister Rachel, 16, whom were killed in the New Life Church shooting last week. Gazette photographers Mark Reis and Bryan Oller shot the service Wednesday. They both shot some compelling images. Unfortunately we didn't have room for any of the pictures in The Gazette.

Wrong place at the right time

Sunday when I was shooting the Broncos/Chiefs game I shot this picture of umpire Jim Quirk getting hit by Chiefs defensive linebacker Derrick Johnson. I was following Broncos running back Selvin Young when the umpire found himself in the wrong place, but the right time for me. I always like photo surprises like this picture. In the film days, I would have never known I had it until I saw the negatives. Today I saw it in the back of my camera when I was chimping after the play. Sometimes it pays to be lucky.

Best of the wire

Associated Press photographer Odel Balilty used the light well to frame this cyclist competing in qualifiers for the UCI Track Cycling World Cup, at the Laoshan Velodrome in Beijing, Friday Dec, 7, 2007.


This aerial photo shot by Associated Press photographer Elaine Thompson really gives a good perspective on the damage done by the recent storms in the Northwest. A piece of broken roadway lies in a muddy river in rural Lewis County , Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007.

Snow in those Colorado hills

Our Colorado mountains are getting pounded, making for some great opportunities for powder skiing pictures. I got to get up there. The top picture was taken at Breckenridge by Leisa Gibson. Peak 8 opened Friday, Dec. 7, 2007, and more snow is expected all weekend long.


Associated Press photographer Nathan Bilow found Jeff Hanle digging his girl friend's car out of the deep snow in Aspen Friday and a skier riding his bike to the slopes with his skis and poles on board. More than a foot of snow fell overnight in the Colorado mountain town.



Here's a video from Breckenridge today:

In our Colorado Springs backyard

Sometimes we, Coloradoans, take for granted the beauty surrounding us. Here are two pictures from the last couple weeks. The first picture Gazette Photographer Bryan Oller shot of Pikes Peak and the second one of a sunset over Prospect Lake was shot by Gazette Photographer David Bitton. Enjoy.

More flooding

Associated Press photographer Elaine Thompson shot this picture of Interstate 5 running into the flooded Chehalis River at Centralia, Wash., Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007. Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency Monday following the third in a series of storms that hit hardest on the Olympic Peninsula, Kitsap County and the southwest corner of the state. I feel guilty being in Colorado Springs today with its 60 degree weather and no rain.

Storm coverage

Olympian photographer Steven Bloom covered the storm damaged Ranch House BBQ near Olympia, Wash., Monday and co-owner Melanie Tapia receiving a hug from Ginny Wallace, a friend and DOT worker who stopped by to check on them after a wall of mud destroyed the restaurant.


Olympian photographer Steven M. Herppich captured this stranded motorist stuck in the middle of an Olympia, Wash., street as flood kept rising.


Seattle Times photographer Steve Ringman was with Woodinville firefighters, Jesse Disch, left, and Justin Ralph as they pull residents and their pets from their apartments in Woodinville, Wash.

Seeing theses images from the Northwest brought back a lot of memories for me. I grew up in Seattle and worked in Oregon for five years. In 1996 I covered the Oregon floods and mudslides that left a family dead, many homeless and closed Interstate 5. Covering storms like that can be tough physically and mentally. First, keeping your equipment dry is impossible. I lost a camera body and a strobe in the mud and rain. I even lost my muffler and tailpipe on my car while escaping the rising Umpqua River. Second, you are cold, wet and dead tired as you work around the clock. And third, it hard to see people in your community lose everything. In Oregon, I had to cover the funeral of the mother, father and family friend who died in the mudslide. It's not easy, especially when the people you are shooting are your friends and neighbors. Covering events like this are a rush. Don't get me wrong. But they take their toll.