Words could never describe

Here are three pictures from the AP wire from the last couple days that are perfect examples of an image being worth a thousand words. Above, a mother cries as she holds a photo of his daughter who was killed in an earthquake, as she stands in the ruins of the Fuxin No.2 Primary School in Wufu, in China's southwest Sichuan province Thursday May 29, 2008. China's central govenment has promised to punish harshly anyone found responsible for poor constuction of schools, though it has also said that building codes in the stricken region did not require structure to be able to withstand a quake of the power of the magnitude 7.9 earthquake on May 12. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)


A man crosses a damaged bridge in Hanwang town in Sichuan province Friday, May 30, 2008. The government announced Friday that the confirmed death toll from China's worst quake in three decades was 68,858, an increase of about 350 from a day earlier. Another 18,618 people were still missing. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)


A landslide falls down the side of a mountain in Sabinas, some 20 kilometers, 12 miles, west of Manizales, Colombia, Thursday, May 29, 2008. No victims were reported, officials said. (AP Photo/ John Jairo Bonilla)

2008 Air Force Academy graduation

The 50th class of the Air Force Academy graduated today in a wet, chilly Falcon Stadium. Gazette photographers Kirk Speer, Mark Reis and I covered the event. Here are two of my pictures. Visit http://www.gazette.com to see the video and slideshow of President George Bush and the cadets.

Riding with the Thunderbirds

Gazette reporter Tom Roeder rode with the Thunderbirds Monday and I shot video and stills. Here are a couple pixs from the day and to see the video of Roeder riding with the Air Force pilots visit http://www.gazette.com

Storm clouds

Colorado never has a dull moment when it comes to weather, especially in the summer. Gazette photographer Bryan Oller took this picture from eastern Colorado of the storm clouds building over Pikes Peak earlier this week.

Saturday's images from our world

Colombian pop star Shakira performs during "The Concert For The Children" in Buenos Aires Saturday. Colombian singer Shakira's ALAS foundation, Latin America in Solidarity Action, host two simultaneous concerts in Mexico and Argentina to raise awareness to help the neediest kids in Latin America. (AP Photo/Emiliano Lasalvia)


Boston Red Sox's Manny Ramirez throws his bat as he is almost hit by a pitch by Milwaukee Brewers' Seth McClung during the seventh inning of the first game of their day-night baseball doubleheader Saturday in Boston.(AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)


A dead student's hand holds a pen tightly in the debris site of Dongqi Middle School in Hanwang Town of quake-hit Mianzhu City, southwest China's Sichuan province. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Liu Zhongjun)

Spring skiing on Pikes Peak

Earlier this week I rode Little Italy and The Cornice above Glen Cove for a video to accompany Out There reporter David Philipps's story on backcountry skiing in the spring. I tried out a helmet camera I bought a couple weeks ago. I wanted to give viewers a sense of what it's like to ski the terrain on Pikes Peak. The hardest part was learning how to edit two different video formats in Final Cut Pro 6. The helmet camera uses DV 4:3 format and our Sony camera is HV with 16:9. The quality is much better with the Sony. I wasn't totally happy with the final results but it was the first time I used the Helmet camera. I think it's a fun way at looking at things and I want to try on other outdoor sports.

China Earthquake

The disaster from Monday's earthquake in China is unreal and the photos coming from the Asian country are amazing. Here are three I grabbed from The Associated Press wire. Above, rescuers search for survivors on a collapsed road in Beichuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Tuesday. Rescue workers sifted through tangled debris of toppled schools and homes for thousands of victims buried or missing after China's worst earthquake in three decades, as the death toll soared to more than 12,000 people in the hardest-hit province alone. (AP Photo / Cong Feng, Xinhua)


An earthquake survivor seen at a hospital in Chengdu, in southwest China's Sichuan province, Tuesday. (AP Photo/EyePress)


Rescuers carry a child out of the debris of collapsed buildings after the earthquake in Beichuan county in southwest China's Sichuan province, Tuesday (AP Photo/Wang Jiaowen)

Mothers and Daughters

A couple months ago I was leaving the downtown YMCA when I saw this young mother and her toddler walking down the hall from the daycare center. Their relationship seemed magical in the way they bonded with each other. I started thinking about the relationship between a mother and a daughter and how their relationship is different than one between a father and son or even a mother and son. I decided to explore this idea for Mother's Day. The result is a package featuring audio/slideshows of four life stages of a mother/daughter relationship at http://www.gazette.com/interactives/mothersday. In Sunday's Gazette there will a story and photos by reporter Melissa Cassutt and me. The mothers and daughters I met for this project were an inspiration to me and I hope they are to you.


Heather Neilan, 26, is expecting her first child, a daughter in July. After spending time with her, I have no doubt she'll be a great mom.


April Walters, 24, and her daughter Flora, 2, almost didn't survive childbirth. They're the ones I found at the YMCA and now I know why their relationship is special.
Every time I was with April and Flora I left with a smile on my face. April is one of the most positive-minded people I ever met and Flora is one happy, fast-moving 2 year old.


Cheryl Delgado is learning to deal with her 18-year-old daughter, Sarah, turning into a woman. This must be the hardest stage of motherhood and I really thank them for letting me into their lives.


Amy Peck, 37, left, Debbie Kindoll, 57, and Bess Piper, 83, are three generations of mothers and daughters who survived the earlier stages of the mother/daughter relationship. I found it interesting to get their perspective. Debbie said the audio interview was like "three hours of therapy." She was probably right. Editing the audio for all four stages was emotionally draining for me. But telling personal stories like these are why I'm a journalist.

Dust in the wind

U.S. Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit try to take shelter from a sand storm at forward operating base Dwyer in the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan Wednesday. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

Chile volcano

This amazing shot from today really shows the force behind a volcano as the Smoke and ash rise from the Chaiten volcano, in Chaiten, Chile Saturday. It also reminds me of Mount St. Helens back in 1980 when I was a child growning up in Seattle. Chilean authorities evacuated hundreds of people from remote villages in southern Chile after the volcano erupted, sending minor earthquakes rippling through the region.(AP Photo/Daniel Basualto)