Staffer

With giving up being a staffer for the Athens Banner-Herald I gave up a piece of my identity. I've been a staffer for a newspaper since I was 20, dating back to my college days at the Crimson White. Sometimes I wonder if I know who I am without being a newspaper photographer since most of my adult life I've had that label. It is a special thing. It was something I thought I would be the rest of my life at one point. I leapt immediately from my college paper to the Times-Georgian in Carrollton, Ga.

The Crimson White, 2004-2005

While stealing second in the Tides game against the Kentucky Wildcats Staci Ramsey gets hit in the head by a thrown ball. After several moments on the ground she got up and back into the game. The Tide won 10-2.




Matt Caddell almosts makes the first Tide touchdown of the 2004 Iron Bowl.

Times-Georgian, Carrollton, Ga. 2005-2006


Cofer Horton, 4, hops over giant lollipop decorative props Wednesday outside of the Carrollton Cultural Arts Center. The lollipops were made for the 'Taste of Carrollton' event that will be hosted by Carrollton Main Street on Spet. 8 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Cultural Arts Center. The event will cost 50 cents per ticket and will include the participation of several local restaurants that will provide food and sweets for guests to sample.






From left, Villa Rica's Lela Dockins, Jasmon Russell, Alaina Richardson, Emily Dangar and Ashley Cavender splash in a big puddle next to their dugout during a two-plus hour rain delay in Saturday's Class B District 4 championship at the Carroll County Athletic Complex.




Haralson County's Brandon Wood led the Rebels to their first playoff win in school history.


Jonathan Smith, the new point guard on the University of West Georgia basketball team, suffered a set back after his Division I basketball dreams fell apart, but feels he is at West Georgia for a reason.


Cartersville's Corey Grimes makes a save as Carrollton's James Derbecker collides with him in the air Thursday at Carrollton High School.

I was only there 6 months before deciding to take steps to go back to my photographic roots with fine art. I left the paper after a year to go to grad school at Georgia State in Atlanta to pursue an MFA. I realized within just a few months that I had made a mistake. I truly missed the work of documenting a community. My rental house was near a high school just outside of Atlanta and I remember walking by one Friday night in the Fall longing to shoot the game. I decided to pull out of school and apply for newspaper jobs. Before long I landed the job in Athens where I've been since.

The Athens Banner-Herald 2007-2010


Sisters Page and Claire Campbell of Hope For Agolden Summer sing A cappella in front of the stage at the Next To Last Fest Saturday in Bogart.


Prince Avenue's Ian Rogan and Athens Christian's Whitney Bishoff


Oconee County firefighter Adolfo Carranza, left, and another firefighter carry a hose to fight a fire in Bogart Thursday.


Athens Academy's Matt Woodruff doubles over in grief as the final seconds of the clock runs down in the Spartans' 32-14 loss to Wilcox County in the state semifinals Friday at the Georgia Dome.


Georgia's Sean Bailey misses as pass as Kentucky's Paul Waford reaches around him in the first quarter of the Bulldogs' 24-13 win Saturday November 17, 2007 at Sanford Stadium.


Dr. Robert Harris, the Pastor of Friendship Christian Church, prays for rain in the sanctuary Wednesday. The church offers an open sanctuary at lunchtime each Wednesday inviting people of all faiths to pray for rain.


Colin Todd of the Urban Video Project, a group of graduate students from Syracuse University that travel around creating video installations, works on the audio stream that he will play during the group's performance Friday at the Lamar Dodd School of Art Broad Street Gallery.


Georgia's Andrew Williams, Christopher Gaunder, Benjamin Boyd


Michael Stipe of R.E.M. performs the Lakewood Amphitheatre Saturday night in Atlanta.


Coach Suzanne Yoculan and her dream beam team from left Hilary Mauro, Nikki Childs, Tiffany Tolnay, Grace Taylor, Katie Heenan, and Courtney McCool.


Georgia's Prince Miller is called for pass interference after this missed pass by Alabama's Marquis Maze the first quarter of the first half of the #3 Georgia's SEC match-up with #8 Alabama Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008, at Sanford Stadium.


Blake Taylor, 7, of Madison County crawls around the edge of a pig pin before the start of the Madison County FFA/4-H Market Hog Show Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at the fairgrounds in Comer.


Lightning strikes north of City Hall as a storm approaches Monday night in Athens, Georgia.


The Georgia Bulldogs rush the field after beating N.C. State in the NCAA Super Regional Sunday at Foley Field.


Katie Heenan warms up on beam before the NCAA Individual Event Finals Saturday night at Stegeman Coliseum.


Visions of Omaha


Georgia kicker Brandon Coutu holds up the 2008 Allstate Sugar Bowl trophy after the Bulldogs defeated the Hawaii Warriors 41-10 Tuesday at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, LA.


The Georgia Gym Dogs scream as they are presented with the NCAA Championship trophy Friday, April 17, 2009, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. This is the Gym Dogs 10th total titles with 5 of those consecutive.


Brian Bowles is the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) Bantamweight Champion.


Oconee County senior Michael Smith gives a war cry as the Warriors take on the North Oconee Titans in a scrimmage Friday, Aug. 21, 2009, in Watkinsville.


Fireworks light up the sky over Lake Russell during the 13th Annual Elbert County Fireworks Show Friday night at Richard B. Russell State Park in Elberton.


Logan Fisher, 4, right, shows a small seashell he found to friend Colton Thornton as the two enjoy the beach at Hart State Park Friday May 29, 2009, in Hartwell, Ga. The state announced this week big cuts in the State Park program, including lay-off and furloughs for employees. They're also reducing services at five parks around the state, including Hart.


Georgia defensive end Cornelius Washington


Barrow County and Winder firefighters train to properly extinguish propane fires and learn the signs that a tank might explode as a part of a "Pressurized Container Class" given by staff from the Georgia Fire Academy Thursday night outside of the Winder Fire Stadion No. 2 in Winder.


Alabama's Mark Ingram grabs an SEC Championship hat and yells in celebration after the Tide's 32-13 win over the Florida Gators Saturday Dec. 5, 2009, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
.

I've had only a few complaints about my job until a year ago when everything started to fall apart. An industry that had been declining for years suddenly started to free fall. The certainty that I would eventually jump to the Atlanta Journal Constitution turned into a near impossibility as their staff of 24 plus photographers turned into 10. Over the last year I've actively looked for another photo job with nothing seeming like a step in the right direction. That is what brought me to the decision to take my parents up on a long standing offer to join the family business in my hometown. In addition to the desire to be close to home the flexible hours proved irresistible since it left a gateway to try my hand at freelance photography on the side. So here I am... shifting between excitement and fear. I am thrilled to be moving home. The thing that scares me is the memory of that gut wrenching regret after I left my first paper for grad school. I've left this industry once already and had the revelation that its what I want to do. Yet, here I am leaving it again. However, I truly feel that I didn't quit on this industry, it quit on me. I won't be shooting as much over the next few months as I build up a freelance base as well as adjusting to a new job and life, but I am by no means finished.