March 3rd, 2010
This weekend the MDH covered the Minooka wrestling team at state. The day starts with the quarterfinals; meaning the state champions have to win three meets in one day.
The top two ranked teams in the state ended up meeting in the 3A championship – Minooka and Sandburg. Fittingly enough, it was tied 20-20 going into the last two weights. Minooka got the 23-20 edge, but it was still anyone’s game going into the last weight. A simple decision would tie it for Sandburg, and anything better would win it.
I can’t even imagine what was going through freshman Matt Meyer’s head when he took the mat – or when the referee raised his arm in the air as the winner – or when his team rushed around him and lifted him onto their shoulders.
The championship was the first ever for the school. It was the wrestling team’s fifth trip to the state finals.
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February 26th, 2010
A couple weeks ago, the Morris Daily Herald was finally able to interview our local singing phenom Paige DeChausse after she returned from the first Hollywood round of American Idol. Unfortunately the judges didn’t allow her to move on, but fortunately for me her experience allowed me to get a photo shoot with her.
As per my usual, I wasn’t able to give myself a lot of time with her – or to plan much at all. It was too bad, because she was really willing to work with me. In all, the shoot only lasted about a half hour. We did some photos at her home and a couple at a nearby park.
Paige’s style isn’t exactly ‘pop.’ She performs a lot of blues and prefers older music. Might be part of the reason Simon didn’t get behind her, yet Shania Twain did. But, if you’d ask Patti LaBelle, the judges don’t know what they’re talking about anyway.
Paige and I are trying to set up some dates where I can come photograph her band, the Chicago Blues Angels. They play each Wednesday at Rizzo’s in Naperville.
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February 6th, 2010
Tomorrow’s lead article in the sports section is about how Coal City is contemplating installing an artificial surface on their football field. The whole idea is a little crazy for a 3A school, since fields start at $400,000 and need to be replaced every 8-10 years.
Regardless, we needed lead art. I chose to do a side-by-side illustration of the two surfaces. Thanks to Romeoville High School for allowing me to check out their field.
When I asked people if this photo looked weird at all, they all said ‘no, why?’ It’s actually two photos merged into one down the middle. That middle finger of mine is half from one photo and half from another. Since I did too good of a job blending them, we labeled the two surfaces in the print edition.
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February 5th, 2010
Tonight I traveled to oft-forgotten Gardner, Ill., to cover the championship of a local girls basketball tournament. It was a barn burner, folks. Even before tip-off, the energetic crowd knew this one would be intense.
Why? Because the visiting St. Anne team brought their mascot.
That’s right, a human sized cardinal. There to pump up the 12 St. Anne fans there to cheer on their team. Not only did he dance during timeouts, but he also took part in huddles.
It seemed that the players were a little confused about the directions, though. While down 17 points nearing the end of the first half, the players held the ball. Seems that when the coach told the mascot to “just stand there” that the players took it to heart.
Needless to say, a 17-point deficit leads to sad cardinals.
St. Anne only had 4 points at halftime. The final score was 47-19 Gardner. Which can mean only one thing. Happy Panthers.
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February 5th, 2010
I’m going to let you in on a little secret of mine.
Years before I was enrolled in Illinois’ College of Communications – years before I decided to be a journalism major – I ran an entire city newspaper.
The “Adamsville Gazette” had a circulation of one. The townspeople of the my Lego city shared the only copy. It only ran for about five issues. Most of the articles were breaking news – although I had no idea what breaking news was.
The ongoing story was about a war between a neighboring town. Sometimes there would be a plane crash or traffic accident. Occasionally we’d hear news from a neighboring city. There were also recaps of the latest basketball game.
The town’s mayor, Adam (coincidentally), was always the hero. He also was the star of every sporting team.
In 2001, the city disappeared into a box (three boxes, actually).
Not that I’ve announced my nerdiness to the world, I can get down to business
The first version of the Daily Nekola launched in 2006. It has changed a lot over the years. The blog was discontinued, it turned into a portfolio.
Now I’m excited to announce the return of my photo blog. Here you’ll be able to see the work I’ve been doing at the Morris Daily Herald, as well as other photos I take in my free time and images from client shoots as well.
I’m going to do my best to keep up the ‘daily’ part of the title, but let’s face it – with dipping profits and rising costs, most daily papers are no longer 7 issues a week. Lets ignore the differences, I am only one man.
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