Chalk Fest

Scott Stanley works on his chalk drawing during the Utah Foster Care Foundation's Chalk Art Festival, at the Gateway Center. Sometimes it's nice to have our office at the Gateway.

Off to War

The past few weeks, hundreds of Utah service men and women have been sent to Iraq. William Black, Springville, says goodbye to his wife Stephanie, at Camp Williams.
Clint Lund says goodbye to his wife Sarah, who is 7 months pregnant, at Camp Williams, before boarding the Bus for the Salt Lake City Airport with the Marine reservists from Charlie Company, 4th LAR.

Special Olympics

I love the Special Olympics, but things have changed. They used to have "huggers" at the finishline, now the volunteers just give them High-Fives.
Athletes now get free hair styling. Mike Decker, St George, gets a fancy hair-do by a student from Bon Lossee Academy. Is it supposed to be smoking like that?
Pete Alvey won two gold medals. He had a cell phone in a leather holster attatched to his short pants as he competed.

Derby Girls

I photographed Roller Derby for the first time. I was a bit disappointed that although the girls were tattooed and tough looking, with names like "Medusa Damage," "Sugar Pain," "Kinky Kilbasa," and "Dominican Destroyer," they didn't skate very fast or aggressive.

Ryan Balmer

Getting the assignment to go to the home of a widow that had just been notified that her husband had been killed in Iraq is one of the toughest things I have had to do as photographer, and I have had to do this a half dozen times the past couple of years. I am always amazed when they let us in, and for the amount of time they give us at such an awkward moment.Ryan Balmer's wife, Danielle Balmer, comforts her 7-year-old son Anthony at her home in Roy. Danielle was notified yesterday that her husband had been killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb. Patricia Balmer, Ryan's mother from Indiana (left) arrived at the Salt Lake airport yesterday evening to prepare for his homecoming a week from today, when she found out that he had been killed that morning in Iraq. The Balmers had pins, posters and banners made to celebrate his safe return home, including a special shirt made for his infant daughter "My Daddy's finally home" it read "It's about time."Ryan Balmer is the 37th Utahn to die in the Iraq War so far, and American serviceman 3,503 since the invasion in March 2003

Prep baseball Champs

Snow Canyon beat the Dixie Flyers twice in a row Saturday to win the 3A state championship game, which made their celebration twice as much fun.

116th on their way to Iraq

I was assigned to cover the 116th National Guard Convoy Security Unit as they left Salt Lake City on their way to Iraq. It's the first group of soldiers I have photographed leaving for Iraq since I returned a year and a half ago. The memories of leaving my own family, even for the short time I was gone, made it extremely hard to watch the families, especially the kids, of these soldiers say good-bye. 3,421 members of the US Military have died since the beginning of the war.