The Photo Dude

“These kids are dedicated and smart. If these kids grow up and take over … America is going to be alright!” said Frederick Harris, a…

Bear with me through this if you will. I’m a little vulnerable right now! I feel a little like Moe Howard in that episode of…

Three words I can say with all certainty and mean … I don’t know! This applies to many, many things life throws at us. I…

In 1973, Mick Jagger sat somewhere on a stage quietly singing “Angie” before getting up and dancing like a chicken while screaming out a rendition…

OK, so I’m going to just say this up front. I’m sick. Been fighting whatever is going around! But today is the milestone achievement of…

I’m not a flag-waver. I believe in the spirit of mankind to do extraordinary things. I also understand that this spirit goes mostly untested and,…

I’m an athlete (cough, cough). Well, let’s say I was an athlete and, now, I am someone who plays a game that requires some coordination,…

This wasn’t the strangest day I’ve ever had in 20 years of working as a newspaper photographer. But it was a roller coaster. It had…

The signs that summertime is coming are really beginning to show. “One lane road ahead” “Expect delays” “Detour” “Be prepared to stop” All signs that…

I don’t want to preach. It will come off self-serving. I work for a community newspaper who pays me a wage to make photographs and…

One of the running gags I have in the newsroom comes from the amount of assignments given to me to cover stories in churches or…

Cambridge Springs was born out of the notion that the water from the springs in the area contained healing properties. The folks there now, and…

I put on a pair of 4 Inch silver heels that sparked in the sunlight just so I could know what it is like to…

There is a great book called “The Great Picture Hunt” by Dave LaBelle, a terrific feature photographer. I saw a copy years ago and finally…

“On a hill far away, stood an old rugged Cross” Things that you cling to over time through memory and sensation are amazing. For instance,…

“You’re working out what?” asked Cranberry Phys ed teacher Ernest Keller. “HEART!” yelled back the gym full of fourth graders. “Our heart muscle, EXACTLY!” he…

Today, I was in Franklin photographing an assignment in front of the courthouse. It was raining and I was getting soaked. I don’t notice this…

“Are you coming in now? There is a bear stuck in a tree on Bissell and Cooper in Oil City.” I received this text at…

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), someone is sexually assaulted on average every 98 seconds. And every eight minutes the victim…

I met a young man today who just got out of jail after 11 months. He was matter of fact about it. He said he…

“Hey, you’re that snoop!” “Snooper” “You’re that photographer guy that snoops!” That was the greeting I received from Angela Carothers first graders at Cranberry Elementary…

In September of this year, I will have worked for 20 years as a small community photojournalist in Northwest Pennsylvania. I began at the Meadville Tribune…

A story that is out there and doesn’t get that much attention, those are the stories I’m interested in telling. The following is a story…

I woke up to a nice email from one of our readers this morning complimenting me on the photograph of the “singing” baby on page…

Those who know me will know how tired I am from the statement I am about to make. I have no words tonight! I normally…

We cannot simply like democracy when it suits our beliefs! I admit I woke up this morning  and my heart jumped into my throat. I’m…

Allow this old newspaper man a moment to boast. I had nothing to do with this but I have great pride in my newspaper today….

I guess I just can’t imagine being the 18 year old that I was and all of a sudden getting a letter to report to…

If we do our jobs right and continue to tell the story, said Karen Parsh, of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Knox, speaking Monday night…

I don’t have the answers. If I did, I wouldn’t be in a profession that questions everything. I do know this though, we are living…

This past week, I worked on a story about a man who was told he would spend his life in a wheelchair, yet here he…

Do you remember when play only needed an imagination to make wherever you were into whatever you needed it to be? A rock was home…

Where are those doves carrying olive branches of peace? We have people being shot followed by protests where more violence occurs, more potential for more…

NOTE: All but one of the photographs below were taken Sept. 16 and 17, 2016, at the 24-hour POW/MIA vigil in Meadville, Pennsylvania. The other…

Note: The following blog isn’t written for sympathy or anything other than observation and understanding about this thing we call life. Today was a day….

Assignment: A local kid (Seth Apel, who suffered from an accident that severed his arm in November, had it reattached, learned to throw with his…

To fly, to defy gravity and with each kiss be sent further. tich ……….. tiich …. tich … tich .. tich . tich tich tichtichtichtichtich….

I have known coach Tom Haynes for almost 20 years. Sounds funny saying that, but it’s true. I followed his Cochranton Cardinals from dismal seasons…

Early last week I heard that presidential candidate Donald J. Trump was planning a stop in Erie on Friday. I had planned on taking the…

“Do you want to come see my goats?” I turned around and looked down to see Ethan Knapp of the Milkmasters 4-H club staring up…