Snaps and Frames

When breaking news happens, access to a scene is usually an exercise in frustration. Wednesday night, a call came over the newsroom scanner  of an apartment building fire with people trapped. I arrived just as the fire department had completed a rescue of  two men with a ladder truck. I made few photos, then walked around the corner of the building. I came upon this scene of two building residents sitting next to a firefighter as he called for medical help. As I shot a few frames, the firefighter went ballistic on me. I disengaged quickly, and moved to the sidewalk where I made my page one photo of a woman being rescued from the fourth floor. When I downloaded my memory card, I did not think much of this snap until I spotted the man’s sooty socks. The woman apperars to be in shock. I hope they are all right. From this photo, I’m sure they have a story to tell. Unfortunately I missed the edit. I had it in my head the ladder rescue was the photo so I never downloaded  my card from my second camera with this photo. Nikon D700  Nikkor 85 mm 1.4 3200 ISO

Residents from the Sherwood Apartments at 123 N. Bernard St. are helped by a Spokane Fire Department firefighter Wednesday evening. One person was found dead and two people were hospitalized with smoke inhalation. Several others, who were trapped in their apartments by dense smoke, were rescued by firefighters with ladder trucks. Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

An unusually dense fog descended on Spokane Monday evening just as I was headed to an assignment to photograph holiday light displays in nearby neighborhoods. I chucked the idea when I found that most houses were so shrouded in fog that it made getting a decent photo impossible. As I made my way back downtown, I started to see the photo possibilities. Car headlights backlit the fog, which was kind of cool, but it still needed a human element to make it work. I parked my car on Sprague Avenue and grabbed my camera with a 300 mm lens and waited for some pedestrians to mix against the headlights. After I got something I liked,  I called my photo editor and she was kind enough move the photo I snapped to the lead position on the region page.

Pedestrians walk through dense fog and traffic during evening commute Monday, Dec. 13, 2010 in downtown Spokane, Wash. Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Because I am working the late shift, I’ve been shooting a lot of basketball this week, In my quest to shoot photos I wouldn’t normally bother with, I spotted Sadie Porter, a WSU Crimson Girl’s dance team member as she flipped  her hair during a timeout break in the WSU vs. Texas Pan-American game  in the Spokane Arena. The first time I saw it, I missed the flip. The next time her dance team took the floor I was ready. It is just a fleeting moment, but one that I think is visually interesting to look at. Nikon D3s, Nikkor 300 mm  f.4, 1250th sec. at ISO 3200.

WSU Crimson Girl Sadie Porter's hair moves with the motion of her dance moves Friday, Dec. 10, 2010 in the Spokane Arena. Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

The big game between Gonzaga University and Washington State University was nothing but an old fashioned smack-down of the Zags who have been faltering lately. I snapped this photo in the first few minutes of the game. It is always a relief to me to get a decent shot early. It means I can concentrate on making snaps and not freaking out that I don’t have THE shot yet. Nikon D3s Nikkor, 80-200 mm, 4000 ISO 1250 sec. F2.8

WSU’s Marcus Capers, left, dunks over Gonzaga defenders Kelly Olynyk (13) and Mathis Monninghoff In the first half in Pullman Wednesday night. Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review