Snaps and Frames

As I was getting into my car today, I spotted this dandelion seed bloom in my neighbor’s yard. I don’t normally think about shooting pretty pictures for newspaper, but this time it just felt good to shoot one for myself. I like the light  on the seeds and the dark background. This is a photo that’s been done a million times by other photographers–but I don’t mind. It’s my first time  shooting  a dandelion this close up. Now I just have to figure out how to keep these seeds out of my lawn. Nikon D3s/Nikkor 60 mm macro lens

A dandelion bloom gone to seed awaits a strong gust of wind to spread the noxious weed's seed into lawns and gardens on the South Hill Tuesday, May 31, 2011. Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Covering a state championship track meet today, I came across this fellow who collapsed at the  finish line of his 4X4 relay  race. Some of the photos I take defy a journalism category. Sometimes it is just a creative exercise on my part to fight off the numbness I feel at shooting the familiar.  The color of the pink mohawk, contrasting with the black track surface is what caught my eye. It is not a photo that would normally make the sports page, but Snaps and Frames is a good place to share it with you.

"I almost didn't make it," said Coy Hanger of White Pass who collapsed at the finish line of his 4X4 relay preliminary race Friday during the WIAA 1B, 2b, 1A, Track and Field Championship held Friday, May 27, 2011 at Eastern Washington University. Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Experimenting with a slow shutter speed to blur the motion of the water, I shot this photo of a woman walking through the Rotary Fountain in Riverfront Park in Spokane, Wash. Upon checking my camera monitor in bright sunlight, I thought the picture was soft,  so I moved on to something else. After downloading the picture into my computer and toning it in Photoshop, I realized that it was a pretty cool snap. I only wish I would have asked her name for caption info. No place for it in the newspaper , so it ends up here in Snaps and Frames.

Krysy Castleberry, 13, enjoys the warm spring weather as she sports a balloon hat sitting near the Rotary Fountain in Riverfront Park Wednesday, May 11, 2011. Castleberry saw the man known only as "The Balloon Guy" making a hat for a child. "I thought it was sweet--I had to have one," she said. Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review