Looking back on 2020: Photographer favorites

It starts around Christmas each year. I begin to feel..... well not very good about my ability as a photographer. Colleagues from all over the country start posting their best photos of the year and that feeling intensifies. I am blessed to know some very, very incredible journalists with cameras. I am in awe of their work. I learn from their work.

​Also my Facebook memories torment me with photos from my past that often make me wish I still saw photos the same way I did when I was young and hungry.

Then I spend a few days of self doubt and loathing before I come to my senses and realize that each story I cover has its own merits and therefore there should be no comparisons to times past or other community stories witnessed by other photographers. The life I am blessed to witness deserves their own recognition and a dedicated second look.

This years stories here in NW Pa. are as good as any other stories anywhere else.
And usually, within this whole process, I discover that I am better and smarter than my previous selves.

 I then look at my work with a fresh eye.
So here are a collection of my favorite images from the very trying year of 2020.

March 27

My year, for the sake of this collection, began on March 25 when I was laid off from the Derrick and News-Herald. The first three months I made some photographs that would have made it in this collection, but those are not mine to show.

I was blessed to be invited into the home of Oil City police officer Steve Rembold to tell the story of his battle with cancer and efforts by the community to rally behind him and his family. It was an honor to be given the trust to tell such a story and I am proud of that. I wish I could share my favorite photo from that story as one of my favorites of the year.

Click here for a blog about the story.

​As I was sitting in my bosses offices getting the pink slip, I was thinking, ok, I'll start telling stories on my own. Two days later I made this picture above of Laura Jones and her husband getting rid one a guest room full of supplies she had collected over the last 25 years of being a GEMS teacher. She was giving her supplies to the next generation of GEMS leaders as she prepared for retirement.

She was thrilled to be able to pass on her work to others. Her husband was also happy to see parts of the house he said he hadn't seen in years. We laughed and I wrote my first independent story.

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I covered some pretty important stories this year. A lot were COVID-19 related, all were affected by the virus in one way or another. One bittersweet moment came from the county fair. A young man, Gabe Sobina, had been given some bad news. He and his parents were facing some difficult and expensive medical treatments. Another young man, Scott Snyder, decided to sell his prize hog at auction to raise money for the family. The community came through and raised several thousand dollars. Not many dry eyes in the auction barn that night, including this photographer's.

I also got a chance record a few moments of life this year that seemed oddly vacant of humans as lockdown measures were put in place and then as they were slowly lifted I was able to photograph life getting back to a small bit of normal.

I photographed more nature this year than ever before.

Click on smaller photos to enlarge.

Another major event, or several events I should say, were the Black Lives Matter rallies across the country. These events have sustained all year long and likely had a major impact on the November election. Locally issues of racial inequality were also brought to light in even the smaller communities and many conversations were peacefully discussed.

Though it wasn't without tension or even the blatant displays of racism and mistrust, but rallies in Franklin, Oil City and Meadville all remained peaceful.

Community leaders took the rallies a step further and began hosting serious discussions about the issues of race in our local communities. Many shared their stories that illustrated that even here we have a problem that needs our attention.

These events and others demonstrated that this country is still a great work in progress. But we are working on it, as this country always has - through difficulty comes change.

Besides COVID and BLM, the political climate throughout the country was quite a thing to witness. From rallies against the shutdown and mask wearing with hatred toward Pennsylvania's governor, to the presidential race, it was hard to have discussions about issues without loud voices eventually getting louder. I attended as many local rallies as I felt safe to attend.

One of the most controversial aspects of 2020 was the change in voting rules last minute involving mail in ballots. I included this (below) as a favorite, not because its a great photo, but because of the importance of this story that will be talked about for years to come

I also noted a difference in the area between 2020 and 2016..... more Biden signs than I saw Hillary signs. There seemed to be a shift going on, certainly not a big change in the overall area, but a little change.... this was still without a doubt Trump country. One of my favorite photos was of Ed Scurry alone one Friday in front of the courthouse exercising his right support who he wanted for president. America!

Another favorite image was a group of Amish men who attended a Trump rally in Oil City on the night of the Republican National Convention when the president accepted the nomination. The report was Oil City was going to be a spotlight city during the convention. That didn't happen but hundreds of supporters crowded Seneca Street for the hope to be on TV and show strong support for their candidate.

America works.

Around Memorial Day, the shutdown left our area short on flags. A company on the eastern side of the state was shutdown and the flags were stuck in a warehouse with no one to sort the orders and ship them. Several inquiries and stories later by journalist across the Tate and region, the company was allowed to ship the flags just in time for the observance.

Covering the flag story I stumbled upon a guy who places a flag on the marker of a War of 1812 veteran buried on a hill in the woods near Hydetown. I was fortunate to follow him as he searched through pretty deep thicket, machete in hand, to find the marker and honor this otherwise forgotten soldier. I also found a woman in Linesville who took it upon herself to buy every flag she could find so all the veterans buried in her cemetery would be honored even if the county never got their flags. And she found ones made in America.

Their were two other stories involving soldiers/veterans that I was honored to work on. 93 year old Frank Smith was honored with his ashes spread into the Allegheny river with his son on hand to accept the flag for his fathers service to this country. Also the remains of a Korean War soldier Raymond Knight were returned to Oil City. This was made possible after President' Trump's visit to Korea led to the return of several remains that were later identified.

I was able to photograph some celebrations from graduation to Fourth of July fireworks Life still happens.

Also got to do a fun story about a weight lifting mother to be still lifting eight months into pregnancy, in fact she was lifting the day she delivered. And a long time unique and loved business owner leaving Oil City for a new opportunity in Franklin. Nicholas Hess is always a fun story to do.

This year was still full of great moments despite stay at home orders, social distancing and all the other adversities we faced. And what a year for high school football, Franklin got a new coach who got his first win and the Oil City Oilers were one game away from the state final.

As well as covering this historic run  I was also able to tell a small side story about man who has taken care of the Oiler footballs now for over 30 years. This story was one of the most popular stories of the year for Eight & 322. I was also happy to give this very kind man a little recognition.

Another story I was proud to do, one that was far more difficult than it needed to be to tell, yet was a great thing that happened in Oil City. A school district that places a great amount of detail on sports seemed to leave one aspect of the football season behind - the marching band.

But band director Dan Cartwright wouldn't let his kids miss out on their season completely. Because of capacity numbers it was decided the band wouldn't join the football team for their games. So the band held a parade on opening night of the Oilers home season and then performed for other sports including Cross Country and Tennis all season. They didn't take no for an answer.

At the end of the season they were able to rejoin the football team and since they had been playing their halftime routine all year anyway, they were seasoned and ready.

I loved this story and was happy I found a way to tell it at the end of the year.

The story that was most read and spread around the country, was about a Franklin man in need of a kidney. At last check he still has not found a match. This father has a lifelong issue with his kidney's that is not due to abuse, just an issue he has had to live with and his kidneys are failing him now and he needs the goodness of others to help him survive.

I am proud people trust me to tell these stories.

It was an interesting year with so many moments that help me understand this life better and this place I live and work even more.

A distillery that could, did. The Grumpy Goat in Franklin, despite just opening, converted their stills into making hand sanitizer for first responders and then offered it to others for free a few different times, loading up container after container for people passing by.

​Great community story of great community caring.

From parents wanting their kids to have a high school experience.....

To fun hair at a car show.......

To documenting the first bar beer in several months at 12:01 a.m. on the day the governor lifted the stay at home order, I witness some real life despite the depression of a pandemic.

This above was almost my last photo ever. Well that is perhaps a tad over dramatic. This play in Oil City's win over Juniata in Altoona was a play I didn't witness finishing. A referee running down the sidelines collided with me knocking me out cold. The game had to be stopped because both he and I needed medical attention and apparently the ambulance for the game was out on another call. I suffered a severe concussion and spent a little time in the hospital. So did the ref, but he is younger and more fit than me and seemed to recover quicker.
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Not my proudest moment and I'm, in some ways, still recovering. I missed the rest of the Oilers run as I worked to regain equilibrium and remember my name(haha). 

One proud thing from this though, I was told they had to almost pry the camera out of my hand and it was undamaged. 

Below are some more photographs of some note worthy events this year and some fun captures. I hope all of these help encapsulate a sense of who we are as a people, because to me that is the best thing I can do in this life.

I love my job!


You can click on the smaller ones to enlarge.