The Edge of Hell for Narratively

I have lived in Kansas City for nearly two full years now, but had never made my way down to the West Bottoms to check out the infamous haunted houses. This year I finally got my chance to check out The Beast and The Edge of Hell thanks to Narratively, a newly-launched start-up website. I got to tag along as the Vice President of Full Moon Productions and a few of her workers dressed up for a video promotion. I even got to meet "Rat Man." I had a great time shooting some portraits with a homemade snoot and seeing some behind-the-scenes work at some of the biggest and oldest haunted houses in the country.

Hospital Closing for NYT

Last week I drove to Independence, Kansas, a small town in southeast Kansas, to work on a story for the New York Times on a closing hospital. Independence has approximately 11,000 inhabitants, and their only hospital, Mercy Hospital, closed it's doors on Oct. 9th. Citizens, many of which are obese or elderly, are now faced with the challenege of finding a new way/place to get healthcare. I had the honor of touring the facility before it gets demolished at the end of the month with writer Mitch Smith. Here are some of my images.

You can read Mitch's story in full HERE.

Hostess for WSJ

I've seemingly become the Midwest factory photographer for the Wall Street Journal, which is the coolest. A couple weeks ago I ventured to Emporia, Kansas where one of the four Hostess factories operates. I got to see Twinkies injected with icing, Cupcakes get their signature "squiggle," and came home smelling like powdered sugar. It was amazing. Here are a couple of my favorite shots. Thanks for such a delicious assignement, Parker Eshelman.

You can read the full story and view the entire gallery from the factory HERE.

Baylor Tennis for WSJ

Despite being in Dallas for all of my medical treatments, I got a call from the Wall Street Journal last Friday to cover a Baylor Men's Tennis match against the University of Oklahoma in Waco, Texas. Waco is only about an hour and a half south of where my parents live and where I am currently setting up shop, so I gladly took the assignment. I had been itching to work, having been sidelined for a few weeks while doing testing.

A new Big XII Conference tennis decorum policy was instated that allows fans to cheer during points, to make the atmosphere "similar to basketball and football." Cheering is now allowed while players are serving, tossing the ball, and about to make contact as long as the yelling is not profane, vulgar or abusive to the opponent. Having never been to a college tennis match (Mizzou doesn't currently have a men's tennis team) I had no idea what to expect. I was in for a treat. The stadium was full of students and Bears sports fans. The BU athletic marketing department did a fantastic job of getting fans there with free t-shirts, pizza, face painting and other activites. There was a LOT of cheering, yelling and heckling, making it a really fun assignment to cover.

You can read the great article by Tom Perrotta and watch the video put together from my footage by the WSJ production team, HERE.

Bol Bol for NYT

The world is a small place, and on Tuesday I felt that first-hand. I was asked by picture editor Becky Lebowitz at the New York Times to photograph a story at Bishop Miege High School - the same high school my boyfriend, Evan, graduated from in 2005. It felt strange knowing I was walking through the halls he grew up in, but I was doing it while working for a national news outlet. Funny how life is sometimes.

Anyways, the story was on Bol Bol - an 6'10" high school freshman, and the son of the late, great Manute Bol. He plays for the junior varsity basketball team at Miege. Not only is he tall (a head and shoulders above most all of the other players on the court, and me) but shy, smart and talented. It was cool to witness a young talent, knowing someday I could have the privilege of seeing him on an NBA starting roster.

You can read the great feature on the Times website by Corban Goble HERE.