June has, so far, proven to be a crazy month for me at my newspaper. For much of the time, I have been working solo due from a mixture of co worker’s injuries, vacations, and departure from the photo staff. Between attending meetings and running around non stop shooting all of the assignments, I’ve had little time for much else. Oh wait I also shot my first wedding of the year. You can check out my images from it here. I knew there were more reasons why I’ve been busy. Now that school is out in Solano County things have started to cool down. It has been a month of big transitions for everybody around here. Me with my crash course into becoming a temporary one man band photo department and departure of a co worker. My photo editor Brad Zweerink and I said goodbye to a good friend and fellow shooter Chris Jordan after his decision to work freelance and shoot weddings got the best of him. I must say I was sorry to see him go. A great guy and and a solid photographer. I learned a lot from him. I wish him all the best. I still have half a month to go but here are some of my favorite images that I’ve made so far. Cheers. -M








Ahhhhh, Graduation week. That special time of year when working as a staff photographer feels a lot like the movie Groundhog Day. The same over and over again. One of the challenges that my fellow shooters and I bestow upon each other is to try to reinvent yourselves as the week goes on. Because on the surface, all of the graduations are so similar. Repetition in the ceremonies, the speeches, the celebrations, etc that it can quickly feel like you are taking the same pictures. This year I was assigned to shoot three of the five high school ceremonies. I tried to keep a look out for something different than the typical ecstatic hands in the air shots of the graduates. The class president of the student body offered that chance. My favorite photo from the week was the one of the girl with the monarch butterfly in front of her. The caption for the photo ran as follows:

Vanden High School graduate Heaven-Leigh Christensen, 18, center, is visited by a monarch butterfly during the Class of 2010 graduation ceremony Friday afternoon. Butterflys were released by class president Sharlayne Moynahan, 18, not pictured, as a symbol of hope and transformation into new beginnings.

This shot was made well after the release of the butterflies. I saw this moment happening out of the corner of my eye and turned to snap a couple frames before this rogue monarch flew off. I thought it was a pretty neat ideal to incorporate in a speech and a different twist on the graduation photo scene. It made me think back to all of the transitions I’ve had in my life since high school graduation. These kids are in for a wild ride. I wish them the best. -M

To view more photos from my graduation coverage of Vanden High and Fairfield High, click on their names.



Photo of me by Matt Payne





I’m almost embarrassed to admit it but I haven’t been fly fishing since last November. It has been a constant annoyance for me not being able get out and fish. It’s funny how quickly prior commitments build up and begin to consume so much of your time. I was in dire need of getting out onto a river system. Enter Montana fishing guide Matt Payne. This past weekend I had the opportunity to go fish with Matt and his buddy Matt Swan, a guide for The Fly Shop, on the Lower Sacramento River up in my old stomping grounds of Redding, California. Payne has recently moved to the Sacramento area with his wife Janelle and has been actively scouting out northern California rivers for his guiding business. He’s a great guy and a damn fine fisherman. We made a day of hooking into rainbow trout, drinking Coors, and talking all things fish. You couldn’t ask for a better day. This trip was a real treat for me because for the majority of the time, I had a fly rod in my hand and not a camera. Sometimes it’s nice to change it up. Still, shooting pictures is hard to resist. I made a few frames of the Matt’s rowing and nympthing near the Sundial bridge that I was pleased with considering it was high noon sun beating down on us.

Later on I met up with an old fishing buddy of mine Justin Miller, of The Fly Shop, and we cooked up some Argentina style steaks and as a happy experiment, we grilled poblano chili peppers stuffed with feta cheese and wrapped in bacon. I’ll be thinking about that meal all week. Justin is probably one of the most talented fly tyers I know. He was all stoked about his upcoming stripper fishing trip and with that, he decided to design a new fly for the occasion. I have yet to meet someone who gets so pumped about fishing like Justin does. The guy thinks like a fish. Like a true perfectionist, he left nothing to chance and decide to test out his new pattern in his bath tub and if need be would make design adjustments. It was so nice to be in the company of trout bums again. It was an overall killer weekend. Already looking forward to the next outing. -M

Gary Vaynerchuk: Do what you love (no excuses!) | Video on TED.com

I don’t normally share this type of stuff on my blog. But I think this guy’s message holds true to so much of what I believe in and what I constantly strive to do in my life. Get out there and do what you love to do. Check it out. -M







Like I mentioned in previous posts, the last month or two I have been shooting some pretty cool assignments. I met this pigeon racer and his wife who own over 600 pigeons. A short story that yielded some cool shots. I’ve been continuing to play with my Profoto lights and apply them to our annual Athletes of the Year section of our paper. Far from perfect but as I continue to grow as a shooter I am starting to really dial down and command my light. It’s an ongoing battle to say the least and a hell of a lot of fun.










This was a pretty cool story I got to do earlier in the month. I spent a week following Anthony and his Labrador retriever Saffron around in an attempt to show their unique relationship. Anthony is a diabetic and was having a lot of trouble monitoring his sugar levels. So his parents in their search for a solution came across this cool program called Dogs4Diabetics. Enter Saffron. She is a trained service dog that can smell when Anthony’s blood sugar levels are getting low often times up to 15 minutes before he actually is low all through his breath and sweat. She’s trained to jump on him and warn him. This process can happen up to 20 times a day. It’s was a pretty cool relationship to watch. Since Anthony’s sugar levels can fluctuate at any time, the two are essentially together 24/7. The assistance doesn’t come without responsibility. Anthony is the only one in the family who can care for the dog. As a service dog going into places most dogs don’t, Anthony must also keep her clean. A task that has developed into taking her into the shower when he goes. As his dad puts it, “Having Saffron by Anthony’s side serves as a safety barrier between him and the emergency room.” I had a lot of fun shooting this piece and getting to know them.










Spring is California is incredible. Everything has been so green and the temperature has held steady at around 65 degrees. All this nice weather has really brought people out in the community. It’s like someone flipped a switch. Now all of a sudden their have been a constant flow of pretty interesting stories and overall everyone around here has been in a good mood from the nice weather. Always a good thing. It has also been extremely busy around the newspaper. Hence my lack of posting. So here are some photos that I shot from the month of March.





One thing I have really come to enjoy about covering prep sports on the west coast is the difference of activities offered at these high schools than ones offered back when I was in high school in Illinois. A couple Saturday’s ago, I got to cover a high school sailing race called the Keelhauler Regatta. The annual event is hosted by Cal State Maritime and draws numerous high school sailing teams from throughout the area. Definitely not your typical prep sport and not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon. -M




Towards the end of December I went to photograph a woman that was starting a Womens Gun Club at a local shooting range. These photos are the second part of our coverage for that story. You can read the story here. Along with the initial portrait I shot of her, I also did a little photo story of her teaching the other women in the club. I grew up shooting rifles as a Boy Scout but had never actually shot a hand gun before. These ladies were kind enough to let me try one out. I can see why if holds so much interest for people. It was pretty fun to shoot.






Holy smokes! I have been busy these last couple of weeks. So much so that I haven’t had much free time to update on my blog. I continue to cover all of the local sporting events happening around Solano County. The winter seasons are beginning to wind down. Playoffs are upon us. Here are some of the more interesting shots I’ve made over the last couple of weeks. -M








Well, I’ve really been enjoying the new year so far. I have busy working on a new website that I hope to have completed in a month or so. I’ll be sure to let you all know when it is up and running. In addition, my wedding photography business has taken off and I already have numerous bookings. If you or someone you know is looking for a wedding photographer, I’d be happy to help out. Here are some of the images I have made at my newspaper this year. 2010 is going to be a big year for me. Stay tuned. -M


Well, it doesn’t get more cliche than a shot of birds roosting on a telephone pole. But I was going back through all of my images from this past year and stumbled across this image. It was one of those off the cuff shots you do think much of at the time. Something about it caught my eye and I thought I would share it with all of you.











Earlier this month, a reporter and I accompanied members of Engine 37 of the Fairfield Fire Department to document a day in the life for them. The guys were very gracious with opening their doors to us. I’ve spent some time documenting firefighters in the past but I forgot how hard these guys work even when there isn’t something burning. There is always something to do. We had a lot of fun with them.









December has always been a great month for me. Despite the obvious Christmas appeal, it also is the month I was born. So close to the new year and have taken to using the month as a time for reflection. This December was particularly nice due to the fact that I was finally able to have a vacation and be home with the family for the holidays. It just doesn’t feel like the holidays unless I am back in Chicago with the sleet and rain. It was a great time. I now am focusing my attention on the coming year. Changes are on the horizon. Big things to come. Can’t wait. Happy New Year everybody. -M

“I don’t think there are many editors who could give me the assignments I give myself.” -Arthur Meyerson