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November in Review

Rachel Nathan-Funk, 12, her sister Leah, 5, Teagan Talbot, 7, and Kylie Shields, 7, lower left to right, watch Grupofolkloriko Nuevo Amancer folk dancers during a multicultural event at Dan O. Root Elementary School Tuesday evening.

Armijo High School freshman point guard Azhiana Musolf passes to a teammate after diving for a loose ball during her team’s Monday night game against Hogan High School in Fairfield.

Mass casualty volunteers from the Solano Community College nursing program and EMT students watch as paramedic Perry Hookey, far right, applies fake blood on the forehead of volunteer Russ Koch, left, prior to the start of the simulated disaster drill at the college Thursday morning.

Vacaville Ballet Academy dancers Madelline Layeghi, Laura Rutter, Sonya Thrasher, Daisy Montero and Rachel Goldberg, left to right, prepare for their upcoming performance at the Wednesday CLub in Suisun City during their practice Tuesday evening.

Local fisherman Greg Moe casts his line out into the Suisun Marsh during a recent morning fishing session for sturgeon and stripper bass. Moe has been fishing the area for over 35 years.

Passengers on Amtrak’s westbound train from Sacramento get off at the Suisun-Fairfield train station Monday evening.

Student members of the Fairfield High School Scarlett Brigade Marching Band rehearse their routine in the student parking lot Monday afternoon. The school will be hosting the Tournament of Champions band competition this weekend.

Mary Palmer, of Fairfield, along with her son Robert, 9, recently received quilts from her church made from favorite T-shirts of her deceased husband.

Members of the 60th Expeditionary Medical Support unit secure their chemical warfare outfits during a mock missle strike at Travis Air Force Base Thursday afternoon. The event was part of a three day excercise on the base meant to simulate situations at a deployed location for the troops.

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The Fall of October – Part Two

Travis Air Force Base KUDOS participant Justice Wong, 4, tries on a chemical warfare gas mask during a mock deployment simulation for children of deployed troops. The event aimed to show the children the process of what their parents do to prepare for deployment.

Spouses and children of deployed military troops walk the Travis Air Force Base tarmac to tour a C-17 Globemaster cargo jet during a mock deployment demonstration to give the children a better idea of what their parents deployment is like.

Solano Community College professor Danielle Widemann gives her Physical Geography science class a visual lesson explaining how the earth’s axis and orbit around the sun creates the seasons here on earth during a recent class. Widemann, along with her entire family, went to SCC for their education and she has been teaching at the school for over seven years now.

Shawn Beckett, 2, far right, along with Kalie Beckett, 3, Calece Beckett, 5, and Reese Moten, 4, left to right, wait outside their home after emergency crews evacuated them after a semi truck drove into a low hanging power line near the corner of Rocky Hill Rd and Novato Drive in Vacaville Tuesday evening. The accident left thousands of PG&E customers without power.


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September in Review

Here’s some of my favorite photographs I made in September. Enjoy.

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Back to Their Loving Arms. The Troops Come Home.






Last week I was sent out to Travis Air Force Base to photograph the arrival of the California National Guard’s 49th Military Police Brigade after their year of deployment to Iraq. This isn’t the first time that I’ve documented a troop arrival. But this time was a bit different in that our fair Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would be in attendance to shake the hand of each troop as they got off the plane. This changed my approach to photographing the event in that my access to roam around was limited by the numerous “Secret Service” aka California State Troopers who are his body guards. I decided to really study the crowd and try to absorb the mood of the place. The impatient excitement of the family members was everywhere. I realized that for all the stresses I might have during my work day, none hold a candle to the military family members that must wait around for their loved ones to return home from a war. This became apparent to me when I started to watch the faces of family members as they saw their loved ones, their streaming tears of joy and then watch them embrace on the windy, military tarmac. What a release. What a relief to have your daughter, your son, your mom or your dad back save and sound. It was a pretty cool event to witness. -M

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Solo June







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

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Week in Review





Here are a couple new shots from the past week. I have been pouring all of my energy into getting my portfolio ready for the Eddie Adams Workshop coming up next week. I can not wait. It promises to be pretty intense. More to come…

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