Vision in Progress

The coolest grocery store in Chicago

2008-05-22T14:35:00.001-05:00

...if you like Indian food as much as I do, that is.

Wedded bliss.

2008-05-22T14:24:00.004-05:00

With all the sadness in the world, sometimes its nice to spend the evening with a couple in love, surrounded by the folks who love them...

A family farm

2008-03-23T15:51:00.003-06:00

This dairy farm has been in the family for four generations.

The barn is 98 years old.

How to stay out of the newspaper

2008-03-13T09:13:00.002-06:00

If you want to avoid having your picture in the newspaper, wear a tshirt that alludes to profanity. This woman describes a masked man carrying a gun fleeing after robbing a bank a few blocks from her home.

What else? Prep basketball!

2008-02-27T18:41:00.002-06:00

I'm guessing in the last three years I have shot about 100 prep basketball games.

Everything but the game...

2008-02-25T23:44:00.008-06:00

Each prep sports season I develop a love for a team in our county it seems...here are the images from the last game of the season from my favorite basketball team.

End of the Season

2008-02-20T12:10:00.000-06:00

After losing at Sectionals.

TV Land

2008-02-18T20:35:00.001-06:00

From a biz asst on a new store opening.

Flaming Dancers

2008-02-10T17:26:00.000-06:00

OK. Trying to figure out an appropriate cutline for this image.

Girl Scouts performed a dance at a local talent show. The girls (aged 8-10 yrs old), dressed in all black, and taped glow sticks to their costumes. Whilst performing, they looked (a little) like skeletons. Does that make sense? 1/2 second exposure from backstage...

OK, since it's totally unclear to everyone who has seen this picture, how these blue blurs could be 10 y/o girls, this is what they looked like prior to dancing:

Not quite the NYC

2008-02-07T18:49:00.000-06:00

I heart the subway.

2008-02-03T21:44:00.001-06:00

After the debacle that has been the CTA at home this year, one can't help but envy the efficiency of MTA in NYC.

The return of my website

2008-01-31T11:39:00.000-06:00

After a few long days of fighting with readyhosting, my website has returned with a new portfolio edit and project. Please check it out and tell me what you think. Any notification regarding typos or broken links would be appreciated. Mille grazie.

www.rebekahraleigh.com

New Edit for Portfolio Singles

2008-01-30T08:15:00.001-06:00

With contest entry season just having finished, it seemed an opportune time to re-edit my portfolio singles. My website is currently down due to some strange settings applied to it by my hosting company. I've been fighting with them about it for 24 hours now, hopefully it will be back up in a day. Until then, this is the new edit and sequence, any feedback would be helpful regarding the images, sequencing, etc...

cont'd

2008-01-30T08:03:00.000-06:00

Hockey is not a gentlemen's game...

2008-01-27T21:51:00.000-06:00

Really would have liked to have a 300 for this...the compression would have helped a lot. Alas, we are without.

Back in Action...

2008-01-27T17:42:00.001-06:00

I haven't felt much like posting lately. Maybe its seasonal affective disorder? But I'm feeling back in the swing of things.

Flying kites inside a Woodstock, Ill. church. The kites--made of garbage bags and bamboo rods-- weigh less than an ounce.

Rebuilding a rail bridge

2008-01-08T20:59:00.000-06:00

After the tornado derailed a train and took the tracks ont his bridge with it, Union Pacific engineers worked to put it all back.

A tornado, in January

2008-01-07T19:31:00.001-06:00

The tornado hit at dusk, a full 40 min from the office, so light was limited...

An illustration and a shout out

2007-12-16T17:29:00.000-06:00

An illustration for a story about the incredible surge in purchasing gift-cards for Christmas gifts. The tree references the logo from the Gunflint Wilderness Camp in Minnesota--where I spent many carefree summers living a simple walden-esque life, and the concept borrows from Laurie Skrivan...staff photographer at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, great friend, and endless source of inspiration/information/laughter.

War Widow

2007-11-28T15:04:00.000-06:00

and the five-day old son, her husband never met.

prep basketball from above

2007-11-19T22:27:00.000-06:00

lots of this on the winter schedule. round one.

Saturday Night Lights

2007-11-18T11:49:00.000-06:00

Prep football playoffs, Morris, Ill.

Breathing a sigh of relief!

2007-11-11T17:59:00.001-06:00

Images 9 and 10--the series is done. In print on Friday.

Image 8

2007-11-10T15:20:00.000-06:00

nine and ten to follow. headed out to shoot football playoffs....

Propaganda and the photo column

2007-11-09T14:55:00.000-06:00

A recent photo column for the paper, here is the text block:

Once upon a wartime, Uncle Sam wanted YOU (!) to join the U.S. Army. He still does, but if that doesn’t fit into your life plan, you can fire away at Osama bin Laden right here in McHenry County.

Jaison Glawe of Woodstock works the “corn cannons” at Stade’s Dairy Farm in Johnsburg. “I’ve been here from the beginning,” Glawe said of the game. “I’m a regular carny. Shooting at bin Laden, well, I dunno, I guess the makes the whole thing a little more bearable.”

The cannons essentially are tubes, that use compressed air to shoot the hardened ears of corn into the sky, across the field, and hopefully right into the target.

Hitting the giant head is harder than it looks. I watched for nearly an hour as people cycled through, firing hundreds of shots on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Of the hundreds of shots I witnessed, two made contact with the target. The prize for nailing the Captain of the Axis of Evil? An extra ear of corn.

image no. 7

2007-11-05T20:41:00.001-06:00

more basketball portraits

2007-11-04T17:45:00.001-06:00

six down, four to go.

I shot all five boys inside the barn, so I'm going to try and shoot the girls outside the barn. There is less stuff to climb on, so it may not work. That and the weather will need to cooperate...

basketball portraits

2007-11-03T08:07:00.001-06:00

Three down, seven to go. When finished the paper will showcase 5 boys and 5 girls--the top ten basketball players in our coverage area. I'm lucky to have an editor who carves out time for this kind of fun. All portraits shot at a barn belonging to a family in McHenry County. I fell in love with the location one day while driving around and the family has been very accomodating. They even have a basketball hoop inside the barn!

Ballet Snacks

2007-10-22T18:40:00.000-05:00

"Whoever thinks dancers don't eat doesn't know what they are talking about" ~ Sarah (in purple)

Fall Festival

2007-10-21T17:52:00.000-05:00

a maze of hay...

Painting...

2007-10-17T18:35:00.000-05:00

Kristen has been painting for 15 years.

one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish

2007-10-15T20:44:00.000-05:00

Lots of prep sports this time of year. Girls HS swim meet.

prior to the meet, the girls did this weird thing to their suits. No room in the paper, but I thought it was funny.

I've yet to nail this water-streaming-down-the-face image...came close but couldn't really get there.

Shooting butterfly is the easiest swim picture. But here it is anyhow...

soccer--my one true love...

2007-10-09T22:16:00.001-05:00

Late afternoon light and a (rare, but) beautiful fall day in Chicagoland, made for a lovely assignment. Oh, and this highschool had a tower at midfield...just a few yards off the sideline. Lucky me.

Haunting.

2007-09-30T20:02:00.001-05:00

Was a little difficult to make the scene spooky, since the volunteers were building the haunted house (train cars, really) mid-day.

Apparently, snow is optional.

2007-09-15T20:48:00.000-05:00

Ski jumping on plastic. Who knew?

why I love McHenry County

2007-09-08T20:22:00.001-05:00

It's amazing to work in a county where I cover everything from charity polo matches (horses, not water) to tractor pulls to shootings...my very first polo match. I wish I had brought lights.

I really wanted this image to work...umbrella, guy talking, horses in background and I just couldn't get it to come together....argh.

construction.

2007-09-06T10:49:00.000-05:00

soccer in good light is a good day.

2007-09-04T21:35:00.000-05:00

a very strange skill

2007-09-02T19:32:00.000-05:00

The Wonder Lake Water Ski Show Team.

the diner is alive and well

2007-08-29T10:10:00.001-05:00

Bill comes twice a week to Kathy's Diner for toast & coffee.

the football tabs

2007-08-26T20:16:00.001-05:00

these are from pdfs of the football previews for each county. it was nice that the images had room to breathe. no complaints here.

Chicago Minute Men

2007-08-25T15:34:00.001-05:00

Who knew that McHenry County, Ill. would become such a center of debate on immigration? Thank you, NYTimes.

Different County, Different Concept, but still football

2007-08-15T18:36:00.001-05:00

This time I shot all five in a day. The weather didn't cooperate for the outdoor location so I shot in an airline hangar.

Runningback.

Offensive Tackle.

QB.

QB.

Tight End.

image no. 5

2007-08-14T19:28:00.001-05:00

Runningback.

More Football

2007-08-13T16:46:00.001-05:00

Well four down, one to go...

Linebacker.

Offensive Tackle.

Football Portraits

2007-08-12T13:18:00.000-05:00

Trying to shoot something other than mugshots of the top football players in the area...was supposed to shoot three this AM, but one didn't show. Two here...three tomorrow(?) hopefully.

Linebacker.

QB.

little leaguers.

2007-08-02T15:40:00.000-05:00

9 yr old at CABA World Series

Continental Amateur Baseball Association World Series

2007-07-29T18:02:00.001-05:00

Opening Day Festivities, Crystal Lake, Ill.

Children with Autism Recreation Center

2007-07-27T20:15:00.001-05:00

Simply trying to clean up a visual mess...small room loaded with toys...and parents and children.

Cardboard Boat Regatta

2007-07-27T20:12:00.000-05:00

I really wanted to stay and shoot the boat race where 100 teams would paddle in boats constructed of cardboard and duct tape, but alas, deadline did not permit...was fun anyhow.

Algonquin, Ill.

high school summer baseball....

2007-07-22T20:04:00.000-05:00

is a really fun way to spend Sunday afternoons in July when its 80 degrees and beautiful. Happy weekend to all.

Nostalgia, v2.0

2007-07-21T14:12:00.001-05:00

Union, Ill.

I am obsessed with small-town farm images. I think its the exoticism of it all...

My beat, apparently

2007-07-16T21:16:00.000-05:00

I frequently photograph children jumping into water. I'm declaring it my beat. Ha.

Nostalgia for the American Prairie.

2007-07-11T19:16:00.000-05:00

I went out to shoot men who carve tree stumps with chainsaws, but fell
in love with the laundry and barn next door to their studio...I
couldn't help myself.

An unfortunate turn of events for journalism interns is here...

2007-07-10T20:52:00.000-05:00

Notre Dame's JSchool, has apparently decided to start funding internships with a number of newspapers...Read for yourself (click on the title because all my tech savvy isn't allowing me to insert a link mid-post...go figure). Then you can proceed to my rant.

Did you read it? Great, well anyone who knows me won't be surprised that I find the practice of purchasing internships by a University to be despicable. Newspaper interns produce publishable content. Interns certainly churn out work at a slower pace than the seasoned staffers next to them--but that is reflected in their pay scales.

It's important to note that I do not support unpaid internships. I view them to be a privilege of those who can afford to work for free. In a field that claims to be clamoring to diversify, choosing candidates who have parents that can afford to support them significantly limits access to the profession.

I am shouting on my soapbox right now. Feel free to roll your eyes, and tell me how none of us will have jobs in two years anyhow...

At which time, I'll wish I had gone to Notre Dame, so I could call them and ask if they would buy me a job.

PS- Thanks to fellow Mizzou JSchooler Jonathan Rivoli for the heads up on this.

DWS: driving while shooting

2007-07-03T15:00:00.000-05:00

No idea why I thought this was a good idea. Strange mood on the prairie.

Jess & Katie's Wedding

2007-07-02T22:44:00.001-05:00

A childhood friend got married about 10 days ago, and I shot the wedding as a gift. Hard to shoot the wedding of someone I knew, as I cried (only a little!) when they read their vows to eachother. A little bit distracting.

Just before the ceremony:

Ceremony.

Jessica's mother watching the ceremony.

Jessica with her father afterwards.

wellwishing.

late in the reception.

Painting in the Garage.

2007-07-02T18:56:00.000-05:00

Just one of those pictures that had nothing to do with my assignment, but the light was nice and the sisters were kind.

The Joys of Wonder Lake

2007-06-27T18:42:00.000-05:00

This picture looks a lot like the one from the pool in Marengo, except for some reason these boys are riding a bike into the lake.

Hiding under the dock.

A dead fish.

My First Tractor-pull

2007-06-17T17:44:00.000-05:00

I can't resist portraits of adolescent angst...and Elisha was perfect.

Illinois Railway Museum

2007-06-13T19:49:00.000-05:00

Feature Hunting at the Illinois Railway Museum...this is a 1920s railcar....

Track Athlete of the Year

2007-06-12T18:52:00.000-05:00

This is Evan Jager, an incredible local distance runner. Jager is very involved in his Christian faith community, and prays prior to each race.

Golf-Zilla

2007-06-09T19:36:00.000-05:00

Been in a weird mood lately, I think...making kind of weird pictures. Not sure why...

Marengo, Ill. created a mini-golf course for one day to generate traffic to downtown...in the midst of everything quaint and pastoral, was the Chicago skyline. hmmm.

Summer at the Pool

2007-06-06T09:56:00.001-05:00

A weird picture from a local pool...

Funny commentary about newspaper readership:

2007-06-06T09:53:00.000-05:00

This was sent to me as a fwd from a friend, so I have NO idea whom to credit for the text. If anyone knows, give me a shout and I will credit or link appropriately:

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.

2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.

3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.

4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.

5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country - if they could find the time - and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do so.

6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job at it, thank you very much.

7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who is running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.

8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.

9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.

10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a country, or that anyone is running it but, if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority gay feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from any other country or galaxy provided, of course, that they are not Republicans.

11. The National Enquirer is read by people in line at the grocery store.

AND

12. None of these are read by the guy who is running the country into the ground.

Graduation v3.0

2007-06-03T15:46:00.001-05:00

This student announced a party on a blow horn (at someone else's house, no less...) prior to their commencement ceremony. The principal was not amused...

Class of 2007, yet again

2007-06-02T17:22:00.000-05:00

The paper I work for has shot something like 15 high school graduations. Here are more pictures from the joy that is commencement...

Class of 2007

2007-05-29T23:06:00.001-05:00

A tiny high school nearby had a graduating class of 30. Just messing around....

Police ride along, in the scary suburbs...

2007-05-29T23:02:00.000-05:00

The police in a neighboring town went on high alert for drunk drivers and just about everyone pulled over for anything had to undergo the basic sobriety tests over Memorial Day weekend...

Backstage...

2007-05-28T09:50:00.000-05:00

A school for children with serious impairments had a school play for the parents...but there were all sorts of issues with access...and on top of that not exploiting the kids' disabilities...I came up with this...Quieting a young girl backstage...

Last Service at a local church

2007-05-27T18:18:00.000-05:00

It was amazing to see adolescent girls so connected to their church...they cried after the final service.

Bizarre joys of community news...

2007-05-27T18:14:00.000-05:00

A junior high school allowed a student to exchange a cream pie in the face with a teacher and then made the principal kiss a pig...all as a fundraiser.

The Mother's Day Feature....

2007-05-27T18:12:00.000-05:00

A Portrait about a blended family...the stepmother (left) and mother (right) get along so well they all moved into the same subdivision to make everything easier on the 9 year old girl.

Jazz Workshop

2007-05-27T17:50:00.000-05:00

Professional musicians played and answered questions for HS students...Elgin, Ill.

Boys State Track Meet, Charleston, Illinois

2007-05-27T16:01:00.000-05:00

This is a local kid for our coverage area. He ran the 3200 in 8:42. I shot this b/c I imagine that is what it feels like to run that fast...dizzying.

The 1:20 rain delay made for a LONG day at prelims....

A motorcycle trip.

2007-05-27T15:34:00.001-05:00

A misleading title, I suppose. I just hung onto the back and (sortof) navigated. Not a lot of work on my part. Dylan changed the tire in scenic Villa Park, Illinois.