Top honors
If you missed the article about Durango Herald awards recently, I’ll point out a few noteworthy winners from the website. The Colorado Associated Press Editors and Reporters, CAPER, has a pair of categories for online journalism. The Durango Herald placed second for Breaking News and second in the Online Special Package category for a staff effort covering the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. I was honored with first in that category for an entry about the opening of the new Durango Public Library. With the addition of Shaun Stanley and Phil Jones on the Web Desk here, we hope to provide you with more top quality work at durangoherald.com. Thanks for stopping in to see what we’re doing, and as always, contact us with your feedback.
post by Josh Stephenson
Screenshot of Readers Rejoice that was awarded first place for the CAPER Online Special Package contest.
Shattered – Documenting a nation in ruin
On January 12th 2010, in the span of just 37 seconds, the tiny impoverished Caribbean nation of Haiti was devastated by a massive earthquake. My first experience in Haiti was in May of this past year producing documentary photography and video for Compassion International, an international aid and development organization. Haiti had a profound effect on me. Years of experience in third world countries in East Africa and a few stints in war zones did little to prepare me for the level of desperation faced daily by most Haitians living under extreme poverty. I learned of the earthquake within minutes via online news resources. My heart sank because I knew that in the fleeting minutes before the quake the majority of Haitians were simply struggling to survive the day by finding food and clean water. Now this.
Within hours of the earthquake I was making preparations to cover the tragedy. Food, water, shelter, electricity and a reliable data connection would be the highest concerns. The first two were easy to solve with years of backpacking experience. Shelter came in the way of a trusted bevy sack for no buildings could be considered safe to sleep within. A trip to Radio Shack was made to purchase cigarette lighter plugs with alligator clips and DC extension cords that could be attached to a car battery for electricity. I secured a satellite data terminal, a Hughes HNS-9201, which guaranteed a high speed data connection for uploading photos and video.
I arrived in Port au Prince, Haiti on the evening of January 25th with a team of doctors who were tasked with setting up mobile clinics in and around the capital city. The devastation was incredible. I quickly came to understand that although the death toll was enormous the real tragedy was being played out in the desperate living conditions of the survivors. Nearly two million people were living in the streets of Port au Prince. Food and water were scarce particularly for the young, old or weak who could not travel to emergency aid distribution points. I did not meet a single Haitian who had not lost a family member in the quake.
For the following ten days I was tasked with providing a visual record of this nation now shattered to its core. Hope was a difficult thing to find but the occasional smile of a child caught in a playful moment provided a glimpse of the resiliency of the Haitian people and the promise, although faint, of a better future.
Presented here is a slide show of photographs of my attempts to portray Haiti today.
A video may be viewed here.
Slideshow, video and post by Shaun Stanley.
Reader submitted photos
In case you missed it, or haven’t had your fill of snow, The Herald asked readers for their best snow photos. Hundreds were sent in via e-mail, and we displayed a slide show of some on the site.
If you have photos, snow related or otherwise, add them to our community Flickr group at http://www.flickr.com/groups/durangoherald/
The New York Times in Haiti
The New York Times has posted an incredibly powerful slide show, interview and an audio clip with photographer Damon Winter about his experience in Haiti. From New York Times‘ blog The Lens
Damon Winter of The New York Times arrived in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday. He has been traveling through the city in a car shared with Ron Haviv of the VII photo agency and Timothy Fadek, both veteran conflict photographers. James Estrin spoke with Mr. Winter by cellphone at midnight Thursday. Excerpts of their conversation can be heard below.
Click here or on image below to access The Lens
Other New York Times multimedia includes the following pages.
- View before and after satellite photographs
- Look at photos and listen to audio on an interactive map
- See submitted photos of missing people
- Zoom in on damaged areas
Helping Hands
Recently, reporter Katie Burford began a series called Helping Hands, looking at local non-profit agencies and the people in our community that benefit from their assistance. The first in the series ran Sunday, profiling 15-year-old violin virtuoso J.R. Smith and the help he has received. To complement her work, each photographer followed someone to capture photographs and audio, Katie recorded interviews, I produced audio slide shows and Phil Jones and myself packaged the series here. Three more are coming down the line soon, so check back for more.
Post by Josh Stephenson
Click here or on image below to enter project.
Bomb threats shake Durango
During Wednesday’s bomb threat, we updated the article dozens of times as new information was available. A brief article and story came first, followed by photographs, then video and finally a map of locations affected. One element I feel was missing was a time line with a concise way to see when the evacuations were called, when students were transferred, response times for authorities and finally when various buildings were cleared and the threat reduced. If you have any other suggestions on how we can provide better coverage in these instances, please comment below or contact me at jstephenson@durangoherald.com.
Video by Shaun Stanley and Josh Stephenson. Post and map by Josh Stephenson
View Bomb threat locations in a larger map
Going for the championship
As FLC headed to the championship game once again, we tried to give readers as many options as possible to get updates. As well as updating the score on our homepage with each goal, a twitter feed from FLC soccer gave updates, a like directed readers to the NCAA for streaming video and local radio coverage was linked to as well. Photographer Jerry McBride sent back whopping 64 image slide show to boot. Going into Saturday’s game, check the Herald for updates.
Mayor of Main Street
Apologies to all checking this blog lately. We’ve been on a bit of a multimedia sabbatical.
Also on hold for some time has been the Our Corner project. Both will get renewed attention, so please check back and thanks for sticking with us.
The latest entry to Our Corner is Amador Tucson, owner of Tucson’s on main. Clipping hair and using traditional straight razors from 1969 to this day, the hard working now 70-year-old has a sense of humor as quick as most teens and is known by his faithful clientele as the “Mayor of Main Street.”
Tucson also plays guitar and keeps in tune during lulls in business. Working roughly 10 hours a day, six days a week, Tucson was hard at work on his birthday.
Click here or on the photo below to watch the audio slide show.
Photo, slide show and post by Josh Stephenson
Huntin’ for a chicken
When one of our reporters returned from a recent City Council meetingwith talk about the chicken that walked in and sat down in the closing minutes of the night, I chided him for a picture. A cell phone photo, anything. Why wasn’t a photographer called? With a description in the story, we had to have a photo of this mysterious chicken.
The following day, Marc Snider with Exposure Productions, who produces the City Span 10 programming, dropped off the DVD. Sweet, we were able to grab video.
Our curiosity blossomed, with the story topping our most read list later that day and a number of television stations clambering for the footage. All calls were forwarded to Snider.
Eventually, it ended up on television stations in Denver and Albuquerque as well as the Huffington Post and websites as far away as Tamba Bay.
In case you didn’t catch it the first time around…
If video fails to appear, please hit the ‘refresh’ button on your web browser.
35mm and a handi-cam
With more staff shooting video at the Herald these days, I’ve been doing more work with a camcorder the size of a Red Bull can, leaving the pro gear for others to use. With roots in the still photography world, I miss having a limited depth of field. As a Canon 5d Mark II isn’t in the cards, I researched a way to use my 35 mm lenses on my Red Bull can. Here is the result with some how-to below.
Depth of field adapters from Letus and others run near the one thousand dollar range, twice what my Canon HF100 cost. I was impressed with the TwoNeil Adapter, but even that seemed costly, so with a leftover focusing screen, a thirty dollar macro lens, a 9 dollar set of extension tubes and some designs downloaded from this site, I have my very own do-it-yourself 35mm adapter.
Video and post by Josh Stephenson
Elk, research, hunting and file video
Reporter Garrett Andrews has been investigating the uncertain future of land once occupied by the old Fort Lewis College. This 2008 footage is from a relatively feel-good visit to the Elk Research Institute, a current tenant of the land. At the time, youth were darting the herd with tranquilizers and cutting off antlers for what was said to be research related to chronic wasting disease. Institute staff said removing antlers from young elk would keep them from challenging mature males. The staff maintained that the fittest animals would naturally possess a resistance to the disease. While this theory has yet to be proven, critics point out that what has been proven is that the fittest elk bring in more money from hunters.
video and post by Josh Stephenson
Morley Cowles Ballantine
When Herald Editor Morley Cowles Ballantine passed away recently at the age of 84, phone calls from former governors started coming in, emphasizing the impact she had not only in Colorado, but nationwide. Photographs of lunch with President John F. Kennedy at The White House emerged and others from around the globe showed another side of the influential woman. Reading published columns and editorials gave us a look into her past, and we wanted to share these things with our readers.
Below, you’ll find a few of those offerings that appeared with various articles on our website. A 360 degree panorama and video place you at the tribute given in Ballantine’s honor at Fort Lewis College. A slideshow compiled from family photo albums takes you through her life in images while audio highlights stories and commentary from those who worked with Ballantine over the years. Finally, a virtual magazine will allow you to flip through and read some of her work published in the pages of The Durango Herald.
In their Statement of new publisher when buying the newspaper in 1952, Arthur and Morley Ballantine wrote “We intend to compete hard for your interest against the many other excellent sources of news available to you, such as radio…”
With more sources of news today than ever before, distributed across more mediums, the Herald continues to compete for your interest. We hope to use all of the tools and technologies available to best present the information you need in the format you desire. To leave feedback for us, enter a comment on this post, use the feedback form on the home page of durangoherald.com, or call me, Josh Stephenson at 375-4565.
Click on above image to view a 360 degree panorama of the Morley Ballantine tribute at the FLC Community Concert Hall
Cycle Squawk
As part of a cooperation with KDUR radio, 91.9 and 93.9, the Herald and Inside Outside Magazine is offering Cycle Squawk, the weekly call-in show about cycling, as a podcast for download. Hosted by Russell Zimmerman and Chad Cheeney, the half hour program touches on all things cycling related.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Durango local Chris Wherry sits in as a guest host on Cycle Squawk this week, talking about his recent retirement from pro road racing. At 36, Wherry says the golden question is what to do now after 13 years as a professional cyclist. During this years Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, The Durango Herald featured Wherry in an audio slide show along with one of Joe Dailey, the Engineer of #480 on the way to Silverton. Wherry won 3 criterium titles in a row with 4 total wins at the Iron Horse event. He also won the National Championships in 2005 in Philadelphia.
Subscribe to Cycle Squawk on iTunes here.
Also check out our John Peel podcast on iTunes, excerpts from interviews by staffer John Peel.
They call it soccer here, but it’s still futbol to me
It’s been my experience over the years that better athletes make for better photos, but the photographer still has to capture those key moments, and those moments can be harder to get because the speed of play is so much faster. So a tip of my hat goes to Jerry McBride, our chief of the photography department for his stellar shot of this key moment as the No. 9 ranked Fort Lewis College men go head to head with UCCS.
Fort Lewis College junior striker Euan Purcell stretches to meet a cross from sophomore forward Joe Barnd for the Skyhawks' fifth goal in the 76th minute of a 7-1 victory. Junior Jaron Stewart defends for University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Photo by Jerry McBride
Having spent several years in Latin America where soccer is a religion, and where newspapers and magazines have incredible sports coverage of the teams, this photo brought me back to the sidelines of stadiums filled with deafening chants and seas of banners.
Below is a slide show from a few years ago at a match between two of Mexico City’s rival teams, UNAM, The National Autonomous University of Mexico and Club America.
As an aside, the game ran late, calls from editors ran my phone minutes into oblivion and secure taxis stopped picking up at the stadium. It may not be too hard to imagine that walking down unfamiliar streets in Mexico City, hailing a cab at midnight with more than $15,000 in camera equipment over my shoulder was a bit nerve-racking. The night ended however at about 1:30 a.m. after bumping down the last 5 miles of interstate with a flat tire on the rear of a Volkswagen bug. The driver, an incredibly friendly ‘taxista’ that refused my offer to help change the flat.
So, to you Jerry, thanks for bringing back great memories.
Oh, and the UNAM Pumas won.
Photograph of FLC by Jerry McBride, slide show and post by Josh Stephenson
Research, education and ripe tomatoes come together at greenhouse clinic
I had the pleasure today of driving south of Durango on Highway 550 to County Road 215, where representatives from New Mexico State University and the Colorado State University Extension Office were building a greenhouse with the help of about 15 volunteers. The trade of sorts educated participants about greenhouse construction while those same participants provided free labor, constructing the greenhouse for research being conducted through a grant from Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. SARE is described on its website as
“a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that functions through competitive grants conducted cooperatively by farmers, ranchers, researchers and ag professionals to advance farm and ranch systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities.”
As one of ten “Hoop Houses” being built, measurements about climate and food production will be used to extend the growing season for farmers in the area. The weather emphasized the need Wednesday as a cold front moved into the area, producing gusts predicted to reach 50 miles per hour by days end.
The greenhouse should hold its ground however. Instructor Del Jimenez from NMSU has built about 400 of the structures throughout Rocky Mountain states. And the best part for volunteers was the knowledge gained to go home and build one of their own.
Post and slideshow by Josh Stephenson
The weekender
Eric Drummond has charged forward with a new weekly video podcast called “The Weekender.” Arts and Entertainment editor Ted Holteen brings his radio experience into the fold, voicing the piece, while Eric handles the visuals and production. It wraps up the weeks top stories and highlights sports and art events taking place over the weekend, wrapping up with a quick weather forecast. When we get a few more in the system, it will be offered as a podcast for download, so check back soon.
Weekender by Eric Drummond and Ted Holteen, post by Josh Stephenson
Single Speed World’s invade Durango
The Single Speed World Championships were in town and while I didn’t have enough time to cover all the events I would have liked, I was able to piece together a video of the main race Saturday. Local Travis Brown was way out front but fell, opening the door to Ross Schnell, who threw his leg over a home-built single speed for the first time the previous day. Schnell, from Grand Junction went on to win it with a plastic guard supporting his mending broken hand. Heather Irmiger hadn’t pushed the pedals on a single speed for over half a decade, but while drinking “way too much wine” on a motorcycle trip, her sponsor Gary Fisher gave her a new fixed gear ride, so off she went for the win. While she did not accept any beverage from the many people along the course offering beer and jello shots to riders, Irmiger said she woke up with enough of a hangover that she didn’t feel like she was cheating. Part race, mostly party, the SSWC was fun for at least a couple thousand in Durango. Bringing smiles to many faces on the final ascent to the finish line were four Fort Lewis students, part of the group Waiting on Trial, that played some solid bluegrass overlooking Horse Gulch. For more of the shenanigans, check out the race blog.
Also, while I wish I could have had this done earlier, below is a map of all registered entrants. You can grab the center bar to slide the name tab over for a better look. Sort by name, city or state and zoom in for more detailed locations. Also go around the globe to see who came from as far away as Spain, Norway and the Philippines.
video and post by Josh Stephenson
County looks to CSU for continued 4-H funding
County Commissioners approved the sending of a letter to Colorado State University asking them to continue funding for the regional Extension Agent to aid 4-H activities in the county after the departure of Bob Salzer who filled the post for 29 years. Recently, I had the pleasure of learning more about the grand 4-H family from Peg Aldridge. Peg grew up in Durango and her family has moved away and back again numerous times. Her granddaughter Gracie has been featured on the cover of two miniature Herford magazines while her other grandchildren won numerous awards at this year’s county fair. Her son-in-law Kyle Beebe is leader of the Pine River 4-H Beef Club.
post and audio slideshow by Josh Stephenson
Feds seize couple’s artifacts
Federal authorities confiscated thousands of ancient artifacts from the house of a Durango couple in a sweeping investigation of possible grave-robbing on public lands.
Antiquities dealer Vern Crites, 74, and his wife, Marie, have been indicted for trafficking, theft and grave desecration. The couple voluntarily surrendered their vast collection, which includes numerous items of potentially high archeological significance, including antler flutes and Navajo prayer sticks.
post by Josh Stephenson – video by Eric Drummond
This is not a fun run
Endurance runners register for the Hard Rock 100 in Silverton with a variety of goals in mind, but winning is not usually one of them. One thing that amazed me about the winning woman was the interview after her 3rd place overall finish.
While a number of male competitors had spoken of the importance to stay mentally focused with eyes trained on the obstacles ahead, Diana Finkel conceded she looks around at wild flowers and wildlife to the point that she has become lost after running off the trail.
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post and content by Josh Stephenson
