Remembering Andy

FILE: Green Bay Press-Gazette Reporter Andy Nelesen, left, attends a press conference at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation regional office in Ashwaubenon, Wis., Tuesday morning, Jan. 5, 2010. Nelesen fell ill in the Press-Gazette newsroom Monday evening, Jan. 25, 2010, and was transported to St. Vincent Hospital's intensive care unit where he died Thursday.

Just in the past 6 months, I've been turning the camera on my colleagues while working on assignment. I'm glad I did because otherwise, I wouldn't have had a picture of Andy at all.

Check out how my colleagues and I remembered Andy: Press-Gazette photographers remember Nelesen

Also:

Column by Press-Gazette Executive Editor John Dye

Photo gallery of images by Nelesen

CaringBridge page for Nelesen

Juan's Restaurant and Cantina

Juan's Mexican Restaurant Cantina in Howard, Wis., Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010.

A soft taco.

uEdit: Adopted Haitian girl finds home near Green Bay

Patrick and Jaime Richard of nearby Suamico returned from Haiti with their adopted baby girl, Shae, to Austin Straubel International Airport in Ashwaubenon, Wis., Monday afternoon, Jan. 25, 2010. The whole adoption process, which had been stalled for a very long time, was sped up by local politicians putting pressure on the situation after the massive earthquake a few weeks ago.

It was a quick situation at the airport, a "homecoming" with no family members present, and an impromptu press conference in the airport concourse. Every picture kind of looked the same, and because I had to shoot video at the same I was shooting stills, I couldn't work the situation for stills as much I normally would... video needed more shot options and brought up the ultimate multimedia dilemma: when you're capturing video (or audio) you're potentially missing moments for stills.

So, it brought up an editing dilemma. What picture says it all? Fellow photographer Evan Siegle and I bounced thoughts off of each other for about 10 minutes and came up with three favorites (below) weighing the merits and drawbacks of each.


We felt (and I say "we," but it was only "we" after Evan made the case) that the vertical of mom and baby took you truthfully into the moment: mom's happiness to have the prolonged process complete, and the little girl's weariness from the weeks of post-earthquake stress and long journey to the U.S. We also liked the bear. :-)

The other pictures were decent but not quite doing enough. The third picture offers a bit more of a sense of place (something I initially thought was important, but it's not about the place... it's about the people.) The second picture certainly focuses on the little girl, but really doesn't capture the relief and happiness of the parents to have her.

At bottom is Tuesday's A1. Do you agree with our choice? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Uncle Kracker

Musician Uncle Kracker appeared in Green Bay for a semi-private concert Tuesday at a local radio station. Seems like a nice enough guy. Wish I could spell his name correctly without looking it up every time... variations have included Uncle Cracker and Unckle Kraker... lovely...

Musician Uncle Kracker performed a private concert at Midwest Communications/WIXX in Bellevue, Wis., Tuesday morning, Jan. 19, 2010.

Local angle on Haiti disaster

There's not much we can do in Green Bay, Wis., but for a local angle on the devastating earthquake Haiti we connected with a family who adopted two young Haitian boys last year and spoke with them about what they are hearing from their friends and contacts in Haiti.

Sarah Cruz sits for a picture with adopted sons Miles, 5, left, and Keenan, 5, right, at home in Allouez, Wis., Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010. Cruz and her husband adopted the two boys from Haiti in 2009.

Packers lose a heartbreaker

A deflated Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) sits alone reading a team communication as he and other players cleaned out their lockers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., Monday morning, Jan. 11, 2009, the day after losing to the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Wildcard playoff game, 51-45. Rogers said in an interview with members of the media, "The tough part is that we have a lot of guys with uncertain futures. Guys you care about and guys you have worked with for a number of years. You never know what the next season is going to look like."

Marines return home

Gotta love the news biz... second time in a week I got called off my scheduled work into a breaking news situation. We got word well after 5pm on Friday (a terrible time to send any media organization a press release, by the way) that a large group of Marines would be returning to Green Bay after several months in Iraq.

They all went out together and all came back together. That, sadly, doesn't always happen.

The photos I got were so-so. I would have liked a better frame of Xander and his father, below, but the kid was so conscious of the camera. And when you're shooting pictures on deadline, and the pictures kind of had to be in 10 minutes ago... you can't be a beggar...

Cpl. Ryan Blake of Manistique, Mich., leads the group of 14 Marines from the Detachment Bulk Fuel Company Bravo 6th Engineering Support Battalion of Green Bay into the concourse of Austin Straubel International Airport in Ashwaubenon, Wis., as they returned home from Iraq, Friday evening, Jan. 8, 2009.

Xander Caron, 3, hangs onto his father, Cpl. Jimmy Caron of West Bend, Wis., as he and 13 other Marines from the Detachment Bulk Fuel Company Bravo 6th Engineering Support Battalion returned home.

Which do you pick?

A lot of times, especially from sports assignments, I'll have a series of photos from a burst of frames that makes editing hard. Choosing one frame over another can be like splitting hairs. Last night I had these two frames and chose the latter because I liked the hand jammed in the face... even though the top photo is cleaner and more true to the moment (a body contact shooting foul on the Wright State player).

Which would you have picked?

Wright State University's LaShawna Thomas (3) gets a hand in the face while fouling University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's Celeste Hoewisch (4) in the first half of a game at the Kress Events Center in Green Bay, Wis., Thursday evening, Jan. 7, 2010.

Seven kids in a minivan

Got called off a basketball game to cover a head-on crash on the other side of town. Non-life-threatening injuries, but interesting circumstances. The driver of the minivan with seven children in it is allegedly a jail escapee who was being followed by law enforcement following a shoplifting incident (allegedly involving her and her children) at Woodman's Food Market.

People never cease to amaze me.

Emergency personnel attend to a victim of a two-vehicle crash on Shawano Avenue near South Platten Street in Green Bay, Wis., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010.

A Green Bay Police Officer takes a photo of a van involved in the two-vehicle crash.