underfoot

eh, pictorial. for fun.

makin' sleds

Ella Bivens, 6, browses a book as her father, Dr. Brad Bivens, concentrates on peeling off the bag of a sticker to be part of dice hung in the window of his daughters' Barbie Dream Car sled Saturday at their home. Ella, a kindergartener, will be competing in the sled with her older sister, Celia, 8, a third grader, in Jackson Christian School's sled race and style competition next week.


Danielle Bivens helps her daughter, Ella, 6, glue a star for the wheel of a Barbie Dream Car sled. Ella, a kindergartener, will be competing in the sled with her older sister, Celia, 8, a third grader, in Jackson Christian School's sled race and style competition next week. "Doesn't it look like honey, Mama?" asked Ella.


Danielle Bivens cuts out the fender for a wheel as her daughter, Celia, 8, center left, watches, and Dr. Brad Bivens and Ella Bivens. 6, work on dots for dice for a Barbie Dream Car sled Saturday at their home. Ella and Celia will be competing in Jackson Christian School's sled race and style competition next week.

outtakes

from a shoot this weekend at a family's home in Jackson. The photos and story assigned run tomorrow, so I'll post some later, but these are irrelevant to the story, and I liked the feel of 'em.

basketball feature

Saw them through the bleachers during halftime. Would've liked to work the situation a little more but the third quarter started..

spring arbor basketball

extra innings

Gibson Wait, 9, takes a swing at a ball thrown by friend Seth Schenkel Sunday afternoon at Extra Innings. Both boys have been playing baseball for four years now, Gibson as a second baseman and center fielder, and Seth as a first and third baseman.


Grace Coffey, 16, readies herself for a ball pitched by a machine Sunday afternoon at Extra Innings. Grace is a sophomore at Western High School and has been playing softball since she could walk, she said. Her streak as a third baseman will break this year as she has decided to act rather than play ball.


Gibson Wait, 9, left, and Seth Schenkel, 9, goof off and double pitch to Andrew Corravo, 9, at bat, Sunday afternoon at Extra Innings. Gibson and Seth have been playing baseball for four years now, Gibson as a second baseman and center fielder, and Seth as a first and third baseman. Andrew has been playing for five or six years, he said, as a pitcher, short stop, and second baseman.

spring arbor kids

The CitPat ran a piece dealing with the ideal family setting in Spring Arbor, so I spent a few days with Spring Arbor kids.


Fourth graders line up to return inside after recess Friday at Warner Elementary School in Spring Arbor.


Nolan Moubray, 3, giggles as his little sister, "LelaBella," as he calls Lela Bella Moubray, 1, tickles his face as they ride in a cart pushed by their mother, Erica Moubray, through Dollar General Thursday in Spring Arbor. The Moubrays live in Concord, but Nolan attends Spring Arbor Cherubs Preschool.


Children at Lil Kids Club cry out in laughter as club teacher Eric Grant uses a puppet, "Mr. Moody," to tell them a story Wednesday at Free Methodist Church in Spring Arbor.


Childrens' shoes are left on the floor while they attend Lil Kids Club Wednesday at Free Methodist Church in Spring Arbor.


Breanna Gilbertson, 8, center, grins at Olivia Hubbard, 8, left, as Myle DeBecker, 8, climbs to the top of the wall during gym class Friday at Warner Elementary School in Spring Arbor.

warner outtakes - recess

warner elementary

This is for a more positive story about the Spring Arbor community, so it won't be published, but I liked it.

Olivia Hubbard, 8, left center, holds back tears as her friends, Breanna Gilbertson, 8, far left, Mylie DeBecker, 8, center right, and Quin Natschke, 8, comfort her on the way out of gym class Friday at Warner Elementary School in Spring Arbor.

This, however, will be running Sunday as part of a gallery or print package.

pretty around jackson

feech hunt: basketball practice

Makayla Davis, 12, center, plays a basketball while she and her teammates sit and listen to practice instructions after school Wednesday at Parkside. Makayla, along with the other girls present, is in the seventh grade at Parkside.

Nicole Reed, 12, left, and Mikala Williams, 12, goof off on their way back to practicing basketball from a drinking fountain break Wednesday after school at Parkside. The girls are both seventh graders at Parkside.

art 634

Graphic first one.

Katie Fuller, center, of Jackson, glances out the window between making pictures of an antique truck underground near Art 634 gallery Sunday during its free exhibit. Fuller participated in a "photo walk" in December which resulted in three works shown in the gallery Sunday.

Rocco Bernardi, 6, of Michigan Center Lake, giggles at the comments of his mother, Carrie Joers, Sunday at Art 634 during its free exhibit, "Jackson in Black and White. Rocco's mother is a graphic designer and fine artist who frequents Jackson in the summer to meet with an artist group and describes her work as "eclectic" in medium, including oil paintings, photography, and paintings on wood.

columbia central's dna kids

Slugged my little stick shift car through the snow Thursday to shoot an AP Biology class experimenting with the electrophoresis of DNA at Camp McGregor. The story and photos ran yesterday. Here's the gallery, if you're interested.

Columbia Central junior Megan Peterson uses an electrophoresis machine to separate DNA strands by length so it will be easier to examine Thursday at Camp McGregor.

Used pipette tips are discarded into a container for disposal Thursday during Columbia Central's AP Biology class's trip to Camp McGregor.


AP Biology students from Columbia Central High School crowd together for cupcakes during a break in their DNA testing experiment Thursday at Camp McGregor. The class prepared agarose gels to test the electrophoresis of DNA, but their experiment ran into their lunch time, Biology teacher Mike Dickens said. Later in the day, students were rewarded with pizza for their DNA analyzation efforts.

boy scouts collect trees

Abraham Parsons, 14, bursts into laughter as he sinks into a pile of Christmas trees collected around Jackson by his Boy Scout troop, Troop 312, Saturday at Jackson County's lot on Lansing Street. The scouts used the lot as a staging area before the trees were taken away to serve as wildlife cover in an effort to practice good conservation, said Scoutmaster Phil Farnsworth. "This wasn't the best idea!" laughed Abraham, who has been a Boy Scout for two years, as he struggled to free himself from the greenery.

more basketball!

First time lighting a gym here in Jackson. Bit frustrating, because I spent the first half of the game with technical issues and could only shoot the second half, but here's some frames and a link to the gallery.

Western junior Jessica Schempf goes high on a long pass during the Panthers' game against Columbia Central Friday at Western High School.

Columbia Central freshman Sophia Miller fights Western's Jessica Coleman, left, and Jessica West, to rebound the ball during the second half of Friday's game at Western High School.

Columbia Central senior Victoria McBean drives down the court during Western and Columbia Central high schools' game Friday at Western High School.

Western senior Erin Barclay, right, and Columbia Central senior Sarah Goodwin reach for a rebound Friday at Western High School.

feature huntin'

Day one in Jackson, went on a scavenger hunt to learn the lay of the land.

Jackson High sophomore AJ Schuster, 16, lays on the ground laughing after being tackled by his friends Monday after school at Jackson High School.

basketball in j-town

First post from Jackson! Shadowed Nick Dentamaro to work some more with lights Tuesday night. Wasn't assigned to work and had already done a day shift, but made a few frames anyway.


Michigan Center senior Chelsea Doyle powers down the court with Napoleon sophomore Kylie Commet in hot pursuit Tuesday at the Cardinals' home gym. The Cardinals beat the Pirates 41 to 34.


Madelyn Hampton, 5, draws on a Portable Playmaker next to the court during Michigan Center High School's basketball game against Napoleon High School Tuesday at Michigan Center High School. Madelyn, an Ezry Eby Elementary kindergartener, is the daughter of Napoleon Pirates coach Liz Hampton. "Next year I'm going to play bitty basketball," she said.

winter hike in the u.p.

Hiking at home in the U.P...forgotten limbs and the Piers Gorge forest area.

joshua

My brother Josh has a serious love for his 1987 Buick, a beater he bought with grocery store bank for $200. He graduates this May.

last days in midland

It's been awhile since any posting, and I've since moved from Mount Pleasant to Jackson, and from freelancing to interning. It's a bit bittersweet leaving Midland Daily News freelance, but starting work at the Jackson Citizen Patriot is exciting. I'll miss the critiques and company of Nathan Morgan, Thomas Simonetti, and Nick King, as well as my friends Sean Proctor and Jake May, but am excited to work near J. Scott Park, Katie Rausch and Nick Dentamaro.

Here are a couple frames from my last couple assignments from Midland.


LIBBY MARCH | for the Daily News
Server Tricia Smith rolls silverware into napkins during a lull Thursday night around 10 p.m. at the Creek Grill. Smith has been working at the grill since it opened this summer. Smith is engaged to Creek Grill chef Dan James.


LIBBY MARCH | for the Daily News
Bullock Creek junior Emilie Pretzer moves toward the basket during Bullock Creek's varsity game against St. Louis Friday night at Bullock Creek High School. The Lancers beat the Sharks 58 to 38.