The Shelley Irish Dance Company | Pre-show

Just a little backstage lipstick action before a performance by Utah's most esteemed Irish dance group. The girls of The Shelley Irish Dance Company rehearsed for this night - the one and only showing - for over 10 months. This particular group of young women were cooler than most when it came to letting a dude creep around in their dressing room pre-show. Enjoy.

Hannah Cosper, 16, left, perfects the application of her thick, red lipstick before the annual performance by the young women of The Shelley Irish Dance Company on Monday, April 30, 2012, at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo, Utah. The concert featured the state teen fiddle and guitar champions, members of the group Firefly, the Timpanogos Pipe Band, An Rogaire Dubh and the local championship Highland dancers.

Color Me Rad 5K Run | Orem, Utah

I know, I know, it looks just like my Holi post from a month or so back. But that's because the Color Me Rad 5K Run basically was the same thing... except this time, people jogged around. As an event, I thought Holi was a lot cooler and more fun to shoot, but I did what I could in an hour's time for Color Me Rad. Enjoy the color insanity, once again.

Failures are just as good as victories...

...When it's regarding an athlete and you're a photographer. It is never good to wish failure on someone, but I'll be damned if a weird sports fail doesn't look cool. The image below stood out to me from the day's take; just the strange intersection of a moment and a unique shape from a BYU track meet recently. Enjoy!

Ropes Course | Standalone hunt

Another hot, slow newsday - time to hunt for some standalone art. Since my editor had shot at this location the week before, this image did not run. Regardless of its absence from print, I figured it was worthwhile enough of a picture to post. It's not perfect, but it reminds me of summer camp. Enjoy.

BYU Volleyball | Something a little different

Rarely am I moved by a sports image in any aspect outside of the capture of peak action. During a match between BYU and Long Beach State, Brigham Young's Robb Stowell reacted to a point against his team in one of the places in the stadium with an ethereal background. Luckily, I had spent a solid 15 minutes on the floor of the BYU side of the game shooting tight with a 300mm - something that rarely pays off. The centered composition, an absent background and the multi-directional light on Robb during such a moment jumped out at me. When you see that weird frame in your take that appeals to you (and maybe you only!), do not be afraid to move it. What's the worst that could happen? Enjoy!

BYU's Robb Stowell buries his face in his jersey after a point was scored against his team by a Long Beach State player during a quarterfinals game on Saturday, April 21, 2012, in the Smith Fieldhouse at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Marty McCoy | Portrait

I feel like the portraits have come in droves this past month. When I knew that an elderly gentleman named Marty McCoy (who had narrowly avoided a stroke) was coming in, I opted out of my usual preference for strobes and brought it back to basics: hot lights. Fluorescent hot lights. Photographers everywhere just cringed.

... Needless to say, the quality of light provided by office lights nailed to 2x4' boards cemented into paint bucket stands was exactly what I was looking for; soft, flattering and gentle on the wrinkles. Enjoy.

Hope of America

Propaganda. Patriotism. Sing-alongs. Hope of America. Staff photographer James Roh's response when told over the phone that he would be shooting it for the second year in a row: "Oh, God, please no. No no no no..."

... but wait! The intern! Give it to the intern. Me. "No worries," I thought. Right? Wrong!

Members of Jean's Golden Girls await their chance in the spotlight backstage before entering the 16th annual Hope of America Student Showcase on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at the Marriott Center at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Over 6,000 fifth grade students from 70 Utah County schools came together for the event.

Over 6,000 fifth grade students from 70 Utah County schools wave their flags in unison during the 16th annual Hope of America Student Showcase on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at the Marriott Center at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Children perform "America Rocks" at the 16th annual Hope of America Student Showcase on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at the Marriott Center at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Over 6,000 fifth grade students waved flashlights in the darkness of the performance space during the song "We Can Be a Light" at the 16th annual Hope of America Student Showcase on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at the Marriott Center at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Rebuilding with the ReStore | Fifth Anniversary

The ReStore - which I mistakenly thought was a Washington thing - was celebrating its fifth anniversary in business. The following image is the fruit of my labor from creeping around aisles of the store with a camera to get some art for the story. Luckily, I didn't need to creep too long; two gentlemen let me cruise around with them as they searched for a door for a project they were working on. When a moment can't be found, go graphic and something will come. After all, they're just pictures. At the end of the day, the point is to enjoy looking at them. So... enjoy!

Brothers Greg Jensen, right, and Adam Jensen, left, search for a door intended for installation on a shed the pair were in the process of building Monday, April 16, 2012, at the ReStore in Orem, Utah. The store - founded, owned and operated by Habitat for Humanity - is celebrating its fifth year with a sale. Donations and proceeds from the ReStore fund efforts by Habitat for Humanity.

Clear Horizons | Academy for children with autism

Miles Lambert, center, plays with an instructor during a classroom fun day on Monday, April 16, 2012, at Clear Horizons Academy in Provo, Utah. Clear Horizons is a school for children with autism.

Charity Fashion Show | Pre-show feature

Pulled this one out of somewhere in the last half hour before deadline at an event that hadn't even begun at the time this photograph was shot. Long story short: a miracle, and I am happy with it. If you look carefully, the Brigham Young University signature "Y" can be seen set into the Utah hills in the corner of the left widow pane. Enjoy!

Models practice their runway walks by the glare of a single spotlight before a charity fashion show to benefit Sowers of Hope, an non-profit organization started by two Congolese locals on Friday, April 13, 2012, in Provo, Utah. The evening's events marked the third year of the popular show.

Ardie Adams & his orchards | Portrait

Nothing better than meeting the subject of your portrait and finding out they're not only easy to get along with but a good person at heart. Ardie Adams, one of the oldest living fruit growers in Utah County, was certainly no exception to the rule. Mr. Adams and I spent an afternoon together talking life, cherries and the ol' Book of Mormon. As I was leaving, he put his hand on my shoulder. "You seem like a fine young man with a fulfilling life being lived already," Adams said to me. "I respect how hard you work - never underestimate where hard work can get you." Noted. Enjoy!

Ardie Adams, 90, a life-long fruit farmer, poses for a portrait Friday, April 13, 2012, in his orchards at his home in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Ardie Adams, 90, a life-long fruit farmer, presents some of his cherry blossoms Friday, April 13, 2012, in his orchards at his home in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Can you believe...

...A construction photo made it onto a photojournalist's personal blog? Yeah, me neither. That being said, it may be the bleak color palette, the worker's downturned body language or the sparing composition, but this frame summons a lonely feel for me.

Construction of the new Provo Recreation Center continued under a cloudy sky Thursday, April 12, 2012, in Provo, Utah. Progress on the new facility is estimated at the halfway mark.

Spring baseball continues...

A little bit of golden hour never hurts when out shooting a baseball game on a gorgeous April evening in Utah. I love the pace of the sport; molasses-slow for ninety percent of it, but a blazing ten percent to keep it interesting.
NOTE: If you say you "kinda like" shooting a sport to your editor, you will be assigned every game. Luckily, I honestly do have a great time out on the field in my supercool kneepads. Enjoy!

Blood Battle | Communities race to donate the most blood

While they aren't the most dynamic images from the more-visual-than-usual blood drive, they were my personal favorite. No matter how you butter it up, the bottom line is that a blood drive means that someone in a white coat is going to suck blood out of your arm with a fat needle - no hiding that fact. After making a couple paper-friendly frames for print, the pictures below lean toward illustrating the uncomfortable, clinic-like atmosphere of what was an undeniably good-natured cause. Enjoy.

Brenda Dobry, left, relaxes while donating blood during the Blood Battle blood drive Tuesday, April 10, 2012, in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Communities all over the county competed to see who could acquire the most blood over a day's time.

Empty blood bags and vials littered tabletops around the makeshift donating station at the Blood Battle blood drive Tuesday, April 10, 2012, in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Communities all over the county competed to see who could acquire the most blood over a day's time.

Killing Time

Just another day on the feature hunt in beautiful (yet unseasonable) Utah weather. While it does not always work, I tend to like quieter moments when looking to fill a news hole for the next day.