In a first, VA approves request by Oregon woman to bury same-sex spouse in national cemetery

Nancy Lynchild's grave at Willamette National Cemetery, when it is dug, will seal a marriage while setting a national first.  And it will provide a public expression of a life that retired Air Force Lt. Col. Linda Campbell once had to live in secret.

The burial of Lynchild's ashes at the military cemetery will be the nation's first of a veteran's same-sex spouse. 

Read more here: http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonatwar/2013/02/in_a_first_va_approves_request.html

See more photos here: http://photos.oregonlive.com/photo-essay/2013/02/air_force_veteran_gets_waiver.html

©The Oregonian

Linda Campbell, an Air Force veteran, has been granted a waiver by the Secretary of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, to have the ashes of her spouse, Nancy Lynchild, buried at Willamette National Cemetery. It is the first such waiver granted in the nation. Nancy Lynchild died of metastatic breast cancer in Eugene on Dec. 22, 2012. Campbell applied for the waiver with the support of Oregon Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries Brad Avakian and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. Copyright: The Oregonian/Thomas Boyd

Oscar Pistorius competed at the Pre Classic in Eugene, Ore.

I was as shocked as anyone upon learning Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius was arrested for killing his girlfriend. I photographed him competing at the Pre Classic meet in Eugene, Ore., back on June 2, 2012. He went on to compete in London Olympics.

Read more here: http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2013/02/oscar_pistorius_charged_with_m.html

​©The Oregonian

Oscar Pistorius, a Paralympic runner who blazed new terrain by competing in last summer's Olympics, is accused of killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. A shooting took place inside his upscale home in Pretoria, South Africa, early Thursday, and only the two of them were there at the time, police said. Copyright: The Oregonian/Thomas Boyd

Pete Brook Featured me on his Prison Photography blog

Pete Brook posted a question and answer session on his influential Prison Photography blog. He also writes for Wired.com here.

I was a little worried my answers were too negative and critical. It must not have too bad though, my words struck a cord with quite a few photographers who commented on Facebook. It's always scary to put yourself out there like this, but I think it's an interesting process and the feedback, positive or negative, is really insightful.

I'm glad Pete asked me to do. It's been lot of fun tracking who's read it and what they think.

Pete Brook's Prison Photography blog.

Tearsheet Update

Everyone now and then I get magazines in the mail from assignments I did months before. In the case of the Runner's World, it was published an entire year after I shot it. Other assignments are for very small run magazines that I would otherwise never see. The Haverford College alumni magazine had me shoot Emily Powell, who runs Powell's Books with her father. She went to Haverford.

I wish it were more complete, but here's a link to the rest of my tear sheets.

The Fat Cop Horse Slims Down

Did I just write that? Yes I did. The Portland Police are testing and training a new horse for their stables. They found Murphy. But he has a problem many of us humans have: he's fat.

Portland police horse trainer Jennifer Mack has Murphy on a fitness program. Here's a link to Tom Hallman Jr.'s story: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/01/horse_named_after_murphys_law.html (the video posted with the story is not mine.)

To see the photos and video I shot go to this link: http://photos.oregonlive.com/photo-essay/2013/01/murphy_is_trained_to_join_the.html

©The Oregonian

My POYi Entries

Since POYi is so difficult to win (for me anyway) I thought I might was well put all that hard work building the entry to good use here on this blog. Even though the chances of winning are slim, the process of going looking through my work from the year is really important. Not only do you get to reflect on what you could have done better or wish you could have done, you also find opportunities to follow-up on those stories. It helps me direct my energies for the following year.

I added the Feature Story to this post but I did not enter it as a single entry, but I did enter it in the final Newspaper Photographer of the Year portfolio.

©The Oregonian

Here's the my entries:

Science and Natural History

General News

Spot News

Feature Single

Portrait

News Picture Story - Clackamas Mall Shooting

Issue Reporting Picture Story - Tribal Fishing

Feature Picture Story -  Portlandia

Sports Action

Sports Feature

Tribal Fisheries

In 2012 I photographed several aspects of the tribal fishery on the Columbia River system and plan on doing more this year.

I had been wanting to shoot lamprey fishing at the Willamette Falls for years and I was finally able to line it up with my schedule. It's no small matter either. Lamprey harvesting lasts only a short time in the summer and it takes a boat ride to get there.

The rocks at the base of falls are as slippery as ice and learned the hard way when fell and hit my head, got knocked out and bruised a rib. It was worth it though, it's probably one of the most interesting things I've ever photographed. The lamprey are boiling at the base of the falls and I could feel them hitting my legs. The Native American kids harvesting the lamprey did a great job and learned quickly.

Here are a few photos from my efforts in 2012: 

©The Oregonian

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Lamprey harvesting at the Willamette Falls. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

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Gill-netting on the Columbia River. 

Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

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Unloading chinook salmon on the Columbia River. 

Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

Iced chinook salmon. 

Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

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On the Klickitat River. 

Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

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Sea lion hazing on the Columbia River. 

Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

A sea-lion feasts on a salmon. 

Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

Dip-netting on the Klickitat River. 

Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

My Favorite Oregon Duck Football Photos from the 2012-13 Season

I shot every game except Arkansas State, Tennessee Tech and Cal. I traveled with the Ducks to University of Washington, Stanford, Arizona State, and USC. I only shot one Oregon State Beaver game besides the Civil War, which was at Stanford.

My favorite photo came when the Ducks walked through the tunnel at USC for warmups. Another photographer had some green-gelled lights set up and I just happen to have shot a photo at the exact same moment he did. It made the players look like storm-troopers.

I also loved seeing the Ducks beat USC on the road. The USC fans were not pleased.

Overall, it was a great year to be the Ducks beat photographer for The Oregonian.

©The Oregonian/2012

Photo Sequence of Controversial Play in Oregon vs. Stanford Game

EUGENE, OREGON - November 17, 2012 - Stanford Cardinal tight end Zach Ertz (86), catches a touchdown pass that was initially called incomplete but was later ruled as a touchdown that tied the game at 14-14, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian 

Oregon Duck Football Collage

I've been thinking about doing something like this for a long time and this morning I just went ahead and whipped something out. And since I'll be shooting the Oregon Ducks play the Washington Huskies tonight, I thought made some sense. This is really only a test to see if my technique will work. I think it did but I'd like to have a better reason to put it to use. If it do it again I'll probably get someone to help me with better handwriting. In any event, I think the distressing method worked out pretty well.  

A Seattle Trip

This assignment was to shoot several spots around Seattle including the University of Washington and Bainbridge Island. Pike Place Market was not on my list, but it was nice to go to some places I hadn't been to before. I always love a good ferry ride and it as actually fun to run around shooting seriously for the 40 minutes I had. I was at the Seattle Great Wheel  at the perfect time for make some photos. I got on moments after the sun dropped and by the time I got off it was almost totally dark. Ten minutes earlier would have been awful light and ten minutes later same thing.

©The Oregonian/2012

Video: Curt Carlyle, professional juggler in Portland, Oregon

Rob Finch enlisted me to work on this short demonstration video with juggler Curt Carlyle. He wrote a nice blog post here. We ran four cameras and did a 20-minute interview with him. Curt did a great job and had some impressive moves.

©The Oregonian

Sculpture Park Seattle

Video: Dip-Netting Chinook on the Klickitat River

I spent the evening hanging out at Klickitat Falls watching the Yakama Indians dip net fish. They are true experts at catching fish this way. James Kiona grew up as boy watching his grandfather dip-net salmon at the Celilo Falls and has taught his own son how to dip-net on the Klickitat at Lyle Falls. Even though 60 percent of the chinook have already passed through, the were still catching a lot of fish.  

©The Oregonian

Cascadia Cup on the line. #rctid

VIDEO: Yakama Tribal Fisherman Rex Zack

Here's the video that goes with this story: http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/09/ooodles_of_fall_chinook_savvy.html#incart_river_default

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Good morning Columbia Gorge! #nofilter #dslr @theoregonian