Morgan Grindstaff

Morgan Grindstaff, 21, poses with his guitar at his Cherryville home on Thursday February 23, 2012. Grindstaff was born with Cystic Fibrosis, a degenerative condition that gives him breathing trouble and requires him to use a therapy vest and a nebulizer several times a day.

Part of the reason I love what I do is that I get to meet lots of interesting people that I might not otherwise interact with. It's my job to tell their story.

In this case, I took some pictures of Morgan with medical equipment he uses to help him breath due to his Cystic Fibrosis. That was necessary for the assignment, but I think this photo, which says nothing of his condition, is more genuine and dignified.

He's a human being after all, not simply a victim of disease. On the contrary, one angle in the story this photo accompanied was his efforts to raise awareness and support charities for the ailment.

It's always humbling, though, when you have an assignment to photograph someone with a serious medical condition. Morgan described for me how Cystic Fibrosis will typically get worse over time.

"By the time I get to be about 30 I'll be looking at a lung transplant, you know, or dying."

Then he laughed it off.

The Nurse's Dorm

Pathways Housing and Services Development Coordinator Kim Maguire poses for a photo in the former nurses dormitory on the historic North Carolina Orthopedic Hospital campus in Gastonia on Thursday March 1, 2012.

The building was most recently occupied by the Gaston County Department of Social Services until it was abandoned in the mid '90s. Maguire hopes to secure funding to renovate the building and convert it into veterans' housing.

Paint peels and crumbles away from water-damaged walls inside the building.

Furniture sits discarded inside the building. The last occupant was Gaston County Department of Social Services, who left for a new much large facility in the mid '90s.

Paint peels off of columns on the front facade of the building. 

Basketball Highlights

Highland Tech's Josh Neely, bottom, wins a rebound over Hayesville's Weston Jordan during the NCHSAA Western Regional semifinal game in the UNC-Greensboro Fleming Gymnasium on Wednesday February 29, 2012.

I don't have any statistics to back this up, but I believe that this past season I covered the fewest basketball games of any year since I began working for a newspaper. That's partly because there were only a few good teams this year, but mostly because The Gazette had more stringers than ever covering games. 

The highlight for me was definitely Highland Tech in the NCHSAA Western Regional Semifinal in Greensboro. I've said it before, but the Fleming Gymnasium at UNCG is a fantastic venue for basketball. 

They have broadcast lighting, ample room to move around on the sidelines, and a balcony over one of the baskets. 

Did I mention they have a balcony over one of the baskets? 

This type of shot is something you typically only see from NBA and major college games in arenas with a catwalk. And even then rarely, since it requires some special access, planning and time to pull it off. 

But if you can get it, it's always worth it. Since much of the peak action of a basketball game is under the rim, with players looking up, this lets you get all the facial expressions instead of armpit.  

Hayesville's Justin Gonyea, left, and Clint Coleman guard Highland Tech's Jevon Patton in the final minutes of the NCHSAA Western Regional semifinal.

Highland Tech's Joe Deese, clockwise from top, Hayesville's Weston Jordan, Highland's Robert McMillion-El and Hayesville's Hunter Lewis jump after a rebound during the NCHSAA Western Regional semifinal.

Belmont Abbey's Paula Regalado and Limestone's Kaileigh West jump after a rebound during the game at Belmont Abbey on Friday February 24, 2012.

Belmont Abbey's Darryl Durham and Limestone's Phillip Moultrie jump for a rebound during the game at Belmont Abbey on Friday February 24, 2012. 

Training Burn

Brandon Crank, right, and Charles Morrow with the Gastonia Fire Dept. keep a fire under control after conducting training in the abandoned house on S. Firestone Street on Thursday March 1, 2012. Loray Baptist Church, which owns the property, plans to clear the lot and convert it to a community garden.  

I love taking pictures of training fires. I get to acknowledge my inner pyro, take some cool pictures and at the end of the day I don't have to feel bad that someone lost their home (or worse). 

I think the firefighters feel the same way. 

In any event, I found an easy feature and only got a little sunburned from the fire. 

Firefighting Couple

Husband and wife firefighting duo Kenny and Julie Griffin pose in their turnout gear in the exercise room at their Lincolnton home on Monday February 13, 2012. Julie is employed full-time with the Charlotte Fire Dept. and Kenny is full-time with the Gastonia Fire Dept. 

I had an assignment to photograph this Lincolnton couple yesterday. I think if they ever decided to quit fighting fires for a living they could probably make it as interior designers. Their rural home was beautiful and game me a couple of excellent backdrops for photos. 

It was abundantly clear after spending half an hour or so with these guys that they love (at least) three things; each other, their careers and their dogs. 

I think the top photo sums it up, but as always, I think it's important to try to get at least two distinct shots from a portrait assignment, if possible. 

I also wanted to incorporate the red striped walls and vintage piano into a photo and have an option where they weren't in turnout gear. I ended up framing such that you can hardly tell they're at a piano, but I still like it as a more intimate compliment to the above photo.  

Fire on the mountain

Flames creep up the side of Crowders Mountain during a prescribed burn at Crowders Mountain State Park on Monday February 13, 2012. 

I got to see something pretty cool last night. 

An editor called and told me there was a prescribed burn taking place at Crowders Mountain State Park, so between two afternoon assignments I rode out there to take a look, but all I could see was a big cloud of smoke. 

One of the rangers told me they would be 'dropping fire' until at least 8:00p.m., and I immediately knew I wanted to come back at dusk or night and see what it looked like. 

I wasn't sure if I could squeeze it in, though. I had to turn in photos from an two assignments I had just completed, grab dinner and shoot two basketball games on the other side of the county, but I figured if the basketball games started on time and I was efficient I could do it. 

It came right down to the wire with making deadline, but it was worth it. The line of fire lit up the whole side of the mountain, stretching at least a half mile from end to end. It reminded me of photos I've seen of some of the massive wildfires out West. 

I would have preferred to see the cliff faces poking out through the smoke, but it was still a sight to see. (you can just see rock in the center of the bottom photo, click on it to view larger)

The radio towers peek through smoke clouds rolling over the cliff faces of Crowders Mountain during the prescribed burn. 

Close Call

Justin Carver, 8, a third-grader at Rhyne Elementary, poses for a photo on Wednesday February 8, 2012. The boy's mother is angry at school officials for not following procedures to notify her after another student stabbed Carver below the eye with a pencil on the school bus. 

From the Archives

A small cascade at Mount Mitchell State Park. Taken summer of 2007. 

I decided this week, for the first time in years, to pull out my light box and rummage through all the slides I shot from the time I was a kid up through college.

I started doing photojournalism, even if I didn't realize at the time, in the 7th grade while shooting for the middle school newspaper, but for most of my life nature photography was my world.

I was struck by how lousy most of my work from college was. I think a pivotal moment in my development as a photographer was my senior year in college, in summer of 2007 to be exact.

I had been doing photography since childhood, and always thought I was good at it. But after largely ignoring my camera in favor of new pursuits like rock climbing, fencing and a social life, I picked the camera back up my senior year only to find that I wasn't as good as I thought I was.

And it made me mad, even embarrassed.

In my state of humility I decided to get serous about my passion and start honing my skills and learning how to see.

If I can look back 5-10 years ago and see such a huge difference, I wonder what I'll think five years down the line when I look back at the work I'm doing now?

I'm hoping the best is yet to come. =)

Sunset over Mount Mitchell and the Black Mountains, summer of 2007. 

Exploring an abandoned mine shaft into the side of Crowders Mountain. 2008. 

Sunset at Jockey's Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks.