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The story: Spokesman-Review photojournalist Brian Plonka describes how he made an incredible photo of a Red-tailed Hawk swooping down on a field mouse.
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This is a return to my ongoing series called Finding the Frame, where Spokesman-Review photojournalists share their stories of how they capture the exceptional images you see everyday in the newspaper. In this slideshow Brian Plonka talks about how he made a striking photograph of a Red-tailed Hawk swooping down on a rodent on Rathdrum Prairie last week.

Brian is one of the luckiest photographers I know. Send him out to shoot an assignment and he always comes back with something unexpected.

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The story: Finding the Frame. Jed Conklin and Mike Prager take a road trip in search of Comet McNaught
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Last Thursday, Spokesman-Review photojournalist Jed Conklin and Staff writer Mike Prager headed west as the sun began to set. Their task? Find and photograph Comet McNaught as it became visible in the southwestern skies shortly after sunset. This recently discovered comet has been called the brightest in thirty years.

In this Finding the Frame, Conklin and Prager tell their tale of chasing an opening in clouds hoping to catch a clean view to the heavenly body as it raced toward our sun.

Copies of these photos, or a photo quality copy of the newspaper page, can be purchased by calling (509) 459-5416.

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The story: Spokesman-Review photojournalist Kathy Plonka talks about documenting a story on childhood obesity.
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After meeting kindergartener Cody Harris at Holy Family Catholic School where her son also attends, photojournalist Kathy Plonka embarked on a photo story about childhood obesity and the struggle of a family with an obese child. With the permission of parents Wayne and Celise, she spent many hours with Cody and his family. Understanding the stigma of obesity and the prejudice against obese people, she and writer Jonel Aleccia took great care with a story that could expose young Cody to the simmering prejudices many people hold about “being fat.”
In this story, the Harris family’s hard work paid off with a good weigh-in that even surprised the family doctor: Cody had gained only four pounds over the course of a year.
In this slide show, Kathy Plonka talks about how she approached the story.

Read Cody's story.

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The story: Staff photojournalist Dan Pelle photographed the U. S. Air Force Thunderbirds being refueled over the Arizona-New Mexico boarder Thursday.
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On Thursday, staff photojournalist Dan Pelle and reporter Amy Cannata boarded a Fairchild Air Force Base KC-135 air refueling tanker and headed to the Arizona-New Mexico boarder to observe the refueling of seven U.S. Air force Thunderbird F- 16’s. People who see the inside of a KC-135 for the first time are usually shocked the lack of creature comforts. The in flight temperature runs the gamut from sweaty hot to ice cold. The seats are mesh racks that fold down from the inner walls of the aircraft. It is so loud you have to wear earplugs. For photojournalist Dan Pelle, a veteran of these types of flights, the excitement is still there.

“It was a double treat for me on this day because it was my birthday (age 47). I don’t know how many people get to photograph such a wonderful sight at 5000 feet, said Pelle.

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The story: Finding the Frame. Spokesman-Review photojournalist Brian Plonka talks about the rare circumhorizon arc that he photographed June 3, 2006.
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Staff photojournalist Brian Plonka has an innate ability to capture beauty in almost anything he photographs.

Sitting on his dock with his family at Hauser Lake, Idaho, Brian looked up and saw a rare meteorological sight, a circumhorizon arc that appeared in the skies over North Idaho June 3, 2006. The photo has garnered international interest and has been featured on CNN and MSNBC’s Photos of the Week where it has received 93,000 votes. The phenomenon involves sunlight passing through precisely aligned ice crystals in high-elevation clouds.

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The story: Staff Photojournalist Holly Pickett talks about finding a tender reunion between a Fairchild airman and his daughter.
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On Tuesday, staff photojournalist Holly Pickett was assigned to photograph Fairchild Air Force Base airmen returning to their families after a four-month absence. These events are hard to photograph, not because of a lack of subjects, but because there are too many. As photojournalists, we try to capture moments that have something to say. Most times we can just be flies on the wall and wait for the moment to happen. Other times, like the Fairchild assignment, photojournalists have to be more reactive, shooting lots of frames and hoping that the best moment won’t be missed. Holly said she was somewhat nervous as she waited for the airmen to deplane, knowing that as the families rushed to greet their loved ones, chaos would ensue. Like any good photojournalist, Holly didn’t stop shooting when the moments of initial excitement ended. Sometimes the best pictures happen out of the spotlight.

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The story: Spokesman-Review photojournalist Kathryn Stevens talks about finding a cool photo at the Looff Carrousel in Riverfront Park.
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Spokesman-Review photo intern, Kathryn Stevens, was disappointed in herself after photo editor Dan Pelle sent her back out to find a better photograph illustrating the changes coming to Riverfront Park. Pelle explained to Kathryn that her initial photos of the park's gondolas were good, but they lacked a needed human element. On her second time out, Kathryn’s creative eureka moment came when she saw a layered reflection in the Looff Carrousel's window. A magic moment followed.

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The story: Spokesman-Review photojournalist Jed Conklin talks about a favorite photo from last summer's wildfire near Pomeroy, Wash.
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Sorry about the lack of updates recently. Vacation time and my weeklong trip to St. Louis to cover the figure skating championships left me a little behind in my Video Journal production. I am working on an audio slideshow of Larry's Barbershop and will post it Tuesday evening. For now, enjoy fellow photojournalist, Jed Conklin, as he shares his experience covering the School Fire near Pomeroy, Wash. last summer. The photo received a lot of national play in other newspapers and online slideshows.

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The story: A jockey thrown from his racehorse remains one of Colin Mulvany's favorite images
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I will be headed on vacation over the next couple of weeks and I thought for you die-hard Video Journal fans I should at least try and post something for you while I'm gone.

Like the Finding the Frame feature, I call this Favorite Frame, where a Spokesman-Review photojournalist pulls out one of their favorite photos from their archives and tells a little story about how it was made. I'm the first one, with more to follow from other SR shooters. Let me know if you like this feature and I will continue to produce them for you. Happy Holidays, Colin.

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The story: Detail shots can sometimes reveal more about the personal lives of our readers says Spokesman-Review photojournalist Kathy Plonka.
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A good photojournalist sees things that most people take for granted. They see and capture moments in fleeting hundredths of a second. The creative process is different for each photographer. The longer they spend with a subject the better they are able to see the subtle storytelling photos. Such is the case of staff photojournalist, Kathy Plonka, who spent time with Rindie Burgess, John King and their six children living in transitional housing in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. The photo of a child with dirty feet on a bed reminds us that kids are kids no matter where we live. “Detail shots can sometimes give readers a more personal look into the lives of the people we photograph,” said Plonka.

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The story: A lightly coiled rope on a dock catches Spokesman-Review photojournalist Jed Conklin's eye at Priest lake.
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There are many pictures we take as photojournalists that just don’t make the paper. News photojournalism will force a pretty or artsy photo off the newsprint almost every time. Case in point is this picture from Spokesman-Review photojournalist Jed Conklin that he took over Thanksgiving weekend at Hill's Resort on Priest Lake, Idaho. It is a cool image that begs to be looked at. Unfortunately it really can't compete with the daily news photos we have scheduled in the limited space of the newspaper.

After seeing this photo sitting on Jed’s computer screen, I knew it had to be saved from ending up lost on his hard drive for eternity. I like Jed’s description of what he was seeing when he found the frame. I hope you will too.

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The story: Staff Photojournalist Brian Plonka talks about how he found an interesting moment at Monday's demonstration to save the Rookery and Mohawk buildings from the wreaking ball.
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This photograph is one you have to look at for a time to really appreciate its complex simplicity. This quarter, I’m teaching an Intro to Photojournalism class at Spokane Falls Community College and one of the techniques I stress to my students is how to see and shoot layers of information in their photographs. This photo is a perfect example of Brian seeing those layers, and then making them all work together in a split second. Beyond that, it is just a very cool picture to look at.

Brain’s eye is unlike any other photographers I’ve known. He sees the world differently than most. I always know when it’s a Brian Plonka photo in the paper just by looking at it. He has a personal style all his own.

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The story: Staff Photojournalist Chris Anderson talks about his dramatic EWU football photo from Sunday's game in Cheney.
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When I opened Sunday's sports section, my jaw dropped upon seeing Spokesman-Review photojournalist Chris Anderson's stunning EWU football photo. The picture showed two EWU players hitting Montana State. quarterback Travis Lulay so hard his helmet popped off.

Chris Anderson, or CA as we all call him, has been a Spokesman-Review shooter for the last 29-years and has specialized in sports photography most the last decade. He normally covers WSU football, but because their season has tanked, Chris was assigned to cover the Eastern Eagles/ Montana St. game instead. Sports action photos like this are rare, even among the best sports shooters in the country. Hats off to CA for getting a great snap.

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The story: A purple Cadillac weather photo published in The Spokesman-Review elicits a positive response from the car's owner.
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Spokesman-Review staff photojournalist Jed Conklin talks about his entry for Finding the Frame, a new Video Journal feature on how our photojournalists document life.

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The story: A new Video Journal feature exploring the creative process behind the favorite pictures of Spokesman-Review photojournalists.
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Many times, I've wished I could have shared with our readers, the story behind a particular photograph I’ve taken. From experience, I know that each picture published in The Spokesman-Review has a unique story behind it. Sometimes it’s just a simple tale about what went into finding and making an interesting photo. Other times, interactions with subjects have often yielded stories I've wished I could have shared with people beyond the newsroom walls.

Starting today, I hope to give online viewers a better understanding how Spokesman-Review photojournalists capture the wonderful images you see each day in the newspaper and online. I am calling this new Video Journal feature, Finding the Frame.

As with other newspapers across the country, we are trying to become more transparent with the public about how we gather and publish the news. In my discussions with readers, I have come to the realization that many people don’t understand the important roll photojournalist’s play in documenting their communities. I am hoping to make this an ongoing project. If there's a Spokesman-Review produced photo you see in the newspaper that you want to know more about, email me and I will try to have the photographer enlighten us as to how the image was made.

This first Finding the Frame picture is by our photo intern, Kathryn Stevens. I was walking by our department photo printer when I spotted this cool photograph of a guy reading a fashion magazine at Rockwood Bakery. It was the first time I had seen the image and I immediately liked it. I recorded audio of Kathryn telling the story about how she spotted the photo. It is fun to listen so check it out.