Graduation

After ten years, five states, two schools, and a six-year-break, I graduated last week from the University of Missouri with my photojournalism degree. As you can probably imagine, the folks from the photo department were the ones with cameras hanging over their robes. As one of those people, here are some photos from commencement. Enjoy.

Sneak Peek

I've been out shooting several different photo stories and videos recently. For this coming week, I'm going to be plugged into the computer on some long editing runs. Here are some teasers of what is coming soon. Check back soon for more.

Monster Bike Bash

Monster Bike Bash from Benjamin Zack on Vimeo.

In the spirit of Halloween, costumed cyclists descended on the Katy Trail for the annual Monster Bike Bask, a 20-mile bike ride/party/costume contest/concert series. I went out with a camera and put together a little film from the day. Enjoy!

I recently spent a week at the Missouri Photo Workshop creating videos about the photographers and editors from around the world who annually descend on one small Missouri town. Most of the videos from the week are now posted online. They range from short documentaries to conversations on the state of photojournalism to whatever strange things came up in the midst of a stressful, sleepless week.

Special thanks and credit goes to the other photographers on the multimedia team: Parker Miles Blohm, Tatiana Fernandez and Nick Michael.

CoMo Cyclocross Film

After taking a camera to the new CoMo Cyclocross league last month, I recently returned to try and make a 60-second film on one of the stranger branches of the bike racing world. Enjoy. 

CoMo Cyclocross from Benjamin Zack on Vimeo.

Missouri River

Last weekend, I met up with some friends on the Missouri River. As the sun went down, a group of folks and a handful of dogs piled into a boat and headed up river to play around on the islands. I brought along the camera and here are the photos.

Como CycloCross

Last week marked the start of a new CycloCross series in Columbia. For twenty minutes each week, riders race and jump hurdles in one of the strangest sports on two wheels. Each race involves riders trying to complete as many laps as possible on a compressed course. Riders also have to clear obstacles where they must carry their bikes. The sport is rumored to have started as a winter race where cyclists could keep up their practice in poor weather.

American Next

For the past week, the Columbia Missourian has been publishing "American Next," a series of stories on what the American Dream now means to young adults around Missouri. I had the honor of photographing one of the stories on the Mabin family from Springfield, a story of the classic stereotype of the American Dream coming true. That story is featured in today's print addition of the Missourian and is available online here.

Sean Mabin and his daughter Naomi celebrate their win over Naomi's brother's Isaiah and Kylan in the new game that the family bought that day. Wednesday afternoons and Sundays are Sean's days off.

Harrisburg, Missouri

After spending a stretch of this spring in Harrisburg, Missouri, I put together an essay on life in the small mid-Missouri town. If you haven't seen them already, you can view the collection here on my website.

You can find additional photos from Harrisburg on my blog, including more photos from the Harrisburg Elementary School's bike rodeo and Freeman Taxidermy. I've also included a few of the photos below that I enjoyed but didn't make it into the final project or earlier blog posts. Enjoy.

Fire Follow-up

After spending the first half of the summer with limited internet connection...I'm back. First up on photos from the last couple months is a quick follow-up on some of the prescribed fire photos from earlier in the year. If you followed the blog in the spring, there were photos from numerous fires around mid-Missouri (Like here, here, and here.) I checked back in on one of those burned areas in the Baskett Wildlife Area near Ashland and shot the photo below. The image was made within a few feet from the photograph that was shot just seconds after the fire passed.

 

This was shot from a slightly different angle, but it gives an idea of the intensity of the fire in the area now covered in wildflowers.

Harrisburg Bike Rodeo

Over the last few weeks, I've been continuing a project to document life in Harrisburg, a small town in mid-Missouri. Recently, Harrisburg Elementary School hosted their annual bike rodeo. While many small towns around Missouri have been slowly disappearing over recent decade, Harrisburg maintains an active downtown and community. Many residents attribute this to the strong schools located in the center of town. On a warm spring evening, 100 students from pre-school through sixth grade raced bikes and took part in contests ranging from obstacle courses to bike golf on the school playground.

Freeman Taxidermy

Yesterday, I photographed Clint Freeman as part of my project to document Harrisburg, Missouri. Over the last few years, Freeman, a Harrisburg native, has taken taxidermy from a hobby to a profession. On Monday, he was touching up two deer mounts.

Harrisburg Hazard House

For the next couple weeks, I'll be photographing in and around Harrisburg, Missouri. This photo is from the Hazard House just south of town. Named for the past owners, the home is flanked by a long fence filled with old scraps, deer skulls, dolls and more. For the last decade, Terry McBride has been renovating the 170-year-old farm house. When he bought the house, the previous owners had mostly abandoned the property and the home was filled with junk. This junk now fills the 50-foot fence, although McBride holds onto some of the more valuable pieces like an 1855 nickel. I'll be posting more photos from the Hazard House and Harrisburg in the coming weeks.  Enjoy this preview.

Who's Behind Your Burger?

For the last several weeks, I've been working on a project to document the farmers, bakers, and ranchers who are bringing a hamburger to your table. The stories are all together now on my website where you can browse the origins of your dinner. Go take a look and enjoy.

Covered-L Ranch

Kansas City Polar Bear

Last week we spent an early summer day at the Kansas City Zoo. Despite the unusually warm March weather, there was an extremely active polar bear by the entrance. Here are a few photos from the day. Enjoy.

Here are a few details from some of the other animals.

Prehensile tail porcupine

Straw-necked ibis

Straw-necked ibis