The Year in Pictures

December 31, 2019 by Geoff Hansen

The past year has been one of change, which generally means more time for me to be behind the computer instead of the camera. I still love photography and my role in documenting life around me. Here are a few of my favorites from 2019, with notes:

It was a bittersweet moment to see the last issue of the VALLEY NEWS come off the press in West Lebanon, N.H., at the end of January. The press crew moved to a new facility in Penacook, N.H., which also meant a full redesign and the newspaper’s deadlines have been moved up by several hours.

When one of the reporters at the newspaper heard the Tunbridge Fairgrounds had flooded following a sudden January thaw, she was blown away. While it was amazing to see, fair officials accessed the situation with a big shrug. Happens every year, they said.

Finding a fresh angle on any assignment is always a challenge. In Northern New England, high school baseball season always starts indoors because the fields are too soggy. I’m sure the players thought I was nutty for laying on the floor, taking a picture of a ball.

With a huge field of Democratic presidential candidates this time around, we have been seeing them more often. On a Saturday in April, I covered Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign stop at a Lebanon, N.H., house party, where she did a video for Twitter before departing. The standard question for getting credentials these days is “what is your Twitter handle?”

My daughter played on Sharon Academy’s Ultimate team for the first time. Ultimate is a sport recently sanctioned by state officials and Sharon is the only school in the area with a team. I was there for Senior Day, one of our daughter’s last school activities I photographed over the years.

With fewer weddings to photograph, I spent a lot of my time off over the summer crawling under and around my project car, a 1979 Fiat 2000 convertible. While I felt overwhelmed at the prospect of rebuilding the whole brake system, I did it and the car is close to being fully roadworthy.

When our daughter graduated high school, she not only had a long ceremony to be part of, but then a party with family and an overnight excursion with her classmates at the school. Organizers didn’t want students driving themselves home, so I picked her and a friend up and we went out for breakfast at Eaton’s Sugarhouse. I can see why I was driving!

Our annual VALLEY NEWS Athlete of the Year portrait sessions were spread amongst the staff this year, a relief to me. Of those I did, one of my favorites was of Kiana Johnson, a senior at Thetford Academy. Kiana had to change schools for her last year after Chelsea Public School closed due to consolidation. She brought the ball she was given for scoring 1,000 points in her high school career, signed by her teammates.

Over the summer, Ben Canonica asked me to document the removal of a dam along the First Branch of the White River in Royalton, Vt. The first order of business was to push over a cinder block shed, creating an eerie photo as decades of flying dirt and debris went airborne. Greg Russ of the White River Partnership, shown, and I were amazed at Ben’s expertise in maneuvering his machines to return the river to its original state.

After covering Plainfield’s Fourth of July parade for the VALLEY NEWS, I added this photo of John Yacavone at the last minute because it grew on me (I love how the flag blends into his pants!). He is an enthusiastic Uncle Sam, leading the traditional parade for the past six years.

Protestors told the VALLEY NEWS they were planning to picket Gov. Chris Sununu’s appearance at a Lebanon, N.H., senior center due to the budget impasse between the Republican and the Democratic-majority legislature. As Sununu was leaving the event, he suddenly decided to speak with them and I was happy to document it.

My wife and I were fortunate to be invited to stay for a week in July with her cousin’s family at the Adirondacks camp where we spent our honeymoon. The original building has been around for over 100 years and we stayed in the smaller and newer cabin where her late grandmother spent many summers. It was so relaxing!

Daylight is long enough in the first week or two of the high school season that you’re able to mix in sunsets with the action, as I did at a Woodstock, Vt., game at the end of August. Peak light instead of peak action!

Valley News photographs copyright © Valley News
May not be reprinted without permission

Past Time

August 19, 2019 by Geoff Hansen

Beginning today, I will have a larger role at the Valley News in producing the newspaper. While I’m still photo editor, I will be in the office full-time and my ability to help out with photography is going to be limited. This group of photos from this year’s baseball season reminds me what I love (and will miss) about photojournalism – there’s not constant action in front of you and it’s up to the photographer to stay a step ahead and to think about the story to be told.

From top, The sun made a brief-yet-striking appearance during the Division III matchup between Green Mountain and White River Valley in South Royalton, Vt.; Relief pitcher Alex Jenness looks for the sign from catcher Michael Evans while throwing to a Laconia batter in the fifth inning of their game in West Canaan, N.H.; Hartford’s Zack Butterfield takes batting practice with sunflower seeds while drenching rain falls and shortens their planned doubleheader with Mount Anthony to a single game in White River Junction, Vt.; As rain continues to fall before their doubleheader with Mount Anthony, Athletic Director Jeff Moreno, left, shows Hartford baseball coaches Jarrod, center, and Dick Grassi the sunny conditions the softball team is playing under in Bennington, Vt., where rain was predicted; White River Junction Post 84 senior’s Alex Emerson beats the tag at home by Bennington Post 13 catcher Owen King as Post 84’s Tom Bissaillon watches in the seventh inning of the first game of their doubleheader in White River Junction; Upper Valley Nighthawks infielders Cole Frederick, left, and Adam Smith turn a double-play on North Adams’ Brian Picone and his teammate in the fourth inning of their game in White River Junction; Lebanon Post 22 senior’s Ethan Brueckner swings at a high pitch and strikes out in the seventh inning with the bases loaded against Laconia Post 1 in Lebanon, N.H.; Nighthawks teammates John Hosmer, left, of Charlotte, N.C., and Kellen Spann, of Meridian, Miss., check out the Martha’s Vineyard neighborhoods in Oak Bluffs, Mass., during a bus ride to play the Sharks; The Nighthawks’ Devin Beckley pitches to the Sharks’ Nander De Sedas as Andrew Cossetti catches in the fifth inning of their game in Oak Bluffs, Mass. New to the New England Collegiate Baseball League, the Sharks hosted the Nighthawks for the first time; Midway through their 13 hours of traveling to play baseball, the Upper Valley Nighthawks board a fishing trawler, departing Martha’s Vineyard for Falmouth, Mass., and eventually returning to White River Junction.

News Update

May 18, 2019 by Geoff Hansen

It’s been a while since I’ve done a blog post (partly because I’ve been spending my spare time on an old car – follow along with me on Instagram!), but I continue to do photography at the Valley News when extra help is needed. Here’s a few of my favorites from the past few months:

From top, Hanover High students, from left, Mae Candon, Olivia Evans, Kristov Bardales and Gail Morse cheer for the team as they are introduced before the start of the NHIAA Division II state championship against Kennett in Manchester, N.H.; From left, Thetford’s Eli Dunnet (12), Owen Deffner (22), Alex Emerson (15), Carter Blain (21) Jake Colby (30) huddle up before Emerson’s free throw attempt in the first quarter of their Division III state championship with Williamstown in Barre, Vt.; Young adult author Jo Knowles, of Hartland, Vt., is photographed in the town hall before leaving to promote her new book Where the Heart Is; A motorist stops to turn around on Falls Hill Road in Tunbridge, Vt., after an overnight storm caused the First Branch of the White River to overflow its banks. Route 110 from Howe Lane to Russell Road was closed after a section of the road was under a foot of water; Sharon’s Isabella Amodeo, right, intercepts a pass intended for Lyndon’s Lucas Patoine, left, with an assist from teammates Rory Livingston and Carl Groppe in the second half of their Ultimate game in Sharon, Vt. In the background is Sharon’s Claire Jenisch; Oxbow’s Emma DeGoosh leads the defending Division III champions in a cheer before they step up to bat in the first inning of their game with White River Valley in Bradford, Vt.; Windsor co-captain Ryland Richardson passes the time during a pitching change in the seventh inning of their game with Brattleboro in Windsor, Vt.; Richard Neugass, of Norwich, Vt., looks for migrating birds while carrying the communal trash bag along the Ompompanoosuc Flats in Norwich. Chris Rimmer has led a group of birders on Green Up Day for the past eight years to pick up litter and to keep eyes on the sky. “It’s just an excuse to go birding,” Rimmer said.

The Year in Pictures

December 29, 2018 by Geoff Hansen

As usual, it’s been a busy year for me and my photography. I enjoy the variety of the work, whether it’s the unpredictability of newspaper photography, documenting important family events like weddings and other gatherings, or aiming the lens to tell the story of my community. Here’s a few of my favorites, with a bit of commentary:

Since photographing their wedding ten years ago, Cara and Dean have had me to their Barnard, Vt., home several times to document their growing family. As things were winding down this summer, Baiah and her siblings were exploring the nearby pond and she showed me her sweet and beautiful creation.

When the phone rings at home later in the evening, it’s usually an editor at the VALLEY NEWS. There was a lightning strike at a Vershire, Vt., home, which is a couple of towns away from me. After negotiating with a reluctant home owner, I got access, photographed the investigation and uploaded the photo into the system via. my cell phone close to midnight. Technology is amazing!

I’ve known Logan since her younger sister and my daughter entered kindergarten 13 years ago. Logan and Nick were married in a beautiful hilltop ceremony in Tunbridge, Vt., then had a reception at the fairgrounds in town. When their wedding party — who are also rec league softball teammates — toasted the couple by shotgunning cans of beer, I held the camera over my head and hoped I got the photo.

When the largest schools in Vermont are puny compared with others in the Northeast, the state’s smallest Division IV basketball teams are scrappy and play with tons of heart. In the championship game, Sharon Academy held on to win 60-56 over Danville and coach Blake Fabrikant was as happy as the players were. It was the school’s first championship win and I was there for the VALLEY NEWS to capture it.

In an exchange for partial CSA payment, I have been doing photography and maintaining Tunbridge Hill Farm’s website for the past several years. When I look back at my photos in the middle of winter, I can vividly recall the warm soil under my bare feet and the sweet taste of the peas plucked from their dewey pods.

Driving to cover a Claremont, N.H., City Council meeting for the VALLEY NEWS, I was not expecting much. As part of a school project, 10-year-old boy was to present a petition to lower the speed limit near his house. But once I saw his mother tear up with pride while seeing her self-assured son confidently reading his speech, I was hooked!

The newspaper has been naming the best male and female athlete for the 18 high schools it covers for the past several years, marked with portraits and a special publication. Oxbow High running sensation Izzy Giesing has won it four times, and I think I’ve done her portrait each time. Wanting to change it up, I had the thought to photograph Izzy’s spiked shoes flying through the air. With help from her twin sister, we did several attempts and laughed a lot at the shoes poking both of them while they landed.

Another victim of changing times, the venerable local office supply business Twin State Typewriter was closing its doors in White River Junction, Vt. While working in the store with VALLEY NEWS reporter John Lippman, I was happy to photograph customer Becca White’s reaction to the news from Donald and Wanda Nalette.

I have tagged along with my daughter to the July 4 birthday celebration for her friend’s brother for several years. It’s held at the Woodstock, Vt., community fireworks display and his parents are fully equipped with not only cake but party favors. The kids’ creative uses of glow sticks and their reaction to the display made me happy I brought my camera and its good lens!

Sometimes portraits just fall in your lap — I had an assignment to photograph property management owner Melissa Allen at her office in Grantham, N.H., for ENTERPRISE, the VALLEY NEWS’ business magazine. I was greeted by Penelope, Melissa’s sweet basset hound, and asked if Penelope could be in the photo on her desk, where there was nice morning light. Melissa relaxed, having her dog in the picture.

I was interested to see how competitive go-karting works as I spent the morning with Matthew Winter and his family at the Canaan Motor Club for a VALLEY NEWS story. There was a lot of time spent preparing the kart, attending the drivers’ meeting and doing qualifying races before the feature. When there was a bit of tension about adjusting the kart between Matthew’s father and an official, I was glad to be there to document it.

On the same day as the karting assignment, I had to run down the road to the annual Abenaki and Indigenous People’s Honoring Day in White River Junction, Vt. As I arrived, the organizers were speaking and I saw that Martha Knapp, one of the founders who recently retired, was in the audience. She was presented with a dream catcher and I was lucky to be there to photograph her reaction.

My daughter is in her final year of high school at Sharon Academy and she’s loved every minute of it. The school has an annual tradition of putting on an all-school play where every student is involved in the process. Many are on stage but there are others who do the lighting, play music, sell tickets or produce the program. I enjoyed seeing students who I have known since kindergarten flourish in their roles!

For the seventh year, I volunteered to photograph Santa’s appearance at the Tunbridge Public Library. Euclid Farnham has been doing the gig much longer — since 1979. It’s not only wonderful to see his interaction with the children (his wife Priscilla is usually there as Mrs. Claus but was under the weather), but as president of the Tunbridge Historical Society, Euclid has also put my work into their archives for others to enjoy years from now.

On another VALLEY NEWS assignment, I spent the morning with Mount Lebanon Elementary School Principal Eloise Ginty for a story about her decision to leave the job at the end of the school year. Fourth-grader Leigha Hopwood gave her a big hug during a break in school work. It went so well with the quote I got from Eloise: “I enjoyed every minute of being here,” she said. “It’s a great school.”

Valley News photographs copyright © Valley News
May not be reprinted without permission

In the News

July 25, 2018 by Geoff Hansen

It’s a tumultuous time to be in the newspaper industry, but it’s still a thrill to be a part of daily news reporting. Here’s a few of my favorite photos that I did over the past few months for the Valley News.

From top, With help from carpenter Mike Gross, of Tunbridge, Vt., (not pictured) Peter Klinck attaches a rake overhang with screws to the porch of his Tunbridge home. The porch is the last of the house’s framing to be done, rebuilt after a Nov. 2014 fire caused $250,000 in damages. Klink used insurance funds, donations, recycled materials and sweat equity to bring the building back into shape; South Royalton teammates, from left, George Carr, Logan Martin and Zeb Perrault celebrate after Martin scored on a bunt by Jacob Barry in the sixth inning of their Division IV semifinal game with Rivendell in South Royalton, Vt. South Royalton won, 4-2; State Sen. Alison Clarkson, of Woodstock, Vt., gives Jane Curtis, also of Woodstock, a kiss after about 50 people sang “Happy Birthday” to Curtis at the start of a rally at Tribou Park in Woodstock. Curtis, who turned 100 earlier in the month, was the inspiration for the new group Women For A Change, who organized the demonstration against the Trump administration’s policy to separate immigrant children from their parents while they are seeking asylum; Becca White, middle, of White River Junction, Vt., reacts to the news that Donald and and Wanda Nalette are to be selling their South Main Street building in downtown White River Junction to Northern Stage at the end of July. Wanda Nalette, who owns Twin State Typewriter, will be closing the business and joining her husband in retirement; While waiting to line up for commencement, Jackie Balch takes a silly photo of herself with her classmates Elizabeth Coverdale and Lawrence Roessel in Sunapee, N.H. Twenty-nine graduates received their diplomas; After cutting away an area of cedar shake siding with a chainsaw firefighters examine where lightning was suspected to have traveled down the side of Donna Goldberg’s house on Taylor Valley Road in Vershire, Vt. The early 1970s-era house was unoccupied, undergoing renovations and is insured.

Top Honors

June 17, 2018 by Geoff Hansen

As the school year winds down, the Valley News celebrates the accomplishments of 36 students from the 18 schools it covers with its Athlete of the Year award. It’s a bit stressful to reach everyone and schedule portraits in two weeks, but well worth it! Here’s a few of my favorites:

From top, Oxbow’s Izzy Giesing, Mount Royal’s Alex Normandin, Stevens’ Jenna Pond, South Royalton’s Connor Lambert and Iris Hudson, Lebanon’s Nate Chickering, Thetford’s Meagan Balch, Oxbow’s Ben Emerson and Newport’s Lacey McNeel.

Here and There

May 13, 2018 by Geoff Hansen

It’s still a pleasure to be here and there covering the community for the Valley News. I’m mostly in the office as photo editor but I’m on the road whenever we’re short a photographer. Here’s a few of my recent favorites:

From top, Jocelyn Beeman, of Claremont, N.H., wipes her eyes while watching her son Oliver, 10, speak to the Claremont City Council about a petition he circulated to ask for the lowering of the speed limit along South Street At left is Oliver’s father, Jason Beeman; Thomas Buergenthal sits for a portrait in Hanover, N.H. He gave the speech “Scenes from a Life: From the Auschwitz Death March to the International Court of Justice” at Dartmouth College later in the day. He was one of the youngest Holocaust survivors. After the war, Buergenthal studied law in the United States and during the course of his career as a law professor, became a world-renowned expert on human rights; Dartmouth No. 5 singles player Ciro Riccardi serves against Princeton in their last match of the regular season. Dartmouth won, 4-1, to win its first Ivy League title since 1997; Ellie Woodward, 6, of Lebanon, N.H., tries to take the basketball away from her father, Dylan Woodward, while enjoying a warm Sunday afternoon at the CCBA’s Witherell Recreation Center’s outdoor courts with her sister and mother in Lebanon; Newport, N.H., seniors Stacia Dame, left, Hailey Perry and Kendall Hamilton (not shown) hug after they were given flowers by their families at the start of their last home game with Stevens in Newport.

Out and About

February 17, 2018 by Geoff Hansen

Finding moments while being out and about as a photographer for the Valley News continues to be a joy, whether it’s early in the morning or late at night. Here’s a few of my favorites so far from 2018:

From top, Nick Stickney of Blakeman’s Towing & Recovery works to remove a Jeep Wrangler from the ditch after it was struck by an Amtrak passenger train in South Royalton, Vt. Police said the Jeep’s driver was trying to pull another car out of the snow at the time of the crash. No one was injured; Amy Hutchins, as Marianne, and Michael Stewart Allen, as Roland, rehearse a scene from CONSTELLATIONS, a two-character drama by Nick Payne at Shaker Bridge Theatre in Enfield, N.H.; Jarvis Antonio Green is the founding producing artistic director for JAG Productions and BarnArts Center for the Arts; Terry Wing, of Springfield, Vt., reacts to Gregory Smith’s testimony in Windsor Superior Court in White River Junction, Vt., about the shooting of her son Wesley Wing in April 2015 over a dispute about drug activity in the Springfield neighborhood where Smith and Wesley Wing lived; Lebanon guard Megan Gradijan keeps the ball in play as it heads out-of-bounds in the first quarter of their game with Con-Val in Lebanon, N.H.; Players and fans react to Dover’s go-ahead goal with less than 30 seconds to play in the game with Lebanon-Stevens on Feb. 14, 2018, in West Lebanon, N.H. Dover’s Garrett Swan, left, scored on an assist from teammate Wyatt Allaire, center, to win 5-4; Ben Emery, of Burlington, Vt., launches from the 50-meter jump at Storrs Hill in Lebanon, N.H., during a Junior Nationals qualifying event. The jump now has metal tracks instead of snow, allowing for predictable tracking and planned year-round use beginning in 2019; Over a half-dozen homeowners in Warren, N.H., have been without water for about two months after a stretch of the Baker River near their homes was dredged. They believe the water table dropped, ran their dug wells dry and are looking for answers from town, state and federal officials.

Green Green Mountains

December 12, 2017 by Geoff Hansen

The second story I photographed for the Weather Channel’s series on climate change was published over the weekend. Working with writer Matt Hongoltz-Hetling and editor Patty Cox, over the summer I documented elements of Vermont’s renewable energy efforts, from solar power to electric vehicles to zero-energy homes. I enjoyed exploring the topic and seeing the result! Follow this link to read the story and see a video that was also produced.

From top: Three solar projects have been installed near the Rutland Community Garden’s 50 plots, within view of the Green Mountains and Killington Peak, the second highest in Vermont. According to Green Mountain Power, Rutland is the Solar Capital of New England, with the most solar per capita of any city in the region; While 60 SunCommon solar panels are installed in an adjacent barn, Jersey cows are turned out to pasture after their morning milking at 4 Corners Farm in Newbury, Vt.; SunCommon Warehouse Assistant Evan Vaillancourt loads a pallet of solar panels into a trailer to be delivered to a job site at the company’s warehouse in Waterbury, Vt. The company’s 21 enclosed trailers are delivered with job-specific inventory — they average 15 installations a week in the summertime; SunCommon Co-President Duane Peterson below bi-facial solar panels, which absorb energy on both sides. Peterson and James Moore started the company in 2012 and the business has grown from 16 employees to over 70; Farmer Anna Hurlburt leads her flock of 50 Dorset Tunis sheep through the solar array at Open View Farm in New Haven, Vt. Hurlburt and her husband, Ben Freund, rotationally graze the sheep under the solar array owned by Cross Pollination Inc., which intentionally had the facility designed to allow for livestock grazing; The sheep graze under solar panels at dusk at Open View Farm. The 2.49-megawatt solar array was designed and built by Vermont-based groSolar in 2013 for Cross Pollination. The solar array generates enough power for 350 homes each year; Jennifer Wallace-Brodeur leads a morning transportation team meeting at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation offices in Burlington, Vt. Wallace-Brodeur is the director of transportation efficiency at the VEIC; Kevin Jones, of Chittenden, Vt., travels on Route 100 in Stockbridge, Vt., near the Green Mountain National Forest. After owning two gas-electric hybrids, Jones decided to lease a Chevy Bolt electric car for his 80-mile roundtrip commute. Because its brakes regenerate the battery power, Jones said the downhill travel in the mountains compensates for its uphill climb; After arriving at work at Vermont Law School in South Royalton, Vt., Jones plugs his Chevy Bolt into a Level 2 charging station at the school. The school has seven charging stations, four which are the higher-powered Level 2 stations; Vermod Homes owner Steve Davis speaks with the construction crew foreman on the job site at one of Vermod’s modular home installations in Woodstock, Vt. The three-piece 1,500 square-foot home was built in VerMod’s facility in Wilder, Vt., and put together on-site; To help with its weatherization, laborer Tim Nunn caulks electrical boxes from the outside on one of the modular homes under construction at Vermod Homes in Wilder, Vt. “I haven’t seen a house as energy efficient as these,” he said; Carpenters Tyler Wheatley and Ben Parsons of Conniff’s Custom Building in Brookfield, Vt., build a garage on-site after a Vermod home was placed on the property in Woodstock. Doc Conniff said he has been working with Vermod Homes owner Steve Davis on jobs for 30 years.

Following Tradition

November 19, 2017 by Geoff Hansen

In the first week of November, I tagged along with Carl Diener while he explored the woods to hunt deer in the waning days of muzzleloader season in Hanover, N.H., for a Valley News story. Oblivious to a steady rain, Diener spent the afternoon waiting for his prey while warm in wool. “I like the old way of doing things,” he said. “You feel like you’re actually accomplishing something.”

From top, Carl Diener, of Hanover, N.H., quietly walks into the woods near his home while looking for deer tracks on the second to last day of New Hampshire’s muzzleloader season. Diener began hunting in the 1980s with a co-worker and was attracted to muzzleloader season because it’s a two-week head start on rifle season; A collection of photographs in Diener’s shop shows the deer he has harvested over the years with his muzzleloader rifle. Once rifle season begins, Diener will not use a modern gun, dressing in his wool capote coat, carrying his powder in a horn and ammunition in a pouch; Diener takes aim at a doe he sees nearby — but does not shoot — while hunting. During muzzleloader season, the state allows the taking of any deer only for the first four days in the G1 Wildlife Management Unit where Diener hunts; Stepping in from a rainy afternoon of hunting, Diener checks to be sure the flintlock’s priming pan is dry where gunpowder was to be struck in his muzzleloader rifle. Diener had covered the area with a cow’s knee, originally named for the piece of leather made from the appendage. Diener made one himself from two pieces of suede.