This fall I have had the privilege to spend time in and around Upper Valley schools to catch moments while working working for the Valley News. I especially liked catching the Rock-Paper-Scissors Championship above on video, with a great touch by Web Editor Maggie Cassidy!

From top, Richmond Middle School seventh-grader Mandi Shi, center, is encouraged by classmates Elizabeth Pollock, left, and Reilly Loughman while twisting to pass a hula hoop made of duct tape to Loughman at the annual Class Day activities held after lunch at the Storrs Pond Recreation Area in Hanover, N.H. In addition to playing other team-building games, the students learned to dance the Macarena and had a brownie bake-off; Randolph Union High School junior Shea Fordham works to solve a problem in her Advanced Placement Calculus class at Randolph Union High School in Randolph, Vt.; Marion Cross School third-grader Sophie Hopkins gives crossing guard Fred White, 81, of Wilder, Vt., a hug after a surprise all-school assembly honored the retiring White for his 19 years of service in Norwich, Vt. White said he’s enjoyed meeting the students over the years and staying in touch with some of them through adulthood.

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I recently spent the weekend with Team Film Flam to document their effort to compete in the annual Film Slam sponsored by the Cohase Chamber of Commerce in Bradford, Vt., as a photo story for the Valley News. Alan Haehnel, his daughter Omega Haehnel and her best friend Pearl MacLeod were amongst the six teams to write, shoot, edit and present a seven-minute film in 48 hours. Their result — Hearts Ajar — was not only clever and funny, but also won several awards. Totally impressive!

From top, with Peanut the family dog keeping watch, Alan Haehnel starts writing the script to be used by his team; As Pearl MacLeod shoots close-ups of Cecelia, played by Omega Haehnel, her mother Heidi Haehnel pokes her head into her bedroom in Hartford Village, Vt., to ask a question during the filming; Because a dead camera battery puts a halt to their shooting Heidi Haehnel makes calls to see if she can find a store that stocks a replacement as Alan Haehnel calls their son to see if one of his friends has the same battery. They resolved the problem by using a simpler camera Alan Haehnel borrowed from Hanover High School, where he works; In character as Pam, MacLeod cradles a jar of pickles while making the film HEARTS AJAR. As part of the competition, each of the six teams had to include a jar of pickles in their film; Pam reacts as her stepsister Cecelia throws Pam’s cherished jar of pickles; While Alan Haehnel is filming, Cecelia is hit with a pickle thrown by her stepsister Pam on the dock at the public beach on Lake Morey in Fairlee, Vt.; Omega Haehnel, left, and MacLeod work on editing their film first thing in the morning, with about 10 hours remaining in the slam; Cohase Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Erik Volk leans over to get reaction from Film Slam first place winners Omega Haehnel, MacLeod, and Alan Haehnel after the six teams presented their films in Bradford, Vt. HEARTS AJAR was also awarded Best Direction and Best Use of Genre awards by the judges. The audience at the screening also gave it the People’s Choice award.

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It’s been another eventful summer while doing photography for the Valley News. As photo editor at the paper, I feel fortunate to be out of the office with my camera while others are on vacation. Here’s a few of my favorites from the past couple of months:

From top, Upper Valley Nighthawks pitcher Joe DeRosa checks the sign before going into his windup in the fourth inning of their game with the Mountaineers in Hartford, Vt.; Valerie Pallotta, of Colchester, Vt., gives Lt. Col. Dave Leonard a hug goodbye after her speech at a mental health conference at the VA Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt. Her son, Josh, died in 2014 while battling PTSD and brain injuries after serving in Afghanistan as part of the Vermont National Guard. Leonard is director of the Vermont Guard’s Family Program; New Hampshire punter Zach O’Brien of Stevens High School yells for the team’s 11th player to get on to the field in the first quarter of play in the annual all-star Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl in Castleton, Vt.; Kevin Barry, of Barnard, Vt., right, playfully challenges Lindley Brainard, of Bethel, to a duel with their cordless drills while working on one of four trout murals by artist Mary Lacy, of Burlington, Vt., on a retaining wall in Bethel. Lacy and the volunteer crew are finishing the installation on the retaining wall, built in 1940. “It’s no longer the ugliest wall in Vermont,” Barry said; Hartford senior goalkeeper Hannah Cooney runs a drill where she begins defense of the net from her stomach during pre-season practice in White River Junction; Bill Shambo Sr., right, tells Travis Wright that Kibby Equipment Inc. will be closing at the end of September after Shambo and his family ran the White River Junction business for 60 years. Wright, who works for the State of New Hampshire Department of Transportation garage in Enfield, N.H., had picked up a part for a salt spreader. “They’ve always been good,” Wright said of the business.

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While the Bradford Fair in Bradford, Vt., was in full swing, I spent the day for the Valley News photographing a group of 4-H teamsters with their working steers in the first of three qualifying events to go to the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Mass. Their attention to detail and intensity of the competition was very impressive! Follow this link to see the story and more photographs.

From top, Krystin Skoda, 17, of Randolph, Vt., applies hoof polish to Mike, an eight-month-old Holstein steer, while preparing for the working steer 4-H show at the Bradford Fair in Bradford, Vt.; Megan Taylor, 10, of East Randolph, Vt., encourages her Holstein steers Salt and Pepper to back a cart into a determined space in the competition. It was Taylor’s first time showing her one-year-old steers at a fair and she was competing for the experience; From left, Steve and Terri Chamberlin, of Pomfret, Vt., and Deb Skoda, of Randolph, prepare paperwork for the competition. Terri Chamberlin and her father have been running the Green Mountain Teamsters working steer 4-H club since 1990; Joey Ferris, 11, of Northfield, Vt., is tested on his knowledge of working steers by judge Dan Fantoni, of Fairfax, Vt., during the Junior Division fitting and showing portion of the show. Ferris has been involved with working steers for three years; As Fantoni watches, Skoda encourages her young Holstein steer team of John and Mike to pull the stone boat; Analiese Morvan, 18, of Northfield, Vt., takes shelter from the sun in the shadow cast by her Dutch Belt steer team of Jim and Joe while waiting for results from the stone boat obstacle course. Morvan competed at “The Big E” last year as Vermont’s sole teamster.

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I recently had the pleasure to make photographs for one of Matt Hongoltz-Hetling’s stories about climate change for the Weather Channel’s web site. He is finding different approaches to the topic in each of the Northern New England states. In Canterbury, N.H., Matt profiled Rev. Steve Blackmer and his unique Church of the Woods. Blackmer and his congregation were very generous and accommodating with me. Editor Patty Cox and her team did a wonderful job presenting Matt’s story — follow this link to take a look!

From top: Rev. Steve Blackmer closes his morning service at Church of the Woods in Canterbury, N.H., with a blessing. The Episcopal church, established in 2014, holds two services outdoors every Sunday; Rain drops linger on an evergreen branch at Church of the Woods; Rick Coffin, of Barnstead, N.H., left, and Wes Jones, of Loudon, N.H., hold hands and sing a hymn with others during the afternoon service. Both attend St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Pittsfield, N.H., and had met Blackmer while he was doing his Episcopal training; Blackmer made a mid-career change to the ministry after working as a land conservation professional, establishing the church on 106 acres in 2014; Blackmer leads the congregation in the singing of a hymn. Blackmer has started the Wild Church Network for other churches who worship outdoors. “It’s a little movement,” he said. “But it is a movement.”

My ears were recently filled with the sweet sounds of fiddling while working on two stories for the Valley News. In Montpelier, Vt., the Northeast Fiddlers Association had their monthly gathering on a Sunday afternoon. After an hour of playing together, players signed up to play a selection of 3-4 songs. The group celebrated their 50th anniversary a couple of years ago. The next day, I photographed Patrick Ross rehearsing in Newbury, Vt., with fellow players for the Mountain Money All-Stars’ three-show concert. Here’s a few of my favorites:

From top, Jill Newton, of Saxtons River, Vt., plays with a group of fiddlers and accompanists on guitar, banjo, mandolin and percussion shakers during the monthly gathering of the Northeast Fiddlers Association; Len Dessormeau, of Colchester, Vt., practices and decides which four tunes to play onstage; Lee Deyette, of Randolph, Vt., checks the sound of a fiddle that belonged to the late Martin Wheeler, of West Topsham, Vt., as Oleta Marckres, of Eden, Vt., watches. Deyette said the fiddle, a raffle prize at the get-together, had not been played in a while and its liveliness would come back once it returns to performance; The group jams at the start of the gathering; From left, roots musicians Chance Lindsley, of South Ryegate, Vt., Patrick Ross, of Newbury, Vt., and Hunter Paye, of Portland, Ore., rehearse at Ross’s home for three upcoming Mountain Money All-Stars shows. Paye grew up in the Bradford area and is back visiting his mother; Lindsley, who is the principal at Newbury Elementary School, is recovering from recent heart problems that nearly killed him; Ophelia Ross, 2, helps her father with the fiddle during the rehearsal.

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In the past few weeks Upper Valley teams took to the road to pursue high school championships and I have been following them for the Valley News with my cameras and laptop. It’s a treat to photograph the teams’ athleticism and the emotional support from fans!

From top, Lebanon basketball players Olivia Greeley, Joslin Wainwright, Josephine Brown, Kassidee Rogers and Rebecca Wright wait on the bench for the state championship awards presentation in Manchester, N.H., along with student fans after their 44-35 win over Hollis Brookline for the school’s sixth state title; Thetford coach Eric Ward, right, the team’s bench and their fans encourage the Panthers as Windsor’s lead shrinks late in their championship game in Barre, Vt. Thetford won on a last-second shot, 53-52; Stevens High School sophomore Derrick Stanhope, center, cheers with a capacity crowd watching the championship game with Kearsarge in Manchester, N.H.; Stevens’ Nick O’Brien and the Kearsarge fans react to the Cougars’ 51-46 win over the Cardinals; Former Hanover High hockey players, from left, Eliza Laycock, Delia Nahabedian, Kelly Brigham and Matti Hartman congratulate current players Cici Barton, left, and Maddie Lyons as they leave the ice with their championship hardware in Manchester. Hanover defeated Exeter, 3-1, for their eighth straight title and the ninth in the past decade; Windsor assistant coach Sarah Attwood consoles freshman Olivia Rockwood following the Yellowjackets’ championship loss to Thetford in Barre.

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Last weekend, I photographed an annual tradition in Hartland — the Famous Roast Beef Supper at the First Congregational Church for a Valley News story. Started in 1966, the dinner is held on six consecutive Saturdays and is put together by volunteers from the church and the community. It was inspiring to see everyone pitching in for a good cause! Follow this link to read the story.

From top: Volunteer hostess Linda Genovese, of Hartland, Vt., checks her list of diners to be seated. Instead of waiting in line, this year diners listened to piano music in the sanctuary; Volunteers Ali DeCuollo, left, and Jean Day, both of Hartland, laugh about their hands cramping while helping to peel 150 pounds of potatoes for the supper. Day has been helping since 1968 — this year is DeCuollo’s first; Gordon Barbour, right, of Windsor, Vt., enjoys his meal with his sisters as volunteer server Stub Fernandez, left, of Hartland, hustles to refill a serving platter; From left, kitchen crew volunteers Rhonda Lamica, Harriet Dumas, Carmen Summarsell, Pat Richardson and Mike French (in background), all of Hartland, laugh about the gag prize — a cookbook “Cooking in the Nude” — Dumas won for having the closest guess to the evening’s turnout of 229. Leftover rolls were sold after church the next day and beef, rolls and gravy were part of a meal church members put together on Tuesday for the Hixon House, an adult homeless shelter at the Upper Valley Haven; Diners head home after attending the annual Famous Roast Beef Supper. Two-hundred sixty pounds of rolled prime rib beef, 100 dozen rolls, 150 pounds of potatoes and 45 pies are prepared for each of the meals held on six consecutive Saturdays.

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