Rebels with a Cause

December 18, 2016 by Geoff Hansen

Last weekend, I photographed the Mr. TA Pageant for a Valley News photo page. The Thetford Academy event is a silly spoof of beauty pageants but is also a fundraiser to help Rwandan students receive a high school education. The fifth annual pageant rasied a record $6,400, enough to help 10 Rwandan students! Follow this link to see more work in the Photo Galleries section of the newspaper’s web site.

From top: Thetford Academy junior Colombe Kayihura rehearses a traditional Rwandan dance with classmates during a rehearsal. The pageant is an annual fundraiser for Rwandan children’s education — an anonymous donor paid for Kayihura’s flight to the United States and she is spending the school year on campus; From left, seniors Reshma Rampersaud and Maggie Harlow, Kayihura and sophomores Owen Deffner and Aiden Cudhea (dressed as the Panther masot) laugh at one of the dance numbers during a rehearsal; Senior Noah Perry demonstrates his favorite dance move during the Meet the Contestants portion of the pageant. Perry’s escort, senior Hannah Harkins, is at right; Dressed as Melania Trump, Owen Deffner tells the same jokes his brother and fellow contestant Eamon Deffner told a few minutes before; Shirtless following the talent portion of the show, senior Mitchell Higgins, second from right, his dancers, from left, juniors Dylan Thorburn and Nick Moses and sophomore Aiden Cudhea and escort senior Reshma Rampersaud plead for cash votes. Audience members voted for contestants with donations to the Raise Rwanda charity, with $6,400 raised in donations and ticket sales; Junior Eli Kaliski reacts as classmate Gabrielle Curtis is named the winner of the Mr. TA Pageant. Started in 2011 as a spoof of beauty pageants to raise money for Rwandan children’s education, Curtis entered this year to spoof the spoof; Curtis is congratulated by friends on the stage after winning the pageant.

Hearts of Champions

November 24, 2016 by Geoff Hansen

This fall I spent a few weekends covering sports championships for the Valley News. Some Upper Valley teams won, others lost. They all competed with heart and good sportsmanship — I was honored to be on the sidelines with my cameras! Here’s a few of my favorites:

From top: After shaking hands with their opponents, Hartford’s Austin Shepard gives a joyful yell following the team’s 24-14 state championship win in Rutland, Vt.; As Proctor goalie Isabel Valerio smothers the ball, Sharon Academy’s Eleanor Frost reacts to a missed opportunity when it was briefly loose in the second half of the championship held in Bethel, Vt. Proctor won, 1-0; Sunapee teammates and sisters Katie, left, and Ellie Frederick hug after their 6-0 win over Colebrook to capture the state championship in Laconia, N.H.; Stevens’ football team, including Zach O’Brien, right, hold their championship trophy aloft after defeating InterLakes-Moultonborough 46-20 in Durham, N.H.; Woodstock’s Sarah Yates reacts to the team’s 1-0 loss to Springfield in the championship game in Burlington, Vt.

What’s Brewing

September 28, 2016 by Geoff Hansen

This week, the latest issue of Enterprise (the Valley News’ monthly business magazine) hit the streets. I enjoyed collaborating with design editor Amanda Newman on the cover illustration. The photography turned out better than I imagined it could — it’s amazing what an overhead chicken light and Christmas tree lights can do!

Friday Night Lights

September 23, 2016 by Geoff Hansen

Last week, I photographed high school football under the lights in Lebanon, N.H. Dusk, a harvest moon and the field’s lights add another layer of drama! Here’s a few of my favorites posted to the Valley News’ Photo Galleries section:

Details Details

September 11, 2016 by Geoff Hansen

Keeping an eye out for details adds a layer of information and texture to photography I do, whether it’s at a wedding, for fun or on assignment. Here are a few of my favorites I have done recently for the Valley News:

From top: Darkly roasted Kenya AA coffee beans are stirred by Carrier Roasting Company’s machine as they cool in Northfield, Vt.; A gate is locked by three padlocks at the site for a proposed biomedical facility that has not been built in Newport, Vt.; Players replace baseballs used for batting practice on the second day of practicing outside at the Dresden Athletic Fields in Norwich, Vt.; While volunteering during a Work Bee at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds, Priscilla Farnham, of Tunbridge, Vt., catalogs sheet music for Irving Berlin’s 1918 song “Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in The Morning” part of a collection of songs the Tunbridge Cornet Band played from 1890 to the late 1930s; Pins on a map at the offices of Royalton Community Radio mark where the 50-60 people who have programs on the Royalton, Vt., station come from.

Dog Days

August 25, 2016 by Geoff Hansen

The dog days of summer are a welcome counterpart to New England’s long and cold winters. Between staff vacations and the amount of summertime activity needing coverage, I feel fortunate to get out and about with my camera for the Valley News. Here’s a few of my favorites:

From top: After a quick dip in the Connecticut River, Pete the Papillon watches his owner swim with a friend, cooling off after work at the East Wilder Boat Launch in West Lebanon, N.H.; Passing in front of AVA Gallery and Art Center, a young runner is amongst the 112 who participated in Brady’s Run, a one-mile fun run before the start of the 13th annual Skip Matthews Memorial Run in Lebanon; Scott Turnbull, of Essex, Vt., demonstrates drone goggles he customized with silly eyes during a demonstration by the Northern New England Drone User Group at the Royalton Memorial Library in South Royalton, Vt.; Erin Zagadailov, of Grantham, N.H., hands a bag of clothing to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Matt Dunne, of Hartland, Vt., while rotating stock as part of a community service project with campaign volunteers and supporters at Listen in White River Junction, Vt.; Anna Royce, of Norwich, Vt., greets organist Phyllis Potter, of Sharon, Vt., as she arrives for the Beaver Meadow Union Chapel’s monthly service in Norwich. Potter has been playing at services for 25 years because she enjoys the pump organ in the 100-year-old church; Joel Dizon, of Lebanon, tries to catch a crayfish while volunteering to clean up the Mascoma River in Lebanon.

Living History

June 29, 2016 by Geoff Hansen

The Vermont History Expo has been coming to the Tunbridge fairgrounds since 2007; I have covered it several times for the Valley News. This year, I also did a small photo spread for Enterprise, its sister business publication. As someone who has an interest in history, I enjoy meeting others with the same passion! Here’s a few of my published favorites:

From top: Sue Cain, of Royalton, Vt., demonstrates spinning flax to make thread during the Vermont History Expo 2016 in Tunbridge, Vt. Cain, who also works in the Antique Hill log cabin during the Tunbridge Fair, has been doing demonstrations since the expo started at the fairgrounds in 2007; Dave Tuttle, of Walpole, N.H., shows the various stages of woodcarving at the Green Mountain Woodcarvers booth. The club meets across Vermont for carve-ins and also give demonstrations at festivals; Flag-bearer Nathan Depatie, of Brandon, Vt., leads Rustan Swenson, of Shoreham, Vt., and the rest of the Seth Warner Mount Independence Fife and Drum Corps as part of the Expo’s mid-day parade.

Racing Through Generations

May 30, 2016 by Geoff Hansen

I spent a recent chilly Sunday at Claremont Speedway in Claremont, N.H., with the Stockwell family, working on a story for the Valley News. Brothers Avery and Howard are following in the tire tracks of their racing father, grandfather and great-grandfather. I enjoy working on racing stories because I grew up with the sights and sounds at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. And it was interesting to hear the stories told by three generations involved with the sport! Follow this link to read the story. Here’s a few of my favorites:

From top: Howard Stockwell, 12, of Randolph Center, Vt., makes an adjustment to his go-kart in his grandfather’s race shop in Braintree, Vt. The one-car garage is the same space his father, Kip Stockwell, prepared his NASCAR Busch North race car in, shown in a photograph on the wall; At left, Kip Stockwell and his sons Avery, 9, and Howard, attend a driver’s meeting with other parents and their racer children at Claremont Speedway in Claremont, N.H. The Stockwell brothers are the fourth-generation in the family to race, starting with go-karts like their father did; Howard waits for the first practice of the season in his new go-kart. “I’m more nervous than excited,” he said; Kip gives Avery a pep talk after he finished third in his qualifying heat. At center is Lennie Stockwell, who helps work on his two grandsons’ karts; After an inverted start for the main race put him at the back of the field, Avery works his way to the front in his No. 16 go-kart; Isaiah Hogan, 10, of Canaan, N.H., gets his picture taken by his mother Amanda after winning the Junior Bandits A race. Hogan passed Avery, right, on the last lap of the race.

Good Sports

March 13, 2016 by Geoff Hansen

While filling in for Valley News photographers over the past few months, I did a good amount of winter high school sports coverage. Using my cameras to document the drama and silliness has been a treat! Here’s a few of my favorites:

From top: Hanover, N.H., teammates Emma Riccardi, left, and Sarah Bibeau chest bump during team introductions before the start of the game against Lebanon; Lebanon sophomore forward Erin White reacts to missing the opportunity to score on Oyster River goalie Haley Durham; Hanover’s Hannah Wittmann receives encouragement during her 1000 meter heat at the Dartmouth Relays; Newport, N.H., guard Ty Richardson splits the defense by Stevens forwards Christopher LaFont (32) and Henri Bourque in Claremont, N.H.; Lebanon’s Brendan Kelley gives his mother Annette Kelley a kiss on the cheek after giving her flowers as part of Senior Night festivities; While wearing the Lebanon Raider Bird mascot head, Michael Fleury sends a text on his phone during halftime of a Division II basketball playoff game.

Primary Focus

February 7, 2016 by Geoff Hansen

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been searching the Valley News archives for the “Primary Focus” page published today. As a photographer at the paper for the past 26 years, I have been a part of New Hampshire primary coverage a few times. It’s interesting to be part of the exchange of ideas and the cult of personality. Here’s a few of my own favorites:

From top: Bernie Sanders gives an hour-long campaign speech to a full house at Dartmouth College’s Spaulding Auditorium on January 14, 2016; Hillary Clinton listens to an interviewer’s question during a November 2007 editorial board with the VALLEY NEWS; Phil Gramm shows off a finished shotgun while touring its manufacturing plant in Newport, N.H., in September 1995; The media anxiously waits to talk with Bill Clinton on February 12, 1992, the same the day a tabloid story accused him of having an affair; Vice President Dan Quayle heads for Woodsville High School’s gymnasium with his entourage during a January 1992 campaign appearance for the Bush/Quayle reelection campaign; Pat Buchanan plays to the media as he pretends to shake hands with a cardboard cutout of President Bush at a January 1992 Rotary meeting in White River Junction, Vt.