Joel's Photo Blog | www.joelphilippsen.com

update.

2011-04-19T23:21:00.001-04:00

So it's been a while since my last photo update. The last couple of months have served as a transition period for me and I have been pretty busy with my new job.

As the spring semester comes closer to an end and as the weather has warmed up a bit I have been able to take my photojournalism class out on a few field trips to make a few pictures. Here are a few I've taken....

The first two are from a field trip we took downtown Columbus.

Joseph Perkins, 4, points to the sky while pretending to fly a toy jet through the air on top of a hill at Mill Race Park Wednesday evening. Joseph's Mom, Amanda Perkins, said " he wants to be an army man when he grows up and he also wants to be a fireman which is why he wears the red rubber boots."

These two are from the skate park.

My last full week as a newspaper photographer

2011-01-30T15:06:00.019-05:00

The title says it all.

After about a year of thinking about it, it's official I've finally decided and acted on it. I'm leaving the newspaper business. It wasn't a decision that came easy yet one that has crept up on me over the years in stride. Newspaper ink (or pixels in internet terms) has run through my veins (figuratively) for nearly a decade now.

Here's how it all started....
I was a sophomore in high school taking an English class, which was taught by the same person who was the yearbook adviser. The classroom was full of your typical yearbook type pictures that hung on the wall. I don't know exactly what the teacher noticed, but she must have saw something in me that led her to believe that I might be interested in photography, because she asked me to be a yearbook photographer my junior year. I had never really had an interest in photography but figured it might be an easy "A" and if nothing else beat doing anything with actual homework.

Long story short, the yearbook stuff turned out to be pretty fun and within a few weeks I started to figure out how to operate a camera. The small local newspaper saw my work and liked it and I began photographing all of their sports. It was a pretty sweet gig where I photographed all of the high school sports for the paper in a tri-county area. A gig that was fun, I could do after school, and one that I could make a bit of money at. Seemed like a winner to me.

When thinking about college came around it seemed to be a natural fit to go into something that I already enjoyed. Photography was something that I had become pretty good at for a high school kid. It's kind of funny now but I didn't really know that there was an exact job category for a newspaper photographer. After a "webcrawler" (my internet search engine of choice in 2001) search I figured out that there was a college major called photojournalism and from there found that Ball State offered a program that fit the job description. Sweet... Applied, accepted, moved to BSU.

College was a lot of fun. The photojournalism classes were right up my alley and working at the student newspaper along with my two internships (The Star-Press in Muncie, IN and The Vindicator in Youngstown, OH) offered a team setting that I seemed to work well with. I liked the quick deadlines, the diversity of assignments and the people I came in contact with are experiences that I'll never forget.

After graduating and finishing my second internship and about ready to start my third at the South Bend Tribune, I received a phone call following a job fair from the Editor at the Huntington Herald-Press about a job opening at the paper. The paper had a good reputation as a feisty small paper which liked strong visual storytelling and had a dynamo staff of veterans which are some of the best journalists I've ever come in contact with. The paper was about 25 minutes from my parent's house. (aka good cooking, no rent, not having to scrounge quarters for the laundry machines) I took the job at the H-P and turned down the internship in South Bend and started my full-time photojournalism career.

It didn't take long to figure out that this was going to be an adjustment. First off, you don't go into photojournalism because of the money. Let's just say journalism isn't that type of field. Secondly, I quickly learned that being the only full-time photographer at the paper meant that I was going to be on call ... all the time. Being a morning paper meant being there at 7:30 a.m. in case there was any news prior to an 11 a.m. deadline and then finding something for the next day's paper that afternoon and not forgetting that there is going to be some sort of sporting event that night that would need covered too. A lot of driving and a lot of hours but I had the ability to do pretty much whatever I wanted with the photography in the newspaper. Having a lot of control over the visuals made it a lot of fun and probably the period of time where I learned the most because if I failed in my task (which I tried to not have happen) it showed up in the paper. I was at the paper for about a year and decided to move on to a bigger paper. It was a job that was fun for a single person but one that wasn't sustainable for anyone who wanted a life outside of work. I think I was averaging around 60 hours a week or so.

After The H-P I packed up all my stuff, said goodbye to Mom and Dad and moved to Columbus, Ind. to work at The Republic. Working at The Republic was different because it was bigger paper, a bigger coverage area and a staff of photographers. A staff that I have really enjoyed working with over the nearly 4 years I've been here. It's a job that has allowed me to have some pretty neat opportunities including photographing Barack Obama and The Brickyard 400 (might be better if I were a NASCAR fan). Some of my favorite assignments of all involved people who weren't rich or famous though. They were the people that knew who they were and weren't afraid to share.

So why am I leaving? Well, after a lot of time and thought I've decided I wanted to pursue something different. A newspaper photographer isn't exactly a life of leisure. It's a life on the run and one that you get to see a lot of cool things, however it's also a job that requires an odd work schedule (including holidays, weekends and evenings) and a lot of not so much fun behind the scenes stuff. I wasn't doing as much storytelling photojournalism as I had once done. The job had become a job that I liked the idea of but one that didn't reflect my idea of what it had the potential to be. With that I am leaving the newspaper with plenty of good memories and friendships and am looking ahead.

So what am I going to do?
I am excited about accepting a job as a digital marketing specialist at CRH, the hospital in Columbus. It's a job that I think will be a good fit for me and for my family. It's also a job I can grow with. I think it will offer a different type of challenge and will involve a lot of the skills that I already have such as video, web and multimedia type skills along with the opportunity to learn and improve in areas too.

I'm not planning on leaving photojournalism completely though. I am going to continue to teach a photojournalism class at Ivy Tech during the spring semester and will continue to work on a freelance basis for a few clients in the future. I also plan on devoting more time for some personal photo projects as well as shooting for fun, which is something that I'm really looking forward to doing.

Big things are happening...

Here's a picture of me that ran in The Herald-Press when I first joined the staff.

Best of 2010

2011-01-02T21:59:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year. Here is a slide show of the images I consider to be some of my best work at The Republic in 2010. Here's a fun fact...according to our archiving system I turned in 1835 photographs for publication. yikes.
It's always fun to go back through the year and see all of the moments that happened in front of me and my camera. Some of those moments are really fun/interesting to see as they unfold in front of me and some of them can be really lame situations. Overall I think it's a good year if I can look through the images and come up with images that make me pause for a few moments if for no better reason than it told a story effectively. It's also a time for me to gauge how well I improved over last year.

Thanks to all the people who allowed me into their lives and a special thanks to my wife Melissa for her tolerance of my schedule and support in my endeavors!

Snow day

2010-12-16T14:38:00.005-05:00

Last night we got a few inches of snow in Columbus, which is quite a bit for southern Indiana. Snow days usually means me trying to find feature pictures and it's usually not to hard to find people out and about digging snow. Here are a couple pictures from today.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Rob Driver uses a snow blower to clear the snow around his mother's house and car on S. Beatty St. Thursday morning. Driver said he bought the snow blower last year and didn't get a chance to use it until now.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Owner of E T Motors Jack Scott clears snow off the windshield of a car for sale parked in his car lot on State Street. Scott, who has owned the business for 30 years, said it's important to clear the snow off of his cars for sale otherwise people won't think the business is open.

Holiday Deliciousness

2010-11-24T14:05:00.006-05:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving which happens to be my favorite holiday. A day filled with the three "f's"... food, fellowship and family. Last week I was working on a section about holiday foods for a magazine we publish at the paper. The food was prepared by Chef Gregory who lives in Columbus. I'd never met him before but really enjoyed talking with. His kitchen was decked out with decor from places he had traveled to around the world with stories to accompany. He's experienced a lot in his life and it was fun to hear about his experiences. One of those experiences was attending culinary school with the famous chef Julia Child. You never know what or whom you are going to run into on a given day and for that I am thankful! Have a great Thanksgiving!

The dishes he made all had butternut squash as a common ingredient. Delicious.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Chef Gregory in his kitchen with a couple of bowls of butternut squash soup with feta cheese.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Butternut squash soup with feta cheese prepared by Chef Gregory in his kitchen.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Butternut squash walnut custard made and prepared by Chef Gregory in his kitchen

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Butternut squash and apple pie made by Chef Gregory in his kitchen.

Sunday night stroll

2010-11-14T22:10:00.004-05:00

I was stuck at the photo desk tonight at the paper. I'm one of those people that doesn't handle sitting at a desk very well (unless on deadline or have a ton to do). I need to be doing something.
So tonight after catching up on toning I decided to take a bit of stroll around downtown. It was pretty brisk and it being Sunday night there are very few people out.

On a side note, I needed to get a few thousand more steps in for a community health initiative that I joined. It involves a pedometer and tracking your steps throughout the week. After my hands started getting a bit cold, here are a few pictures from tonight.

P.S. After the quick stroll my step quota for the day was fulfilled. Booyah.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Closing up shop.
Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Unwanted leftovers.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Me-ish

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
I kept waiting for someone to walk through the light on the bottom right but patience was defeated by the cold.
Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Empty 4th Street.

Stenger Wedding | Trafalgar, Ind. | Sept. 25, 2010

2010-10-22T01:59:00.004-04:00

I just finished up editing photos from Michelle and Travis Stenger's wedding that I photographed in Trafalgar, Ind. a few weeks ago with help from fellow Columbus photographer Chrissy Alspaugh. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding and I had a great time. Here are some of my favorites from the day below and for a slide show showing the day go to:
http://www.joelphilippsen.com/stengerweddingslide/index.html

Fall Ivy

2010-10-19T09:42:00.003-04:00

Sometimes the things around us go unnoticed until you allow yourself to see them. I found these vines of ivy crawling across the exterior wall of a home in Columbus. I thought it kind of looked like fire or something.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Red vines of ivy grows along the side of home near the intersection of Third Street and Pearl St. Sunday afternoon October 17, 2010.

Indiana AP photo of the month

2010-10-18T23:30:00.004-04:00

One of my photos from the military funeral I covered last month was awarded the Indiana photo of the month for the Associated Press.

Sculptor Portrait

2010-09-22T17:23:00.001-04:00

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
A sculpture installed on the lawn of Hotel Indigo in Columbus called Jacob's Ladder by Indianapolis metal sculptor Bernie Carreno.

Military Funeral

2010-09-20T22:03:00.004-04:00

I photographed the funeral of Marine Cpl. John Bishop who died on Sept. 8, 2010 from a gunshot wound while fighting in Afghanistan. The funeral took place in the small town of Versailles, Ind. Sept. 16, 2010. The town's residents came out along with Bishop's family and friends and lined the streets as a sign of respect for the fallen Marine. The event was an emotional one to say the least and something I will remember for a very long time.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Marine Cpl. John Bishop's son K'Sean Bishop, 4, holds an American flag while leaving the cemetery after his father was buried. Marine Cpl. John Bishop was killed by a gunshot in Afghanistan Sept. 8, 2010.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Family and friends walk behind the casket of Marine Cpl. John Bishop as he is pulled by horse drawn carriage to the cemetery following a funeral in Versailles, Ind. Sept. 16, 2010.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Marine Cpl. John Bishop's brother Tyson Bishop watches as his brother is lowered into the ground while holding a folded American flag Thursday Sept. 16, 2010 in Versailles, Ind.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Marine Cpl. John Bishop's mother Sarah Thomas of Columbus receives a hug from a person in attendance at her son's burial Thursday Sept. 16, 2010 in Versailles, Ind.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
A sign on the American Legion pays respect to Marine Cpl. John Bishop Thursday Sept. 16, 2010 in Versailles, Ind.

Fischer Wedding

2010-09-16T00:29:00.005-04:00

I just finished up the edit from a family wedding a few weeks ago in northwest Ohio. Here are a few photographs from the day. The top one is of my niece finishing off the icing from a portion of the cake during one of the many moments throughout the day she made me laugh and the bottom picture is of the happy bride and groom during the ceremony. Congratulations Aaron and Miranda!

Portraits

2010-09-08T23:58:00.006-04:00

A couple of images from a portrait session last weekend. Nice people and great weather is always a good combo. Thanks for looking!

European Vacation

2010-08-24T22:35:00.008-04:00

This post has been a long time coming. As some of you know Melissa and I left for Europe on vacation at the end of May. We had the opportunity to go to Italy for the week where we spent the week with part of our family and then we were on our own for the next week and a half to visit Greece, Prague and Paris. We had a great time as well as a busy couple of weeks but we were able to see things that we have never seen or experienced. Here is a slide show and a few individual photos of a few sights from the different places we visited. Cheers! Joel

Europe Trip from Joel Philippsen on Vimeo.

Peaceful waters of Greece.

The two of us (after I got a little sunburned) on the Greek island of Hydra.
Public transportation in Europe is so much better than in the U.S. however, there were some issues with long lines getting onto the bus in Rome.

The Colosseum in Rome.

Prague might just take the cake for one of the most unique cities I've ever been to.

The Louvre was amazing. Mona Lisa is a rock star minus the rock. Here she is behind bulletproof glass as a hoard of people (including me take her picture).

La Tour Eiffel

Rolling Around

2010-08-16T21:28:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I got a chance to do some feature hunting which is one of my favorite things to do because it forces me to think a bit outside of the box and see things in different ways. After driving through a couple of neighborhoods and coming up empty handed I came across this photo of these two kids using some imagination. Can't say I've ever seen this before which makes me wonder when the last time I've even seen a tire swing. Where did all of those go?

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Garrett Graham, 10, pushes his brother Nathan, 8, in a tire in front of their home on Prairie Stream Way Sunday afternoon. The boys recently acquired the tire to play with from their Dad after the tire gave way on his truck last week.

Family time.

2010-07-15T13:22:00.005-04:00

Last weekend I went to my parent's house to spend some time with my family. Good times. Here are few photos I made while there.

My Dad and Mabel, 3, wrestling in the grass while Mom looks on in the backyard.

Jay chasing Mabel in the pond.

Fast Cars and Freedom.

2010-07-05T21:42:00.004-04:00

On the Fourth of July I was assigned to go to Brown County to shoot the nostalgia drag racing at Brown County Dragway. The races consisted of dragsters made prior to 1965 and was quite a treat even for a not so much of a car guy like myself. Most of these cars had interiors that were stripped to the frame but when you talked to the owners their car was full of memories of their youth and the heyday of classic cars.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
The grill of an old GMC pickup that was parked in the parking lot at Brown County Dragway Sunday July 4, 2010. Spectators and enthusiasts enjoyed pre-1965 nostalgia drag racing at the racing venue.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Naomi Long of the Indy Road Rockets waves the green flag signalling the start of a race as Greg Beach of Madison races his 1939 Ford at Brown County Dragway Sunday July 4, 2010. The racing venue featured Nostalgia Drag Racing at the track which consisted of race cars built prior to 1965 racing against each other.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Pre-1965 race cars line up in in front of the track at Brown County Dragway Sunday afternoon. The racing venue featured Nostalgia Drag Racing Sunday July 4, 2010.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
An American flag waves in the wind as a pair of pre-1965 dragsters take their place on the the drag strip as they perform a run at Brown County Dragway Sunday afternoon. The racing venue featured Nostalgia Drag Racing consisting of race cars made prior to 1965.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
A pair of nostaligia dragsters take their places during runs at Brown County Dragway on Sunday July 4, 2010. The event featured the racing of cars made prior to 1965 and served as a treat for local fans and enthusiasts.

Sunday afternoon baseball

2010-07-01T16:27:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't posted in a while but there is a reason. My wife and I got back from a trip from Europe a couple weeks ago. I'm working on editing the photos and will have them posted in the next couple of weeks hopefully.

Here are a few photos from a championship 14-year-old league game I shot last Sunday. Shooting baseball on a Sunday afternoon with no other assignments going on to rush me was pretty relaxing and a good reminder that life is good.
Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Indiana Prospects catcher Matt Lozer comes up with the ball after tagging Indiana Wolfpack's Rex McHally out at home Sunday during the USSSA 14U championship game at Clifty Creek Park June 27, 2010.
Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Indiana Prospects teammates congratulate Nathan Upchurch and Garrett Schlotter after scoring runs against the Indiana Wolfpack Sunday June 27,2010 during the USSSA 14U championship game at Clifty Creek Park.
Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Indiana Prospects second baseman Garrett Schlotter (left) leaps for the ball in right field as right fielder Chase Allen also goes for the ball Sunday afternoon during the USSSA 14U championship game at Clifty Creek Park as the Prospects played the Indiana Wolfpack. Neither player was able to come up with the catch.

Jackson County Rodeo

2010-04-26T21:50:00.008-04:00

Sunday afternoon was wet. Very wet. Oh yes, and muddy. Those conditions combined with high school athletes on large animals competing in a mud arena equals a heck of a good time for a photographer. I would have liked to spend the whole day at the rodeo capturing the sights but some other events on my schedule nixed that idea. Nonetheless I had a lot of fun and tried something different with a couple of portraits of bull riders. This event is easily one of my favorite sporting events to photograph all year long. For more photos check out my sportsshooter.com site at here.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Coleman Rude of Silver Lake, Ind. holds on with one hand while trying to stay on a bull for eight seconds Sunday April 25, 2010 during the Jackson County Rodeo near Cortland. The event which lasted all weekend endured quite a bit of rain yet the rodeo hosting Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana High School athletes continued despite the wet conditions.

Bull Rider Portraits

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Coleman Rude, Silver Lake Ind.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Morgan Ottinger, North Salem, Ind.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Keith Caudill, Stanton, Kentucky

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Cody Baker, Stanford, Kentucky

Sheep

2010-04-12T22:01:00.007-04:00

Last week I photographed a farm where they raise Icelandic sheep along with an array of other animals and produce. There's something about photographing agriculture that I love. I find so many aspects of it interesting.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Jennie kisses a one day old lamb.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Joel Philippsen | The Republic

For more examples of my work go to www.joelphilippsen.com

Flowers, Architecture and a jumping spider.

2010-04-05T21:56:00.006-04:00

The last few days have been absolutely beautiful and must have put me in the mood for some feature photo hunting and not being in the office. I needed to shoot an architectural photo of North Christian Church anyway so while I was there I photographed some of the gardens surrounding the building. On a side note: The spider jumped on me soon after I shot this photo. Yikes.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

A small spider crawls on petal of a daffodil at North Christian Church Monday April 5, 2010.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

A sea of daffodils and flowering trees surround North Christian Church Monday April 5, 2010.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Daffodils at North Christian Church Monday April 5, 2010.

To see more of my work go to www.joelphilippsen.com

Spring Feature

2010-03-29T22:10:00.003-04:00

While driving to work today I drove by this guy. I'm so glad it's spring.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Donnie Mote drives his lawn mower while taking his dog named Rusty for a walk Monday afternoon on 31st Street near the intersection of Beech Drive. Mote said he suffered a stroke two years ago and since then he has used his lawn mower to ensure Rusty gets his exercise.

For more of my work go to www.joelphilippsen.com .

Wedding fun.

2010-03-22T23:35:00.004-04:00

My younger brother got married over the weekend. The whole day was a blast! Now that the big day is over I figured I would post a few of these images I photographed last month. The jumping picture was made into a 20x30 print for guests to sign around the outside of the border as they made their way into the reception hall. I had a fun time shooting these and thought I would share. Congrats Tom and Sara!

February Pics

2010-03-15T20:01:00.004-04:00

It's been an interesting photo month. Here are a few.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic Columbus SWAT team personnel apprehend the suspect, Brandon Harden, after a three hour stand off at Briarwood Apartments Monday afternoon. Harden surrendered to police and was booked into Bartholomew County Jail with a charge of criminal confinement

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Columbus Police Department Sgt. Marc Kruchten consoles Jenny Gramsie after she left from a unit at Briarwood Apartments in Columbus Monday afternoon where her son Brandon Harden was suspected of holding a woman and her child. Harden later surrendered to police and was booked into Bartholomew County Jail with a charge of criminal confinement.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

USPS carrier Stephanie Starr of Seymour pushes a mail cart from her carrier vehicle to the loading dock area of the Columbus, Ind. Post Office Tuesday morning. Starr has been working as a carrier for 8 years and said that although she is used to delivering in inclimate weather she said her rural route near Taylorsville takes about 2 hours longer to complete when there is heavy snow.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Asher Stevens, 19-months-old, and his sister Liv Stevens, 4 -years-old, hide under furniture while playing at the Irwin mansion on Fifth Street Wednesday. Asher and Liv's parents Chris and Jessica Stevens bought the historic home and have turned it into a bed and breakfast.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Peope line the streets holding American flags in downtown Nashville as the procession of Marine Sgt. Jeremy McQueary drives through town.
Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Lilly Breedlove,3, of Brown County holds her American flag above her head while waiting for the procession of Marine Sgt. Jeremy McQueary to come through Nashville Thursday afternoon. Hundreds of people lined the streets to pay their respects to the fallen soldier.
Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Carri Engledow of Columbus consoles her nephew Caleb Yager, 7, of Brown County during an informal prayer session following the procession of Marine Sgt. Jeremy McQueary through Nashville Thursday afternoon. Engledow said that she didn't know the family but said that her brother is in the military and she said it was important to her to show her appreciation.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Indiana State Police trooper Tommy Walker gives his condolences to Debbie Kleinschmidt Wednesday afternoon at the Seymour State Police post during it's final days of operations. Kleinschmidt who works as a secretary at the post, is the mother of Jeremy McQueary who was killed while serving in Afghanistan last week. Kleinschmidt described the people who worked at the State Police post as family.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Maintenance worker William L. Everroad walks with a shovel through an alley near the north parking garage after clearing a walkway Tuesday morning. Snowfall slowed traffic and caused area schools to close.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Colts fans Ryan Budd (left) and his girlfriend Whitney Kessler cheer during the third quarter at Buffalo Wild Wings in Columbus as they watch the Superbowl Sunday night.

busting out the lights

2010-02-22T21:03:00.007-05:00

Here is a "sportrait" (for those of you not in the biz it's a combination of sports and portrait) that I photographed today. The past couple of weeks I have been dealing much more with lighting than usual. The topic of my last class was about lighting and after talking and doing a demonstration for a few hours I think it's been in my brain ever since. The nature of my newspaper job tends to be fairly fast paced. Going from place to place photographing things with a deadline just around the corner means that sometimes lighting is not always an option due to it taking so much time to set up and tear down lights and figuring out different lighting situations. Today's shoot was a good time and the lights that don't get as much use as they should just might be getting more use in days to come.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Columbus North diver Keegan Jiles poses for a portrait on a diving board at the Columbus North natatorium Monday afternoon. Jiles will be competing in the regional.

Colts fans....everywhere.

2010-01-25T22:19:00.002-05:00

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

A vehicle passes as snow falls to the ground Monday evening in front of the Cummins Tech Center along Central Ave. The windows of the building are lit up to spell out "Colts!" to show support for the NFL team's post season success.

It's cold outside.

2010-01-11T21:34:00.004-05:00

With winter comes the cold and an occasional snowfall here in southern Indiana. Here are a couple of pictures of people outside in the frigid temperatures during the past week. Stay warm!

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Battling the cold crossing guard Norman Barr, 73, of Columbus stops traffic for students to cross the street outside of Parkside Elementary at the intersection of Parkside Dr. and Arlington St. Wednesday afternoon.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Cameron Richardson, 6, of Columbus, smiles as he sleds down a hill at Mill Race Park Sunday afternoon. Up until today his mother Daylin Richardson, said Cameron and his sisters were begging her to take them sledding.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Gabrielle Grimes, 5, throws a snowball at her father Barry Grimes as they play in the snow at Clifty Creek Elementary Thursday afternoon.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Four-year-old Camry Comstock takes a break from sledding to eat some fresh powder Thursday afternoon at Clifty Creek Elementary.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Madalynn Crockett, 8, makes a snow angel on a pond at Mill Race park Sunday afternoon as she enjoys herself with Brandon Clark and Emma Clark , 1 years- old, along with Erica Harrison (not pictured). This was Emma Clark's first time playing in the snow.

2009 Year in Pictures

2010-01-05T16:56:00.003-05:00

Here is a slideshow I put together highlighting a few of my best pictures from The Republic in 2009. Here's to improving in 2010!

Joel Philippsen - 2009 Year In Pictures from Joel Philippsen on Vimeo.

Christmas Eve United Way Center Fire

2009-12-29T22:14:00.001-05:00

What looked to be a nice relaxing evening with Melissa (my wife) shifted around 8 p.m. to a long night of covering a fire. A massive fire started at the United Way Center building in Columbus Christmas Eve. The building houses over 30 nonprofit community service organizations and was consumed by fire and firefighters worked through the night and most of Christmas day trying to put it out. I spent quite a bit of my holiday at the scene shooting video and stills. It was an occasion I won't soon forget. The cause is still unknown but doesn't seem suspicious at this point. No one was hurt in the fire and that is definitely something to be thankful for this holiday season.

United Way Center Fire from Joel Philippsen on Vimeo.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Columbus firefighters work to fight a fire at the United Way Center in Columbus, which started around 7 p.m. Christmas Eve. Firefighters continued working on containing the fire well into Christmas Day. Flames erupted throughout different sections of the building, which hosted a variety of community service organizations.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

A Columbus firefighter walks along a picket fence amidst several fire hoses as Columbus city and Columbus township firefighters work to fight a fire at the United Way Center in Columbus which started around 7 p.m. Christmas Eve.

A Sampling

2009-12-14T22:39:00.000-05:00

One of the things I really like about working for a newspaper is the variety of assignments that come my way. I've been slacking on my blog posts but I've been shooting a fair amount lately. I've also been working on a photo story that I'm pretty excited about for the past several weeks now. I should have that completed in the next few weeks to come. Here are some things from the past couple weeks.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

East freshman Mitch Gilbert wrestles against Scottsburg's Quinton Shields Wednesday night at Columbus East.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

SSG Peter Boyd stands outside the Soldier Readiness Center at Camp Atterbury as a soldier walks by Monday afternoon. Boyd who has served in several conflicts now frequently visits the behavioral health office to deal with issues.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Columbus firefighter Allen Smith stands beside a firetruck at Station 2 Wednesday afternoon. Smith was sent home during Tuesday night's episode of The Biggest Loser. Smith had spent 11 weeks at The Biggest Loser ranch. Smith who went to the ranch weighing 325 pounds is now weighing about 205 pounds.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Police officers surround a house at 703 Hutchins Tuesday night as they apprehend the suspect while pulling him out on a stretcher.

Gearing Up For Veteran's Day

2009-11-09T22:09:00.000-05:00

Here is John Brighton. He is a World War II Army Corps of Engineers veteran. John, who I thought was a great guy, is now 90 and still tells stories like they happened yesterday. I photographed John at his home today while he showed me some of the memorabilia he had collected from the war. Veteran's Day is Wednesday and is a day that shouldn't be taken lightly.

Peace,

Joel

Joel Philippsen | The Republic John Brighton is an Army Corps of Engineers veteran who served during World War 2. Photographed at his Lafayette Ave. home Monday. Brighton will be appearing at Hauser High School on Veteran's Day.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic John Brighton holds a bible dated January 25, 1941 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that he carried during his time in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War 2.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic John Brighton points to himself in uniform in an Army Corp of Engineer graduation picture in 1945. Brighton is a World War 2 veteranwill be appearing at Hauser on Veteran's Day.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic John Brighton speaks about his time in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War 2 at his home on Lafayette Ave. Monday afternoon. Brighton who will be speaking at Hauser High School on Wednesday for Veteran's Day said he wants to focus on telling students the opportunities the military had to offer him as opposed to telling war stories.

Remembering Woodstock

2009-10-30T01:12:00.000-04:00

While at the Eddie Adams Workshop my group's theme was Woodstock. Each of the members of the group were assigned a different assignment somehow dealing with the historic event. The workshop is located about 10 or 15 minutes from the actual site so there are a number of people in the area that remember the event or have somehow been touched by the event.

My assignment was to photograph a couple of guys who went to Woodstock when they were teenagers. Neither of the two knew each other when they attended the event and didn't meet until later in life. They have since become good friends and own and operate a barn refurbishing business in New York State. I wasn't sure exactly how to approach the assignment at first but after a while it became evident that the story was about how two guys with different backgrounds became friends and just happened to go to Woodstock. Woodstock might not have defined their lives but it certainly made a lasting impact.

I collected some audio and put together an audio slideshow at this link. Check it out!

http://joelphilippsen.com/remembering%20woodstock/index.html

Niall laughs during a conversation with Zeke Saturday prior to heading out to a worksite.

A barn that has been refurbished by Zeke and Niall in New York.

Niall shows a bumper sticker he keeps in his truck.

Zeke closes a barn door at a barn that was refurbished on the property of one of their clients.

All images © Joel Philippsen, 2009

Back from Eddie Adams

2009-10-18T22:02:00.000-04:00

Last week I went to the Eddie Adams Workshop, which is a photojournalism workshop out in New York state. I can't really summarize the workshop up in it's entirety so I'll just say it was bloody awesome. The workshop contained a list of amazing speakers (several of them have won the Pulitzer), the chance to work with some very talented photographers from around the world while being led by some of the best in the industry. It was an amazing learning opportunity. Here are a couple of things I took back with me.

1. I have a long way to go in this journey. ( I knew this but the workshop confirmed it.)

2. No matter who you work for, market yourself as your own business and work on things that YOU are interested in while satisfying your employer's interests too. (they do give you a paycheck)

3. Access is everything in good photojournalism. Build relationships and follow up on them. Most people want their stories told. Look them in the eye and be genuine with your intentions. Spend the extra time to get to know them.

4. Assignments are a starting point. Ask several questions about their life with visual ideas in mind and if it brings about a better visual situation than the original assignment it's all for the better.

5. Journalist with camera.

6. Follow your instincts.

7. You won't die if you only get 3 and a half hours of sleep for several days in a row.

8. Don't go wider than a 24 mm lens unless it's justified. ( I need to work on this)

9. Living in the moment while photographing someone is the only way to go. Don't have an agenda.

10. The photojournalism community is made up of some super talented people who are there to help a brother out.

Here's a feature photo of a family I photographed today cutting firewood. It's amazing how many things have stuck with me from the workshop. I find myself looking at assignments and daily features in a whole new way now. Very refreshing.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Skylar Sharp, 8, (right) carries a log over to a woodpile while he and his sister Jade,6, help their father James Sharp as he cuts firewood Sunday afternoon at their Walnut St. home in Hope. The Sharp's are currently working on fixing up their home that has been in their family for three generations.

Anderson Falls

2009-10-06T19:44:00.001-04:00

Anderson Falls is a nature preserve tucked away in the eastern portion of Bartholomew County. Here is a video I produced about the area.

Anderson Falls from Joel Philippsen on Vimeo.

Selling Old Stuff

2009-09-10T13:38:00.000-04:00

I was working Labor Day and knew there were some festivals in the area I could go out and shoot. After getting to the Labor Day Festival in Vernon, Ind. my story line for my video quickly changed. This festival once known to be a rather large antique and collectible festival had almost no one there. The rain was the biggest reason for the low turnout but after talking to a few of the vendors it seems that low turnouts are becoming the norm in this fading out profession. Check out the video below to see what they had to say.

Selling Old Stuff from Joel Philippsen on Vimeo.

High School Sports

2009-09-10T12:02:00.000-04:00

High school sports. I shoot a fair share of them. I like them for a variety of reasons but the two main reasons are the athletes play with heart usually and they have a good time. I photographed the Edinburgh volleyball team defeat Monrovia on Tuesday night. They are undefeated so far and judging by how they played Monday I wouldn't be surprised if they stayed that way. I shot this after number 14 scored a point. It's one of those moments that you can tell the team is having a good time while playing the game they love.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Edinburgh's Courtney Dragoo celebrates after scoring a point by striking a pose as teammates Sam Stinson (right) and Ashley Myers(right) pretend to take her picture as as Edinburgh takes on Monrovia at Edinburgh High School Tuesday night.

Lighting... it's growing on me.

2009-08-17T14:20:00.000-04:00

I used to hate it. I thought it was invasive and unnatural. Fast forward a few years and now I think it's challenging and can give my work a bit of an edge and a chance to be a bit more creative while digging into my inner geek. This "it" I am referring to is "artificial lighting" or "flash". Off camera flashes can make your work stand out in many situations and especially in portraits.

Lighting requires a bit of know how and patience about how light works in different environments and how it reacts to different colors of light in the same setting. I like it because I can use fun gadgets and homemade workarounds to make the situation work for me while using the materials I have and not spending a ton of cash.

The paper's annual football tab is going to print tomorrow and during the planning stages I had volunteered to shoot the cover of the publication. A couple of weeks went by and I was swamped with other tasks and hadn't given the project as much thought as I would have liked. Well Tuesday afternoon came around before I knew it and one of our editors said that we needed the cover by Sunday. I got a bit uneasy because to my knowledge nothing was set up yet. No one had told me who needed to be in the photo and I hadn't decided on a location yet. Oh and by the way I was going to be off Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The picture had to be shot on Wednesday. I made some calls to football coaches on Tuesday night and then in the morning on Wednesday I knew who the players would be after several phone calls and going out to a practice. After setting up the shoot for Wednesday afternoon at 2-3, which was the only time available for the players who were doing two-a- days, we were all set.

The shoot took place outside an old warehouse and near a railroad with a two light setup of some nikon speedlights and pocketwizards. The two senior athletes were patient while wearing all their football gear in the heat for about an hour. They also got along with each other, which always helps. All in all it was fun and challenging and aside from only a few tech glitches that come along with using my ancient work provided flashes, everything turned out just fine.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Columbus North's Jarrett Brownfield and Columbus East's Connor Miller stand for a portrait for the annual football tab.

That's me at my work desk holding two flashes controlled by pocketwizards (which are basically just radios that link the flashes and the camera to each other.

The Brickyard

2009-07-28T22:20:00.000-04:00

My assignment was to concentrate on Tony Stewart at the Brickyard on Sunday. Stewart lives in Columbus, Indiana and since my paper covers Columbus it seems natural that we report anything he does. This was my first race I have ever photographed. I am not a race fan myself but it was interesting to say the least. Despite a few credential restrictions here is my take on the day.

A little background about the day. It was a long day. I left the house around 830 a.m to head to the track and I think I finally parked my car around 11. On a normal day the trip would only be about an hour to the speedway. Race day proved not to be a normal day. I sat in the car for nearly an hour and a half just to be parked. Wow... and I thought Notre Dame football game parking was rough. Ha!

The race started at about 220 p.m. (but there were several other things starting at about 1). and so I had a couple hours to take a look around, get something to eat and shoot some features. This was my first time at a race track and I was a little taken back by everything that was going on. I really had no idea what I was walking into.

Two sports writers from the paper showed me around for a bit and then before I knew it the festivities were starting. I think I would compare a NASCAR race to a going to the license bureau to get your license plate renewed and they congratulated you for being there 100th person to go through the line that day. There are a lot of steps that you have to go through just to get the plate renewed and when it is finally said and done it didn't lead up to a very exciting finish.

I think that racing is truly one of the biggest spectator sports though. Let's face it we are talking about cars going around in circles. There is very little interaction between fans and drivers during the race. At any given point in the race you could look around and just watch people in the stands just sitting there quietly listening to their scanners and not interacting at all with the people around them. There's no point in talking anyway because the announcer is talking the entire race and the cars are so loud that you basically have to yell to get your point across.

I may not be cut out to be a fan of NASCAR but photographing it was kind of fun and challenging. It was something different and there are some fun angles and opportunities to blur and pan that I don't try everyday. I'm going to borrow a quote from one of the drivers and say that the cars are "stupid fast".

After the race I edited my photos and ftp'd them back to the paper and finally got home at about 9 Sunday night. Exhausted from the day, the sun, and a tad bit of excitement. In the end it was something different and I'd do it again.

Check out a gallery from Sunday here.... http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=4473

Here are a couple of my favorites from the day.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Crew members of Tony Stewart's team scurry in the pits during the 16th running of the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Tony Stewart drives through the last part of turn 4 during the 16th running of the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Nice weather and my love for feature hunting.

2009-07-20T22:21:00.001-04:00

Today we were working on a story about the unseasonably cool July weather we are having in Indiana. We didn't have any photos to go with the story so I went out on a feature hunt to go and find something to anchor the front page. I was planning on going out to the country with hopes of finding a farmer doing something "farmish". Those plans were quickly scrapped. On my way out of town I was crossing over a bridge and saw a guy fishing and some kids scrounging around the banks of the river. A quick detour later and a jaunt down to the river I ended up with a couple of feature photos and some time for me to do what I love. Feature hunting.

I can liken feature hunting to treasure hunting. Often times I drive or walk around and don't find anything of interest or worth. But sometimes I end up with some pictures that I like and it's all worth it. Arrrgh, there's me buried treasure! ( I know, I'm a big dork.) I think it all stems from my first job in Huntington. That job was the job that I probably learned the most about who I was as photojournalist. Almost everyday I went to work, my job was to find the photo in the county that was going to be the dominant photo for the front page. Most of the time it could be anything I wanted and that was a really cool part of the job. It was a paper that prided itself as small and mighty with great visuals. (now it's owned by Paxton and they tore it to pieces) My day in Huntington would include calling up schools on a whim to see if they might have something cool going on that day or call out to the reservoir to see if they had anything new. Most of the time I just drove around and kept an eye out for something visual. Sometimes it would lead to a story, other times just a good conversation and maybe a decent feature photo. One things for sure, I met a lot of neat people that way. I miss the everyday feature hunt and anytime I get the time to do it on a part time basis in addition to other scheduled assignments (often visually unappealing) that fill my day I try to partake in my pirate like excursions.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Kimber Goodin, 14(left)and Cory Lanning , 9,(center) collect shells with their step mom and sister, Amanda Brock (right) , all of Columbus, at a spot on the East Fork White River behind the Senior Center Monday afternoon. This summer's temperatures have been much more mild than the typical humid Indiana summer.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Jeremy Price of Columbus casts a lure at a spot on the East Fork White River behind the Senior Center Monday afternoon. Price was on his lunch break and said it was too nice of a day to stay inside. This summer's temperatures have been much more mild than the typical humid Indiana summer.

Fair week

2009-07-20T21:43:00.000-04:00

One of the biggest photo weeks at our paper has come and gone. Whew! I look at fair week a couple of ways. In one way it presents a string of events that could turn up to be a decent event to snag a solid feature that could represent a "slice of life". On the other hand, on the surface it can be seen as a series of events that seems remarkably like the last year with the same old events. This is where I see the challenge. After walking laps around the 4-H barns and the midway looking for something interesting I was able to capture a few things I liked from my experience at the fair. A girl sleeping with her cows and the watermelon seed spitting contest proved to be my favorites for this year. I guess I have the next 11 months to recoup.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Claire Dodd , 15, takes a nap on the bedding where her cows are stationed on Sunday afternoon at the Bartholomew County Fair. Dodd is a 7th year 4-H'er who said she is showing four cows this year and was exhausted from the weekend's 4H activities.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Hannah Ammon, 7, blows a watermelon seed out of her mouth Monday evening during a watermelon seed spitting contest at the Bartholomew County Fair Farm Bureau Building. Aside from enjoying the contest, Ammon said the watermelon tasted good too.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Ethan Eckert, 9, picks out seeds out of a slice of watermelon Monday evening during a watermelon seed spitting contest at the Bartholomew County Fair Farm Bureau Building.

Beth Koors and Ben Lutterbach Wedding | Millhousen, Indiana | June 20, 2009

2009-07-10T11:55:00.000-04:00

I just finished up editing Ben and Beth's wedding photos. It was a great wedding and I had a lot of fun photographing it. Here are a few of my favorites from the day. For a slideshow showing the day go to http://www.joelphilippsen.com/Lutterbachslide/index.html .

Athlete

2009-06-11T10:17:00.000-04:00

Joel Philippsen | The Republic Duwyce Wilson was The Republic's boy track athlete of the year. He will be playing football at IU in the fall.

Colts at Franklin College

2009-06-10T13:41:00.000-04:00

Saturday I was assigned to shoot video at Franklin College of the Colts mini-camp. It was nice for a change to just focus on one medium and not juggle back and forth between still and video. Here it is.

Colts at Franklin College from Joel Philippsen on Vimeo.

The Flood. One year later.

2009-06-09T22:19:00.001-04:00

A year ago the city of Columbus suffered a massive flood that took out about 2500 homes. It was the biggest news event I had ever covered and I learned a lot from the people during the past year. Here is a video I put together for the 1 year anniversary.

The Flood. One Year Later. from Joel Philippsen on Vimeo.

Preview to Earth day

2009-04-23T16:14:00.001-04:00

Some students from Fodrea had a field trip at the recycling center as part of Earth Week. Most of the kids raise their hands as soon as a question is asked and I think it's funny that when they are called on they have no idea what to say. The girl in the center of the top picture was the culprit of this question and went as far as raising 2 hands and was really excited about being called on. No answer from her. I smiled.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

That is the weight of about 12 kids on a scale.

Storing evidence where inmates used to sleep

2009-04-23T13:04:00.001-04:00

As the jail is under construction the sheriff's dept. has relocated all of their evidence into the old part of the jail. I think it's kind of interesting that they are keeping the very evidence that will be used to convict inmates in the same place as they used to live.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Captain Greg Duke looks through evidence stored in former jail cells while the construction continues at the Bartholomew County Jail Tuesday morning.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Captain Greg Duke looks through evidence stored in a former jail cell block while the construction continues at the Bartholomew County Jail Tuesday morning.

Deployment

2009-04-23T12:47:00.000-04:00

My first assignment back from vacation. It was good to have some time off. I was feeling pretty stressed and my picture making was suffering. The assignment was out at Camp Atterbury and members of the Indiana National Guard were being deployed to Afghanistan. I had kind of an idiot moment prior to this assignment. After I passed through security at Atterbury and parked my car in the parking lot it was about 10 til the time of the deployment ceremony to start. I go to get my camera bag out of the trunk of my car and to my surprise there is no camera bag. That's right no camera bag. As panic and despair roll through my body I grab my somewhat trusty d2h and the wide angle lens attached to it and start shooting the ceremony. I had to shoot this a little differently than I am normally accustomed to but it presented a challenge to shoot only wide angle stuff and was kind of fun but I'm pretty certain I won't make that mistake again anytime soon. (or at least for a few weeks)
Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Newlyweds Valaina and Richard Gauer of LaPorte, Ind. embrace each other following a deployment ceremony at Camp Atterbury. The Gauers were married 3 days ago and Richard is being deployed as part of the National Guard's1613th Engineer Support Company to Afghanistan.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Specialist Jason Barnhart of Roselawn, Ind. embraces his stepson Tyler Orlando, 8, following a deployment ceremony at Camp Atterbury Monday afternoon. Barnhart is a member of the National Guard's 1613th Engineer Support Company heading to Afghanistan.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
National Guard soldiers talk on their cell phones outside following a deployment ceremony Monday afternoon.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Jason Jones of Seymour, Ind. says goodbye to his wife Leslie Jones just before loading onto a bus for deployment Monday afternoon at Camp Atterbury. Jones is part of the National Guard 1613th Engineer Support Company which will be heading to Afghanistan.

Factory Layoffs

2009-04-23T12:34:00.000-04:00

I shot this about two weeks ago and then went on vacation and figured I would post this finally. A local factory had a pretty massive layoff and sent a good portion of their employees packing. A reporter and I were there trying to cover the story. We talked to laid off employees and after that we tried to get some sort of comment from management. The reporter I was with had tried numerous times to get some sort of comment from them regarding the company's position without any success. We decided to go into the office and that is when they kicked us out and told us we had 2 minutes to get off the property.

CCG Layoffs from Joel Philippsen on Vimeo.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
This is a frame grab of management telling us we have 2 minutes to get off the property.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
CCG welder Sandy Johnson (left) embraces Paula Wimmenauer Thursday morning after Wimmenauer was laid off from the Columbus plant. CCG laid off over 100 employees Thursday and expect more lay offs to follow. Several employees said that the mood in the plant was very somber inside Thursday and painted a bleak picture of what they thought the company has become.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Tony Cummings, 20, of Greenwood (left) tells his story after being laid off as a welder at CCG Thursday father and son Dwayne Sloan and Dwayne Patrick Sloan, who were also laid off welders stand by in the parking lot outside of CCG.

Easter Egg Tree

2009-04-07T10:23:00.000-04:00

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
I had an assignment earlier today that involved decorated eggs for Easter which were hanging from a branch. Pretty neat. Pretty different.

Hey! That's not your mailbox!

2009-04-06T22:30:00.001-04:00

Joel Philippsen The Republic
Milestone employee Chad Day removes a mailbox from a property on State St. Tuesday afternoon. Crews are working to replace sewer lines and widen the road which will result in one less lane for traffic to travel on while work endures.

Moving the Organ

2009-04-06T22:27:00.000-04:00

Joel Philippsen The Republic
St. Paul Lutheran Church member Janice Scheidt hands Pastor Richard Rickus a drill bit as he stand sillouetted on a ladder Monday afternoon at the church. Rickus and other church members were assisting workers from Dobson Pipe Organ Builders take apart the organ so they could move it to their new church that sits adjacent to the existing church.

Seeing Stars

2009-03-16T22:46:00.001-04:00

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Vice President of Ash Enterprises Eric Melenbrink of Richmond, Virgina works on a star projector replacing bulbs Thursday afternoon at the planetarium located in Columbus East High School. The planetarium was heavily damaged by the June flood and is being updated to include digital technology to accompany existing analog technology to further enhance the learning experience.

I likes... 60 degree weather

2009-03-16T22:37:00.000-04:00

Sunday was like a breath of fresh air. Warm air that is. When it's nice outside I hate to be inside. So Sunday while at work I decided to go out and find some features. Although I don't get to do the feature hunting adventures as much as I'd like, I do appreciate the time when I get it. Here are some pictures from the time I was out. The bike picture made it to print. The other was held due to space.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Andrew Snyder,17, of Columbus attempts a 360 degree jump near the playground area at Mill Race Park Sunday afternoon as his friend A.J. Norris, 16, (right) watches. Warm temperatures lured people of all ages to the park to enjoy the spring like weather.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
A pair of shoes filled with socks sits on the beach as Evan Moffatt 5 and his step brother Trevor Bracwell, 10 (right) wade through a shallow area of the river near Mill Race Park while looking for shells Sunday afternoon. Temperatures were in the 60's Sunday and several families were outside enjoying the weather.

Bad Wreck

2009-03-16T22:35:00.001-04:00

Joel Philippsen | The Republic
Amanda Tichenor (center) is comforted by her mother Melissa Tichenor as James Carlisle standsby while holding a dog named Valentine. Carlisle and and Amanda Tichenor along with the dog were in a vehicle driving southbound on 46 when a vehicle with multiple children in it driving westbound on 100 S. failed to stop at a stop sign and the two vehicles collided. All seven people in the collision were transported to a hospital.

Prayer

2009-02-25T14:51:00.000-05:00

I've been in kind of a photo slump lately. I shot this yesterday and I thought it was kind of nice and perhaps a sign of an end to this slump. If nothing else we are watching "War Photographer" featuring James Nachtwey in a photojournalism class that I teach tonight. I can't think of a better way to get motivated than watching that.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

St. Peter's fourth grader Lily Hilderbrand says a prayer during devotion time near the end of the school day Tuesday afternoon in Juli Manning's class .

Fact: Carving is cool.

2009-02-10T22:00:00.000-05:00

Bob Taylor -Columbus Carver from Joel Philippsen on Vimeo.

Apartment Fire

2009-02-09T22:15:00.000-05:00

Monday was quite the night. I was getting off work a little late due to waiting until the last day to submit contest entries before the deadline. (Nothing unusual here) It was about 1130 and I was pulling into the my apartment building's parking lot. I pull up to my parking space and looked to the left and all I see is thick black smoke coming out of a building adjacent to my building. After calling 911, me and another guy opened up the doors to the building in an effort to possibly see if we could notify people inside. The smoke was way to thick and I had to get out. We knocked on windows to try and notify people of the fire. When I got to the back of the building there were two guys on the third level of the building balcony that ended up jumping off to safety. One man jumped barefoot and seemed to be ok. The other man jumped down and landed a little uneven and hurt his ankle. After that there was a family of a mom and her two daughters on the second floor balcony. Another man and I helped the two girls and mom along with their two dogs out off of the balcony. The fire department showed up shortly after this. Once they got there I went and got my gear and started taking pictures. This was the first time in my career that I got to an emergency scene before the authorities did. I always knew it would happen sometime while on the job due to traveling a decent amount I just didn't know when it would happen and that it would be in my own backyard.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Resident David Frazee yells along the backside of an apartment building at Williamsburg Way Apartments late Monday night, as fire erupts through the windows behind him. Frazee was trying to let people inside the building know that the structure is on fire.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Angela Gilles, 13 and her sister Rebecca Gilles, 6 huddle together nestled in blankets in the back of a pickup truck outside their apartment complex at Williamsburg Way Apartments Monday night around midnight as firefighters fight the blaze. The Gilles' escaped from the second level apartment through the balcony.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

A Columbus firefighter walks up the steps near a flame-filled apartment at Williamsburg Way Apartments late Monday night.

Planning for prom

2009-02-09T22:02:00.001-05:00

Lighting with strobes. I don't get to set up portrait lighting as often as I'd like to. In the past couple of years I have started to do more of it, and the more I do the more I kind of enjoy the technical aspects of it. My heart is still with photojournalism (unposed) but every once in a while I do enjoy a controlled shoot where I can control the atmosphere around me.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

New styles of dresses for 2009 prom.

4 walls and a roof.

2009-02-09T21:40:00.001-05:00

One of the big issues floating around in Columbus has been homelessness. It is kind of one of those issues that everyone knows that it is going on but there isn't a good way to address it without pouring a lot of taxpayer money at the issue. A local church decided to open it's doors to some of the homeless in the community to get them out of the cold. I went out one night with a group of the church members as they looked under bridges, in the woods and other places trying to find people who might need a warm place to stay the night. Here are a couple of pictures from the adventure.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Jeff Gaetz (center) and Terry Linville (right) of the Living Hope Tabernacle Church talk to a man who is bundled up underneath a Columbus bridge Monday evening. A group of people from the church were looking for homeless people to see if they would like to come to their church to spend the night and get out of the cold. The man declined the offer despite the cold and said that he had been living this way for years.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

A group of people from Living Hope Tabernacle Church walk along a portion of the people trail on the west side of town in search of homeless people who need a place to spend the night. The church has opened it's doors to people who need a place to stay and are actively trying to find people who need shelter and get them out of the cold.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Member of the Living Hope Tabernacle church, Jeff Gaetz, takes a look at a portion of the former St. Bartholomew school located at 8th st. and Sycamore Wednesday morning. Gaetz's church is looking into the possibility of buying the facility along with the former church to use as a homeless center and a worship center.

Snow!

2009-02-09T21:19:00.000-05:00

Snow in southern Indiana is a funny thing. People forget how to drive when there is snow on the ground. I couldn't believe school was canceled for the Columbus kiddos for 3 days! Not that I'm complaining. I actually like the somewhat mild winters (compared to up north) Another thing about when it snows here is that it always becomes news. No matter if it is an inch or a foot. It's news. Here are some pictures of the snow on one of the days I worked. On a side note, I'm ready for spring.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Mathilde Van Dyk,5, and her brother Pablo Van Dyk, 6, take a ride down a hill at Clifty Creek School Tuesday afternoon.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

After blowing the snow out of Diana Biddle and Mary Western's driveway, Josh Blackwell continues to blow snow to clear around their mailbox on CR50N Tuesday afternoon near Clifty Creek School.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Jonathan Foster, 10, jumps over a ramp that was constructed at Clifty Creek School Tuesday afternoon. Dozens of people took advantage of the hills near the school to have some winter fun while school was canceled.

New Year's baby

2009-01-01T21:31:00.000-05:00

This year I had to work New Year's day. The assignment was to photograph the first baby born living in Bartholomew County. This was my first year I had ever had to do this. Here are the pictures. By the way happy birthday Mr. Sean Stevenson. Also a newborn on New Year's. (25 years ago.)

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

A baby name book rests on a stand next to Audrey Tungate's hospital bed after she gave birth to her son Adrean Brilee Tungate Thursday afternoon. Tungate was the first baby of Bartholomew County born at CRH in 2009.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Audrey Tungate holds her newborn baby boy Adrean Brilee Tungate Thursday afternoon in the Columbus Regional Hospital nursery. Tungate was the first baby of Bartholomew County born at CRH in 2009.

Top 10 of 2008

2008-12-31T16:23:00.000-05:00

At the end of every year I try to pick my top 10 pictures of that year. This year is no different in that I spend way to much time in front of the screen debating what the 10 will be. I start out going through all the pictures I turned in for the year. This year it came out to be 1,865 photos between the first and last of the year. (If you are curious, according to our archiving system 669 of those photos were actually published.) Then I will dwindle that number down to about a 100 or so. After looking at those for a while in turmoil I will eventually get that number down to 20 something. ( are you starting to see how this is taking too much of my time) After getting to the 20 mark I have to start dumping photos I really like and this is when it starts to get hard. In the end I don't know how I eventually get to 10 photos and most likely they aren't my 10 best either. But here is what I eventually picked as my top 10 photos of the year. The link below will show you what I eventually picked. Here's to 2009.

http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=4473

Shoe Repair...

2008-12-30T20:40:00.001-05:00

Dan Kaiser has been in the shoe repair business for over 3 decades. When he first came to Columbus to open a shop there were a total of 4 shoe repair shops. Now he is the last one in business in Columbus and with the economy in a downward spiral, business is going up for Dan. Apparently people prefer to repair their shoes instead of getting a new pair when money is tight. Sounds like a decent idea to me. By the way, when Dan isn't repairing shoes, he is a pretty stellar wildlife photographer. He has a pretty nice collection of some of his work in the shop for people to stop and look at.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Dan works on several different pairs of shoes at the same time and has a system that seems to work.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

A lot of shoe stuff.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Making sure they are even.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Another Great Depression Portrait

2008-12-30T20:31:00.000-05:00

I've been in a black and white kick lately... especially with portraits. Anyways, here is Dean Taylor. He grew up in the Great Depression and we are doing a series at the paper on people

like Dean. Here are a few pictures.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Dean Taylor sits in his Franklin St. home holding a toy motorcycle he played with as a child. ( For some reason I really like this portrait. I don't know whether it's because of the sense of place or because Dean is just a cool guy. Probably the latter.)

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Dean's toy motorcycle.

North vs. East

2008-12-22T22:50:00.001-05:00

Tonight I shot the North vs. East girls basketball game at East. It was an exciting game pretty much the whole game. North ended up winning in overtime. Here are a few photos away from the game action.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Players on Columbus North's bench jump into the air in excitement near the end of the game at Columbus East Monday night. North beat east in overtime.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

North senior Matt Harrison cheers on North near the end of the game as North sophomore (right) Vanand Abedian watches the close game at Columbus East Monday night. North defeated East in overtime.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

North senior Jacob Martin cheers for the lady bulldogs as they take on the lady Olympians at Columbus East Monday night. North defeated East in overtime.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Columbus North senior Matt Krempel (top middle) yells while hoisting a drum up in the air after the Columbus North girls defeated Columbus East at Columbus East Monday night in overtime.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

North junior Dylan Abney wears a blue Santa hat and lighted glasses while blowing a kazoo in support of the lady Bulldogs playing the lady Olympians at Columbus East Monday night.

Growing up in the Great Depression

2008-12-18T17:06:00.000-05:00

Meet Pat David. He grew up in Nashville, Ind. The Nashville that is known for antique and country shops on every corner, a huge state park and thousands of visitors every year. However, that's not the Nashville he remembers when he was a kid. He remembers it as a town with about 300 people living there and a town that was hard to get to and a hard way of life. This was a time before there were any highways in and out of the county. Pat talked about what it was like as a kid growing up in the great depression. Intresting man, interesting story.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Azalia Fire

2008-10-20T22:47:00.001-04:00

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Elizabethtown volunteer firefighter, Tom Nienaber, sprays water Sunday afternoon on hot spots that had restarted after firefighters had been called to the scene early Sunday morning to battle a fire that fully engulfed the old school, that is no longer in use, in Azalia.

St. Bartholomew Catholic Church

2008-10-20T22:41:00.000-04:00

I went to St. Bartholomew Catholic Church to photograph the choir a couple of Sunday's ago. Here are some extras I liked. The light was coming in really nicely that morning. (© Joel Philippsen | The Republic)

Motorcycle Wreck

2008-10-20T22:37:00.001-04:00

Joel Philippsen | The Republic Bartholomew County Sheriff patrolman Dewayne Janes moves a motorcycle out of the road with assistance from residents nearby after a motorcycle wreck Monday on Bonesteel Dr. near the intersection of Maize Dr. as children unload from a bus in Heritage Heights mobile home park. Two people on the motorcycle were injured in the wreck and were flown by medical helicopter to area hospitals.

Artist

2008-10-20T22:26:00.001-04:00

Meet Jim Paris. He is a retired architect who lives in Columbus. Jim now focuses on doing pen and ink drawings and water color paintings. He's a really nice guy and does some amazing work as well. (Images © Joel Philippsen | The Republic)

Mellencamp Rocks The Crump

2008-09-24T14:36:00.000-04:00

Tuesday night was a cool night for Columbus. John Mellencamp returned to his roots to perform at The Crump in front of about 700 people in downtown Columbus. The performance was done for an A&E film crew that will show how and where Seymour native John Mellencamp got his start. Here are a few pictures from the night.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

John Mellencamp performs Tuesday night at the Crump Theatre.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

A large line forms outside the Crump Theatre Tuesday night as fans prepare to watch John Mellencamp perform.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

John Mellencamp salutes the crowd after Mayor Fred Armstrong read a proclamation in honor of Mellencamp prior to Tuesday night's concert.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Mark Yeaton (center) and his son Kendall Yeaton (right), both of Columbus, jam on their guitars while being filmed by a film crew as a large line forms along Third St. outside the Crump Theatre in downtown Columbus prior to the start of the John Mellencamp concert Tuesday night. Mark Yeaton who was playing a guitar the shape of the state of Indiana got his guitar signed by Mellencamp earlier in the day.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

A large line forms outside the Crump Theatre Tuesday night as fans prepare to watch John Mellencamp perform.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

The crowd stands and cheers on The Debuteens and Music Men choir of Columbus North High School inside the Crump Theatre Tuesday evening prior to John Mellencamp taking the stage.

Mellencamp Back To Play at Crump

2008-09-22T20:43:00.000-04:00

Seymour native, John Mellencamp, has been the talk of the town for the past couple of weeks. Mellencamp is performing in downtown Columbus tomorrow as part of an A&E series which deals with popular performers and where they started their careers. Should be interesting to see how tomorrow works out and if The Crump survives.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Coca-Cola employee Brian Walls, of Columbus places the final letters on the Crump Theatre Monday afternoon. The downtown Columbus, Ind. venue will be the site of the John Mellencamp's concert Tuesday night.

Fall Fashion Video

2008-09-18T17:15:00.001-04:00

Tried something a little different with our fashion feature this season.

Fall Fashion Shoot from joel philippsen on Vimeo.

Much of Jennings County Still Without Power

2008-09-16T22:45:00.000-04:00

Much of Jennings Still Without Power from Joel Philippsen on Vimeo.

The storm system known as Hurricane Ike that ripped through Galveston over the weekend continued up through the midwest and gave much of South East Indiana more than expected. Jennings County officials said that much of the county is still without power and some residents might not get back electricity for several more days.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

A sign stating when the business will be back open is posted next to a door that a small dog is peering through Paul's Barber Shop in Commiskey Tuesday afternoon. A large portion of Jennings County residents are still without power from strong winds that came through the area Sunday.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman speaks to Jennings County officials at the Jennings Couty EMA office Tuesday afternoon. A large portion of Jennings County residents are still without power from strong winds that came through the area Sunday.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Rick Graham chops up trees that fell in his front yard Tuesday afternoon in Commiskey. A large portion of Jennings County residents are still without power from strong winds that came through the area Sunday. Graham is still without electricity and has been powering a portion of his appliances in his home with a generator, in which he has spent about 140 dollars in fuel to keep it running in the past couple of days.

Burglar Chased Into Cornfield

2008-09-16T22:37:00.000-04:00

The Republic photo by Joel Philippsen

CPD detective Tom Foust walks away from the burglary suspect's vehicle after retrieving information about the vehicle that was driven into a corn field on 350 North near Tally Rd. Monday morning in Bartholomew County. An attempted burglary in the Sycamore Bend subdivision was interrupted and the suspect fled the scene as the home owner and police chased after the suspect. The suspects abandoned their vehicle in a corn field on 350 N. and ran into the cornfield. Indiana State Police, Bartholomew County Sheriff's department and the Columbus Police Department scoured the area for signs of the suspects.

Burglar Chased into Cornfield from joel philippsen on Vimeo.

Endicott Wedding | South Bend, Ind.

2008-09-05T02:19:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pictures from a wedding I photographed last month in South Bend, Ind. Melissa (my wife) and I are friends with the couple and Melissa was a bridesmaid in the wedding. The weekend was a lot of fun. Congrats Blair and Tim!

Check out the slideshow of their wedding at www.joelphilippsen.com/site/weddings.html

Melissa and Blair.

3 Dead in Helicopter Crash

2008-09-01T22:53:00.000-04:00

A medical helicopter crashed in Decatur County Sunday afternoon near the small town of Burney, Ind. It was quite a sad situation. FAA officials are investigating the crash but no word has been released on the cause. Although they wouldn't let media on at the crash scene, here are a few photos from near by. Video of the event at the end of this post.

Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Decatur County Sheriff Daryl Templeton speaks to the media Sunday afternoon near the site of a medical helicopter crash that killed three people near Burney.
Joel Philippsen | The Republic

Randy Schoettmer and his son Traye,12 of Greensburg describe the medical helicopter crash Sunday near Burney in Decatur County. Randy Schoettmer said that he saw what looked like pieces of the helicopter flying off the aircraft prior to the crash.
Joel Philippsen | The Republic

A helicopter hovers over the site of a medical helicopter crash near Burney in Decatur County Sunday afternoon. Three people were killed in the crash.

3 Dead in Helicopter Crash from Joel Philippsen on Vimeo.

Photo staff at the paper

2008-08-28T18:51:00.000-04:00

We took a picture of all of the photographers at The Republic today that documented the flood in June. Here are the people I work with. (From left) Joel Philippsen, Andrew Laker, Mike Dickbernd, Lis Trueblood (who is a designer at the paper) and Joe Harpring. Good people, good times.

Getting My Feet Wet

2008-08-24T20:00:00.000-04:00

It rained today. With not a whole lot of news going on today I decided to go out and find something to photograph. After a half an hour or so of driving around looking for kids playing in the rain or anything signifying it rained for that matter I came across a few people at Mill Race Park.

The Republic photo by Joel Philippsen

Ciara McNicholas, 18 months-old, plays in a puddle with her father Rudy McNicholas of Columbus at Mill Race Park Sunday evening following a storm that passed through the area.

The Republic photo by Joel Philippsen

Sometimes you just have to join in and get your feet wet. (Don't be jealous of my super white , almost glowing feet. They rarely see the sun...)

The Republic photo by Joel Philippsen

Kyra Kenney of Columbus walks along a pond at Mill Race Park Sunday evening following a storm that passed through the region.

Pigskin and Turf

2008-08-20T18:32:00.000-04:00

High school football season starts this weekend. This time of year always brings back a few memories of my high school past. I wouldn't say that I miss the endless and somewhat pointless drills (at least they seemed like they were at the time) or the the 90 degree heat during practice. However, playing on Friday night under the lights in front of a couple thousand people was a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures from Tuesday afternoon's practice at Columbus North. North takes on Seymour this Friday.

The Republic photo by Joel Philippsen

North's QB carries the ball after a snap during practice Tuesday afternoon. North goes up against Seymour Friday night.

The Republic photo by Joel Philippsen

North players go through plays Tuesday afternoon during practice.

The Republic photo by Joel Philippsen

Water. Lots of water.

Priest Blesses Flood Damaged Home

2008-08-17T22:30:00.001-04:00

Today I photographed something I have never seen that I thought was pretty interesting.

After the well documented and devastating flood earlier this summer many people have been hard at work fixing up their homes. Two months have passed since the flood and people are starting to get back into their homes.

Joe Morrison moved back into his home today. With the help of a couple of dozen volunteers from St. Bartholomew Church Morrison's home was totally refurbished. Prior to move in today Father Clem Davis of St. Bartholomew blessed the home. It was an interesting custom that began with a prayer followed by walking through the home with holy water and then ending with writing above the front door the date, several crosses and a series of letters.

I thought the religious custom was a fascinating to watch unfold.

Here are a few pictures with a video to follow soon.

The Republic photo by Joel Philippsen

Father Clem Davis of Saint Bartholomew Catholic Church puts his arm around Joe Morrison after blessing his home on Streamside Drive Sunday afternoon. Morrison's home was heavily damaged during the June 7, 2008 flood and volunteers worked to repair the home for Morrison to move back in.

The Republic photo by Joel Philippsen

Father Clem Davis of Saint Bartholomew Catholic Church blesses the home of Joe Morrison (right) on Streamside Drive Sunday afternoon. Morrison's home was heavily damaged during the June 7, 2008 flood and volunteers worked to repair the home.

Priest Blesses Flood Damaged Home from Joel Philippsen on Vimeo.

Fall Fashion Shoot in Downtown Columbus

2008-08-12T23:18:00.001-04:00

We normally shoot our fashion pictures inside a studio but this time I thought it would be different and fun to do the shoot downtown and give the concept some local appeal. With one more shoot to go next week the fall fashion section is nearing completion.

When shooting with studio lights outdoors there are several issues that need to be addressed. A power source is necessary (unless you have a battery source) which I was fortunate there was a "hot" outlet in the location we were shooting. Wind is another factor. It was slightly windy the day of the shoot, and I was using shoot-through umbrellas on the lights. Needless to say, umbrellas and wind don't really mix. Anchoring your light stands is a must, if you don't your lights will come crashing down. No one wants that. Then of course add the task of dealing with power cords, light settings and shooting in a public place while people are walking by can all add a little difficulty to the shoot.

All in all it was a fun shoot and here are a few shots from the first shoot with more to come in the following weeks. I am no fashion guru but this assignment was a fun and challenging one that I hope is repeated in years to come.