Protestors gathered in front of the police line on I-94 near the Dale St. exit in St. Paul, MN, on Saturday, July 9, 2016. Protestors originally gathered at the Minnesota Governor's Mansion earlier in the evening and eventually marched onto the interstate, closing it for several hours. Police cleared the highway after using tear gas, flash bangs, and making several arrests. Protests around the Twin Cities were sparked after Philando Castile was fatally shot during a traffic stop by a Falcon Heights police officer on July 6.
To say a lot happened in the last half of my internship at the Star Tribune would be an understatement. Early July to early August brought loads of variety. Most notably, Philando Castile was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop and it instantly became national news, sparking an immense response from those in the Twin Cities. I'll elaborate more on that below. In addition to that spot news coverage, I had more than two dozen shoots throughout July to complete the Taste 50 (the food section's biggest project of the year), and also had my hands full with daily newspaper coverage. I've broken down this blog post into those three segments of the latter portion of my internship, and I'll elaborate on each as it progresses.
The most impactful experience of my internship (both professionally and personally) was the coverage of the police-involved shooting of Philando Castile and the following backlash from the community. That story begins with the image above, and continues throughout the six following pictures.
Philando Castile was pulled over by a Falcon Heights police officer on July 6th. His girlfriend and four-year-old daughter were also in the car. After being asked for his license and registration, Castile told the officer he was carrying a weapon and began reaching for his identification in his back pocket. The officer told Castile not to move, and as he put his hands up, he was shot several times and later died.
The events following the incident on the evening of July 6th called for an all-hands-on-deck approach from the Star Tribune. The day after the shooting, I was called in to cover daily assignments for staffers who were following the spot news from the night before. Throughout the experience I learned how to be a team player. I couldn't cover solely the Castile news and shoot still images. The rest of the staff and I had to ensure all the paper's bases were covered (covering daily assignments aside from the spot news) and ensure the coverage of this big news was balanced. So, I ended up shooting more video than still pictures for a few days to supplement the stills from our other photographers.
Some video I gathered from the I-94 shutdown pictured above and below can be seen here: http://www.startribune.com/marchers-block-i-94-to-westbound-traffic/386158771/.
Personally, the things I saw the days following the shooting where powerful to witness. From hearing civil rights leader Jesse Jackson speak, the tense standoff on I-94 which became my first encounter having tear gas, flash bang grenades, and rubber bullets shot at the crowd I was standing with, to the intimate moments between people at rallies, it genuinely made me stop and think about what was happening before me. Coming from a small, predominately white, middle-class community in Ohio, my only experience with police-involved shootings of people of color was seeing it on Facebook. Being in this community as this painful event unfolded opened my eyes to so much. Though I only have bits and pieces from this event in the Twin Cities that is a part of a larger phenomena, I learned so much by being there. I was moved nearly to tears a few times while seeing all of this happen, and it's something I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.
Protestors stood facing the police after authorities forced protestors onto the hill next to the interstate near the Dale St. exit just before 1 a.m. on Sunday. Soon after, police forced protestors onto the street above and were able to reopen the interstate a few hours later.
Rue Norman, 19, right, cried as she prayed with Olivia Gruver,19, early on Saturday, July 9, 2016, at a roadside memorial across the road from where Philando Castile was shot and killed. "Sometimes something doesn't impact you until it's close to home," said Norman. "It makes it so much more real."
Protesters round the corner past First Avenue in Minneapolis after marching from Loring Park on Saturday, July 9, 2016. The gathering was organized by Black Lives Matter St. Paul and began with speakers in the park, then became a march around downtown for about an hour, which then ended back at Loring Park.
Lisa Gross laid down with other protestors in the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and S. 9th St. on Saturday, July 9, 2016, to commemorate the lives lost to police-involved shootings.
Amaan Metoyer, a close friend of Philando Castile, stood with his screen print of Castile at the Governor's Mansion on Sunday, July 24, 2016. "It hurt us so much," he explained, while gathered with other friends of Castile. The Living Proof Print Collective donated supplies for people gathered at the Governor's Mansion to make prints honoring Philando Castile.
Rosie Wilson-Herron, 7, danced with protestors outside the Governor's Mansion in St. Paul in the early evening on Friday, July 8, 2016. After having people speak to the crowd, those gathered at the Governor's Mansion began playing music and dancing in the street to create a pseudo block-party like atmosphere.
The following five images are from the Taste 50, the food section's largest feature of the year.
This year focused on Nicollet Avenue, also know as "Eat Street" and the epicenter of culinary excellence in Minnesota. The 17 block stretch is home to restaurants of a wide variety of approaches, experience, and price points. I was tasked with setting up shoots at over 25 restaurants on the street. I cold called loads of restaurants and asked about specific things the food writers at the Star Tribune wanted to highlight. Just the process of scheduling shoots among my daily assignments was an undertaking in and of itself, and powering through up to eight or nine shoots in a day really tested my abilities and time management skills.
The project mainly featured portraits, several dishes, and a few documentary-style images. Though a bit out of my realm of daily work, the project taught me a lot of lighting skills and how to get enticing reproductions of a wide variety of dishes. The project ran across seven pages in the newspaper, which was a great payoff to see my work get so much ink in print. More from the Taste 50 can be seen here on the web edition of the project: http://www.startribune.com/50-ways-to-explore-the-new-eat-street-on-nicollet/387937382/.
See also the awesome map a Star Tribune illustrator made for the story: http://www.startribune.com/map-your-eat-street-favorites-old-and-new/388457582.
Alex Fitzgerald stood with plates, from left, of avocado bacon sandwiches, a roasted sweet corn pancake and cilantro lime pork sliders in front of The Bad Waitress, located at 2 E. 26th St. right along Nicollet Avenue.
Sal Azem, owner of Jerusalem's Restaurant at 1518 Nicolette Avenue, stood for a portrait outside of his restaurant.
The #503, Pho Trap Cam (or the "Combo Pho") from Quang Restaurant, located at 2719 Nicollet Ave. It contains fresh sliced beef, meat balls, tripe, rice noodles, and tendon.
Solveig Tofte, left, and Martin Ouimet, co-owners of Sun Street Breads, stood for a portrait at their restaurant located at 4600 Nicollet Ave.
The mushroom-garlic pizza at Black Sheep Pizza, located at 2550 Nicollet Ave.
From here on down are a collection of pictures I made while shooting daily assignments during the last half of my internship.
Working at the Star Tribune was an amazing experience. I was pushed to my limits several times in terms of producing a large quantity of quality work (what are internships for?), and the staff helped me grow immensely. I think my shooting improved, and I feel worlds more confident balancing assignments and understanding the methodology of what goes into a newspaper. It was truly a whirlwind experience, and I'll carry the lessons I learned onto my new staff photographer job at the Daily Herald in Provo, Utah.
Jordan Johnson, left, and Ingrid Koester, both 17, took a moment to themselves before the Summer Music & Movies series kicked off at Loring Park on Monday, August 1, 2016. The couple from Thomas Jefferson High School in Bloomington has been dating for 14 months. They decided to go to the Walker Art Center's event after hearing about it on the radio, and Koester's mom also suggested they go.
People took turns jumping from the cliffs at Quarry Number 2 at Quarry Park and Nature Reserve on Saturday, July 30, 2016. The cliffs are a popular spot for teenagers and college students during the summer months.
Jody Paulsen waited in line for ice cream inside of Milkjam Creamery on Thursday, July 7, 2016.
Lawrence McKenzie, a rapper known as Mac Irv, posed for a portrait at a community basketball court close to his home in Robbinsdale on Monday, July 26, 2016. McKenzie was previously a point guard for the University of Minnesota's basketball team, and has been transitioning his life towards rap. "It was difficult as far as socially, but it was the same in terms of work ethic," said McKenzie, of the transition from hoops to hip-hop.
Tarcheon Roberts stretched as he kept an eye on Tarcheon Roberts Jr., six months. "His mom will be watching," he explained as he spent some time with his son before team Liberia's match at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul, MN, on Friday, July 15, 2016.
St. Paul police officers Chenoa Fields, left, and Chris Hamblin stood for a portrait before leaving the Eastern District Station to go on patrol on Thursday, July 14, 2016. Fields said her partner has it tougher today as a black cop, especially in light of the recent unrest in the Twin Cities following the shooting of Philando Castile.
Fans cheered while holding their cellphones in the air as Twenty One Pilots performed at the Xcel Energy Center on Friday, July 29, 2016.
Jet-skiers watched as the Nina, a replica of the Christopher Columbus ship, sailed up the St. Croix River and under the I-94 bridge towards the city of Hudson's docks on Thursday, July 7, 2016.
John Bueche prepared to paint an art installation in front of a portion of a mural, created by Charles Caldwell and titled "Metamorphosis of Life," at the Freedom Square dedication along West Broadway Avenue on Friday, July 29, 2016. When completed, the installation will resemble a portal and stand where buildings burnt down on the 900 block of Broadway Avenue. The wood used for the interactive installation features pictures and words drawn by community members.
Skylar Sloan, 10, stood with her horse, Pal, as she listened to instructions after a trail pattern exercise during a horseback-riding class at Bunker Park Stables on Monday, July 25, 2016.