Margot Christensen, 1, checks out a cherry given to her by her father, Michael, both of Riverton, during a harvest tour at Cherry Hill Farms in Santaquin on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Despite the agricultural sector being among the industries hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, Cherry Hill Farms is still pumping out fruit and allowing visitors to get a glimpse of the process for the first time with harvest tours. Visitors could pick and eat cherries during the tour.
Had there not been fireworks on the Fourth of July and Pioneer Day (a state holiday in Utah held on July 24th), I likely wouldn't have been able to tell the last 31 days were July.
It's extremely hot here in Utah, but otherwise July just didn't feel like itself. July is usually a pretty packed summer month here in Utah County, since as Utahns we generally love all things Americana. There's the Independence Day Parade in Provo, Stadium of Fire, several city celebrations and Pioneer Day celebrations to list a few hallmarks of July, but COVID-19 cancelled or drastically altered all of those things. None of these coronavirus cancellations have come as a surprise, but as has been the case each month since March, things just continue to feel very "off".
In terms of work, there was a several week period where all Daily Herald newsroom employees were asked to work from home, then we returned to the newsroom for several weeks, and in July we were all asked again to go back to working from home. Cultivating photo opportunities for stories with reporters has been my greatest and most time-consuming challenge as of late, and not being able to touch base with them in the office has made communication more complicated. The coronavirus has made it infinitely more difficult to nail down a time when story subjects are "actually doing" what it is that reporters are writing their stories about. This has made it a bit of a battle trying to make photo opportunities things other than portraits or provided images. Though it's nice not having to drive to the office to talk with employees, communicating via Slack can be hit or miss, especially when everyone's so busy and I'm often driving to and from photo assignments. Working from home has made work hours much more nebulous and creating a work-life balance much more difficult, but this is the new reality we must all face. Here's to hoping things normalize sometime soon.
Fireworks burst above LaVell Edwards Stadium as people watch from Eastlawn Memorial Cemetery in Provo as part of the Freedom Festival’s Fireworks Show to celebrate Independence Day on Saturday, July 4, 2020.
Lex Scott, of Salt Lake City, leads a chant as she and protesters march along Center Street toward the Historic Utah County Courthouse during the Marching For Racial Equality rally which began outside the Provo Police Department on Wednesday, July 1, 2020.
Les Harward, of Delta, carries a pistol and rifle as he stands with other counter protesters across the street from Black Lives Matter protesters during the Marching For Racial Equality rally held outside the Provo Police Department on Wednesday, July 1, 2020.
A plane finishes dropping retardant on hot spots as the Pole Canyon Fire burns southwest of Cedar Fort on Wednesday, July 15, 2020. On July 21 state fire officials reported the wildfire was 100% contained.
Flanked by people expressing varying views, Utah County Commissioner Bill Lee speaks during a gathering held outside the Utah County Historic Courthouse in Provo on Wednesday, July 15, 2020. Lee called the gathering just before a Utah County Commission meeting to give and listen to comments concerning his request to Gov. Gary Herbert to grant Utah County a compassionate exemption to the statewide mask-wearing mandate for all K-12 schools.
A face-mask notice is displayed while a customer enters Rancho Markets in Provo on Tuesday, July 21, 2020.
Connie Gonzalez and her husband, Joaquin, both of Provo, shop for produce at Rancho Markets in Provo on Tuesday, July 21, 2020. A study recently conducted by a group of BYU researchers found that wearing a cloth mask can stop up to 90 percent of respiratory droplets carrying COVID-19.
Lucas Ramirez, the Democratic candidate for the Utah House of Representatives District 48 seat, poses for a portrait outside of his Orem home Wednesday, July 8, 2020. Professionally, Ramirez is a family nurse practitioner.
Colter Castle, center of first row in dark blue, poses for a portrait with family and friends outside the Castle family’s home in Pleasant Grove on Thursday, July 9, 2020. Colter went to the hospital with what ended up being a brain bleed on July 2, and ended up having emergency surgery which included getting his head shaved. Family and friends also shaved their heads to show their support for Colter.
Burgess Owens, the Republican candidate for Utah’s 4th Congressional District seat, sports a Super Bowl 15 ring as he speaks during a campaign event featuring Donald Trump Jr. held at Colonial Flag in Sandy on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Owens played defensive back for the Oakland Raiders, and was a part of the team that won Super Bowl 15 in 1981.
Attendees take a selfie with Donald Trump Jr. during a campaign event held for Burgess Owens, the Republican candidate for Utah’s 4th Congressional District seat, at Colonial Flag in Sandy on Thursday, July 23, 2020.
Lightning streaks across the sky as volunteers load family cars with food at the Utah State Fairpark as part of the Farmers Feeding Utah project on Monday, July 27, 2020, in Salt Lake City.
Volunteer Paige Smith, 16, of Taylorsville, hands out bags of various food items to a family as part of the Farmers Feeding Utah project on Monday, July 27, 2020, in Salt Lake City.
Kim Linette Sorensen, author of “EQ Explorers: Little Adventures for a Big, Happy Life” series as well as co-founder and COO of BlenderBottle, poses for a portrait at BlenderBottle Company’s offices in Lehi on Wednesday, July 1, 2020.
A family is surprised by Pleasant Grove Police officers during a socially-distant birthday party for a boy’s third birthday at the family’s home in Pleasant Grove on Thursday, July 16, 2020. The boy has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and was also surprised by the Pleasant Grove Fire Department at his birthday party.
Fireworks burst across the skies above Orem as seen from Eastlawn Memorial Cemetery in Provo to celebrate Independence Day on Saturday, July 4, 2020.
Stan Lockhart, interim president and CEO of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce, poses for a portrait at the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce in Provo on Tuesday, July 14, 2020.
Kitchen manager Alan Anderson points out details of an order as he prepares food with his son, owner Christopher Anderson, at Steak Express in Provo on Tuesday, July 7, 2020.
D. Clark Turner, CEO of Turner Innovations, poses for a portrait with the company’s Smart-C X-ray machine at Turner Innovations’ offices in Orem on Wednesday, July 15, 2020. Turner developed the Smart-C Mini-C Arm Portable Fluoroscopy and X-Ray Imaging Device and it was showcased at the world’s largest medical exhibition in Germany and at a Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago.
Tanner Renshaw, of Heber City, fly fishes while other people float down the Provo River in rafts and inner tubes in Provo Canyon on Thursday, July 9, 2020. A handful of wildlife and conservation organizations and other groups recently announced a partnership to increase water flow in the lower Provo River after Utah experienced its third driest spring on record.
Glenn Hart, of Provo, whose alias is “Lonesome Hart,” poses for a portrait after a shooting match held by the Hobble Creek Wranglers at the Garth Killpack Shooting Range in Springville on Saturday, June 13, 2020. Hart chose the alias “Lonesome Hart” because he says, “the anchor chain on the Queen Mary isn't strong enough to drag my wife to a shoot.” Hart got into the group while working at an Orem pawn shop that was nationally popular with gun owners when a member of the Hobble Creek Wranglers invited him to a shoot. “One day I went out to one of the shoots with my wife here, and they saw me standing in the background, and they very quickly grabbed me and made me come up and shoot a stage,” said Hart. “They're always happy to do that. I eventually wound up getting a collection of the type of guns we use.” This photo and the following three are from my Monday Close-Up on the Hobble Creek Wranglers which ran in early July. To see more portraits and the written story, look here: provodh.com/2yqoo
Ron Doty, 82, of Hemet, California, whose alias is “Colt Colton,” poses for a portrait after a shooting match held by the Hobble Creek Wranglers at the Garth Killpack Shooting Range in Springville on Saturday, June 13, 2020. Ron, who is a BYU graduate and was visiting the area with his wife for a family member’s baby blessing, chose the alias “Colt Colton” because his family came to Colton, California, in 1894. He explained the story of the coins in his hat to the Hobble Creek Wranglers after the shoot. “I was in Price with nine grandkids and I loaded almost 4,000 rounds of ammo so we’d have enough, he said. “They made me posse marshal. Every clean stage you shot, you got one of these coins.” He explained further that during a two-day shoot, a total of 10-12 stages is typical.
Tracie Rock, of Herriman, whose alias is “Ginger Big Guns,” poses for a portrait after a shooting match held by the Hobble Creek Wranglers at the Garth Killpack Shooting Range in Springville on Saturday, June 13, 2020. Rock chose the alias “Ginger Big Guns” because she said, “Well, I have red hair, so hence ginger, and big guns, I like to work out, so not necessarily these big guns, but I feel like I have some big guns, you know?” Rock got into the group when, “Once COVID happened and we couldn't do anything, I got really bored. So I thought, what the heck, I'll try shooting.”
Bob Marshall, of Springville, who acts as the group’s president and whose alias is “Hobble Creek Marshal” poses together with his grandson Easton Marshall, 9, of Pleasant Grove, whose alias is “Lead Burner,” for a portrait after a shooting match held by the Hobble Creek Wranglers at the Garth Killpack Shooting Range in Springville on Saturday, June 13, 2020. Although “Hobble Creek Marshal” was Bob’s ninth choice as an alias, he said he chose it simply because, “I live in the mouth of Hobble Creek Canyon, and my last name is Marshall.” Bob is a state champion in Cowboy Action Shooting. The Hobble Creek Wranglers came up with “Lead Burner” as an alias for Easton simply because it sounded cool. Easton got into Cowboy Action Shooting by attending shoots with his father and grandfather. Easton has cystic fibrosis, and the Hobble Creek Wranglers used to do a cops vs cowboys annual fundraiser with local police officers to raise money for research of the disease.