This week started off a little slower than usual. Because I worked last weekend, I had Monday and Tuesday off. The end of this week was pretty slow on the news front, so I didn't have very many assignments. Maybe I'm just starting to dream about the beach, but I like to think that daily news assignments are a lot like ocean waves. Some weeks I am scrambling just to keep my head above water, flying from one assignment to the next. I feel important and needed. Then the next week, I struggle to find my own news because the newsroom is pretty quiet. In those quieter moments, I question my own abilities; I question my importance. Yet like ocean waves, the assignments will build up again and eventually come crashing down over the newsroom. This week might have been a lull in the waves, but who knows what next week will bring? I'm here to experience all facets of newspaper photojournalism, waves and all.
Wednesday: Rep. Mickey Michaux, a member of the North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus, speaks at a press conference, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act at the N.C. Legislature Wednesday, July 2, 2014.
Wednesday: After the press conference I drove to Fuquay-Varina to take photos of this young baseball star.
Jake Pereira, 8, from Fuquay-Varina, is one of 24 finalists in the 2014 Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run program and will compete at the National Finals July 14, 2014, during MLB All-Star Week in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pereira practices at Falcon Park in Fuquay-Varina Wednesday, July 2, 2014.
Here I think Jake looks like a professional player giving the batter the stink eye.
Thursday: I went back to Fuquay-Varina to take photos of a golf course that is closing. The manager gave me a golf cart and told me to do what I needed. Unfortunately it wasn't a very popular day to golf.
Friday: Fourth of July! I was assigned to cover the Eno Festival in Durham. It was not your typical Fourth of July celebration.
Alden Phelps, 6, tries to catch tadpoles in the Eno River during the 35th annual Festival for the Eno in Durham, N.C., Friday, July 4, 2014. Festival goers had the opportunity to play in the Eno River as well as listen to musical groups and browse crafts created by local artists. The event is presented by the Eno River Association, which is committed to the preservation of the nature, culture, and history of the Eno River basin.
Zane Cornwright, 7, of Durham, jumps into the Eno River in Durham during the Festival for the Eno on Friday, July 4, 2014.
Festival goers add artwork to the giant "O" near the Meadow stage at the Festival for the Eno in Durham on Friday, July 4, 2014. There was also a "E" and "N" near the stage.
Paleface and Mo Samalot perform on the River Stage at the Festival for the Eno in Durham, N.C., on Friday, July 4, 2014.