When I made arrangements to fly into New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII coverage between San Francisco and Baltimore, I must've been asleep. For whatever reason, maybe a brief flirtation with stupidity, I booked the flight that took off at 6am from SFO this morning (Wednesday). After a stop in Denver [...]
Picture this (literally) if you will, a stadium where the first game was played April 17, 1968 when 50,219 fans ushered in a new era of baseball on the opposite side of the bay. Imagine sitting in the left field nose bleed seats during the 1972 world series as the [...]
The kids from Petaluma brought down the house again on Sunday as an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people jammed the streets for Petaluma National Little League's trip through the Little League World Series victory parade in P-Town. From appearances, the crowd rivaled a Butter and Egg Day's Parade soiree. The [...]
What can best be described as an incredible summer, the Petaluma National Little League All-Stars baseball season has come to an end. Oh sure, there will be travel and fall ball, but the team that traveled to South Williamsport for the Little League World Series is one for the record [...]
I know this post is late. Baseball started a couple of weeks ago. But I did get to cover the Oakland Athletics home opener. Even though the A's haven't exactly burst out of the barn this year (for that matter, neither have the Giants) it still makes for good photos. [...]
Tiger Woods came back to AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for the first time in a decade this past week. As I write, Phil Mickelson saw an opening after third round leader Charlie Wi kicked around a few golf balls and Mickelson stormed ahead (much like Woods used to do) [...]
Windsor's stunning come from behind victory yielded some nice photos, Friday Dec. 9., which were published in Saturday's Press Democrat. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw these two teens celebrating post victory in their own way, kissing. To be sure, a private moment in a very public [...]
The merry-go-round of news photography keeps on keeping on. This job never gets boring. Right around the corner another story awaits and that's a good thing. When I'm buried in another few decades, my cameras will have to be pried from my hands. This an awesome time to be a [...]
Last year at this time, Christopher Chung, John Burgess and I were shooting baseball playoffs and World Series at AT&T Park . This year, alas, no such luck. Instead, football is being played on turf relegated more to ground balls than midfield tackles. The California Golden Bears are renting new [...]
There is a gentleman, his name is Arthur Webb. Webb is a local runner who likes to run 135 miles during the summer. Did I mention he runs 135 miles in 48 hours? In Death Valley? This is a man that likes to push his body to the limit by [...]
How many frames in a photojournalists life? Millions. Literally.
I’ve lost count since I started shooting photos at eight years-old with a Polaroid Land Camera (which I still own). It’s a way of life this photojournalism thing which is endlessly fascinating. The trip along the way, now in my 31st year professionally and the last 25 with the Press Democrat, has been an adventure in life. What it has to offer, ranging from implausible beauty to the utterly cruel things life randomly pitches out have shaped and molded who I am. That means I get to witness history. Pretty cool, eh? This journey has included photographing lots of inanimate objects which can be terribly boring. I’ve also borne the brunt of people unhappy to see a photographer show up to document less than pleasant circumstances. Then there’s the weather, which wreaks havoc on the human race daily. So I document the clouds. My advice for anyone having a bad day is to go outside and take a picture of those clouds once in awhile. It will do wonders for the interior beast. Unless you are using a metal tripod in an electrical storm.
-Kent Porter