Craig Oster: Defying the Odds
The following story was published on June 29, 2010 in the Lansing State Journal. I found Craig via a tip from one of our part-time editorial assistants. When I reached out to him, however, I got no response. Apparently he had been trying to reach me through a wrong e-mail address. But finally, one day [...]
It’s a LONG Way Down
Recently I had the opportunity to rappel (21 stories!) down Lansing’s Boji Tower as part of a media preview of a fund raising event at the building. I have never rappelled before.
What follows is a piece I wrote as a cover story for the Lansing State Journal’s weekly entertainment tab, NOISE, and a video [...]
Photo Portfolio
It’s about time I edited this down. Here’s a look at my favorite shots from the past couple years.
Geared Up: Roller Derby
Flat track roller derby is a rough and tumble sport where women race on speed skates, hip checking and body blocking players into the bleachers along the way. They wear plenty of protective gear – helmets, wrist guards, knee and elbow pads – and not much else. (Fishnet stockings are common.) Check out the gear [...]
Video story: Great Expectations
A video story profiling Rob Stephenson, Michigan’s 2009 Teacher of the Year and a candidate for national teacher of the year.
A Greater Lansing Through Literacy
It’s been a busy couple weeks. I recently produced this in-depth package about how low literacy impacts the Greater Lansing area and the state of Michigan. This project came about after our publisher wrote a column voicing support for a local literacy coalition. Wanting news coverage on the issue, he turned to my editor, who [...]
Video story: The House That Izzo Built
MSU has eight Final Fours in its history, six in the past 12 years, which is the best in the nation and previously matched only by North Carolina, UCLA and Duke. Go inside the “house that Izzo built.”
Video story: Rolling Out
This is my attempt to have some fun with something we journalists experience time and time again: the media tour. This one in particular is of the General Motors assembly plant in Delta Township, Mich. The subject? The Chevy Traverse, which is now being assembled at the plant. Instead of hiding the fact that this [...]
Born with skates on
Former MSU All-American Ryan Miller will be in the Olympic spotlight in Vancouver as the No. 1 goalie for Team USA. Miller, who grew up in East Lansing and still spends his offseasons here, is one of 10 in his family to play at MSU and one of five to make it to the [...]
‘No right way to do wrong’
On Jan. 15, Ernest Williams assaulted his fiancee. He was arrested and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence. He now attends an intervention program with other offenders to talk about domestic abuse, identify how they use power and control and learn how to have positive relationships. I met Ernest while I was reporting on the [...]
John Bean Building a beehive of businesses
Drive down South Cedar Street in Lansing just past the Interstate 496 interchange and even the most observant motorist might miss it.
It could be mistaken for another bleak facade amid the rusty railroad tracks and aging industrial sites. But despite its rough appearance, the John Bean Building, 1305 S. Cedar St., is actually a unique [...]
Obama, Year One
Interviews with Lansing-area residents about President Obama’s first year in office. I shot this with two cameras, a Nikon D300s and a Sony HVR-A1U.
Digital Love | Gwyn + Todd
A wedding I shot last October in Cleveland, Ohio. This was the first wedding I shot for Digital Love, a new media wedding story telling company I operate with photographer Pat Jarrett.
Online in ‘09
Ten multimedia highlights from LSJ.com in 2009. I produced the video intro as well as most of the pieces featured here. Flash designed by Cody Hinze.
Tax credit could help boost area home sales
By Ryan Loew
Lansing State Journal
Sheri Tulloch put her Lansing home on the market in March 2008, only for it to become a “huge source of frustration” when the 950-square-foot ranch just wouldn’t sell.
But after about a year and a half, and out of desperation, she changed real estate agents and eventually sold it in September.
Turns [...]
Let the snow begin
So after a pretty cool summer and forgettable fall, winter in Michigan has begun. I’ve already had two assignments in which I’ve felt the wrath of Michigan’s wintry ways, and I can say this much already: Is it spring yet?
Above is a photo I shot for a story about snow plowing. Below is a photo [...]
Thankful for family, despite the hardship
Five years ago, Tresa Bonds’ quadruplets became just the fourth set ever delivered at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing.
Today, much has changed for the family, and much is the same.
Their household is still hectic. Even more so. There’s also Tyvon, who was born 16 months after the quads.
Tresa is now a single parent. The quads’ mother [...]
Kicking the Habit
The American Cancer Society marked the 34th Great American Smokeout Nov. 19. Smokers across the state and the nation were encouraged to kick the habit. Here four people from around Lansing, Mich., share their stories about quitting. I shot this using a Sony HVR-A1U with an EnCinema 35mm DOF adapter.
Geared Up: Preps Football
An in-depth look at how those on and off the field suit up on Friday night.
Beyond Basic
Mixing battle drills, theatrics and some high-tech tools, the Exportable Combat Training Capability, or XCTC, system gives Michigan Army National Guard soldiers a practice run at war.
Cleaning up the Housing Crisis
Ride along with Property Shield, a Lansing based company that trashes out and preserves foreclosed homes. Describiing themselves as “super Molly Maids,” the company’s employees say their messy job can often get personal as they rummage through what people have left behind. And for at least one worker, the job is a way of getting [...]
Ethan Fox, Butterfly Child
Ethan Fox was born with Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare skin condition that has left his skin so fragile, even a hug from his mother can cause painful blistering. But Ethan is a member of the the Sparrow Superstars, a T-ball team for child patients at Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital. So with the swing of a bat, [...]
Recession Stories
How the rough and ragged economy is being felt in mid-Michigan is all a matter of perspective. Soaring unemployment. Businesses closing. People starting new careers. And, despite it all, some entrepreneurs are taking chance.
Close to 6,000 new businesses have been added to the state’s rolls in the past month, despite a 12 percent loss in [...]
