I love photographing birds. Here are a few shots I took today at Randall Park while looking for features.

Sure, it’s tough starting work at 4:30 a.m. But dawn is a special time of day as the dark sky gradually fades to blue and the sun peeks over the horizon. And it’s hard for me to complain about starting one work day at 4:30 – the hard working farm laborers start every work day nearly that early during the summer time.

I’m always humbled and impressed by the hard work of farm laborers and appreciate their letting spend some time with them.

Leonar Cruz bends to cut another spear of asparagus at dawn May 2, 2012 at a Harrah-area farm. Cruz has been harvesting asparagus for 18 years, doing it for her family, so her children can have a better life here. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)

I also shot a short video to accompany the print package. I didn’t have much time because of another assignment  later in the morning but this is what I got. This video was shot with a Nikon p7100 point-and-shoot camera equipped with a Rode external microphone. I recorded the interviews with a small Olympus recorder.

–Gordon King

I ran across a nice project this morning on design*sponge that I thought I’d share. Francis Ooi finds inspiration on his daily runs that have turned into a collection of botanical portraits. You can check out his blog here.

Aside from the photos, which I love, I liked two things about cruising through this blog. One is the wall display, which you can kind of see in the screen shot above, and which is better shown on the design*sponge post. And I also love the idea of taking creative and artistic inspiration from daily activities, building a body of work in way that is organic and tied into the routines of your life. I like the idea that a body of work doesn’t have to be a huge idea that requires a giant leap, expensive tools or travel, or the setting aside of a huge chunk of time, but can rather be built a little bit every day.

One of the unstated job requirements for a photojournalist is the ability to walk backwards while taking photographs at the same time. Parades, sporting events and perp walks are among the assignments which may demand it from a photographer.

Covering the annual May Day march in downtown Yakima. Walking backwards.Trying to not fall down. (SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic)

Walking backwards is no problem. But walking backwards while taking well-composed, well-exposed, content-rich (like all my photos are…), well, that’s a little tougher. During this week’s May Day march I nearly tripped over the curb of a median. That was after I nearly fell over after backing into one of the marchers. Not my most graceful day, I’ll admit.

A lot can happen if I trip while walking backwards and talking photos. And none of it is good. First, I could break a camera or lens. I could fall and in turn, trip up one my subjects. Or, perhaps worst of all, I could trip and someone could film the fall and I end up as a YouTube video star.

So I think I’ll watch where I’m going when walking backwards.

–Gordon King

I covered a prayer walk today in downtown Yakima in which the walkers stopped at various locations to pray for the institutions and the people who work there. The stops included the county courthouse, the jail, the police station, city hall and…the Yakima Herald-Republic building where they prayed for the news media.

People pray for the news media, including the Yakima Herald-Republic, during a prayer walk through downtown Yakima April 28, 2012. They also prayed at the county courthouse, city hall, jail, police station and a bank. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)

I hope they prayed more people would buy subscriptions and look at our website.

–Gordon King

While working on photos for another story recently I came across this scene:

Orchard ladders - some wood, some aluminum - are stacked against a storage building at Johnson's Fruit in Yakima April 25, 2012. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic).

Just a simple photo, nothing complicated. The lighting’s bad (2 p.m. is usually not the best time for photography), the sky is boring, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I just like the way the ladders are lined up, sort of standing at attention waiting to be called to duty for harvest later this year.

–Gordon King

There’s something magical about spring. I think it’s one of the best seasons to photograph plants, everything seems to be blooming, and after a long winter with nothing growing in the yard, I like to just go out with my camera for a bit and see what I can find right outside my door.

Patti Butler, left, and her father-in-law Jerry Butler, center, take away food from the Second Harvest mobile food bank in Yakima April 11, 2012. Jerry Butler, 61, says he goes to the Second Harvest distribution "pretty much every month." He is from Yakima while Patti Butler is from the Moxee area. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)

For me, it’s tough shooting food banks and the giveaway of free food to those less fortunate people.

On the surface, it’s an easy assignment. Shoot food being packaged, food being given away, people picking up food, people waiting in line to pick up food.

But the most challenging part is photographing the people getting the food. These are folks who, I’m sure, would rather not be in the position of having to accept free food. My presence there, with two cameras and camera bag, can’t make them feel any better about having to accept the charity.

So, the best I can do is try and make the food recipients as comfortable as possible about having their photos taken. I make sure to always introduce myself before making photos and explain why I ‘m there. I make sure it’s okay with them to take photos.

Sure, I don’t need permission to take the photos. These people are, after all, standing in a public place. I could just show up and start taking photos.

At a food bank distribution yesterday several people thanked me for taking the time to talk (and in this case, joke) with them before taking photographs. Their appreciation confirmed my belief in my approach.

From a selfish point of view, I know I will get better photos by taking an extra few minutes to get to know the people. Doing so may give me a better story and better cutline information. For sure, I will be able to get closer to subjects with my camera.

But taking the time to ask permission and chat with folks may cost me a particular photo but in this situation  the subjects’ dignity and comfort is more important to me than a photograph.

–Gordon King

I shot this photo at the Master Gardeners of Yakima greenhouse this morning. A little reminder to all of us to keep pushing, keep growing!

Easter egg hunts can get pretty frantic with kids (and sometimes parents) scrambling to find hidden eggs.

Youngsters race to find hidden Easter eggs during an Easter egg hunt at Nancy Frame's home in Yakima March 29, 2012. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)

It’s important to have a shooting strategy when photographing Easter egg hunts. The hunt is usually over in just minutes so you don’t have a lot of time to wander around looking for that perfect photo. Easter egg hunts are not the time for contemplative photography. It’s time to run (sometimes literally) and gun.

Absent some special circumstances (like we’re doing a story a particular youngster or adult) I cover egg hunts in one of two ways. I either pick a place or a person and stick with it.

The place is somewhere where a bunch of eggs are hidden so I know youngsters will converge on that area. I find this out by simply walking around the area before the start of the hunt. Once I find a place I just wait for the kids.

Strategy no. 2 is to pick a youngster and follow that one kid around as he looks for eggs. This is what I did at an egg hunt earlier this week.

Jesus Hernandez reaches for an Easter egg during an Easter egg hunt for deaf and hard-of-hearing children March 29, 2012 in Yakima. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)

One advantage to picking one youngster and following that person is that it’s easy to get that one kid’s name. When I pick a place and photograph whatever kids converge on that spot, I may have to get the names of a bunch of different kids. That can be problematic with kids running all over the place.

–Gordon King