Shutter to Think: Extra neat, extra cool

I’m lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet some really cool people and photograph some really neat activities. And when those two things come together, it’s really extra neat and cool.

A few weeks back, I met motocross sensation Cody Barnes and Sauk Valley sportswriter Dan Wussow in rural Morrison to tell the tale of how the Sterling native is heading across the pond to compete in the International Six Days Enduro with Team USA.

The polite and accommodating Barnes explained his craft and took us through his work routine. He has the confidence that is reserved for someone at the top of their game.

[ Cody Barnes of Sterling competes with Team USA in Europe. ]

When it was time to fire up the ride so I could take some photos, I was trucked off through well worn trails and dry creek beds to the prairie slopes of rural Whiteside County.

Barnes explained to me what to expect — then he zipped off into through a tangle of trees and native grasses.

The high-pitched hum of the engine signaled Barnes’ approach. Then man and machine arced over the crest of the hill, landing smoothly and assuredly on the narrow trail that meandered between thickets of brush.

I requested he perform this act three times — just to be sure I got the right photo.

The framing of the rider between the prairie flowers, the off-center composition and those tracks leading off into the unknown — invite the reader to ask a lot of questions.

I thought that quality made this image, different from the one that ran in print, so interesting.

(There’s the rub. Journalism is meant to answer those questions, which is why a standard image was chosen to lead the article.)

Before I departed, Barnes asked when I though the article would run. “I think it’s pretty cool to be in the local newspaper, he said, and Grandma does too.”

Team USA, the Sauk Valley and, for sure, Grandma all wish you good luck in your race.

— Alex T. Paschal, follow me on Instagram @svmphotogs or message me at apaschal@shawmedia.com.