A photo blog is an idea that has been floating around our department at the Daily Herald for a couple of years now and it’s strange that it never really took off before now.

Our small staff of four photographers at the newspaper have the unique opportunity to view our community up close, through the lens, “frame by frame” if you will, on a daily basis. From as far north as Lehi and Eagle Mountain all the way south to Santaquin and Goshen, our photographers shoot thousands upon thousands of photographs a year, witnessing the happy, the sad, the good and the bad from throughout our county.

We shoot sideline at the biggest games, are invited into people’s homes to meet families and hear their stories and sadly snap photos during the most moving of funeral services. We meet celebrities and superstars and those who are well on their way to becoming one. And we lug heavy, high tech, but well used, (and slightly wrecked equipment), to and from our cars, up hills, down cliffs, through rain and snow and listen to the same jokes about our big lens over and over, (yes, you’re not the first to come up with that).

Yet only a small percentage of those images and experiences ever get seen by our readers as we edit our way down to just a handful of the best, most storytelling photographers to be displayed in print and online.

This blog provides us with a second chance to share our work and hopefully provide a more personal view of what it’s like exploring Utah County with a camera as a member of our staff

So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to our small crew, left to right-

Photo editor Mark Johnston, (that’s me), and staff photographers Spenser Heaps, upside down, and James Roh.