DIGITAL LIGHT  ::  brian cassella
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
  up and down
up and down 1

06 21 2008 - ST. PETERSBURG - The Rays, in their throwback St. Pete Pelicans jerseys, pour out of the dugout to celebrate Gabe Gross' game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 victory over the Astros.


up and down 2

06 22 2008 - ST. PETERSBURG - Carl Crawford returns the dugout after being thrown out attempting to steal third to end the fifth inning as the Rays offense stalled and they fell 3-2.

Up and down weekend for the Rays, starting with an exciting win Saturday night, their 7th walk-off win of the year. Sunday wasn't quite as exciting.

Started a new audio slideshow that we'll hopefully continue to produce through the summer. The Rays Report: Week in Review.
 
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
  repo man
repo man

06 16 2008 - TAMPA - Jason Giddins and Jason Pearson in the yard of S&G Towing after bringing in a Ford Explorer.

Sign 'o the times... business is up for the repo man.
 
Monday, June 23, 2008
  be like ike

06 18 2008 - TAMPA - Bucs wide receiver Ike Hilliard takes the field for morning practice. BRIAN CASSELLA | Times

Spent two days at Bucs practice. This is exciting as it got. Just waiting til training camp...

 
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
  commencement

05 22 2008 - LAUREL, MD - Went home for a graduation weekend ...

graduation 1

Miniature grandparents.


graduation 3

Happy graduate. (who will oh-my-god-HATE this picture)


graduation 3

Sleeping dogs.



graduation 4

Regal puppy.
 
Friday, June 13, 2008
  vows

05 30 2008 - PANAMA CITY BEACH - Wedding on the beach. BRIAN CASSELLA

 
Thursday, June 12, 2008
  fire

06 08 2008 - TAMPA - Tampa firefighters battle a blaze that consumed the Tampa Bay Hardware store at 5511 N. Nebraska Ave. on Sunday. BRIAN CASSELLA | Times

 
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
  kris kross

06 02 2008 - BRANDON - Jordyn Coughlin, 5, (right) leaps with other participants in a kids fitness class Monday night at The Athletic Club in Brandon. BRIAN CASSELLA | Times

There's all kinds of things wrong with this photo compositionally, but I still liked the anti-gravitational children.

 
Monday, June 09, 2008
  cheese
05 26 2008 - TAMPA - Painted outlines on the tile floor indicate the spot for new arrivals to stand when they are photographed for their mug shot during booking at the Orient Road Jail. BRIAN CASSELLA | Times

Spent a few hours at the county jail for a quirky story about why so many people seem to smile for their booking mug shots. One of our reporters noticed that on a given day, about 12% of the people who showed up in the jail log had big grins on their face, which is not exactly what you'd expect on a group of people who had just been arrested.

The booking area turned out to be nothing like I expected. Extremely laid back, with a steady stream of people arriving to be searched and fingerprinted, only a few of whom seemed at all upset to be there. The sheriff's deputies were equally relaxed, secure in an area where there seemed to be few flare-ups with inmates. They also recognized quite a few of the new arrivals, whom they called "frequent fliers" for their repeated trips through the familiar process.

Turns out people smile for all kinds of reasons. Particularly if they've been there before, they know their photo will immediately appear on the police website where their friends can see it. There are also some tabloids out there where run "best of" galleries of funny mug shots, and people try to make it into there. I didn't stick around for the DUIs after midnight, but I heard they tend to be the most relaxed group...



cheese 2
05 26 2008 - TAMPA - Hillsborough sheriff's deputies Richard Sergi (left) and Jesse Barber fingerprint Angel Luis Rivera as they confirm his identity while he stands ready for his mug shot to be taken during booking at the Orient Road Jail. BRIAN CASSELLA | Times
 
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
  boy vs. tree

06 02 2008 - BRANDON - Hillsborough Fire Rescue frees a 15-year-old boy trapped in the limbs of a tree at the intersection of Bloomindale and Kings avenues on Monday night. The teenager had slipped into a crevice between two limbs and had become stuck, leading to a 3-hour effort to chisel a wider hole and hoist him out. BRIAN CASSELLA | Times

This was something I'd never seen before. Got a call at home at 9:30 that a child was stuck in a tree way out in the suburbs. Expecting it to be over before I got there, I was surprised to see a couple dozen firefighters and a park filled with spotlights.

For the first hour, just his right hand was visible out the top and his feet dangled out the bottom. I shot a few pictures while the team cut away at the tree around him to widen the gap, and called into the office to let them know the pictures were decent and to expect a vertical shape.

At 10:53 pm they finally squeezed him out the top. I already had my laptop out in front of me, transmitting some of the early photos because I had no idea how much longer it was going to take. After he popped out, I picked a file on the camera, copied just that one onto the computer and fired it back to St. Pete by 11 so they could re-make the local cover in time. Apparently the whole thing was broadcast live on the news, too... big news in the Fla.

 
Postings by Brian Cassella, staff photographer in the Tampa bureau of the St. Petersburg Times and 2005 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Available for freelance.


E-MAIL: cassella@gmail.com

PORTFOLIO: briancassella.com

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