Toyota recall and the worst accident I’ve ever seen.
Google alerts started rolling-in this morning telling me that photos I took in 2006 while working at the Pioneer Press were being republished in relation to the Toyota recalls. I took a look and they were photos from a car accident that still haunts me today. A Toyota Camry exited I-94 and proceeded to enter an intersection at the top of the ramp at full speed through a red light slamming into an Oldsmobile filled with a family. I arrived on scene moments after they removed the only survivor from the Oldsmobile, I remember that the rescue personnel were still working frantically to get the situation under control. Only when I focused my 400mm lens on the mangled Oldsmobile did I realize that there was still someone in the car, he was dead, pinned against the steering wheel, contorted in a horrifying way. That someone was the father of the children in the car, two of which were also killed. The man driving the Camry has insisted that his brakes were not working but he was sentanced to 8 years in prison for vehicular homicide.
To read a story about the crash and the possible reopening of the case: http://www.twincities.com/ci_14377954?source=email
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/24/toyota-ceo-apologizes-for-recall-accidents/
This June 10, 2006 photo shows St. Paul firemen surveying a car containing at least one body shortly after they rescued a living passenger from the car which was involved in a multi-vehicle crash in St. Paul, Minn. The family of three people killed in the crash have hired attorneys to pursue a lawsuit against the Toyota Motor Corp. (AP Photo/St. Paul Pioneer Press file photo, Thomas Whisenand) MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE OUT, MAGS OUT, TV OUT, NO SALES
This June 10, 2006 photo shows a 1996 Camry driven by Koua Fong Lee that crashed into the back of an Oldsmobile Ciera in St. Paul, Minn. Lee said he could not stop the car. The Camry is older than those including in the recalls by Toyota for unintended acceleration problems. The crash killed three people and injured two others, all in the Oldsmobile. (AP Photo/St. Paul Pioneer Press, Thomas Whisenand) MINNEAPOLIS OUT, TV OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, MAGS OUT, NO SALES
Trekking With Wolves, The New York Times
Check out this travel story that I shot for The New York Times in Northern Minnesota. http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/travel/21snowshoeing.html
This was a pretty cool assignment. Drove up on a Thursday afternoon and met-up with the writer, his wife, and two of their friends. 30 minutes later we were crossing a frozen lake on foot approaching a rustic cabin nestled in the edge of the woods on the lake shore. The Times put some pressure on me about this story so I shot hard from the moment we set out for the cabin and didn’t stop until I climbed back in my car to drive home on Saturday afternoon. Despite the pressure I was able to enjoy parts of the trip including a couple of Finnish saunas.
The Times ended-up really liking the photos that I produced on this assignment and put the story on the front page of their travel section. Inside they ran a “double truck” with one of my photos spanning the entire width of the two inside pages.
<– Click on the front page to the left to view a .PDF of the print version or click on one of the thumbnails below to view an image gallery.
Ben Popp, endurance athlete
This was shot in a raquet ball court serving as a laboratory at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.
Mr. Popp recently competed solo in the RAAM (Race Across America) biking across the country in approximately 10 days.
St. Thomas Magazine, 2000 Words
I produced this multimedia piece with photos, video, and audio that I gathered while traveling to Colombia, Brazil, and Morocco in August of 2009. Every issue of St. Thomas Magazine contains a 2000 Words feature that is supported by a multimedia piece like this one. The St. Thomas Magazine website can be viewed here: http://www.stthomas.edu/magazine/2010/Winter/index.html
From the archives: Sportrait 2007
Shot this while working as a staff photographer for the north suburban bureau of the Star Tribune. Your typical portrait for an athlete profile.
Century Community College freshman Kelly Gordh is pictured at the Oak Marsh Golf Course in Oakdale on Friday, May 4, 2007.
Cover of Perspectives Magazine
Here is a recent magazine cover bearing a photograph by Thomas Whisenand. Perspectives is the magazine for the Department of Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas is St. Paul, Minn. Click on the image to see a larger version.
From the archives, 2001
I shot this photo while working as a photographer for The Minnesota Daily, the student-run newspaper at the University of Minnesota. I was a freshman in college and this was one of the very first images that was ever deemed “portfolio quality” in my career. The girl was handing out mascara samples in front of a promotional billboard. Oh, and yes, it was shot on B&W film that was later hand-developed before it was scanned into the computer.
Arm strength
A University of St. Thomas football player runs with the ball during a game versus St. Johns University.
Star Tribune file photo
A Bald Eagle lands on a branch over the Mississippi River in Ramsey, Minn. Photo was taken when I was a staff photographer at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, Minn.
The Star Tribune continues to use photograhs that I took when I worked there but they don’t provide credit. Check out those tallons.
Click here to see the article they used the photo for.
