G.J. McCarthy

Newspapering: Singles

As a photojournalist who mainly works in the daily grind of the newspaper world, I go a lot of new places, meet a lot of new people and see many new things. But throughout it all, I always shoot for me. Here are some of my favorite images from the past few years. And for those keeping score at home, more than half of these images never saw publication.

John Morris, an engineer with Arlington, Texas-based Reliable Commercial Construction, photographs September 10, 2009 the now paved over area where a large water fountain was once located outside the Bank Tower at Oak Cliff in Dallas. Morris said the location of the old fountain, compounded with a poor paving job, has created numerous structural problems around the building.
   
Drum major Paul Willens leads members of the Grambling State University Tiger Marching Band during the Popeyes MystiQal Parade 2009 event February 21, 2009 in downtown Dallas, Texas.
  
Texas Rangers catcher Gerald Laird (right) dives for the ball as infielders (from left) Michael Young, Ian Kinsler and Ben Broussard give chase during an informal drill February 24, 2008 at spring training camp in Surprise, Ariz.
     
  
An intoxicated fan is unable to get to his feet for the national anthem before the Texas Longhorns' 16-13 win over the Oklahoma Sooners October 17, 2009 at the Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas, Texas.
   
Clad in the ubiquitous red hats and pants, EDS Byron Nelson Championship volunteers (from left) Pat Bolin, Mike Lafitte and Walt Humann, all of Dallas, Texas, keep tabs on the 1st hole during the Gold Pro-Am April 23, 2008 at the TPC Four Seasons at Las Colinas hotel course in Irving, Texas.
  
Steele Downing, a 16-year-old junior at Lovejoy High School, reaches for a shoe as he switches from his normal prosthetic limb to an athletic one in a locker room November 4, 2008 at the Lucas, Texas school. Downing, a defensive and offensive lineman for the Lovejoy Leopards, had his left leg amputated below the knee after suffering from a bone disease since childbirth. The disease -- a pseudoarthrosis of the lower tibia and fibula -- created holes in the bones of Downing's lower left leg that led to several breaks before he and his parents opted to amputate the lower portion of the leg when Downing was 9 years old. Not to be deterred, Downing has played football since the seventh grade and, recently, picked up soccer about two years ago.
     
  
Gigi Miller (center), 5, sits tight as her 9-year-old brother, Vaughn Miller (far left) and 10-year-old Ronnie Puente rush to change the score during a match at Prestonwood Polo & Country Club May 9, 2009 in Oak Point, Texas. Located between Denton and McKinney, the club is the area's newest polo venue, starting its maiden season this summer. Founded by the Miller's father, Vaughn Miller of Dallas, the club is drawing fans from around the region, as well as bringing in top players from across the globe.
   
Chief Bromden (left), played by Charlie Wilkerson, holds position as he prepares for a run-through of Act One of "One Few Over the Cuckoo's Nest" while other actors wait backstage May 3, 2007 at the Maplewood Barn Community Theatre in Columbia, Mo.
   
Jasper the dog stands at attention as he watches visitors at the Museum of the American Railroad April 2, 2008 in Dallas, Texas.
     
  
"He always does this," Connie Schuch (right) says as her 4-year-old Great Dane, Conner, tries to sit in her lap while Hannah Hausman looks on at the White Rock Lake Dog Park May 12, 2009 in northeast Dallas.
   
No comment, take one.
   
Dressed in a makeshift space suit, Calla Martin strolls down Ninth Street to the Missouri Theatre March 2, 2007 as she takes part in The March March through downtown Columbia, Mo. The March March, which drew hundreds of participants in quirky, home-made costumes, marked the opening of the fourth annual True/False Film Festival.
     
  
Bill Brewer (left) of Hickory Creek sits with friend Alyce Foster of Carrollton as they wait for the start of a Memorial Day ceremony May 26, 2008 at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery in southwest Dallas, Texas. The annual ceremony featured addresses from Governor Rick Perry and other distinguished guests, as well as a wreath placement, cannon salute and fly over by the 301st Fighter Wing, 457th Fighter Squadron. Foster's husband, Horace Nelson Foster, passed away in January, a few months shy of his 69th anniversary with Alyce. Foster served in the U.S. Navy for four years in the Pacific Theater of World War II. "We told him before he passed that we'd come out and celebrate Memorial Day with him if we're still alive," said Brewer.
   
Texas Rangers grounds crew rushes to place a tarp over the diamond as heavy rains roll through a force a rain delay during the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners Friday, July 31, 2009 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
   
Munawar Soomro stands on a chair as he helps secure a praying area during a Eid-ul-Fitr celebration October 1, 2008 at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. Thousands of area Muslims attended the event, which marks the end of the Ramadan month-long religious observance.
     
  
No comment, take two.
   
Members of the Coppell Cowboys marching band perform during an August 28, 2008 high school football game against the South Garland Colonels at Homer B. Johnson Stadium in Garland, Texas.
   
Tony Street (far right) and Chere Mauldin make their way past the Federal Building on South Houston Street as they take a Segway tour May 22, 2008 through downtown Dallas. For the last seven months, Dallas Segway Tours has operated in downtown Dallas, taking patrons to such attractions as Dealey Plaza, Founders Square and Pioneer Cemetery. The tours, which cost $65 per person, operate twice a day, seven days a week.
     
  
My father quietly sings and sits at the grave site of his long time girlfriend, Connie, as he prepares to leave town for good.
   
A lone tree stands along the Trinity River floodplain across a series of rainwater collection ponds and the stalwart downtown Dallas, Texas industrial zone. According to field testing ordered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality between May and August of 2008, river sediment at multiple places between Fort Worth and Dallas is shown to have high levels of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Many of the reports of PCB spills involve transformers either exploding or being knocked from their poles and breaking open on the ground, allowing chemicals to leak out and seep into storm water. These harmful chemicals move with rainwater runoff across city streets, throughout underwater sewer systems and eventually leach into the floodplain ponds. The Trinity River floodplain and its ecosystem serve as the lone buffer between manmade, industrial chemicals and the meandering river itself, which once was the lifeblood of the North Texas region.