There was Jello in the Fingerprints…

Dressed in mime outfits, (From left) Jada Jones, 15, Raven Taylor, 13, Skylar Johnson, 14, and Taylor Hightower, 18, wait to perform with the Heavenly Anointed praise dance group from Peoria Friendship Church on Saturday afternoon at the Sister 2 Sister Day event in Morton Square Park in Peoria.

I couldn’t stop photographing these girls- I love their faces and the layers created by them sitting in rows.

-Pat

Bill Stevens of Springfield climbs out of a dunk tank along with his “chick on a stick” on Saturday during the annual Redneck Fishing Tournament in Bath, Ill.

An outtake from shooting the amazing Redneck Fishing Tournament last weekend. Check out my blog post on the Journal Star photo blog for more:

Cheers,

Pat

Antonio Williams of Peoria competes for team Riverplex in the shopping cart relay event of the 20th annual Lifeguard Competition on Sunday afternoon at the Lakeview Aquatic Center. Current and former lifeguards from each of the Peoria Park District’s pools competed against each other in multiple events.

-Pat

Say Josie, 2, of Peoria rides a mini train ride on Friday evening at the Heart of Illinois Fair in the Expo Gardens in Peoria.

One of many from a little over a week of shooting the fair. Check out a few more on the Journal Star photo blog.

Cheers.

Ashten Tritsch, 15 months, sits in a toy Mustang in the front yard of his uncle Luke Newman’s home on Monday evening in Bartonville.

No further explanation needed. This kid knows how to roll.

-Pat

Jim Stanley runs Blue Ribbon Farms, a small organic farming business, from his home in Knoxville, Ill. I had the pleasure of meeting Jim last month on a freelance assignment for the May issue of Radish Magazine, a healthy living magazine based in the Quad Cities. You can read about him and his vegetables here.

Happy farmers market season,

Pat

Silhouettes during a pick-up basketball game on Tuesday afternoon in Morton Park in Peoria.

-Pat

A few photos from the last month or so ramblin’ round central Illinois.

Cheers,

Pat

On Saturday night I photographed the last ever Woodruff High School prom here in Peoria, as well as some pre and post Prom dining. Woodruff High will be closing at the end of this school year and it’s students split up between the district’s remaining three high schools. The night had a definite somber undertone, but everyone had a great time determined to make the school’s last dance a night to remember… and I had a great time documenting it. If you’re interested, you can read the story here.

Best,

Pat

Danny Campbell of Portland, Ore. performs as Lil Nasty Boy, pinning Bronx Thug, Victor Mercado of Bronx, N.Y., during the Extreme Midget Wrestling Federation show on Sunday night at the Grand Hotel in Peoria.

On Sunday, I had a truely amazing assignment for the Journal Star. Fellow photographer Ron Johnson saw a billboard for this event a few weeks ago and brought it to my attention, since I’m usually the only shooter on Sunday nights. After some looking into and talks with the editors, we decided to check it out. This last Sunday night, the Extreme Midget Wrestling Federation put on a show at the Grand Hotel in Peoria, and I witnessed it. There was a pretty good crowd for a Sunday night, maybe about 100 people, and the wrestlers gave them a great show, keeping everyone riled up the whole time. You can read the article here, and from it and the comments you can tell people’s reactions were varied. Whatever your opinion on the event, however, these guys are professional wrestlers and they do an incredible job of entertaining.

Cheers,

Pat