Indiana Drought

This is what drought coverage right after a rain storm looks like. I had been seeing some beautiful  images from Indiana over the past few days of dry cracked ground, and when I got a call from Reuters wanting me to cover the ongoing drought, I was excited to get out and make some of those images myself. Turns out it started raining right after I got the call so no cracked ground for me but I was able to make these images out at Morse Reservoir where water levels are at record lows.


Indiana Drought - Images by Chris Bergin

Outlaws MC FBI raid

The FBI conducted the largest federal raid in Indianapolis history this morning targeting the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Over 300 agents conducted the raids and arrested over 30 people. Here are my images from the Indianapolis club raid. 

Outlaws MC FBI Raid - Images by Chris Bergin

Big Brothers Big Sisters

This past weekend I worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana to refresh their archive of marketing images. They are still using images that were taken over five years ago so it was time for a new look. We went to the Indianapolis Central Library and the Indianapolis Art Center for the shoot. Here are some of the new images.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July. I thought I would use this time to post some images I shot out west last week shooting for Brush Creek Ranch... an amazing luxury ranch just outside Saratoga Wyoming. It was the owner's private family and friends event complete with the Marshall Tucker Band, a rodeo, and plenty of fly fishing, horseback riding, gun slinging, and general carousing.

Michigan City, Ind.

Went up to spend the weekend in Michigan City, Indiana this past weekend. Salmon fishing, soaking up the sun, and swimming with our dogs. Managed to shoot a few images along the way and here they are! This week I'll be shooting at the Brush Creek Ranch in Wyoming so stay tuned for images. Meanwhile give this song a listen by the great Johnny Cash about Michigan City, Ind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H74mXbpwQ9I

Stericycle

Last week I shot an assignment for USA Today and the Indianapolis Star at Stericycle, the largest U.S. company handling recalled products based in Indianapolis. They were very protective about not showing specific products so I was limited to a portrait of the vice president of recalls, Mike Rozembajgier. Here is how it ran in the Indy Star today.

7 days 3709 miles

When a meteorologist yells "Lets get out of here, It's time to go NOW," they mean it. I learned this on a recent storm chasing trip to 

the Great Plains, where on one day a bright-green core of baseball-sized hail was headed directly to us threatening to destroy our truck. 

My goal on the trip with my storm chase team the Severe Weather Alert Team (SWAT) was to photograph tornadoes in the Plains. 

Despite not getting a tornado, photographing severe weather is an amazing experience. Getting up close to these powerful 

performances of nature, watching the beautiful storm structure and rotating clouds come at you and visiting parts of the country few 

venture to are some of what makes it great. 

I find it amazing that you can wake up in the morning, the meteorologist looks over the weather models and pinpoints an area 

to target, then you drive to that area (sometimes 5-6 hrs). Then like it was all planned out perfectly, you sit and watch

 the storm clouds build up just off in the distance.

Shooting storms is a challenge, one minute you feel that you have all the time in the world to watch and photograph the storm

creep up, the clouds becoming more and more dramatic the closer it gets. The next minute it is right on top of you and you have 

to move quickly to reposition yourselves to stay out of large hail and damaging winds, while dealing with an often bad road network.

Overall and despite not getting a tornado to shoot, It was a great adventure and I can't wait to get back out next season.