Gersh Photo Post | Max Gersh | Multimedia Photojournalist

Now that it is starting to warm up outside (a little bit), I decided it would be the perfect time to post photos from last month’s blizzard. After some banter back and forth between meteorologists, I think the storm total snowfall was 15.1″ making it the third largest snowfall total in Rockford’s recorded history. That’s a lot of snow.

I started my great snow hunt before the storm started. I went to the Rockford City Yard hoping to find snow plow preparation. However, the only action there was a maintenance man making repairs to the salt dome elevator - a lift that carries salt to the very top of the salt dome.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Randy Dimmel, a property maintenance repair man for the City of Rockford, makes repairs to a salt dome elevator Monday, Jan. 31, 2011,at the Rockford City Yard. ©2011

As the first flakes started to roll in, I went out to get some shots. I went up on a parking garage that is next to the river. I was hoping to get evening commuters coming across a snow-dusted bridge.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Evening commuters make their way west over the Jefferson Street Bridge Monday, Jan. 31, 2011, before the forecasted blizzard reaches Rockford. ©2011

Yes, that is a frozen over, mostly snow-covered river.

We had light snow for the next 24 hours or so. Slow accumulations. The heavy stuff kicked in the next night. I was off work that day so I didn’t have to fight the evening traffic in blinding snow.

The following day, by the time I went in to work, the snow had mostly stopped. However, the cleanup was just beginning.  I walked through what had to be two-to-three feet of snow on my driveway to get to my car in the garage. Ordinarily, I would have shoveled the snow to make a path for my car. But the snow shovels my landlord left in our garage were missing. So, I backed the Subaru as far back in the garage as I could and just went for it. I literally made it about an inch from getting to a snow-blown section of the driveway. I decided to shoot a little cellphone video of my attempt.

Once I finally made it out, I hit the street to look for others digging out. I started close to my house and found plenty in my neighborhood.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Ice clings to Jaxon Oshita's facial hair Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, while he uses a snow blower to clear his Camp Avenue sidewalk in Rockford. Oshita said this blizzard is one of the worst snow storms he has ever seen. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Buried cars line Guard Street Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, in Rockford. ©2011

As I ventured a little farther out, the scene was the same. Everyone was digging out from the Snowpocolype/Snowmageddon/SnowMG/Blizzaster… I could go on.

I accidentally turned down a road that arguably has the steepest hill in all of Rockford. I could turn this post into an ad for Subaru but I’ll just say that I made it up and over. That is where I found a guy snowblowing his driveway.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Andrew Lippert uses a snow blower to clear his driveway Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, on Garrison Avenue in Rockford. ©2011

I decided to head farther north into more rural neighborhoods. I found a couple of kids building a snow fort with help from their mom. I decided to hang out with them for a while.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Max Caltagerone, 8, uses a shovel to widen a snow fort Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, in front of his family's home on Ann's Acres in Rockford. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Mason Caltagerone, 4, places a flag on top of a snow fort Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, in front of his family's home on Ann's Acres in Rockford. ©2011

The next day, the cleanup continued around town. I found a landscaping company using end loaders to clear out driveways in a townhouse complex.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Dave Stracka of the Cherry Valley Landscape Center uses a loader to clear out residential driveways Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011, on Trowbridge Lane in Rockford. ©2011

I’ve never seen so much snow in my life. I can honestly say that I got my fair share of the white stuff this season.

I was in New Castle, Indiana working for The Courier-Times for about eight months before I was laid off from my full-time position and cut down to a part time job. I stayed on for two more months while I interviewed with other newspapers around the country.

My last day at The Courier-Times was this past Friday, December 10, 2010.

When I first got to New Castle, I didn’t think I would be sad whenever I left. I really didn’t expect to get laid off and still be sad about leaving. All I can say is that the town grew on me.

I made some wonderful friends and met some incredible people. It was my pleasure to tell the community’s story along side the others in the newsroom.

My final assignment there was a basketball game in the New Castle Chrysler High School Fieldhouse, the worlds largest high school gymnasium. It seats over 10,000 people. The lighting sucks but the atmosphere is awesome.

New Castle's Jordan Hahn puts up a shot against the Muncie South defense Friday night in the Fieldhouse. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

As I left the game at halftime, it began to really sink in. That was it. No more games in The Fieldhouse. No more night time bike rides on county roads surrounded by corn fields. No more warm embrace from the community that welcomed me.

I thought back about the great times I had there. Like the time I scared the crap out of one of the reporters last February as we tested my Subaru’s ability to pound through two foot (or deeper) snow drifts. I guess I tested it and she felt more like she was strapped to the front of a roller coaster. However you want to classify it, we made it to the assignment and it was awesome!

How about that time I was hanging out with one of the editors and an intern and someone called us at 2 A.M. to let us know there was a house on fire. That was some of the most unorthodox journalism I have ever participated in. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt with a picture of Mr. Clean on it. I didn’t have my camera gear with me (give me a break! It was 2 A.M.) so I used a point and shoot and my cellphone which was just about out of juice.

The situations were unique. What made them memorable was that I shared them with some great coworkers.

As I was out with friends after shooting the game, I kept getting texts about how the game had gone into overtime. And then double OT. Our sports editor was telling me how heated the coaches were getting and I just wanted to go back and shoot more. But I was done.

All in all, in my ten months at The Courier-Times, I shot 53,285 photos. Obviously, many of those were not ones that were printed. These also include photos I took for things outside of work.

Also, I drove 23,306 miles while there. This included numerous trips to St. Louis and Louisville. Toss in a few to Cincinnati, Branson and a few other random cities and you can start to see how I racked up so many miles.

I can’t roll back the number of photos taken or miles driven. Those large numbers will forever represent my time in New Castle.

As I close this chapter of my life, I do so with hope. On Monday, I start my new job at the Rockford Register Star in Rockford, Illinois. I have faith that while the newsroom wont be the same, I will quickly be able to call this place home.  I look forward to building friendships with my coworkers and a strong relationship with the community.

Football that is.

A few weeks ago, I met with a local legend that predicts the weather every year. He said we would have a mild winter. While we’re not quite to winter, the weather has been great as of recent.

In fact, all of this year’s football games have been in great weather. Not as much as a drop of rain.

Yesterday before I went to shoot the sectional championship football game between the Hagerstown Tigers and the Knightstown Panthers, I checked the weather. I knew it would be cold. Game time temperatures were supposed to be in the mid 30s. There was also a 20-30% chance of snow flurries, depending on which weather source I believed.

I’m no meteorologist but I think this snowfall is a little bit too heavy to be called flurries.

Knightstown (white) and Hagerstown players run downfield during the first half of play Friday night. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

Knightstown (white) and Hagerstown line up at the line of scrimmage Friday night. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

Hagerstown's Toby Fox looks out at game action from the sideline Friday night during a sectional championship against Knightstown. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

Hagerstown quarterback Alex Houck throws a pass Friday night during the sectional championship game against Knightstown. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

Hagerstown's Brandon Burns reaches for a pass as Jared Souder of Knightstown closes in for a tackle. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

The snow caused an unreal amount of fumbles and incomplete passes. It was hard to see across the field and follow the action at times.  Players were sliding all over the place and constantly scrambling for loose balls.

Knightstown's Lane Fields (41) dives next to a Hagerstown player after a loose ball Friday night during the sectional championship game. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

A Knightstown player chases a loose ball Friday night.(C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

A Hagerstown defender pops the ball out of the arms of Knightstown's #58 Friday night. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

I wasn’t expecting this intense of a snowfall for the first snow of the season. Luckily I like snow and it made for an exciting game.

For those of you that don’t already know, I am a week in to my new job. I am the new Chief Photographer and Photo Editor at The Courier-Times in New Castle, IN.

The Courier-Times

The job comes with perks.

My personal parking spot at The Courier-Times

I love the challenge of making an interesting photo, no matter the situation. That is something I had to do my first day on the job.

The town is building a Mr. Fuel gas station right off the interstate. I guess I should say they will be building one. Right now, it is just an empty field.  I decided it was best to show the location and leave the empty field in the background.

The southwest corner of the Interstate 70 and Ind. 3 will be the home to a new Mr. Fuel station. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

As we were winding down for the day and getting ready to send the paper off to the press, news breaks. A man robbed CVS Pharmacy.

Narcotics officers come down from the roof of Greenstreet Elementary School on Monday night after recieving a robbery report from CVS Pharmacy. A man allegedly threw a bag of narcotics on the school's roof. The bag is being carried away by an officer in the foreground of this photo. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

Here is how it played the next day.

The next morning, I drove to Tri Elementary School to cover a science fair.

Tri Elementary students walk through the gym and look and their classmates science fair projects. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

I then shot a portrait of a kid who is donating almost 50 pairs of his shoes to Haiti.

For something a little different the next day, I photographed a hearse pulling out of a funeral home. The man being cremated was a well know member of the community that road a Harley. So it was only fitting to take him to the grave the same way.

Charlie Williams is led to his grave by a Harley Davidson motorcycle pulling his hearse. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

That night, we kept an eye on the window waiting for the impending snow storm. The next morning, we started getting pounded by snow, accumulating something like ten inches in the next 24 hours.

Driving conditions on Memorial Dr. (Ind. 3) during a snow storm. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

Blowing snow caked onto a street sign near memorial park in New Castle, IN. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

Snow nearly hides a tree from sight in Memorial Park. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

Hay bails and tires sit stacked and snow-covered at the bottom of a popular sled hill in Memorial Park. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

Snow covered roads in New Castle, IN, a few days after a snow storm. This road is directly in front of The Courier-Times office. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

Thank god I bought a Subaru!

This morning I had my first sporting event. Almost all of the games for the weekend were canceled because many of the counties were in a level 3 snow emergency. That means if you travel on the roads and it is not an emergency, you can be ticketed or arrested.

The regional bowling tournament was postponed a day so I shot that briefly this morning. When there isn’t a good vantage point to shoot from in front, it is difficult to make a nice bowling shot. I focused on the coach and team while a teammate was bowling.

Trojans head coach Ronald Ragan (right) watches over his team during the first round of bowling Sunday morning at Rose Bowl for the Indiana High School Bowling Club Regional Tournament. The tournament was scheduled for Saturday but heavy snow in the area left many counties under a snow emergency. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

So what’s next?

Unfortunately, I can’t predict spot news. But I do know my area is set to get another 4-8 inches of snow on Tuesday. I have a feeling more snow photos are in my future.

I love being a photojournalist. I have something different to do every day. It never gets old and it never will.

Every now and then, I like to Google search my name. I used to just look for rank placement of my website. I am proud to say that if you Google search “Max Gersh,” my website is the first to appear.

Recently, I have followed the pages a bit deeper to see where my name and pictures are showing up. I have found my pictures being displayed on sites all over the web.

I first noticed this after I took a snow feature that has nearly become viral in the sporting world.

Wednesday January 28, 2009 — After an overnight snowfall in St. Louis, someone stomped out the words "Cubs Suck" in Ballpark Village, as seen from a view from the 19th floor of the Hilton St. Louis at the Ball Park. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By no means do I consider this a “great” photo but it sure has stirred up Cardinals/Cubs rivalry. Both published versions of my shot made it on Urban Prankster. I appreciate the second commenter, Melissa. “There could not be better photography in this world.” I might disagree but thank you.

Again, both versions of my photo appeared on a baseball site called Home Run Derby. Another baseball site called Ball Hype ran one as well. And Yard Barker. And Sportsnipe. And MLB USA. And PopFi. And The Large Morning Show in the Afternoon. And so on.

Let’s not forget that it was first published on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Website.

The most supprising link for the Cubs Suck photo was the Chicago Sun-Times. Their blogger, Kevin Allen (a Mizzou grad), thought the message in the snow was a bit harsh. I find it funny because I don’t even like baseball.

Another photo of mine I found on the web was one I shot in Rolla, MO of the Discovery Channel filiming a new show called The Detonators.

Friday January 16, 2009 — Explosive experts Dr. Braden Lusk (blue hard hat) and Dr. Paul Worsey are filmed by a Discovery Channel crew at an experimental mine in Rolla Friday morning. Lusk and Worsey are the hosts of a new 13-part series on the Discovery Channel called "The Detonators." ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The story and photo were picked up and ran in the Springfield News-Leader and the Kansas City Star.

I also found a portrait I shot of an environmental economist on the McClatchy-Tribune wire.

Tuesday February 10, 2009 — Professor Lea Kosnik poses for a portrait in Forest Park Tuesday afternoon. She has been teaching economics at UMSL for five years. Kosnik has expertise in environmental economics, public and regulatory economics and behavioral economics. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

As I dug deeper, I found a photo I shot of the Delmar Loop on a blog called Bad Black Girls.

On top of that, I found endless links to my work at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Alton Telegraph, my personal website and my blog.

My web presence is constantly changing. It is interesting to see who picks up your work and who reads what you write.