Lewiston High School graduate and Penn State junior Isaiah Harris crosses the finish line to win the 800 meters run at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 8, 2018. (Sun Journal photo by Russ Dillingham)

Throughout my career, I have crossed the line of what is considered ethical journalism on several occasions. A journalist is never supposed to become involved with or influence a story, especially when it involves a family member.

This most recent “infraction” led to one of my most prized photos, not solely because of the image, although it is a pretty awesome one showing so much emotion, it is the feeling inside I get whenever I look at it.

With a staff of only three photographers, it was always difficult scheduling sporting events around me where one of my sons was participating. When three of them became heavily involved in various sports it became impossible and we just gave up and let the chips fall wherever.

It became increasingly more difficult to be impartial when I started covering track meets where my son won every race, but a blessing in disguise as we always try to publish a photo of the winner so nobody could cry foul. When two of my boys played basketball, that was another story, but I digress.

Last year, my youngest graduated from high school and only one of them went on to compete at the college level, so I thought I was clear of any conflicts, but of course that would not be the case.

Ordinarily, we would not send a photographer out of state to cover one of our athletes; we just don’t have the budget. However, I chose to take vacations over the past few years to attend meets that my son, Isaiah, was competing in and often sent photos back to the newspaper. Some questioned the legitimacy, but there have only been a few world-class athletes to come from our town, so this is quite a unique situation. 

In June, my wife, oldest son and our athlete’s girlfriend and mom rented a house in Eugene, Oregon, for five days to watch him compete in the national championships. I applied for a press pass to get on the field and transmitted my images back to the newspaper from the press tent, elbow to elbow with photographers from Sports Illustrated and many of the biggest publications in the world. It was a truly humbling experience for this small-town journalist. 

I savored the look on the faces of a bunch of them as we were at the finish line for the finals of the 800-meter race when they went around for the first of two laps. One asked why I was so excited, and when I explained it was my son competing, I could see the admiration in their eyes.

And when Isaiah came from behind in the final turn and passed the former champion and collegiate record holder I had a hard time keeping focus. He crossed the line in first place, and perhaps I may have crossed some lines as well, but that photo and the experience will be one of my life’s best moments that transcends any ethical standards . . . in my humble opinion.

A panoramic photo of the construction project at Lewiston High School in June of 2018. (Sun Journal photo by Russ Dillingham)

Vehicles streak across the Longley Bridge as the lights of Lewiston shine in the background in this aerial time exposure taken on Friday night, Nov. 30, 2018. (Sun Journal photo by Russ Dillingham)

An aerial view Monday morning Oct. 15, 2018, shows the fire scene in Mechanic Falls where a massive fire destroyed a historic mill. The complex served several businesses, including being a warehouse for Maine Cycle, and was filled with motorcycles and parts. Corcoran Environmental Services, which recycles plastics, also operated at the mill. According to Zachary Maher, town manager in Mechanic Falls, the building was owned by Charles Starbird. (Sun Journal photo by Russ Dillingham)

When the Sun Journal was considering buying a company drone, I suggested it would be an awesome tool to have that would enable us to fly over a construction site every month to show its progress. One like the new Connors Elementary School next to Lewiston High School, which required moving tons of earth to relocate the football field where the school would be built and included relocating nearly every other outdoor athletic venue.

After reviewing what we spent on hiring a pilot and renting a plane over the course of a year to cover news events, it was a pretty easy decision, especially considering the drone also shot high-definition video. The possibilities were endless and not dependent on the availability of a pilot or getting the OK from the boss to rent a plane. The company agreed to pay for the license that is required to fly a drone commercially. I was the only one who dared or had the interest to study for it.

With all the fields completed this fall and the exterior of the school nearly finished, I compiled short video clips from every month to create an 8-minute video of the two-year construction project in addition to publishing a still photo in the newspaper every month.

Throughout the past two years, it has been a great tool to give our readers a different, “bird’s-eye” view of people, places and events that they don’t see from the ground level. I know it has been a big hit as it is always a subject of conversation when I meet people on assignments or get together with friends and family. I am always looking for suggestions on what people would like me to fly over, so please send me your ideas.

Despite having his home and business in Greene ransacked and looted, George Stanley retained his sense of humor while surveying the damage on Oct. 11, 2018, as he picked up a hubcap and stick and pretended to be a gladiator protecting his possessions from barbarians. (Sun Journal photo by Russ Dillingham)

I met George Stanley nearly 10 years ago and found him so eccentric and interesting that I did a photo column on him at his business on the Greene/Leeds town line. We wandered through his building where there was “stuff” piled from floor to ceiling, with much of the lawn also chock full of this and that — all of which he sold at his “flea market.”

I followed his battle with the town over the legitimacy of his business. At some point town officials told him he could not continue operating his flea market, swap shop, rummage sale, emporium or whatever he was calling it on any given day.

Despite refusing his request for permits and a town order to stop running his business, nothing ever changed and the property and signs remained. However, in October somebody took out a Craigslist ad that basically said the town had foreclosed on his property and anybody could come to take whatever they wanted.

It just happened that George was in Florida when this took place and for two weeks there was a steady stream of people trespassing and hauling away anything and everything and tossing aside what they didn’t want. It made the already jumbled-looking property look worse — anything of value was either taken or destroyed.

The Sun Journal talked to him by phone from Florida and he told us he had just become aware of it and had been talking to the police about it, but they said there was nothing they could do. The next day I went out to the property and talked to several people who had heard from a friend or read it on social media that everything was up for grabs. When I told them they were trespassing, they shrugged and continued to load up their vehicles despite me filming them.

A few days later, when George came home, he met us at the site and he walked us around, describing the carnage as well as the devastation he was feeling. It made for compelling video. As it began to rain hard he picked up a hubcap and a stick and pretended he was a gladiator prepared to defend his domain. Click here to watch the video.

Owen Cruz, 11, of Auburn catches a frozen fish that his brother Cody threw on Sabattus Lake as they wait for flags to go up during the 2nd annual Oak Hill Boosters Pike Derby on Feb. 3, 2018. (Sun Journal photo by Russ Dillingham)

Over the past four decades of working as a photojournalist, I have covered dozens of ice fishing derbies. Like any event we routinely cover, I look for the standard “go-to” images that make for interesting photos. Framing a cold fisherman through the flag as they wait, cleaning out the ice forming over the hole, warming up to a hot cup of coffee, huddled inside a shack, and people zipping past on ATVs or snowmobiles.

It is always a challenge to find something different and unique. One year I tied my GoPro video camera to a line and dropped it down a hole. It was so cool to see fish swimming around, and even better when it came across a fishing pole on the bottom with the fish on the line. The woman describing the frantic moment when they all ran in vain to grab the pole was priceless. I also have photographed derbies from the air with our drone and just about everything in between.

When I went to this latest one last year I was a little disappointed as my schedule was booked during the morning with assignments out of town, so I didn’t get to the derby until it was nearly over. Many of the participants had packed up and gone home, as it was a bone-chilling day and the Patriots were playing in the Superbowl the next day.

While walking around on the slippery ice with my handy dandy ice cleats, I shot those typical “go-to” images, but as usual I wasn’t satisfied and wanted something different, something better. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flying fish and my own “gotcha” flag went up. Two boys who had been fishing all day were bored and playing catch with a frozen pike. Although the fish was not big enough to qualify for a prize, and my photo didn’t win any contests, I still consider it one of my prized catches of the year.

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