A Tale of Two Beaches - July 16, 2008

Lake Michigan is a cruel mistress.

It gives us water to drink, to swim in and beaches to relax by. It's also a devastator of lives.

I started my day at 4:30 a.m. by arriving at Porter Beach to document Ethan Hall, a Chesterton High School senior swimmer, who was trying to swim from the Porter Beach to Burnham Harbor. He was trying to fulfill a lifelong dream and raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in honor of family friend ten-year-old Jacob Strothoff.

He arrived around 4:30 a.m. to warm-up and get on his way by 5:00 a.m.

Chesterton High School senior Ethan Hall stretches with his grandfather Frank Schnick of Valparaiso before attempting to swim from Porter Beach to Burnham Harbor in Chicago Wednesday to help raise money for Jacob Strothoff, a 10 year old with Type 1 diabetes.


It was still very dark so i had to use a strobe go get this any sort of light. It also helped keep that colorful sky as the morning.


Chesterton High School senior Ethan Hall pauses after entering the calm waters of Lake Michigan before beginning his swim to Burnham Harbor from Porter Beach early Wednesday morning in Porter.

Ethan hugged Jacob and made his way into the water and he was off....

Chesterton High School senior Ethan Hall hugs Jacob Strohoff, 10, before Hall begins his swim to Burnham Harbor from Porter Beach early Wednesday morning in Porter.

Ethan hugged Jacob and made his way into the water to meet up with his chase boat and he was off....

Chesterton High School senior Ethan Hall pauses as his chase boat comes closer to the shore before Hall begins his swim to Burnham Harbor from Porter Beach early Wednesday morning in Porter.

Ethan ended up swimming 23 miles in 14 hours. he had to stop for the last six miles and then jumped into the water to swim the final distance to the Chicago shore.



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Chapter Two
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After an early breakfast at a diner in downtown Chesterton/card reader trouble/business assignment/pre-county fair feature hunt I received a call from the bossman to turn and burn towards Kemil Beach. They found DeVante Jackson. 14-year-old Jackson went missing Sunday afternoon after he got caught in the riptide at Kemil Beach.

I pulled up to the beach in Beverly Shores to see the lake County Sheriff's boat and a DNR boat out in the water and then I saw it, a large orange bag. These situations are never easy to document. As a photojournalist, I need to walk a fine line....a very gray and blurry fine line. We have to capture truthful pictures of this tragic situation and capture images that doesn't disrespect the dead and grieving.

By-standers watch as Law enforcement officials walk up a sand dune from Kemil Beach as they remove the body of DaVante Jackson Wednesday morning in Beverly Shores. Jackson went missing while swimming in 2-3 foot waves Sunday afternoon.

I left a respectable distance and watched as the corner and the officers ID'd the body and began carrying it to the Corner's van. It was much like a funeral procession as they carried the bag up the sand dune.

Law enforcement officials remove the body of DaVante Jackson from Kemil Beach Wednesday morning in Beverly Shores. Jackson went missing while swimming in 2-3 foot waves Sunday afternoon.

What bothered me was the beach-goers who maybe looked, but moved on with their day. There were some that stood as silent sentries as law enforcement carried Jackson. Other did not care to notice the tragedy that was in it's final act right before their eyes. I guess thats another thing that the lake does to us; it puts blinders on us to the real world. Even when reality tries to strike back, one can always just a wait a moment. A moment for the next wave to come crashing ashore with that peaceful whoosh and then like the waves, we leave the land and retreat to another world.

Gary Air Show

The Gary Air Show took place over the weekend at Marquette Beach here in beautiful Gary Indiana. According to air show, over half a million people attended this year's show. The weather was great, except for some wind that canceled the Army's Golden Knights jump. Boo. I covered both Saturday and Sunday which means I spent two days wandering the beach along Lake Michigan feature hunting what photographers would call, a "target rich environment."
Sometimes I really love my job.


Marquette Beach-goers look at the large heart drawn in smoke by the ethanol-powered Vanguard Squadron during the Gary Air Show Sunday in Gary.

Steven Crowell, 7, laughs at his dad Steven as he ducks into a wave at Marquette Beach during the Gary Air Show Sunday in Gary.

From left, Mikey Kuster, 9, Brooke Kuster, 15, Katherine Kring, 18, and Whitney Kuster, 18, play in the waves of Lake Michigan near Marquette Beach during the Gary Air Show Sunday in Gary.

The Chicago skyline is seen in the background as the Firebirds Delta Team fly over Lake Michigan near Marquette Beach during the Gary Air Show Sunday in Gary.

As the B-2 Stealth Bomber flies overhead, Ayden Thomas continues to play in the sand while his father Michael Thomas of Portage takes a picture as the bomber flies over Marquette Beach during the Gary Air Show Saturday in Gary.

Doug Dodge in his "Muscle Biplane" flies over Lake Michigan as kids play in the lake near Marquette Beach during the Gary Air Show Sunday in Gary.

As storm clouds begin to roll in, Marquette Beach-goers wait for the next air act to appear during the Gary Air Show Saturday in Gary.

The U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds perform their signature "bomb burst" maneuver over Marquette Beach during the Gary Air Show Sunday in Gary.

Airshow patrons pack up after the conclusion of the U.S.A.F Thunderbirds performance at Marquette Beach after the Gary Air Show Sunday in Gary.

Valparaiso Triathlon

325 competitors battled heavy rains to compete in the Valpo Triathlon Saturday. Although the rain didn't have any ill effects on the swimming portion, the rain did slow the bike portion down. These are some of my favorites from the day.


Competitors from the Men 20-29 prepare themselves before beginning the swimming portion of The Valpo Triathlon at Rogers-Lakewood Park Saturday morning in Valparaiso.

Competitors from the Men 30-39 division begin the swimming portion at the beginning of The Valpo Triathlon at Rogers-Lakewood Park Saturday morning in Valparaiso.


Competitors exit the swimming stage before transitioning to the bicycle stage of The Valpo Triathlon at Rogers-Lakewood Park Saturday morning in Valparaiso.

Lifeguards goof around before the start of The Valpo Triathlon at Rogers-Lakewood Park Saturday morning in Valparaiso.

Brian Carter reaches for a cup of water from volunteer Ed Burns of Valparaiso during The Valpo Triathlon at Rogers-Lakewood Park Saturday morning in Valparaiso.

Lima! Lima!

So i hooked up with the Lima Lima Flight Team Friday for a ride to help promote the upcoming Gary Air Show. I arrived early and watched the first wave of people go up and waited my turn.




Finally it was my turn. I jumped in with John "Ripper" Rippinger and got the pre-flight briefing on how to escape the aircraft in the worst case scenario. I also posed for a new picture.



We then took off and circled over Gary before moving out over the Lake.



We performed a series of manuevers and split-off from the main group after these moves.






It was as we got back together that the heat started to get to me. I was only a little nauseous from the Gs we were pulling, but it started with my fingers starting to tingle. Bad sign. I knew it from my past experinces. I called up to Ripper if there was any way for some fresh air and said we couldn't open the canopy, there were two silver dollar sized vents near my hands for air. Being a large man with a higher then normal body temperature and a higher blood pressure, I'm more prone to getting heat exhaustion, but I know how i react in the heat and I know how to diffuse the heat situation. In this case, I was helpless to try to beat the heat.

I was starting to really heat up when i called for a time check on the run. Five minutes to go and my vision was starting to tunnel and i was starting to see stars here and there. I let ripper know i was burning up. I knew what was coming, heat exhaustion was kicking in. At some point, I think I fully tunneled out and fully blacked out. Also around this point, I stopped sweating. Even worse news, I was showing signs of heat stroke and I was now very nauseous and reaching for the little blue bag.

Dry heaves led to losing some water. Ripper saw what was happening and he disconnected from the pack and got me on the ground fast to try to get fresh air to me. We rolled on the ground and met up with the rest of the flight team and parked. I tossed the blue bag out the plane and ripper helped me out of the parachute and life vest while sitting in the plane. I was slouched over in the seat trying to recover when I heard our correspondent call out "Someone used their blue bag!"

Chrrriiiissssttttt, I had no energy to even move and was still very dizzy. I was helped out of the cockpit and onto the tarmac. I posed with my bag for a picture (I'm waiting on that one). I shambled my way to the air conditioned terminal and cooled down for 45 minutes while drinking lots of water. At some point i realized i didn't remember much of the flight before i started losing it due to the heat. It has come back to me somewhat as i recovered during the day.

I had a really good time until the heat got the best of me. Ripper took care of me when I was at my weakest and i could not be more grateful. 12 hours later, I'm about fully recovered although I still have waves of nausea and headaches from my ordeal. A good nights sleep will do me right.

Two from Lowell, Indiana

Lowell is one of my favorite towns. When I think of small-town americana, i think of Lowell. It's a rural community with a busy downtown on the east side and big-box store expansion on the east side. I had a few recent assignments there.....


Spectators gather at the end of the pond to see which duck will be the winner during the Ninth Annual Duck Race at Evergreen Park in Lowell Saturday afternoon.

Joe Smith of Lowell cuts the grass of the labyrinth at the Buckley Homestead Thursday morning in Lowell. The Buckley Homestead is celebrating its 25th anniversary this weekend.

Weird Al Yankovic

I got five minutes with Weird Al Yankovic recently. Because of short notice on my end , i only had about 30 minutes to grab gear, scout a location and set-up the lights. The interview was at the Raddison Hotel so i brought him to one of the poolside cabanas and just let him be Al.

Great Lakes Wolfpack

The Great Lakes Wolfpack is a minor league football team based in Gary, Indiana. Sadly, their games at Lew Wallace High School are not well attended.


Great Lakes Wolfpack players Alphonso Royal, left, and Larry Banks celebrate a touchdown against the Portage Rage at Lew Wallace High School Saturday afternoon in Gary.

Great Lakes Wolfpack players make their way back to the field after halftime to finish their game against the Portage Rage at Lew Wallace High School Saturday afternoon in Gary.

Valparaiso Soap Box Derby

Wearing her "Tiny Miss Indiana" tiara and sash, Emily Concepcion, 5, waves the green flag signaling the track is clear for the next race during the Northern Indiana Derby Racers Association's 61st annual event in downtown Valparaiso Saturday morning.


Andrew Stricker, left, races Ryan Burch in a Masters Class race down Lincolnway during the Northern Indiana Derby Racers Association's 61st annual event Saturday morning in Valparaiso.


Mark Potrzebowski, left, and Brian Landgrebe, both of Valparaiso, switch wheels on the Soap Box cars during the Northern Indiana Derby Racers Association's 61st annual event Saturday morning in Valparaiso. The racers switch wheels with their opponent after the first run to make sure one doesn't have an advantage over the other.