Shutter to Think: 2024 Sauk Valley News photos of the year

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Skylar Book, 8, bursts her bubble Saturday, July 13, 2024 at Sterling’s Chalk the Walk. The fun event was held at Grandon Civic Center and featured music, dancing, food and a chance to create art on the sidewalk of the park. (Alex T. Paschal)

Last year in this very column I wrote about the complicated operation of choosing one’s photos of the year. In a nutshell, I weighed, contrasted and measured images against one another and the events they documented. It was an exhausting process perpetrated by my own psychosis. No one to blame but myself.

So this time around let’s talk about why I like and have chosen a few of these images. After the selections were made I noticed a few commonalities among “the chosen few.” Firstly, expressions.

Nearly all have prominent facial expressions and are mostly joyful. One picture is of a quad of high school students reacting to their hand-built race car zipping down a track. The repeated pattern, the body language and each expressing a different look set this on the “nice” list.

Smoke and water often make an appearance — unfortunately all in one for the devastating Moore’s Tire fire. The standout was the burnout event in Rock Falls. There were several pictures from that day that were pretty cool, but the lofting of the steering wheel (bonus: facial expression) set this apart.

I’ve always been someone who likes lines, balance and space in my photography (maybe to a fault). There’s a few here that amplify that. Most notably, Ogle County Deputy Jason Ketter leaving the hospital after being wounded in the line of duty. To be there to capture this moment was quite meaningful to me, along with the dignified and respectful internment of Rock Falls native Richard Seloover, who was returned home 70 years after fighting in a war he would not survive.

Sometimes the lighting or the color of the picture just sets it off right. The girl swinging, back lit by the fading sun, and the father and sun shooting hoops in a grain wagon in my opinion are beautiful photos, but also better moments. They feel like a meaningful vignette of life.

Lastly is one image I don’t think was published either online or in print. I was leaving Washington School in Sterling after a shoot when I saw across the way all of these cat figures sitting in a window. I thought how curious it was to see all of these similar felines, in different poses, poised on the windowsill. Upon further inspection, those cats were in fact cats and were hyper-focused on a squirrel doing squirrel things in the yard. I snapped maybe 10 photos of this whimsical scene. I’m happy to finally have it see the light of day.

See you in 2025.