Olive Macgregor of Lebanon socializes during her thrice weekly water aerobics class at the CCBA in Lebanon, NH. For a story that ran in Sunday's Valley News on seniors' reasons and rewards for their workout regimens. Valley News- Sarah Priestap

George Miller of Jericho Hill farm hangs up a milking unit at Val-E-Vue farm, where most of his cows are kept. Miller is one of two remaining dairy farmers in Hartford, VT.

Rollover crash in West Hartford, VT, caused by high winds brought by Superstorm Sandy. No one was injured.

Sue Skaskiw of Bridgewater, VT and her cat, Skinny Minnie during a portrait session for my most recent column, "The Cause." Sue is an animal rights activist who founded VVSA (Vermont Volunteer Services for Animals) 30 years ago, and started a low-cost spay and neuter voucher program for dogs and cats.

Kristin Small of Claremont holds a sign in support of Romney's presidential campaign on election day in front of the Middle School in Claremont, NH. Small, who has ten children, is worried about the effect the continuation of the Obama administration will have on her children's future.

Democrats in White River Junction, VT November 6, 2012.

Yuyu, 11, of Lyme is a sweet young man who was born in China without a forearm. After he was adopted and moved to the US, he suffered a few strokes, but with the help of his parents, sister, and school, has lived a very normal and happy childhood, playing with his two dogs, learning to dance, and finishing his homework.

I was driving around looking for features when I happened upon this brushfire in Hartland, VT. Spot news is not generally a thing you just stumble upon so I was lucky enough to find the fire, and even luckier to be able to photograph it in this kind of light before I was told to go back to the command center of the fire, as the area still wasn't safe. Fortunately, the fire only burned leaves and brush on a three acre wooded lot- no people or buildings were harmed.

I photographed a cross country match between Central New Hampshire schools: Hanover, Lebanon, Bedford, and Conval yesterday at Storrs Pond in Hanover, NH. These didn't make my edit, but they are my favorites from the day.

I Photographed at Brown Barn Farm in Norwich for an Afternoon a Few Weeks Ago

As seen from the air, a tractor in Hartford, VT hays a field. Valley News- Sarah Priestap

At Sugar Mountain Farm in West Topsham, Hope Jeffries, 8, plays in a pen holding some of the youngest piglets. Valley News - Sarah Priestap

Van Lodostov Family Circus instructor Melissa Kowles hoses off soap pie residue from Aida Seaver, 9, of Hartford, while Audrey Elder, 9, of Plainfield, and Erin McCarthy, 10 of Canton, Mass., wait their turn. Valley News - Sarah Priestap

Travis Cook, 17, of Pepperell, Mass., plays with four Oberhasli goats — two of which are his — at the Cornish Fair yesterday as (from left) Darline Pike of Chichester, N.H., Rebecca Dean, 14, and Taylor Paquette, 11, both of Mont Vernon, N.H., watch him. “I think I might be able to stand up with all four goats standing on me,” Cook said. Valley News — Sarah Priestap

Two of Six of my portraits of Thru-Hikers published this past Sunday with their hand-written reasons for hiking the trail.

Photographed a Horse and Fiddle Camp at Hitching Post Farm earlier this Summer. This was one of my favorites.

Strawberry Picking in Thetford, VT

These eighth graders at the Crossroads School in Lyme, New Hampshire, are keeping Wild Lady Slipper Orchids from becoming extinct in New Hampshire by germinating them in their classroom. It takes a year for an Orchid to germinate in the wild, but discoveries by High School and even Middle School students have changed the industry, and nearly halved the germination process.

Two weeks ago I photographed Gabby the Donkey and her owner, Sasha Dow of Sharon, Vermont leading the Palm Sunday Procession at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover, New Hampshire. Palm Sunday recognizes Jesus' entry into Jerusalem (people welcomed him with Palm Branches, and he rode a donkey). It was a fun story to photograph, and I think the donkey tolerated the attention quite well.

To see more photos (the published edit), go to my tumblr HERE

Snowshoeing in Vershire, VT

Trapper John

I met John, aka “Trapper John” at my church in Barre in December, and when I asked if I could photograph him while he set traps for Muskrat and Beaver, he seemed bashful at first, but I soon realized how excited he was to show someone his hobby and trade. I met him at his tiny trailer in East Randolph at least once a week for the past month to photograph him water trapping, skinning muskrat, and beginning to tap maple trees.

John, who is called a “Mountain Man” by some of his friends, as he hunts for deer, birds and coyote, traps for all sorts of animals, taps trees for syrup, raises chickens, and has a large garden, is one of the sweetest people I’ve met up here. In the summer, he grows flowers to give to all the women he knows, and he is a devoted down-to-earth Christian.

I learned an awful lot about water-trapping, including how little trappers make from the furs they sell. On average this winter, John has caught one Muskrat every week during the three-month season. He’ll usually catch one beaver a season, though he hasn’t yet this winter. The current market prices for one muskrat is 10$, and for a beaver it is 30$. For him, its more of a hobby than anything, and a chance for him to get out and walk every morning to check his traps.

Meter Reader in Rural Vermont

Fire in White River Junction

It isn't unusual that I'll arrive at a fire soon after the fire is put out, as in this case, but I still did manage to walk away with a nice frame.

Birders

George Clark fills one of five birdfeeders in the backyard of his Norwich home yesterday. Clark, a retired ornithologist, says he doesn't have a favorite bird, but rather enjoys seeing many types of birds feeding in his yard. Valley News - Sarah Priestap

Two weeks ago, I covered a story on how there have been less bird sightings around the area this winter, most likely due to the warmer weather and abundance of vegetation. I met up with two area birders, and it brought back my memories of Alaska and all the birds (and the birders) I saw. It was fun to be able to talk to these people about the Kittlitz Murlet and Oystercatchers. It was also fun to take out the long lens and photograph more common eastern birds like chickadees for this story. In Alaska, that was a bird not seen.

Young and Famous

Jack Snyder, a Woodstock resident, is a junior in High School, and an excellent musician. Local friends of mine showed me a Youtube video of him performing a couple months ago, and he is quite talented. It was fun to be able to experiment with the stage lights at Woodstock Union High School.

During a typewriter salon hosted by Left Bank Books owner Nancy Cressman in Hanover, Cressman helps Fran Wang, of Philadelphia, load paper into a typewriter while Gabby Josebachvili, of Great Neck, N.Y., consults a book. Also pictured are Laura Bergsten, of Long Island (upper left) and Sarah Morse, of Albany, N.Y. All are part of Stonefence Review, a literary magazine written by Dartmouth College students. The students changed places every five minutes, using a sentence from a book to start a story and finished it themselves. Valley News — Sarah Priestap

Unexpected

First graders in North Tunbridge at the Wellspring Waldorf School skate during their movement class on Monday. It was the first day the school used the rink, made by parent volunteers. Part of a hill in front of the school was sprayed with water for sledding. Valley News - Sarah Priestap



I do a lot of driving around the coverage area looking for features photographs (or as we call them here, standalones), and especially this time of year it isn't always easy to find people outside of their homes, especially when the temperature is hovering just around 0 degrees F. Because of this, I spend hours rubbernecking, listening to the radio, and praying that I'll find something interesting.

I was driving through Tunbridge when I saw some figures on a hill. At first glance, I thought it was children exploring a field, so I turned around and drove up the hill. When I crested the hill, I saw that they were skating on a makeshift rink, that, at the bottom of the hill, had been hidden by the tall grass. These first graders were skating for their wellness class, which would be a super fun thing to do at any age. We never had activities like that at my elementary school!

At the Montshire Museum in Norwich

The State of the State

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin meets with aides after his "State of the State" address at the Capitol Building in Montpelier.

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Having been through several internships, mostly in different states, I've seen my fair share of state government in each of them, and in the past, have been pretty uninterested beyond trying to get a good picture. Now that I live in Vermont, and I will most likely be living here for a while, I really tried to listen to the words of Governor Shumlin as he spoke of the trials that Vermont has gone through over the past few months. It feels good to feel more a part of a place, and I think even in a broader news situation such as this that community journalism plays its part.

Oh, and he mentioned Phish in his speech- where else would that happen??

First Assignment of the Year

I photographed at a Buddhist retreat on January first. In the middle of a nine day week, spending a few hours in a serene, modified mansion at a silent retreat was more of a respite for me than an assignment. The lama, or teacher, Lama Willa, was the leader of the week long retreat of silence, which focused on teaching, meditating, and chanting. If you think one week of silence is difficult, get this, most Lamas will take a three year retreat of silence. I was told Lama Willa took TWO three year retreats of silence.