A crowd gathers along the railroad in Gilbert during the arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad’s Steam Locomotive #844, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. The locomotive known as Old #844 was built in 1944, traveled through Arizona in celebration of the state’s centennial. [Tim Hacker/ Tribune]

Kids dressed as their favorite characters trick or treat for candy in the Power Ranch area of Gilbert, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011 to celebrate Halloween. [Tim Hacker/ Tribune]

Meat cutters Juan Ortiz,left, and Eric Seals compete in the Texas Roadhouse Meat Cutters Challenge, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011 in Phoenix. A total of six cutters in the Valley competed looking to advance to the 2012 national competition in Florida. The winner of the national competition receives a grand prize of $20,000 and is crowned Meat Cutter of the Year. [Tim Hacker/Tribune]

The pedestrian bridge constructed over the west end dam of Tempe Town Lake is now open, shown Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. The bridge helps shade the rubber bladder from the harsh sun as well as having sprinkler heads underneath to help cool the bladder. [Tim Hacker/ Tribune]

I have covered Black Fridays before and this year was no different. Shoppers wait for stores to open while standing out in the cold. I mapped out a plan with our reporter Michelle Reese as to the stores we would be at when they opened. The morning, or night still, started off at a Kohl’s store in Gilbert where I watched the line grow pretty fast for a 3 a.m. opening. Shoppers tried to stay warm huddled together while one couple I had been watching had …

Every-so-often, and lately every week, my hard drive fills up with photos I shot while on assignment but didn’t use and will likely never use. These extra photos clutter up the storage and I have take some time to go through my archives and figure out what I’m going to keep and what I’m going to toss. Occasionally I come across a photo that I still will probably never use, but it’s entertaining to me so I keep it. Here is one such photo:

The image is a crowd shot taken …

Did you get a chance to check out varsity.evtrib.com for our live web coverage of prep football? You can still visit to catch a recap of tonight’s action. Here are a few shots from Mesa’s Red Mountain playing at Corona del Sol in Tempe. A complete slideshow of game  photos will be available on the main page at evtrib.com.

Visit  varsity.evtrib.com to watch our live coverage of Friday night prep football.

Photographically speaking, of course.
While on assignment there are a few elements that can make a photo good, even great. Or at least better than average. Composition, moment and light are three basic elements I pay attention to while shooting. While following Pastor Michael Sproul through the new Tri-City Baptist Church under construction in Chandler, there were a few moments when some light fell on Sproul, or light played a role in composition, and helped him stand out from the surroundings.

A nice moment happened here where the Pastor walked up to …