Local actors, Peninsula Players portraits, Observer office, Long Beach, Wa.

-DKM

Three Course Challenge cross country meet, Camp Rilea, Gearhart, Ore.

This has really become one of my very favorite sporting events each year for one very simple reason — a three-foot deep water hazard.

One of the reasons that I don't think I had as good a day as years past is that I didn't get much in the way of Ilwaco and Naselle runners. Ben Ahlin, just like last year, was my best local pic. In fact, I did not see a single Comet runner in the medium and hard races.

Ilwaco's Rissa Gerke provided perhaps my favorite moment, as she asked the girls from East Lake to hold her glasses while she stopped and did a belly flop into the pool.

-DKM

Ilwaco football in the fog, Peterson Field, Ilwaco, Wa.

Well, at least one Ilwaco team got to dance on the home field on Friday night. Pee Wee players Griffin Cutting and Josh Sanders busted a move as the IHS band played during halftime of the IHS-Kalama game. Unfortunately for the big boys, things didn't go so well, as they lost 41-0.

Check out more pix of the game HERE

-DKM

Portraits, football & golf, Long Beach, Naselle & Surfside, Wa.

When I set up a portrait shoot I always snap one or two test pix after the person is seated, just to be sure my exposure and lighting is correct. Sometimes the best pic (IMO) is the first one I take. This is Wayne Downing, a local radio personality who will be writing a column for us in the coming weeks.

*Back in 1995 I worked as a photo lab tech at the Coos Bay World, processing film, scanning and toning pix, cleaning the darkroom, etc. And every once in awhile I would get a photo assignment. Anyway, the photographer I worked with, Andre Ranieri, noted how it always seemed that his best pix would be the first couple and the last couple on a roll. For me, however, that is rarely the case, as it usually takes me awhile to make the shot I want. Very different of course from like HCB or Robert Frank, who would only take a couple pix of each thing they were shooting.

I don't normally like these kinds of pix — someone looking at the camera, giving a cliche expression or hand gesture. But in this case, I think it worked. On Friday night the Naselle Comets destroyed Raymond, 48-20, amassing 549 yards of offense. Lineman Seth Scrabeck has never really been one for this kind of thing, but the win was particularly satisfying as Raymond had been "trash talking" ever since football camp last summer. I think Seth was simply reminding them who was number one in the league.

This shot from Ilwaco's home meet last week I post because it was a great shot by Ross Kukula, who nearly holed it from about 30 yards out (which would have been for eagle on the particularly long par 5 fourth hole at Surfside). But here's something I will probably never be able to say again — I actually had a better shot than Kukula yesterday, as I holed an eagle from 60 yards out on the fifth hole at Peninsula Golf. I'm just glad I had Jeff there as a witness...

- DKM

Firemen's games in the rain, Volunteer Fire Station, Long Beach, Wa.

-DKM

Rod Run cruise night, downtown Long Beach, Wa.

Cruise night during the Rod Run can be a wild, and at times, weird experience. Saturday night I was downtown looking for the cool, the classic, the wild and the weird.

THis guy installed some kind of flame throwers in the back of his truck that would shoot fire some six feet when he revved up the engine.

Didn't see too many hard partiers, well except for the girl in the giant hat...

Head on a stick

A stretch limo was pulled over downtown by the gaggle of cops patrolling and found multiple large bottles of strong liquor inside and arrested the occupants. 

- DKM

Week 2 local football, Ilwaco & Naselle, Wa.

Two football games this past week, Naselle Friday night and Ilwaco on Saturday afternoon.

Ilwaco ended up winning their game 28-0, for their first home win since 2008. Sure wish more people had shown up to see it, as the Fishermen played great.

Naselle pretty much ran all over Knappa for a 47-6 win. The past two weeks the Comets have outscored their opponents 89-14 (and those 14 were given up by the JV in the fourth quarter of each game) pretty impressive stuff.

The halftime entertainment was provided by the youth football program up in the valley.

Add this one to my unofficial series of jet contrails in the sky pictures.

-DKM

Bear River Battle, IHS at NHS football, Naselle, Wa.

Last Friday was the start of local football, and what better way than the rivalry game between our two local teams.

Naselle's QB Dustin Eaton had a huge game on both sides of the ball, running for two TDs, throwing for two more, and getting a key interception on D that he ran back 50 yards. His brother Robert ran for two TDs as well as the Comets clobbered the Fishermen 42-8.

This play could have potentially changed the flow of the game. After the Comets marched down and scored on their opening possession, IHS QB Josh Berteaux hit Kasey Plato on a quick pass that looked like he was bound for the end zone.

Unfortunately, halfway there he fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by NHS. Ilwaco is definitely playing a quicker style of offense, which is fun to watch, but on Friday they just came up against a bigger, more physical team that was punishing on both sides of the ball all night.

You can find more photos from this game at the Friday Night Sights football blog HERE

-DKM

Labor Day Sunday, Indian Beach, Ecola State Park, Cannon Beach, Or.

A last blast of summer before school's back. Went down to the very cool Indian Beach at Ecola State Park in Oregon for the day Sunday. The girls got to surf some really nice waves, me, Wyse and Ollie played in the sand, and "a good time was had by all."

Even though a really thick bank of fog came rolling in halfway through our visit, it didn't dampen or chill the day at all, in fact it was kinda nice along with the high 70s-low 80s temps.

-DKM