In Pursuit of the Dream

Photo by RICK BURRRES

My good friend, Rick Burres, has traveled half way around the globe to pursue his dream career as a combat photojournalist. Though there has been little fighting in Israel, he has seen some of the results of life near Gaza and was able to cover a portion of the presidential campaign.
How does a photojournalist decide on this career? Well, we news photographers want to tell the stories using pictures -- they are worth 1,000 words -- of those that many will never see or meet. Those people living in conditions that even the majority of the poorest in America live far better than and do not realize. Those people who live under the constant threat of danger, be it in the Middle East, Asia, Africa or elsewhere, are the stories that such photographers seek to tell. How do I know? That is why I chose this career, to tell the stories of those who cannot tell it themselves.
Rick lives outside Murray on Kentucky Lake and is working on his bachelor's degree at Murray State. He plans to attend graduate school upon completion of his bachelor's. Rick quit covering combat when his children were born. Now that they are nearly grown, he has begun the pursuit of his dream that started after his service in the Marines. He has covered the conflict in Haiti and the Balkans. His love for history and education led him to Israel for the summer to document life near the Gaza strip.

Flying fish

I stopped by Barkley Dam on Friday to look around. I could not believe what I saw. Flying fish. I was wondering what three men were doing with bows until I saw them shoot at the fish. They are Asian carp or "big head." These fish are dangerous to boaters because they will jump into boats while motoring along waterways. The theory is the noise of the motor startles the fish and their reaction will send them airborne 8 to 10 feet. The fish threaten native species as well. They eat plankton that smaller fish feed on, which in turn larger predator fish -- like largemouth bass -- feed on. Up the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers the Asian carp are in higher numbers than the Ohio as far as I could find out. I have seen several news reports on the carp but did not see them in action until a few weeks ago when I viewed a few jumping in the Ohio near Paducah. So, seeing them up close and high in the air was interesting. The three archers, Alan, 31, and Josh Evitts, 22, of Greenville and Justin Kelley, 14, of Princeton had plenty of game to choose as they hunted the fish. They also had to watch for the fish in order not to be hit by the 15-20 pounders. To get information on the Asian carp and the problems they are causing to our native fish species go to www.fws.gov.