Baylee Modaff, 7 of Naperville takes a break from setting up pig pens to rest on two of her family's Yorkshire pigs at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles. The Modaff family owns a farm south of Oswego and spends their summers raising pigs and taking them to several local county fairs, including Kane and DuPage county fairs. Baylee and her brothers show several different breeds during the fairs. Her mother, Tracy, said she and her husband grew up showing livestock at county fairs so they enjoy giving the same experience to their kids. “We say they're like country kids living in the city,” Tracy said.
CHRISTOPHER HANKINS/chankins@dailyherald.com
It's a little bit amazing in an age when everyone and everything seems to be captured on video that the power of a single, well-crafted image still can move us.
It can make us laugh or cry. It can make us angry. It can amaze us. It can make us pause.
Through all the clutter of an endless news cycle, it can remain etched in our memories.
We asked the photographers in our Fox Valley bureau — Christopher Hankins, Brian Hill, Rick West, Laura Stoecker and John Starks — to share some of their favorite images of the past year.
Spend a little time examining these photographs and you'll see elation and sadness, glory and near misses.
You'll also get a feel for the talents of our shooters and their ability to bring you the awesome power of a still image.
Enjoy.
Lightning strikes west of downtown Geneva as two men hustle across 3rd Street at James Street in late June. The storms washed out the night of festivities at the annual Swedish Days.
John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
Elvis impersonators congregate near the starting line of the Geneva Academic Foundations Viva Geneva! 5K run and Youth Mile at the Kane County Government Center on Oct. 2. From left are Willy Medina, race organizer, Jennifer Everhardus of Wilmette and Aimee Vallero of Geneva.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Marmion Academys Mark Peters makes a game-saving catch at the outfield wall to save a home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh while clinging to a 7-6 lead over Burlington Central during the sectional semifinal June 3 in DeKalb.
RICK WEST/rwest@dailyherald.com
Ten-year-old Arthur Lyon of St. Charles holds up one of his familys six chickens. The Lyon family has joined the growing number of people raising chickens in their suburban backyards. Arthur was proud of his familys pets and very knowledgeable about the birds. In fact, he knew chickens inside and out. Arthur and his younger brother Tim help care for the birds. I made this image of Arthur through the kitchen window in May as his Tim was getting ready to prepare some of the fresh eggs laid by the chickens.
BRIAN HILL/bhill@dailyherald.com