Our photographers join the fans in the stands

The images appearing in the Daily Herald from this weekend's girls gymnastics state meet at Palatine High School and from the wrestling state tournament at Assembly Hall in Champaign are being taken from an inferior vantage point.

A dispute between newspapers and the Illinois High School Association over how the media can use images taken at state events -- specifically, whether we can resell them -- has led to severe access restrictions for photographers.

Photojournalists at this weekend's events were asked to sign a document which ceded the resale rights to their photos. If they did not sign this document, they were not allowed to photograph the competition from the floor where it was being held.

Daily Herald photographers Mark Black and Steve Lundy did not sign the document, and instead purchased tickets and joined the fans in the stands to do their jobs.

While the quality of the images they captured remains remarkably high, there is no substitute for being closer to the action, and we felt our readers deserved to know that as they examine our photos.