A Little G in a Big D

Hi all:

Been meaning to post this for a while as it ran like a week ago. Sorry — been very, very busy with some important personal stuff (we bought a house!).

I would suggest, before you do anything else, that you read the following story here. Morning News reporter Randy Loftis did some wonderful reporting on poisonous levels of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Trinity River, right in the heart of downtown Dallas.

In a nutshell, the river area here in DFW — from soil to groundwater to river water — is so full of the chemical compound, you’re not supposed to fish it (illegal in a large area), and most people don’t think you should even set foot in it. When you consider that we’re on the verge of building the largest urban park in the country right on its banks, that’s rather ironic … and sad.

As far as it pertained to me, this story was a real challenge. I mean, how do you photograph something that isn’t there (make that microscopic)? With some great guidance from photo editors Michael Hamtil, Chris Wilkins and Guy Reynolds, I was able to come up with a decent selection of images that (hopefully) helped illustrate the piece at large.

I spent a couple of weeks going up and down (and, one night, over) the Trinity River levee area, as well as around the industrial zone that borders it. Again, it was a challenge, but a fun one at that.

Here are my seven favorite. Since this story needs it, the images do have cutlines (caption information).

Thanks for looking,

- gerry -

Gerardo Leyba of Irving takes a dip in the Trinity River near the Sylvan Avenue overpass July 1, 2009 in Dallas. According to field testing commissioned by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality between May and August of last year, river sediment at multiple places between Fort Worth and Dallas is shown to have high levels of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Runoff from recent storms moves towards the City of Dallas Baker Sump Pump station June 12, 2009 west of the intersection of Irving Boulevard and Sylvan Avenue in Dallas. According to field testing commissioned by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality between May and August of last year, river sediment collected near the pump showed about 82 nanograms per gram of PCBs.

An electrical pole is reflected in a pool of water on the north side of the Trinity River levee June 26, 2009 in central Dallas. Many of the reports of PCB spills stem from transformers, such the ones pictured, either exploding or being knocked from the poles and breaking open on the ground, allowing chemicals to leak out and seep into storm water.

Water trickles out of a storm drain near the northern Trinity River levee wall and Inwood Road June 26, 2009 in Dallas.

A long tree sits along the Trinity River flood plain in this aerial photograph taken June 25, 2009 west of Westmoreland Road in west Dallas.

Due to the buildup of PCBs in certain species of fish, the Texas Department of State Health Services has banned consumption of fish caught in the Trinity River from the 7th Street Bridge in Fort Worth downstream to the State Hwy. 34 Bridge southeast of Dallas. Mountain Creek Lake also has a consumption ban, and anglers are advised not to consume any fish from Lake Worth. Catch-and-release fishing is permitted in all these areas.

Aerial photograph of the Trinity River between Westmoreland Road and Inwood Road taken June 25, 2009 in Dallas.

Hi all:

A story I started working on in early May finally published this week. The above is probably my favorite frame, but you can see more over at my sportsshooter page here.

To read the story by reporter Wendy Hundley, go here. There’s also a link to a video I produced for the piece, or you can click here.

Hope all are well. Thanks for looking …

- gerry -

Hey all:

Taking a break from the not updating to throw in a little update.

So, the “story” I’ve been working on for the last couple of weeks is, basically, a done deal … sans a couple of meetings and so forth. Should be published soon.

About all I can say, in the interim, is I got to know my car well … VERY well … more well than I already knew it from past adventures (and that’s saying something).

For all practical purposes (and here’s hoping I don’t jinx myself too bad here), my second hand-me-down Pontiac Sunfire has done me quite right. It’s survived several trips between Texas and Missouri (the longest being from San Antonio to Columbia), and lots of driving in between.

Most recently, it made it through hours of “scouting” trips around the Trinity River levee and river bottoms area — bumpy gravel roads, stomach high (make that side mirror high, for the car) grasslands and at least two instances of almost being stuck in the mud.

Dusty, dirty, noisy, wonderful. Indie tunes blaring full blast, windows down (even on the scorcher days), me singing along, loudly.

Every now and then I’d get lucky and find something to shoot. Engine off, walk a ways (look out for snakes), make a few photos and head back to the car.

This was usually my view …

Yep, it’s a good little car.

Cheers,

- gerry -