*Note: this is a repost of a series of articles originally published at MacklerMedia.com

An Afternoon at 1207 North Main

The second day shooting the powerful flooding in the Southeast Missouri area proved to be eye-opening. Literally just a two-minute drive from my home stands 1207 North Main Street – currently surrounded on all sides by four feet of water and climbing hourly. A mountain of sandbags and barriers are all that protects the four-year home of Bill and Laura Sandquist. Floodwaters have engulfed the Red Star District of Cape Girardeau in which they live, with the majority of the water rising Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, according to Bill Sandquist. As for help, the family obtained 15 sandbags per person from the fire department, significantly less than they need. “15 bags? Hey, I need 1500 bags,” said Sandquist. Most of the help has come from Red Star District neighbors, family and church members. “These are the times that really bring the community together,” said Sandquist. Sandquist’s son, John Gamage, who has recently returned from Nebraska, has been helping the family stack sandbags since the weekend. “It came up so slowly, so there was a lot of time to prepare. I know that if I can take a boat down the street, it’s pretty bad,” said Gamage. Despite such a hard reality, the family is in a positive spirit, having fun boating around the neighborhood and fishing from their home. Said Gamage, “You’ve got to see the positive, else everyone’s all stressed and that’s no good.” Sandquist chimes in, “I’m happy – at least I don’t have to mow the lawn.”

Southeastern Missouri Flooding ~ Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Our apartment began flooding on Easter, alerting us to the gravity of the flooding situation in the Cape Girardeau and Southeastern Missouri areas. Due to weeks of stormy weather, the area rivers and other bodies of water have swelled, leaving countless of people struggling to save their homes and loved ones. Yesterday, I covered the flooding from Cape Girardeau, Essex and Poplar Bluff.

Long time no post! I do most of my blogging now on MacklerMedia.com, you should head on over or subscribe to blog updates.
Anyways, last year, I documented the relief efforts in Nashville after the Cumberland River flooded the area in early May.
On Saturday, May 1, 2010, the banks of the Cumberland River near Nashville, Tenn., [...]

Kristin and I recently launched our freelance website, MacklerMedia.com. You should check it out.
About MacklerMedia:
MacklerMedia is a partnership between photojournalists Chris Mackler and Kristin Eberts. Both have recently graduated from Ohio University, earning Bachelor of Science degrees in Visual Communication, majoring in photojournalism.
Chris is a freelance photographer in the Southeast Missouri area; Kristin is a [...]

Long time no post. I drove down to Nashville on Saturday to cover flood relief. Hope to spend more time down there later on in the week. Residents sure lived up to Tennessee’s motto of being the volunteer state.
After the water level reached to over 20 feet in intersection of Todd Preis Drive and Sawyer [...]

I was recently featured in NPPA’s new blog, “The Visual Student,” talking about my experiences during my internship at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Thanks Kevin!

Some fun at an annual event where they light up six hot air balloons at dusk.

Mike Peiffer holds open a hot air balloon named The Tinker-Too to let the air in at the Balloon Glow held on the grounds of the Brucemore Mansion on Thursday, June 25, 2009. The event was part of the Freedom [...]

Three Dog Night came to the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival over the weekend. It’s always fun shooting bands with sweet concert lights, let alone old(er) rockers trying to be hip.

Danny Hutton (left) and Cory Wells (right), of the band Three Dog NIght, perform during the Classic Rock Concert Night at the Freedom Festival held at [...]

Last week, after two of my shoots had been rained out, I was assigned to shoot buildings in downtown Cedar Rapids to put into our new online banner. At first glance, this might seem like a typical “intern assignment.” But there was good light, so I strolled around and I had freedom to shoot basically [...]

Yesterday I shot a rubber duck race. I must admit, seeing over 14,000 rubber ducks bobbing up and down in the Cedar River was pretty adorable – and fun to shoot.

Rubber ducks are released off of the Third Avenue Bridge into the Cedar River during the Great Eastern Iowa Duck Race presented by the Cedar [...]

So I’ve been shooting a lot of sports lately. The other night I shot soccer, which I haven’t shot in years. I think I got a pretty cool image out of it.

Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Zach Brunscheen grabs the shirt of Iowa City West’s Alan Bedell as they both go after the ball in the second [...]