Robin Nelson Editorial storytelling and photojournalistic portraiture on location Atlanta, Georgia and the South 404 .697 .8203

On Assignment

Newspaper and magazine picture editors need compelling images -- and they often need them by 6 p.m., captioned and transmitted.

Here are a few of images captured when time was ticking and deadlines loomed. No time for second guessing or reshoots. Done in a day.

When the world's top chefs have a question about a new recipe, they ask Shirley Corriher if the chemistry is right for making sensational food. "Cooking is chemistry, and to be a chef is to be a chemist, whether the chef realizes it or not," says Corriher. On assignment for the New York Times
   
Abby and Sarah Flannagan lost their dad to colon cancer earlier this year. They are in a ministry called 'Growing Seasons' that helps children cope with the death of a family member.
   
Thousands of mostly Latino marchers, a vast number of them reported to be undocumented immigrants, stormed the Georgia Capitol in protest of the state's new Arizona-style immigration law, which took effect July 1. Opponents say the law creates an unwelcome environment for people of color and those in search of a better life.Men, women and children of all ages converged on downtown Atlanta for the march and rally, cheering speakers while shading themselves with umbrellas and posters. Capitol police and organizers estimated the crowd at nearly 14,000. They filled the blocks around the Capitol, holding signs decrying House Bill 87 and reading "Immigration Reform Now!" in hopes that the strict immigration laws will be repealed.Pictured: Jesus Lopez with wife Esther, holds 5-year-old son Jacob as they watch the rally. Lopez, in the U.S. illegally for 12 years, is a farm worker near Warner Robbins, Ga, 3 hours from Atlanta
     
  
Army Regimental Chief Warrant Officer Todd Boudreau trains future CWOs how to deal with computer security.
   
Eddie Cotton, 82, clears a field for a fall crop of hay, using a 40-yr-old tractor. He is among thousands of black farmers denied federal loans in past years."They took away my ability to provide for my family," he says of the discrimination. On assignment for the New York Times
   
Retired actor Jan Michael Vincent, 65, left Hollywood 12 years ago for a reclusive life on the Mississippi delta. The actor's health is frail as he copes with the effects of decades of alcohol and drug addiction. He credits wife wife Anna for saving his life. On assignment for Splash News
     
  
A gay couple strolls through Atlanta's Gay Pride Festival in the city's Piedmont Park. Atlanta was recently ranked by the Advocate Magazine as America's gayest city. On assignment for Zuma Press
   
A fundamentalist street preacher from South Carolina tries to share his faith with a visitor to the Gay Pride Festival in Atlanta. The city was recently voted 'Gayest City in America. On assignment for Zuma Press
   
A wee Scot leads his clan in the Parade of Tartans at the Stone Mountain Highland Games.
     
  
A true to-his-roots Scottish American waits for the procession of clans at the Stone Mountain Highland Games.
   
A 20-year-old dancer at the Pink Pony Club, where owners capitalized on Tiger Woods' appearance at the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, two hours away. Hundreds of well-heeled golf enthusiasts visited the club, which featured one of Woods' reported mistresses. On assignment for the New York Post
   
Entrepreneur Stormy Wellington, a single mother of two, enjoys a manicure with her daughter Miniya. She's a top seller for the Ardyss, International , which markets the Body Magic undergarment. On assignment for Success from Home
     
  
Mary Neal, 66, cheers with hundreds outside the Georgia Capitol building for a rally in support of proposed 'Public Option' in universal healthcare coverage. On assignment for Zuma Press
   
Harvey Darden, retired pharmacist and Navy veteran, recalls his unexpected breakfast with his wife in the East Room of the White House Nov. 11. "We were there for a tour, only we were a day too early but I didn't realize it until later. The White House security said we were cleared and somehow we ended up with all these other veterans for a special breakfast with President Obama. It was the experience of a lifetime," Darden said. On assignment for The New York Post
   
A young boy peers from the torn screen of his family's home near Tunica, MS, the nation's poorest area before the state voted to permit riverboat gambling. On assignment for Newsweek
     
  
Tens of thousands of angry 'Tea Party Patriots' gather in Atlanta to voice their frustration at Congress' unwillingness to listen to constituents. On assignment for Zuma Press
   
A dried-up marina on Lake Allatoona north of Atlanta during a regional drought that lasted several years. On assignment for Zuma Press
   
Robert Oberth holds a collection of gold coins that are selling briskly at the Gold Exchange, housed in a former bank. "People are selling their jewelry and buying coins like I've never seen before. It's a modern day gold rush. People are nervous." On assignment for Zuma Press
     
  
White-robed Ku Klux Klansmen recite their oaths as crosses are set ablaze during a private late-night rally in the 1980s. On assignment for Newsweek
   
A 1960's era Coca-Cola vending machine, modified with a segregated water fountain and hand-painted sign, was among thousands of items from a past era that were sold off as a museum was closed. Zuma Press
   
He's known now as Benjamin Kyle, but that's not his real name. He suffers from amnesia after being beaten, robbed and left for dead near a dumpster. He has been searching for his true identity for six years. Police and FBI investigators are baffled and can offer no clues. On assignment for Zuma Press
     
  
Senior women gather in a community pool to exercise with water aerobics. Zuma Press
   
Mika Hill, founder of Pink Barrette organization, creates and donates wigs to women who have lost their hair to cancer. On assignment for Woman's World
   
The recent collapse of Bill Heard Chevrolet, the largest chain of Chevy dealerships in the world, has left former customers with a slew of problems. On assignment for Zuma Press
     
  
Kyle Maynard suffers from a congenital defect that robbed him of arms from below the elbows and his legs from below the knees. But this hasn’t stopped him from becoming a winning high school wrestler, weightlifter, gifted student – and example to everyone who meets him. On assignment for Chat (UK)
   
Kyle Maynard works out with friends in his townhouse garage. He suffers from a congenital defect that robbed him of arms from below the elbows and his legs from below the knees. But this hasn’t stopped him from becoming a winning high school wrestler, weightlifter, gifted student – and example to everyone who meets him. On assignment for Chat (UK)
   
A sealed-lipped silent protestor was one of thousands of pro-life supporters who marched though the city streets on the January anniversary date of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision on abortion. On assignment for Christian Living
     
  
The Vicksburg icon some call a “Bible castle” will be taken over by a local church which hopes to preserve it and do something useful with it.The colorful North Washington home of the Rev. H.D. and Margaret Dennis, painted red, pink and yellow and decorated with Bible verses, scrap iron columns, sculptures and welcoming signs of God’s love, was decorated more than 25 years ago by the couple. Zuma Press
   
The colorful North Washington home of the Rev. H.D. and Margaret Dennis, painted red, pink and yellow and decorated with Bible verses, scrap iron columns, sculptures and welcoming signs of God’s love, was decorated more than 25 years ago by the couple. Zuma Press