11 News photographers see the best and worst of Houston through their camera lens as they cover daily news events.

Some assignments are a little more fun than others. A recent baby derby inspired Nathan Kvinge to go above and beyond by creating his own music video for KHOU.com.

My day started off at a gas leak in Pearland. It involved a lot of walking and standing out in the heat with sweat and sunscreen dripping in my eyes. Now I love being a news photographer, but usually it is not very glamorous. My second assignment ended up being one of the best I have been on.

Frank McBride
News Photographer

Did I mention this job can be fun sometimes? This was one of those times. That's me putting the camera in the guy's face. A few miles outside of Seymour, TX is a ranch with an archeological dig site that is very rich in bone fossils. So rich that we watched as a new piece of dirt was being cleared out and sure enough there was what used to be an ancient dinosaur-type creature.

This was a shoot for a story airing tonight (5/20) an possible method to bring dinosaurs back to life. Are you thinking Jurassic Park? Well, not quite, but it does involve genetics, and the man in charge of the site was heavily involved in making the movies scientifically correct. His name is Dr. Robert Bakker, and not only is he an encyclopedia of ancient creatures, but he is also one of the funniest people you will meet to boot.

Lucy Noland was the driving force for us doing the story, and when she and I arrived at the Seymour Dairy Queen, Dr. Bakker greeted her by handing her a Dairy Queen straw and told her it was a very important archeological tool. It turned out this one one of the times he was not joking. They use straws extensively in blowing dirt away from what is being excavated.

It's dirty work, and I was glad to only be visiting, but it does fill you with wonder to realize the pieces of tail bones and skulls you are seeing have been buried and unseen for over 200 million years. If you would like a taste of what the dig site was like and how they might walk among us again, watch the story on 11News at 10 tonight, or after that check out the video on this website. Have fun!

FMc

HOUSTON --- The stress of a capital murder trial is easily measured.
You can see it on each face, in each tear, no matter where you stand.

Like similar trials, there are two sides: the prosecution and the defense
There are two families: Rodney Johnson's and Juan Quintero's.

But there is only one verdict.
And now all sides must wait...together.
Sort of.

As of this writing, Quintero's family is sitting near the windows in the hallway of the 20th floor. His mother's expression is stoic, distant, almost painful. Understandable, given her stress load. How do you wait for 12 strangers to decide whether your child lives or dies?

Johnson's family was sitting in those very same seats, before I went to lunch. But now, afterwards, they are all now in the courtroom itself, taking up the first few front rows.

It's been a bitter-sweet family reunion for them. Joslyn Johnson's family, including her mom and sister have been here supporting her. Rodney's mom, his sister, his brother, many of them here everyday, too, supporting each other, listening intently to every part of this trial.

They ask: How do you wait for justice to catch up to a convicted murderer?

"The hardest part for me was the conviction part," said Regina Crawford, Joslyn Johnson's sister.

We spoke briefly in an elevator ride down to the first floor. She was going to change her shoes, preparing for a long day.

"As a Christian, I struggle with the death penalty but in this case he has shown no remorse," she said referring to Juan Quintero.

Since his conviction, it has always been a question of life or death for Juan Quintero.
A question now, that only this jury can answer.

Perhaps, the most stressful part of it all.

What's the deal with llamas? My daughter Sarah is about to turn 12 and has been into them for years. She's not alone. She has friends that are llama crazy. She would LOVE it if there were a llama or two at her birthday party (not going to happen!) They seem to turn up all over the place. Napolean Dynamite had one. (Tina, eat your FOOD!) A Disney emperor was turned into one. Jimmy Neutron's friend Carl adores them. It seems llamas are instant comedy gold.

HOUSTON --- There is more to Marche Taylor than just her now renowned prom dress.

"I just want my voice to be heard," the 17-year-old told me Wednesday afternoon, as we stood in a convenient store parking lot across from Madison High School.

"This is not about my dress," she added. "I just want my money back."

And that's really how this story began.
Taylor called me out of the blue the Wednesday after her incident at the prom. I remember it clearly. I had just walked out of our morning editorial meeting when my cell phone rang.

"Mr. Edwards," said a young voice on the other line. "I need your help."

Our conversation lasted only about 5 minutes. But I distinctly remember the words "prom dress," "police," and "handcuffs." I found the story, at first, almost too true to believe.

And then she said the magic words.

"And there's a picture of me in handcuffs," she said.
"Did you say, 'you have a picture?" I responded.
"Yes, sir, I do. And I want my money back because I didn't get into my prom."

That is all Marche Taylor apparently ever wanted.
Instead, she and her dress are getting way more attention than she ever would have gotten had she actually gone to the prom.

Her grandmother, who she lives with sometimes, warned her to, "let this go." Marche Taylor didn't.

And nearly a week, and she is still fodder for the media, with requests for her story coming from the Dr. Phil Show to Essence Magazine.

Jay Leno even used her in his Tuesday night monologue.
Marche Taylor, though, say most of it hasn't been funny.

"I'm not saying I'm enjoying it because some people are taking it overboard," she said.

She called a local radio station to explain her story further.
I'm told her mom called right after, apparently saying Marche doesn't live with her because her daughter didn't follow her mom's rules.

"I had my history, I made my mistakes," she said. "But this year I've had to mature up and do everything I had to do. I knew I was a senior I knew I had to graduate. I knew what I was supposed to do and I have been doing that."

She is set to graduate in two weeks. She says she's already been accepted to Texas Southern University in the fall and wants to be a pharmacist.

And she readily admits, she's come a long way from the Marche Taylor she used to be.

Her fight now is what for she believes.
Right or not, her feelings are true to her.

"You can't bring somebody's prom back," she said. "I paid my money to get in and I expected to get in."

Even with a dress that revealed more of Marche Taylor than the prom dress code allowed.

By Matt Musil / 11 Sports

We lost a great friend Tuesday. Former Ch-11 & Ch-2 News Anchor Ron Stone lost his battle with cancer at age 72. If you never met Ron ... I'm sure you've heard of him .... he was one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet.

What can I say about Ron Stone? When I arrived in Houston in 1978, he was such a part of the city and had such a captivating delivery that even this high school freshman took notice. He helped cultivate my interest in television news and that familiar voice was truly a source of comfort.

My news unit is my office. On any work day, I drive no less than 50 miles and spend at least an hour on the road. The average would be something like 100 miles and 2 or 3 hours. For this reason, my thoughts are often about driving, parking, gasoline, traffic or anything having to do with 11News Unit 24.

On a normal week, Unit 24 is a 2007 Ford Explorer with a V8 engine. This is not a normal week. Unit 24 is getting body work for reasons I won't get into except for these three words: Not My Fault! The sad reality this week is that my office is now a rented 2008 Kia Sportage.

One of the things I do at KHOU is setting up the live shots at sporting events. Our media credentials come with obvious perks: we can get into the games early, meet and talk with the players, see the players warming up, see the cheerleaders warming up, etc. But the best perk at the sports events is less obvious: the media dining.

Every now and then when I am out carrying my camera and whatever other gear I need that day, someone will come up and say, "I know you. I watch you on TV." My usual reply is that it probably wasn't me unless I walked in front of a mirror or they saw it on another channel.

The truth is, as a photographer for 11 News I try very hard to NOT be noticed.
The reporters are the ones you see, and they are our partners in the field. They are the ones that make sure the story is accurate, understandable and meaningful. We help with those things, but we mostly are in charge of finding the images and sounds that communicate the point, and then edit them together (hopefully) smoothly for the viewer.