Donations for C.J.

C.J. at the doctor - Children's National Hospital - 2007

Yesterday I received terrible news from Virginia. C.J. Sutphin, who I photographed in 2007 and 2008, has been in intensive care at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C. since September 24th. I spoke with C.J.'s mother, Kathy, yesterday afternoon, and honestly, the outlook is not good.

The Sutphins are a very special family that more than anything right now need your thoughts and prayers. This morning, Annie and I put together a video of photos from 2007 and 2008 that hopefully offers a glimpse of what makes C.J. and his family so special.


C.J. Sutphin - Print Sale from Mark Mulligan on Vimeo.


I'm asking for you to support the family in whatever way possible. You can pray, you can write, and you can also give financially. The family has several immediate and long-term financial needs right now, from buying minutes on Kathy's tracfone as she spends every night by C.J.'s side in the hospital and putting gas in the car for family members' 150-mile round-trips from their home to the hospital to the possibility of providing long-term nursing care for C.J. if he comes home from the hospital with a trach tube.

You can send donations directly to an account C.J.'s grandfather, Arthur, maintains:

The C.J. Sutphin Fund
Stellar One
P.O. Box 490
Madison, Va. 22727

I am also collecting funds through paypal. If you want to donate, let me know how much and I'll send you a paypal link, and I'll send you a print!

100% of the above donation will go to the Sutphins. Today (Monday, October 22, 2012, we sent them a check for $403.00!) Thanks to everyone who has donated so far!

Just email me at mrkmully@gmail.com.

Insanely Good Time

Everett - 09.08.12 - Watch Video

Football Season

Snohomish - 09.07.12 - Day in the Life

The Howdy Boys

Darrington - 07.21.12 - Bluegrass Festival

Everett - 06.19.12 - Photo Students

Forced to dismantle

Granite Falls - 6.22.12 - 111-year-old cabin

Everett - 06.30.12 - Jetty Jam

Everett - 06.25.12 - home

Health Care Ruling

Mukilteo - 06.21.12 - Lifetime Limits

This must be the place

Everett - 06.10.12 - Farmer's Market

June in the Northwest

Granite Falls - 06.08.12 - Lots of Graduating

Grad Time

Snohomish - 06.07.12 - AIM Graduation

Everett - 06.01.12 - Soccer Player of the Year

Battle of Midway

Whidbey Island - 06.04.12 - Only 17-years-old

Everett - 05.29.12 - New Photo Class

Everett - 01.17.12

Granite Falls - 04.25.11 - Akido

Everett - 01.05.12 - Sentencing

Everett - 03.22.12 - Mike Ingrum

Cougar (behind the scenes)

Northeast of Arlington - 05.23.12 - Article

I've been trying this month to get back into the rhythm of regular blog posting, and so far that's meant posts that are short and simple, but I thought I'd take a moment today to offer up a little behind the scenes look at a photo I had the opportunity to take yesterday.

So, to answer the obvious question, I was not crouched down a few feet from the cougar's mouth. I was in the bed of a truck about 20 feet away to the cougar's right. The picture was taken with a camera remotely triggered by a radio transmitter I had on the camera I was holding.

The above is my remote camera taking a picture of me taking a picture of the cougar still in its trap when we first arrived. Every time I fired my camera, the remote fired.

When reporter Eric Stevick came into the photo office Wednesday morning to tell us he'd just gotten a call from Fish and Wildlife that they were going to release a cougar, I was quick to say I'd run out the door. The only other possible opportunity to fill the front of B1 Wednesday so far was a grip and grin with an electric car. No thanks.

We had to hurry though, so as I ran out the door, I realized I should grab an extra camera (thanks Annie for running one out to me) and find a working pocket wizard (my receiver is broken-thanks Dan for offering yours) in case they wouldn't let me get close at the release. I really had no idea what to expect.

I honestly haven't set up a ton of remotes, and I especially had never done one for the release of an animal.

Thankfully the three agents and the best dog I've ever seen, Indy, were incredibly helpful, open and clear about their plan. They'd open the front of the trap, the cougar would run out, they'd hit it with some bean bags and shoot firecrackers at it to make it clear that humans are no good (if they see the animal again, around livestock, etc, then it will be killed, if not by a farmer, then by the state), and that's that.

Of course, nothing ever goes as planned, and the cougar refused to come out for 30 minutes! Apparently it was unprecedented for them. In the past, they open the doors, the cougar sees daylight, and bolts. Not so this time.

At one point the cougar even slid out of the tipped trailer, only to jump right back in.

Finally though, with the help of a little spray of pepper spray, the tiger decided it was time to go. It jumped out and was gone in a flash.

In this final picture you can see my remote (covered from the rain with whatever I had in my car). I only got one usable frame from the 5D Mark II - I have stepping down and then a tail - I wouldn't have minded having a camera with more of a motor drive, but even more so, I wish that I had not BACK FOCUSED the camera. Argh. I'm really kicking myself. I was carefully, because I had no idea what would happen in the frame, to up my iso so I could shoot at f11 and 320th of a second. But I bumped the focus a little too deep and the cougar's face is not sharp. Really kills me.


All things considered though, I had an amazing time. The Fish and Wildlife officers were amazing. Annie knows that I say this a lot about a lot of different things, but if I didn't do what I do for a living, I'd want to do what they do.

Hopefully I'll get so do more of this in the future. It was an amazing treat to photograph such a beautiful animal and I feel lucky to have been there.

14-13

Sedro-Woolley - 05.19.12 - Dramatic Victory

Squirrel Butter

White Center - 03.08.12 - The Music Box Project

Everett - 01.19.12

Tux

Everett - 05.17.12

Monroe - 03.06.12 - Eco Car

Waiting on a train

Marysville - 05.02.12 - Sing it, Hazel

Swim Meet National Anthem

Marysville - 02.02.12 - One of the team

Everett - 04.29.11 - CEO

Boeing Everett - 02.17.12 - Obama in Everett

Everett - 03.16.12 - Sentencing

Take your kid to work day

Everett - 04.26.12

Nail-Biter

Everett - 04.19.12 - Hi-Q

Outdoors for All

Stevens Pass - 01.08.12 - They let me write.

Smokestack

Everett - 03.09.12 - The Last Smokestack

Annie and I photographed the Mardesich Family and 20 other former paper mill employees/families for The Last Smokestack project.

Sun

San Diego - 04.14.12