I met up with my musician friend, Courtney, this afternoon.

The following is one of my favorite images. (Isn’t the ukulele so much fun!?)

More to come from our Centennial Park photoshoot sometime in the near future!

And because there was a dessert bar at an assignment last night.

I present: CUPCAKES!

Two days ago, I was driving around looking for wild art and stumbled upon Skipper spray painting in front of a local tattoo parlor.

Skipper, a tattoo artist from Colorado Springs, spray paints a bird on the pavement in front of Wicked Addiction Ink on Tuesday afternoon. Skipper, who is friends with owner Blaine McCullough, said she wanted to bring some attention to the shop with her colorful art. (Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

Around 5 p.m. yesterday afternoon, we heard a broadcast out on the radio that two boaters needed assistance on a local river. My boss told me to get ready, and minutes later, the writer and I headed out, unsure of where on the river this rescue was going to take place.

We stumbled upon the scene, and it was something I had never seen before. (And will probably never see again in this town.)

Swift water rescues rarely happen in Mississippi because, well, we don’t really have that much swift water. But the location in this river these two people were stranded had fast-moving water and apparently, that spot is the most dangerous part of the river because of the strong current and the depth of the water.

I made my way over to the edge of the river, moving around the multiple spectators who were all watching the drama unfold, and ended up standing on the rock closest to the rapids where a woman was clinging to rocks as the water rushed past her. A fireman stopped me, stating that if I went any farther, they would have to rescue me out of the chilly water.

I didn’t have much time, as the rescue boat was already in the water, and I prepared myself to photograph the breaking news. There was one problem, though. A tree was in the way.

Solution? Shoot through it.

Hattiesburg firefighter Scott Craft perches on the front of the Hattiesburg Fire Department Swift Water Rescue Team boat as he and Danny Wade and Matt Rungelin, neither pictured, reaches out to the woman stranded on rocks near the rapids of the Bouie River Tuesday afternoon near the Glendale Avenue bridge. Members of the Hattiesburg and Petal Fire Departments, along with the North Forrest and Rawls Springs Volunteer Fire Departments worked together to rescue the two stranded boaters from the frigid water. (Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

After they rescued and brought the woman to land, the Swift Water Rescue Team headed downriver to save the man who had also been in the boat. I wasn’t able to see them pull him out of the water, but I did capture the emergency personnel carrying him toward a waiting ambulance.

Firefighters and other emergency personnel move a man after pulling him out of the Bouie River Tuesday afternoon near the Glendale Avenue bridge. (Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

You can read the story here and see all the photos from the rescue here.

I’ve decided that I want to try to do something like a week in review after every week of work so I can show off some links and images. But since I’ve been so incredibly busy, this is going to be a lengthy update.

So you want to know what I’ve been doing?

Yesterday, I photographed some track and field action at a local high school. You can see the photo gallery here.

West Jones High School's Taneeya Naylor competes in the high jump Tuesday afternoon during the track meet at Hattiesburg High School's D.I. Patrick Stadium. (Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

I also went to a technical center to check out what was going on there. The photo gallery can be found here, and if you’re feeling ambitious, check out the story. It’s really interesting.

Purvis High School student Tyler Graham, 17, measures the battery voltage of Sparky the robot Tuesday morning during his electronics class at the Lamar County Technical Center in Purvis, Miss. The number of students taking technical training in the county schools has almost double during the past year. (Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

Monday, I went to a local library to photograph an assignment pertaining to Dr. Seuss’s birthday. It was incredibly visual, and I had a great time. The photo gallery is named Oak Grove Celebrates Dr. Seuss’s Birthday, and here is one of my favorite images from the event:

Abby Hammons, 4, steps closer as she and other children listen to Lee Richards, not pictured, read a Dr. Seuss book Monday morning during the Dr. Seuss Birthday Celebration at the Oak Grove Public Library. Stories were read aloud and children played games and ate cake with ice cream during the party. (Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

Being one of three staff photographers (and being the photographer on the switch shift from weekends to weekdays), I have worked a lot recently. There are quite a few photo galleries up on the HA’s Web site to show for what I’ve been up to. Some of these are old, but I haven’t posted them here, so feel free to browse around and check them all out.

Southern Miss vs. Memphis men’s basketball (02/14)
PCS vs. East Rankin girls’ basketball (02/14)
Southern Miss Coca-Cola Classic Rodeo (02/14)
Southern Miss vs. Florida A&M men’s tennis (02/15)
Oak Grove students plant tulips (02/19)
OGMS Mardi Gras Parade (02/20)
Southern Miss vs. Lehigh baseball (02/20, 02/21 and 02/22)
Mystic Krewe of Zeus Coronation (02/21)
Miss University of Southern Mississippi (02/21)
Mardi Gras Blowout Drag Racing (02/22)
PRCC vs. JCJC men’s basketball (02/25)
Continental Drive fire (02/25)
Southern Miss vs. UAB women’s basketball (02/26)
Oak Grove vs. Petal baseball (02/27)
Black Heritage Parade (02/28)
Day of Dance at Southern Miss (02/28)
Forrest County Junior Miss (02/28)
Southern Miss vs. Memphis women’s basketball (02/28)
City of Hattiesburg 125th Anniversary Prayer Service (03/01)
Southern Miss vs. ULL baseball (03/01)
William Carey vs. Bellevue baseball (03/02)

Happy Wednesday, folks! Expect to see some changes/additions to the regular Web site in the coming days, as I am on furlough and will be going home to Memphis for the time.