Houston Chronicle Photography and Video

15/12/2023

Photographer Jason Fochtman takes us back to Saturday night, with deadline approaching.

It’s 9:16 PM on election day and here I am, surrounded by 500 or so of my newest, closest friends all huddled in a tight, ever-evolving circle around Houston Mayor-elect John Whitmire as he makes his way through the crowd to speak after defeating challenger Sheila Jackson Lee in a landslide runoff victory at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Deadline to send images of Whitmire speaking to night photo editor Karen Warren is 10:00 p.m.

9:17 p.m

Text from Karen: Deadline moved up to 9:30 p.m.

Words were said on my part.

9:20 p.m.

People are finally speaking on the stage, but not the mayor I’m looking for.

I text Karen back: It’s OK. I’ll hit deadline.

9:22 p.m.

I’ve got to bail and file what I captured of Whitmire in the crowd earlier.

Of course, midway through the masses, he gets up and starts to speak. No time to wade back through.

I see the TV platform and reasoned that it would make for a clean view, maybe a reaction, and I had enough time for a handful of frames before I absolutely had to haul it to my computer nearby.

9:24 p.m.

Back to the computer, copy and paste my pre-filled caption and send.

Deadline accomplished.

15/12/2023

Diomanique Brown and her three-year-old daughter, Princess, unwraps their new vehicle as part of the annual Responsible Parenting Awards, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, in Houston. Brown depended on a borrowed a vehicle to shuttler herself and her daughter to school and Brown's two jobs. When she was unable to borrow the car, she and her daughter were forced to walk or ask friends and family for help.

For the past 20 years, the event has honored Head Start parents who take part in their children’s lives and exhibit responsible parenting, in collaboration with the Harris County Department of Education’s Head Start division and Bates Collision Center.

📷: Jason Fochtman

14/12/2023

• Rockets' reserves bring energy, effort, enthusiasm and a win. http://tinyurl.com/4st5rxtz

• Rockets 117, Grizzlies 104: Home streak ascends to 11th heaven. http://tinyurl.com/mr2vybu4

📷: Jason Fochtman
✍️: Jonathan Feigen

13/12/2023

Beautiful work by Raquel Natalicchio.

Locally, the faithful participate in events that were first started 51 years ago by Daniel and Mercedez Juarez, who led a small procession in 1972.

10/12/2023

5 takeaways from Houston's December runoff election, including Whitmire's mayoral win. https://tinyurl.com/3t42fve9

Sheila Jackson Lee’s next move post-mayoral defeat: congressional reelection or retirement. https://tinyurl.com/mr24bxj8

Dear Mayor-elect Whitmire, there's no easy solution on crime in Houston. https://tinyurl.com/mubcss9c

How Houston's runoff election played out. https://tinyurl.com/y5xtrdb7

Key statistics from Houston's 2023 elections. https://tinyurl.com/3wm68jrv

(📷: Jason Fochtman, Raquel Natalicchio and Kirk Sides)

30/11/2023

Staff photographer Jason Fochtman is using this section of The 713 Evening today to explain his workflow process when photographing high school football.

Subscribe to The 713 Evening newsletter: https://link.houstonchronicle.com/join/signup-hc
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Covering some 650-plus games since 2009, it’s safe to say photographing high school football has become an ingrained part of my life from August to December.

I’m frequently asked by students, fans and other photographers on the sidelines how I get my images out to our various platforms quickly.

Friday’s coverage of three-straight high school football games, with six local programs, is a perfect example of how and why I utilize a feature called "code replacement" to speed up caption writing and limit mistakes.

Using Photo Mechanic, an industry-standard program, I set up a text file for the roster of each of the six teams before the game. The left column (in the photo above) is the code I will use to replace the column on the right.

Instead of writing "Atascocita linebacker Kai Afyouizadeh (20)," I can replace that with "a20." That especially comes in handy if you have an image with multiple players.

You can even have a file for common phrases such as:
tb is tackled by
57t 57-yard touchdown

While the caption on an image with four players might look like this:

Lamar quarterback Jordan Reaves (7) is tackled by Atascocita linebacker Kai Afyouizadeh (20), defensive lineman Chris Minor (99) and defensive back Hunter Sowell (10) during the first half of a Region III-6A Division 1 semifinal high school football playoff game at NRG Stadium, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, in Houston.

The code behind that first part looks like: \l7\ \tb\ \a20\, \a99\ an

29/11/2023

Pictures say 1,000 words, but you only get one vote. Make it count!

The Houston Chronicle’s guide to the Houston mayoral runoff election, as well as runoffs for controller and city council.

23/11/2023

Jalen Green scored a season-high 34 points to help snap a three-game skid for the Houston Rockets in a 111-91 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

(📷: Jason Fochtman)

19/11/2023

Hours before kickoff, the messages and tributes are visible everywhere inside the small locker room.

On the back of football helmets. On shoulder pads. On the sleeves of T-shirts. On taped wrists.

Go be great.

What you gonna do 5?

Love you, Coach.

Do it for Coach Hayden.

It had been exactly a week since Second Baptist won its first high school playoff game. A few hours later an unimaginable tragedy would occur, not far from the school’s Woodway campus, that rocked a team, a community and reverberated from the NFL to the University of Houston and beyond.

How Second Baptist honored D.J. Hayden: 'It's all for him.'
https://tinyurl.com/4vxpu99f

📷: Jason Fochtman
✍️: Joseph Duarte

19/11/2023

Solomon: UH is a bad football team. And it's not just Big 12. https://tinyurl.com/bdze5f4x

UH's bowl hopes disintegrate with loss to No. 23 Oklahoma State. https://tinyurl.com/4mc6ywm4

12/11/2023

Cougars Extra Points: 'A lot of blame to go around.' https://tinyurl.com/39dwm4zu

UH's offense struggles in loss to Cincinnati. https://tinyurl.com/vs6vmpj7

Former UH football player D.J. Hayden killed in car collision. https://tinyurl.com/2ju8njhk

✍️: Joseph Duarte
📷: Jason Fochtman

09/11/2023

The Rockets could get used to this.

It has been a long time since that was an option.

For the second consecutive game, the Rockets blasted a Western Conference opponent, treating the Lakers on Wednesday much as they had the Kings on Monday. They did not quite take the lead to that night’s 40, but the Rockets led by as much as 29 before the start of the fourth quarter on the way to a 128-94 romp, trailing in the two games for less than a minute.

The rout, the Rockets’ most lopsided in the past three seasons, was a good way to mark a special occasion.

• Rockets insider: Rout of Lakers shows buy-in under Ime Udoka. https://tinyurl.com/2jy23mef

• Why LeBron James knew C.J. Stroud was a star long before he joined the Texans. https://tinyurl.com/2fmrwp7a

• Rockets 128, Lakers 94: Houston romps to fourth straight victory. https://tinyurl.com/4xwh553n

📷: Jason Fochtman
✍️: Jonathan Feigen & Jonathan M. Alexander

22/10/2023

Cougars Extra Points: 'We took mighty Longhorns down to wire.' (📷: Jason Fochtman) https://tinyurl.com/y4kur8em

20/10/2023

The Astros take a 10-3 win over the Rangers in game 4 of the ALCS, to even the best-of-seven series at two games a piece. Jose Abreu had two of the biggest plays of the game, with a 438-foot, 3-run homer in the fourth, a huge unassisted double play and he even stole a base. Alex Bregman hit a 2-run triple. Chas McCormick homered. And Yordan Alvarez hit a sacrifice fly to break a 3-3 tie right before Abreu's blast. The series is now guaranteed to return to Houston. Photos by Karen Warren & Brett Coomer

19/10/2023

The Astros take game 3 of the with an 8-5 road win over the Rangers, with a balanced attack as five players drove in runs. Cristian Javier picked up the win going 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs. Jose Altuve homered and Michael Brantley made a huge catch in the left centerfield gap to save a run and turn the momentum back to the Astros. The Rangers lead the best-of-seven series 2 games to 1. Photos by Karen Warren & Brett Coomer

16/10/2023

Justin Verlander, the Astros’ veteran ace pitched a quality start and became the first starter to keep the Texas Rangers’ offense in check this postseason, but received no run support in a 2-0 loss to the Rangers in the American League Championship Series opener at Minute Maid Park on Sunday.

(📷: Karen Warren, Brett Coomer & Jon Shapley)

∙ "How do you answer?" Astros shut out by Rangers in ALCS Game 1. https://tinyurl.com/487n45e6

∙ 'He made an amazing play': Astros' Jose Altuve explains baserunning mistake in ALCS loss to Rangers. https://tinyurl.com/2jx8recd

∙ How Ranger pitcher Jordan Montgomery beat the Astros: sinkers and curves. https://tinyurl.com/y9762z79

∙ Astros insider: Rangers' Jordan Montgomery renders Yordan Alvarez human. https://tinyurl.com/2n4d9jvk

∙ Justin Verlander gives the Astros a chance, but suffers rare Game 1 loss. https://tinyurl.com/5f8s5fbx

Game 2 is this afternoon at 3:37 p.m. in Houston.

09/10/2023

Carlos Correa gets the best of Framber Valdez as the Minnesota Twins tie the ALDS, with a 6-2 Houston loss, the Astros split the first two games of this best-of-five ALDS at home before the series moves to Minnesota. They will need to win at least once in Minnesota to ensure another game in these playoffs at Minute Maid Park. Sunday’s loss ended Houston’s streak of winning 12 consecutive division series games at home. Photos by Karen Warren & Brett Coomer

08/10/2023

Jose Altuve got it started with a homer, Yordan Alvarez added a couple more and Justin Verlander settled in for a strong start as The Houston Astros take Game 1 of the ALDS with a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins. Photos by Karen Warren and Brett Coomer.

06/10/2023

In one of her first interviews since returning to office, Harris County Judge Lina...

24/09/2023

∙ Cougars Report Card: Grading UH's performance against Sam Houston. https://tinyurl.com/mry5jye8

∙ UH snaps two-game losing streak with win over Sam Houston. https://tinyurl.com/54kmhc98

∙ Cougars Extra Points: UH 38, Sam Houston 7. https://tinyurl.com/2azpb9rx

(📷: Staff photographer Jason Fochtman)

18/09/2023

The Texans drop home opener 31-20 to AFC South rival Colts. Photos by Chronicle photographers Brett Coomer and Jon Shapley.

17/09/2023

UH insider: Offense might need a shakeup after 'embarrassing' performance vs. TCU. (📷: Jason Fochtman) https://tinyurl.com/3t87h5wa

15/09/2023

Sgt. Elton Gomillion received a hero’s welcome from a grateful group of Texans on...