Occasionally the photographers at the Bee are asked to take photographs for publication in the newspaper without an accompanying story. We call these photographs wild art or stand alone photos. Since there will be no story with these photographs, I try to make them visually interesting by capturing a moment of daily life that needs little narrative to strike a cord with the audience.

I was driving around Fresno on the lookout for wild art and I knew I wanted to do some type of photograph with the sky. It was partly rainy, partly sunny which made for a cool looking sky. I started looking for a Fresno landmark that I could frame within a nice section of the sky. I found what I was looking for when I got to the Tower District and saw the neon tower of the Tower Theater lit up against some dark blue clouds while the American flag was lit up by sunlight breaking through other clouds just before sunset on Monday February 23, 2009.

You can contact me at dwong@fresnobee.com

I'm sure it's hard enough to catch pitches with a glove but when you lose your glove... what chance do you have unless you're Kevin Mitchell and playing the outfield? Washington catcher Pierce Rankin has the glove batted off his hand by Fresno State batter Nick Hom during their season opener at Pete Beiden Field on February 20, 2009. Hom was awarded first base on the play because of catcher's interference.

Below, Rankin was at it again as he misplayed a foul pop up behind the plate. The ball landed in the dirt and bounced right back and hit Rankin in the mouth. It definitely was a rough night for the Washington catcher... at least he wasn't involved in a collision at home.

Fresno State continues a three-game series against Washington today. Here is the complete schedule for the Fresno State baseball team.

When the weather changes in Fresno, the newspaper likes to publish weather stories and weather-related photographs. This was the case when I bumped into a group of kids from Fort Miller Middle School walking home in the rain. Unprepared for the downpour, Pedro Rivera, 14, left, and Amber Salinas, 11, use backpacks to shield themselves from the precipitation on Friday February 6, 2009.

After making some photographs, I stopped the group so I could find out who they were and what they where doing in the rain. All pretty standard stuff in the day of a photojournalist. But then they asked me if they could get a ride home. This was only the second time in 12 years I have been asked this question. The Fresno Bee policy prohibits anyone but Bee employees to ride in our company cars. I told them the policy and felt bad because they stopped to talk to me but I couldn't save them from the rain. To makes things sting just a bit more, their photograph did not run in the paper.

At least the photograph below of two of their friends ran on the front of the local section.

Fort Miller Middle School students Estevan Tafoya, 12, left, and Mario Garcia, 10, jump over a flooded gutter as they cross Weldon Avenue on their way home from school.

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When police question people in connection with criminal activity, I always try to make a nice photo of the scene with the subject's face visible and a nice photo without the subject's face visible. The outcome of the questioning will decide which photograph is more appropriate for the newspaper. Police officers searched the home of this man after using a flashlight to inspect some of his tattoos.

A green, leafy vegetable with yellow flowers called yu choy grows in a field south of downtown Fresno.

A Buddeleia bush attracts a western tiger swallowtail in the backyard of a Fresno home.

While taking the dog for a morning walk, I saw this lone snail creeping along the sidewalk to reach a neighbor's yard before the Fresno sun took full effect.

Sunlight breaks through the clouds above Fresno and helps to silhouette the palm trees along Kearney Boulevard.

While driving the streets of Fresno, working on a story about how banks need to maintain the yards of foreclosed homes, I came across this interesting scene.

When the water level drops at Millerton Lake, a maze of dirt roads reveal themselves to curious spectators. I was on assignment to take photos of the lake's low water level for a drought story when I saw a red Jeep driving up the side of a hill. The hill probably isn't accessible when Millerton Lake is full of water so it was interesting to watch this group of people explore the uncovered terrain.

Sometimes I forget how fast hockey players are but when I get the chance to photograph a game up close their speed becomes very apparent. The Fresno Falcons' Kenny Bernard might not have a jet engine strapped to his back but he still speeds up ice during the Las Vegas game at Selland Arena on Thursday December 11th, 2008.

In the first game back at Selland Arena in more than five years, the Fresno Falcons recorded a 3-2 victory over the Bakersfield Condors on Friday October 24th, 2008.

Cross country runners from 168 high schools compete in the 30th annual Clovis XC Invitational at Woodward Park on Saturday October 11, 2008. Buchanan High School won the boy's team championship race.

The Montejano quadruplets attend their first day of school and then come home to spend time with their parents.

An early morning arson fire caused an estimated $1 million worth of damage to the First Baptist Church in Orosi on Monday September 8, 2008. After the fire was extinguished, a cross appears to have formed out of the burned rafters of the church's main building. After seeing the site, church board member Isau Trevino said "God is still with us."

For more information and photos about the fire read the story.