September 2011 | Alex Farris Photo Blog

On Friday, I got a call from Mike Fender, the director of photography at The Indianapolis Star. I had sent him a portfolio over the summer and asked if there were any opportunities to string for The Star while I was in Bloomington or Indianapolis. He said he would keep me in mind, and this past weekend showed that he did. He needed somebody to shoot the Chris Brown concert at Verizon Wireless Music Center on Sunday (because, I assume, everyone else was focused on the Colts primetime game against the Steelers). I was more than happy to take the opportunity.

For more of the photos I took, follow the link to the gallery posted that night.

Chris Brown points toward the audience during his F.A.M.E. Tour show at Verizon Wireless Music Center, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011. T-Pain and Kelly Rowland also performed during the show.

My dad and I were in South Bend, Ind., for Sept. 11 weekend. Dad was in a bike ride to support hospice care in the area (from which my grandmother benefited before she died 2.5 years ago), so I decided to go on assignment, if only for myself. I found a listing of 9/11 events on the South Bend Tribune, and I went to three of those events: a dedication ceremony in a downtown park, a blood drive at a fire station and a memorial Mass at Notre Dame. For the Mass, a Notre Dame photographer allowed me to take photos from the top of the stadium, where I could see Touchdown Jesus and all the students assembled in front of it. The view provided a poignant ending to a day that, ten years on, still pulls me back to that day in seventh grade when my science homework suddenly didn't seem that important.

Lit candles accompany the singing of the Notre Dame alma mater at the end of Mass. During the homily, students read the names of every Notre Dame graduate who died at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa., as well as those of the founding order, the Congregation of the Holy Cross.