MOMENTS 2006

Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2006 | 7:10 a.m.

line Sam Morris

This year, I had the chance to shoot more fights than I usually do and became increasingly conflicted about the sport. In the past I had been relatively ambivalent about boxing and mixed martial arts events. As I shot more, I realized the "guy" in me enjoyed the testosterone-fueled spectacle of two fighters standing toe-to-toe and duking it out like I had imagined doing to the schoolyard bully 30 years ago. But when I stepped back and took another look, the sport seemed barbaric and not too far removed from gladiatorial contests in the Roman Colosseum, albeit with a little more "bling."

One of my favorite photos of the year is of Pride mixed martial arts fighter Mark Coleman trying to reassure his daughters that he is OK. As a father of three young girls, I have an idea of what they were feeling as they watched their father get beaten up. It was a touching scene in the midst of a violent sport.

The photo of the dripping blood and cage from my first UFC fight details the brutality of fighting, but I was surprised at the level of respect mixed martial arts fighters have for each other. Every bout ended with fighters sincerely congratulating each other and, in one case, checking on a vanquished opponent who had suffered an injury. It was a marked contrast to much of what I see in boxing, where trash-talking, taunting and outright hatred are common.

One of my favorites of the year is more about the man than the photo. After moving here from San Francisco, I found state and local politics to be more provincial here, but some just as corrupt as anywhere. Last June I needed to get a photo of County Commissioner Tom Collins and was told that I could catch him at his Logandale ranch. Politicians' staffers are careful about how their boss is portrayed, and I figured that they wanted to project the warm image of a rancher-politician.

What I found was a man and his dog, Bo, working hard to get a fence finished before cattle were moved onto a section of land. He didn't care that I was there. I grew up in a small Iowa town and know a little about farmers and small-town folks. So, after the last year in politics, it's nice to know that I won't see Collins outside a house he doesn't live in wearing a pink bathrobe.