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Members of the NewsOK Photo Staff

Doug Hoke


Photography Manager
Director of Photography Doug Hoke started his career at The Oklahoman and Times as a part-timer December 1976. After just his third semester at Central State University (now University of Central Oklahoma). Hoke was moved onto the full-time staff in March of 1977 and continued his education at CSU full-time while working full-time. He graduated from CSU in 1980 with a degree in Photojournalism. As you can imagine, Hoke has covered just about everything while at The Oklahoman. His early career had strong emphasis in the area of sports, where he has covered collegiate championships in eight different sports and various other national championships, as well as state championships on the high school level. Another area of specialty throughout his career has been fashion where his sense of design and creativeness can be exploited. Always in the forefront of new techniques and styles in his photography, Hoke now uses those skills to photograph the occasional environmental portrait. As Director of Photography, Hoke uses his vast experience to direct the staff in many areas now. As times have changed, The Oklahoman has moved from black and white film only, to color slides, color prints, then scanning color negatives, to digital cameras, and now video. With publication covering print products and online web sites, blogs, and galleries the photo department has more places to display their work than ever before.

Chris Landsberger


Assistant Photography Editor

Chris Landsberger is a native of Oklahoma and, as a photographer, has been able to travel coast to coast and everywhere in between to cover news for the last 13 years. He has been a part history that included coverage of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's trial and execution, President George W. Bush, and Super Bowl coverage. Landsberger, 38, is a photographer and asst. director of photography for The Oklahoman. He received a bachelor's degree in photojournalism in 1999 from the University of Central Oklahoma. He has worked his way from being a staff photographer at the Edmond Sun to chief photographer at the Enid News & Eagle and director of photography at the Topeka Capital-Journal. He has worked at The Oklahoman for 6 years.

Jim Beckel


Photographer

Jim Beckel been a member of The Oklahoman's photo staff for 25 years. During that time, he and his cameras have covered virtually every type of news and feature story imaginable, traveling to all regions of Oklahoma to document events and provide photo coverage to accompany reporters' stories.

The greatest benefit of his job is the opportunity to meet a wide variety of wonderful people, from all walks of life, who allow him to share their stories through his photos. His career as a photojournalist has allowed him to understand that covering the plight of a homeless veteran is every bit important as photographing a high-ranking state official speaking about policy matters.

While it's true that I am employed by The Oklahoman, I try to be constantly mindful that the person I am actually working for is the reader of our newspaper.

Nate Billings


Photographer

Nate Billings never planned to become a photojournalist. He took pictures as a hobby growing up and worked as an assistant for his father, a commercial still and video photographer, but chose to study English Literature in college. Billings did not consider photography as a career until he was offered a summer internship at The Oklahoman in 2000 while working as the photo editor at Oklahoma State University's student newspaper, The Daily O'Collegian. He stayed on at The Oklahoman when offered a job in the fall, saying he would keep working in photojournalism as long as he was having fun. And, he still is. Billings graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Okla., and earned his bachelor's degree from OSU and his master's in English from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Bryan Terry


Photographer

Bryan Terry is a native of Oklahoma and is a graduate of Yukon High School. He first picked up a camera while attending the University of Central Oklahoma. After working for the school newspaper, The Vista, he interned at The Oklahoman. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism/Photographic Arts and joined the staff of The Oklahoman in 1999.

Sarah Phipps


Photographer

Born in Missouri, Sarah Phipps graduated of Northwest Missouri State University with a degree in Mass Communication and French in 1999.

After an internship with the St. Joe News-press, Sarah moved to Oklahoma for a full-time job at the Edmond Sun. Sarah joined the Oklahoman in 2007.

Sarah covers a large amount of sporting events and can often be seen on the sidelines at Oklahoma State football games

Steve Gooch


Photographer

Steve Gooch has been a photojournalist in Oklahoma City for more than 30 years. His coverage of news, features and sports assignments has taken him across the state and country. Growing up in Oklahoma City in the 1960s & 70s, everyone knew a local naturalist/herpetologist named Bob Jenni, who would make TV and public appearances all over the state.
Gooch was always fascinated with the way Mr. Jenni could handle alligators, rattlesnakes, cobras and many other animals. He had dreams of becoming a herpetologist, however, his mother had a strict "no snakes" rule. So, photography was Gooch's career choice. He took photos for Northwest Classen High School's yearbook and newspaper, studied photography at the University of Central Oklahoma and worked at The Oklahoman on a part-time basis. In 1979, he wanted to start taking photos like you see on Navy recruiting posters (FYI-never trust a recruiter named "Speedy"). After three years assembling and testing underwater mines instead of taking pictures, he moved back to Oklahoma City as a photojournalist and has worked for The Oklahoman since 1982. Gooch enjoys keeping and photographing pythons as a hobby, and his images have appeared in national and international reptile magazines.

Paul Southerland


Photographer

Paul B. Southerland has been a staff photographer for The Oklahoman since 1975. A native of Lawton, Okla., he attended the University of Oklahoma as a McMahon Scholar in journalism. He has worked for the Oklahoma Daily, the Oklahoma City Times, and The Daily Oklahoman winning over 100 national, state, and regional photo and reporting awards including Newspaper Photographer of the Year and News Photo of the Year from the Oklahoma Press Association, and Newspaper Photo of the Year from the Okla. Associated Press Managing Editors Association. In 2008 he was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a past officer in the Oklahoma News Photographers Association and a 36 year member of the National Press Photographers Association.

Steve Sisney


Photographer

Steve Sisney—married Brenda Joyce (Pierce) of Velma, Oklahoma in 1977. They have three children—Brent, Jason, and Tana; and four grandchildren. Sisney has been a staff photographer for The Oklahoman since 1987. He has photographed presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush and covered the Republican National Convention in New York City in 2004.
He has covered notables The Rolling Stones, Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Wernher Von Braun, Charlton Heston, Virginia Madsen, Tom Selleck, Michael Douglas, Mike Douglas, Sarah, Duchess of York, David, Robert and Keith Carradine, Ernest Borgnine and Dennis Weaver. He has been on the sidelines shooting the University of Oklahoma’s football team in three National Championship bowl games including the 2000 game (which they won). He was on site at the Oklahoma City Murrah Building bombing within 20 minutes of the blast and had nine photographs in the official commemorative volume “In Their Name.”

David McDaniel


Photographer
David McDaniel graduated from UCO with a degree in journalism in 1978 and began working at The Oklahoman the following year. David has covered sports and major news events throughout the years at the newspaper, but he prefers photographing people across the state. David says "Everyone has a story; you just have to go out and find it."

Paul Hellstern


Photographer
Paul Hellstern is a native Oklahoman and has lived in Edmond since it was a college town of 10,000. He graduated from Central State University (now the University of Central Oklahoma) with degrees in both History and Philosophy. Picking up a camera for the first time after graduating, he attended three semesters of Journalism classes, working part time in the Photographic Services Department at CSU. He then was hired as the photographer for the Edmond Sun, where he worked for a year before being hired at the "Daily Oklahoman" in December, 1981. Two years later Paul was hired as photographer for the Kerr-McGee Corporation, where he worked for two years before returning to the "Daily Oklahoman". He has won two Oklahoma Press Association awards for "Photo of the Year" and one for "Photographer of the Year", as well as numerous 1st place Associated Press awards. Paul has photographed every type of event from college football championships to disasters such as the Murrah Bombing, the May 3rd 1999 tornado, and Hurricane Mitch in Honduras. It was there that he developed a love for the Latin American culture and people, and has since made more than 20 trips to Central America.