I love media circuses. Just like in DC where you're shoulder to shoulder with some great photographers and just trying to make a frame that's different, sometimes news happens in Columbia that draws everyone out of the woodwork. I fielded calls today from the New York Daily News, talked to a cameraman from "48 Hours", saw every other news station under the sun, and worked with two other photographers from our own paper to try to cover a single story.

 It was one of the biggest news events in recent history, as Ryan Ferguson was being released from prison today. Ferguson had previously been convicted of murder based in part off two different testimonies that were later recanted and for totally different reasons, 8 years later the conviction was vacated and he was released.

I went out to support our two shooters and try to turn a photo around fast for our web-first mentality, letting the other photographers work the heck out of it. What it turned into was a three-ring media circus and I was just along for the ride, waiting for that one moment where Ryan Ferguson would finally show his face and step out of prison a free man. In a later blog I'll share my thoughts about working on a news event where everything is in flux, what went wrong, and how we tried to fix it. For now, here are some photos from the day.

Bill Ferguson arrives at the Boone County Courthouse where rumor had it his son, Ryan, was going to arrive to be released from prison after spending 8 years serving a sentence for murder before the charge was overturned on November 5. 

Bill Ferguson fields questions from the media as he walks towards the steps of the Boone County Courthouse. When asked why courthouse officials had no knowledge of the release of Ryan Ferguson from their facility, Bill Ferguson wasn't surprise, remarking that he or his family's legal team didn't quite understand what was going on either. Ryan Ferguson had spent most of the last 8 years in prison in Jefferson City but apparently needed to be transferred prior to being released.

At another impromptu press conference Bill Ferguson speaks outside of the Boone County Jail. At the courthouse, the family and legal team were told that Ryan Ferguson would be transferred from Jefferson City to the Boone County Jail, but Bill Ferguson said that the warden had no interest in taking Ryan. "There are no charges against him," said Bill Ferguson. The warden apparently did not want Ferguson at his facility because of that fact.

The parents of Ryan Ferguson, Bill and Leslie Ferguson, look through the door of the Boone County Jail at the waiting media who hoped to cover the moment Ryan was released from jail. Dozens of TV, newspaper, and other media had traveled from Jefferson City, where Ryan was originally held, to Columbia where they traced a path across the city hoping to see Ryan for the first time as a free man.

Members of the media vie for position at one of the exits to the Boone County Jail.

After opening the door for his girlfriend, Myka Cain, left, Ryan Ferguson opens the door for his mother, Leslie, as they arrive at the Tiger Hotel in downtown Columbia, Mo. for a press conference celebrating Ryan's freedom after 8 years in prison.

Ryan Ferguson reacts as he looks up the stairs to the lobby of the Tiger Hotel to see members of the media awaiting his arrival.

Trying to pass through a sea of reporters, Ryan Ferguson fields a few questions on his way to a press conference at the Tiger Hotel. "How does it feel?" was the common question. "A lot different than I did two hours ago," Ferguson responded.

Ryan Ferguson, left, takes a moment and reacts to the large number of media and supporters in attendance at a press conference regarding his release from prison. Both Ryan and his father Bill, right, would speak at the press conference before leaving together with the rest of his family and his lawyer. "We're either going to Dairy Queen or to ring the bell at the courthouse," said Kathleen Zellner, the family's lawyer. Later that night, "Free Ryan Ferguson" a Facebook group in support of Ryan changed its name to "Freed Ryan Ferguson" and posted a picture of Ryan with a beer and a steak at a restaurant.