The photographs in this site were made from personal work and from editorial assignments while working as a photojournalist for the Hartford Courant. If an image in this site was created while on assignment for the Hartford Courant then ©Hartford Courant. Said images have been posted after publication in either the Hartford Courant or its affiliated websites. All other images are ©Mark Mirko.
07.16.2010: Storrs, CT - Corrections officer Ron Zaczynski coaxes his dog, Blaze, to jump into a tunnel set up at the University of Connecticut while testing an obstacle course for the Connecticut Police K-9 Olympics.
05.13.2010: Storrs, CT - UConn CSA.
04.28.2010: Storrs, CT - UConn student Jessica Henry, 18, accepts a kiss from UConn horse Fiona, as part of a project in her Animal Behavior and Training class. Using positive reinforcement and apples Henry has been working with Fiona for the past month, training her to kiss, hug and walk backwards with simple voice commands. Today, along with her classmates Oliva Carey and Meaghan Bolles, Henry brought Fiona out into a Horsebarn Hill corral to videotape her the results of her efforts in order to show her professor. "I've always loved animals," she said, "I've wanted to be a vet since I was seven-years-old."
04.21.2010: Storrs, CT - In the shade of a forsythia bush, Ellen Brimmer cleans up maple seedlings with one of the seven members of her flock of chickens. Brimmer has been raising chickens as pets for over six years. A love that she says started when as a young girl when her mother gave her baby chicks for Easter.
02.10.2010: Storrs, CT -UConn student Amanda Madajewski, 19, of Nanticoke, PA, playfully jumps from a sidewalk barrier wall after she, her brother Brian Madajewski, 22, of Nanticoke, PA, and Noelle Horelik, 21, of Lowell, MA, went ice skating at UConn's Swan Lake during a snowstorm that is expected to drop 1-2 inches through 8pm tonight. Classes were canceled at the university today due to the storm and Brian Madajewski, who is a senior, said he came out the ice today after the idea occured to him and his friends a couple weeks ago that ice skating at Swan Lake was a "must do" event to do as a UConn student.
02.11.2010: Storrs, CT - Connecticut Young Farmers meeting.
01.16.2010: Storrs, CT - UConn student Dan Couture gets his face painted in UConn colors before the start of UConn's game against Notre Dame.
01.15.2010 -- Storrs, CT -- After shedding his sweatshirt (foreground) to short-sleeves, and after a short day of school due to exams, Tyler Frechette, 15, (L-R) of Mansfield, gets some air while sledding with his friends Joe Csiky, 16 of Willington, Logan Gagne, 18, of Ashford, and Sterling Yanke, 17, of Ashford. For the past two weeks, the group has been sledding in this pasture adjacent to UConn's Horsebarn Hill. Today, with snow pack dwindling and temperatures in the low 40's, the friends brought a wheel barrow from Frechette's house in order to haul snow and "go big" with their ramp and landing area.
11.25.2009: Storrs, CT - With Nicole Capurso of Hofstra watching, UConn players Kalana Greene (second from left) and Tina Charles struggle to control the ball on offense early in the first half. UConn had 22 turnovers in their 91-46 win.
11.14.2009: Storrs, CT - Tina Charles, who passed 1000 rebounds in today's game, celebrates with Caroline Doty during the first-half after Doty drew a foul while making 2-points. UConn defeated Northeastern 105-35.