Close Up: Photographer Matt Rourke

Matt Rourke joined The Associated Press as a photojournalist in 2006.  Based in Philadelphia, Rourke's work encompasses general news, politics and sports. Coverage of note includes the Penn State University child abuse scandal, political seasons of 2008 and 2012 as well as the London Olympics. Prior to the AP he freelanced in Dallas and worked for the Austin American-Statesman, both in Texas.  Rourke earned his bachelors degree in government and politics from George Mason University in Virginia.

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A Canada goose gosling is seen along the banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Friday, May 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Army cadets march onto the field before an NCAA college football game against the Navy, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Members of the military unfurl a United States flag before Philadelphia Phillies' home opener baseball game against the Washington Nationals , Monday, April 12, 2010, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

International delegates to the Women in Public Service Project leadership symposium listen to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speak Tuesday, July 9, 2013, at Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Clinton helped launch the initiative in 2011. It's designed to offer guidance and inspiration to female leaders from countries undergoing political transitions or emerging from conflicts. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The sun illuminates windblown snow as a man walks under elevated train tracks, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014, in Philadelphia. A winter storm stretched from Kentucky to New England and hit hardest along the heavily populated Interstate 95 corridor between Philadelphia and Boston. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks to members of the media after an event at a Holiday Inn, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Cocoa, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A woman shields herself with an umbrella during an afternoon rainstorm Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, in Philadelphia. The exhibition is scheduled to run through Jan. 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Police officers guard the entrance to Franklin street where there is an active crime scene search for the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, Friday, April 19, 2013, in Watertown, Mass. Gunfire erupted Friday night amid the manhunt for the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, and police in armored vehicles and tactical gear rushed into the Watertown neighborhood in a possible break in the case. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

AP10ThingsToSee - Pollen sticks to a bee as it gathers nectar from a dandelion on a spring afternoon in Philadelphia on Friday, May 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Rick Miller, a President Abraham Lincoln re-enactor, poses for photographs after a ceremony commemorating the 150th anniversary of the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013, in Gettysburg, Pa. Lincoln's speech was first delivered in Gettysburg nearly five months after the major battle that left tens of thousands of men wounded, dead or missing. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Oregon's Edward Cheserek raises his hands after crossing the finish line during the College Men's Distance Medley Championship of America at the Penn Relays athletics meet, Friday, April 25, 2014, in Philadelphia. Oregon won with a time of 9:25.40. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Fireworks explode over the Philadelphia Museum of Art during an Independence Day celebration, Friday, July 4, 2014, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Tour bus salesman Shariff Davis covers his head with a towel on Independence Mall in the heat of the midday Friday, July 19, 2013, in Philadelphia. An excessive heat warning is again in effect for the Philadelphia region with highs expected to head up to the high-90s. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Deborah Young and others gather to remember the homeless and formerly homeless Philadelphians who died in the past year, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013, in Philadelphia. Nationally, remembrances are scheduled on or near the winter solstice, which is the longest night of the year. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Vice President Joe Biden salutes as he boards Air Force Two at Roanoke Regional Airport, Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, in Roanoke, Va., en route to Richmond International Airport. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

People cool off from the afternoon heat at the Devil's Pool in Wissahickon Valley Park, Friday, July 19, 2013, in Philadelphia. An excessive heat warning is again in effect for the Philadelphia region with highs expected to head up to the high-90s. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Police scuffle with protesters demonstrating in opposition to the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, Monday, March 10, 2014, as they block a door to the federal building in Philadelphia. The protestors say the pipeline would contribute to global warming. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Motuba, a Western lowland 29-year-old, 432-pound gorilla makes his public debut at the Philadelphia Zoo, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, in Philadelphia. Motuba was transferred from the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

In this July 16, 2013 file photo, roofer Juan Belis sweats as he works in the midday heat atop a building, in Philadelphia. Global warming is rapidly turning America into a stormy and dangerous place, with rising seas and disasters upending lives from flood-stricken Florida to the wildfire-ravaged West, the National Climate Assessment report concluded Tuesday, May 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A police officer stands by two collapsed row houses Monday, July 7, 2014, in Philadelphia. Authorities say no injuries were reported in the collapses. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A water droplet bounces off of Calvin Studivant's, 7, head as he plays in the water in Philadelphia, on Monday, July 17, 2006. Nearly every county in Pennsylvania was under a heat warning or excessive heat advisory from The National Weather Service on Monday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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View more images by photographer Matt Rourke.

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