Posted in Photography, Travel on October 1, 2009| 2 Comments »
On our second day in the Rehoboth-Dewey-Lewes area of Delaware, Jeff and I visited Cape Henlopen State Park, where I almost destroyed my camera.
Before: I was walking along the (really nice!) beach at Cape Henlopen State Park. With my camera in hand, of course. Photo by Jeff.
After: The waves came up higher than they ever had before, and splashed me up to my waist. And almost soaked my camera and lens! Photo by Jeff.
But now I’m just getting ahead of myself.
Posted in Photography, Travel, Washington, D.C. on September 30, 2009| 2 Comments »
Just a short and sweet post with some more photos from the summer!
Rehoboth Bay, just out of Dewey, Del.
Jeff and I spent three days in mid-July in the Delaware beach area — specifically, we went to the beach at Dewey, the boardwalk at Rehoboth and the state park in Lewes.
We didn’t take that many photos. The point of the three-day getaway was just that. To get away from the hubbub of the nation’s capital, from long hours editing photos, from hour-long commutes.
Just taking it easy and not worrying about getting really great shots — that was a new concept for me. Of course, I’ve shot photos for fun before (spring break, anyone?). But for the first time in a very long time, I was someplace new for more than a day and I wasn’t there specifically to take photos. So that was nice.
But, of course, Jeff and I brought our cameras anyway.
On the first night, after spending the afternoon at the beach, we went to Rehoboth Bay just outside or near Dewey. Which is where we caught a gorgeous bayside sunset.
You can view more photos here, of course.
I’m still behind on blogging all my photos from the summer and our three-day photo adventure in New York City. But I’ll post the rest of the beach weekend photos soon, and I hope to get everything else up within due time.
Posted in Journalism, Missouri, Photography, Photojournalism, Sports on September 29, 2009| 2 Comments »
As we’ve already established, I’m not a great — or even a good — football photographer.
So, to practice for the Oct. 8 home game against Nebraska, I went to Hickman High School last night to shoot some junior varsity football.
High school JV football is definitely a lot different from college football. I’d never been to a JV game, even at my own high school. As Jeff explained to me while we kneeled on the sidelines and took photos, high school teams will do a lot of plays differently than college teams would. And, unlike those I’ve seen at college games, the cops at this game were cheering on one of the teams.
The light at the game quickly went from beautiful evening sunlight to pretty bad stadium lights.
The Hickman Kewpies defeated the Rock Bridge Bruins in overtime.
To help with my comfort level, I shot the game with the same arsenal of Nikon equipment that I’ll be using at the Nebraska game. I’m now a lot more comfortable with football and the equipment, but as you can see, these are pretty mediocre shots. I still have a long way to go.
Next week, I’m shooting another JV game at Hickman, three days before the Nebraska game. I can only hope that all this practice will show for something in my Nebraska shots.
Please view a few more shots here.
Posted in Food, Jeff City/The Missourian, Journalism, Missouri, Mizzou, Photography, Photojournalism on September 28, 2009| 2 Comments »
I really love Roots ‘N Blues ‘N BBQ.
Ben Moore performs as one of the Blind Boys of Alabama at the Peace Park stage on Saturday.
Oops. As a journalist who covered the festival wherein music and barbecue took over downtown Columbia for two days, am I allowed to say that?
Oh well. I have loved Roots ‘N Blues since the 2007 festival, which was supposed to be a one-time thing. And then the powers that be decided to give it a second go. And then a third. And who knows if there’ll be a fourth?
If you don’t know what Roots ‘N Blues is — well, it’s a lot of things.
There’s music:
Ana Popovic shreds her guitar as bassist Ronald Zonker plays along at the Peace Park stage during the third annual Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ Festival on Saturday. Popovic hails from Yugoslavia and learned to play the guitar at age 15.
There’s barbecue:
Hole Shot BBQ team member Kevin Henderson arranges smoked pork at his team's station on Sixth Street in preparation for the Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ Festival barbecue judging on Saturday. The team, hailing from Wentzville, also prepared ribs and chicken for the barbecue contest.
There’re the fans from all over:
Music reviewer "Beatle Bob" - real name Robert Matonis - dances to Ana Popovic's music at the Peace Park stage during the third annual Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ Festival on Saturday. Matonis, who is the subject of an upcoming documentary called "Superfan: The Lies, Life and Legend of Beatle Bob," is known as a regular at live music events and for his active dancing to the music.
There’re the kids:
Four-year-old Reid Boyd of Columbia plays his guitar while listening to James Hand on Saturday at the stage at Seventh and Locust Steets. Boyd, who doesn't know chords yet but can pick out tunes by watching others, is on his third guitar.
There’re the activities for kids:
Balloon artist Mike Martin and Columbia resident Beverly Bell help place a balloon hat on 8-year-old Nikki Williams' head on Saturday outside of Flat Branch Park during the third annual Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ Festival. Bell said the wait for balloon creations was an hour long.
There’s peace:
Festivalgoers form peace signs with their hands in Peace Park while listening to the Itals' performance on Saturday. The Itals, a reggae group hailing from Jamaica, asked the crowd, "Give us some peace!"
And there’s more music:
Texas country singer James Hand tips his hat at the end of his performance on Saturday at the stage at Seventh and Locust Streets during the third annual Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ Festival. Hand, who has appeared on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, also played at the Whole Hog Lounge for the VIP guests.
Posted in Jeff City/The Missourian, Journalism, Missouri, Mizzou, Photography, Photojournalism, Sports on September 23, 2009| 1 Comment »
Almost everything I’ve shot for The Missourian in the past two and a half weeks has been sports.
Hickman High School football practice, the day before playing against Wentzville. Junior wide receiver Anthony Oetting, left, dislocated his hip last season but is returning to play for the Kewpies as a starter.
I don’t really mind.
Since I shot the Sept. 5 football game pitting Illinois against MU, I’ve shot a high school soccer game, MU volleyball practice, high school football practice and private gymnastics training. The only non-sports assignments I’ve had are a three-day field reporting trip for agriculture journalism professor Bill Allen’s class (not affiliated with The Missourian) and a fairly odd portrait assignment I completed yesterday.
Hickman High School junior forward Connor Hollrah drives the ball past Jefferson City High School senior midfielder Gavin Juckette on Sept. 8 at the Soccer Park in Jefferson City.
It’s as if something or someone told the editors that I want to practice more sports shooting. I’ve had a lot of experience shooting basketball, and I’m pretty comfortable with baseball, gymnastics and swimming. But fall sports — like everything I’ve shot in these few weeks — are not my strength. And that includes not just shooting to get the moment or the game shot but also shooting for features.
MU freshman middle blocker Lindsey Petrick watches for the ball during practice at the Hearnes Center on Sept. 15, the day before the "Dig for the Cure"match. Petrick's grandmother is a breast cancer survivor.
Anthony Oetting. Again. High school football is so epic, and I mean that seriously.
The big lessons I learned:
Posted in Food, Introspection, Journalism, Photography, Washington, D.C. on September 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »
After much agony, introspection and discussion, I am finally at peace with the fact that there are some things I just can’t understand at this point in my life.
Nothing heavy-handed here, folks. I’m just talking about a public fresh-food market. But that comes later in this entry.
On June 28, Jeff and I met my brother’s fiancee and one of the other bridesmaids at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. After we wandered around the largest Roman Catholic church in North America, we hopped on the Metro and explored Eastern Market, which had just reopened for the first time in more than two years.
But first, here’s the basilica, which is a short walk from the Brookland-Catholic University Metro stop on the red line.
The exterior of the basilica. Quite impressive.
Religious architecture has always bewildered me, but it sure is pretty.
I was surprised about access within the building. Jeff and I just walked right in and ambled around. I had the feeling that as long as we didn’t disrupt any of the ongoing services in a few of the sanctuaries or enter any private offices, we had free reign of the place. It was a Sunday, for goodness’ sake, and we were wandering the upper church and clicking our DSLRs.
View from the altar. I would be more descriptive, but religious architecture terminology is beyond me.
After taking a few photos, we went to Eastern Market, which is D.C.’s oldest and longest-running public fresh-food market. And here’s where I’m afraid I might get a lot of flak: I’m honestly not entirely sure what draws people there. (Forgive the superfluous use of adverbs.)
Opening weekend at Eastern Market. Photo by Jeff.
I don’t mean to come off as a non-native/bright-eyed intern who comes to town and tries to ingratiate herself with the locals (or, worse yet, poke fun at them). Nor do I want to seem like a blissful ignoramus whose mantra is “I don’t get it.” Rather, I relish learning, trying to understand and passing on knowledge and information. That’s just what I aim to do as a (photo)journalist.
But sometimes, I just don’t understand things as completely as I’d like.
Posted in Jeff City/The Missourian, Journalism, Missouri, Mizzou, Photography, Photojournalism, Sports on September 6, 2009| 10 Comments »
It’s football season.
The Missouri Tigers take the field at the Edward Jones Dome.
For many people, football season means ordering pizza and wings, kicking back with buddies and beers and watching the TV in the living room. For many other people, football season means suiting up in team colors, tailgating in parking lots and screaming alongside thousands of others in the stands.
Six-year-old Liam Hampton of Springfield shouts the "M-I-Z" cheer during a rally in the alumni association area outside the Edward Jones Dome before the Missouri-Illinois game.
For Missourian photographers, football season means you’ve got one Missouri home game to shoot for the paper. So you’d better make the most of it. At least, that’s how I see it.
This season, I have two football games lined up for me. The first — yesterday’s Arch Rivalry game against Illinois in St. Louis’ Edward Jones Dome — was a special opportunity that I seized. The second is the Oct. 8 game against Nebraska.
Me on the sidelines. Photo by Jeff.
Thing is, I’ll be the first to admit I’m not very good at shooting football.
Posted in Jeff City/The Missourian, Journalism, Missouri, Photography, Photojournalism on September 4, 2009| 2 Comments »
To say that I love young children and small animals is a vast understatement.
Jing Han and 2-year-old Kevin Han at Rhymes and Rhythms for Pre-Walkers in the Columbia Public Library on Tuesday.
For the past year, “I want a puppy” has been my favorite mantra. When I was the Maneater photo editor during my sophomore year, all my photographers knew to go out of their way to capture “aww”-inducing photos of young children and/or small animals while on assignment. Granted, we rarely actually used those over-the-top cutesy photos, but that didn’t stop the photographers from going the extra mile to make me fawn over their photos.
So, on Tuesday when there were absolutely no assignments available, I leaped on the chance to do some enterprise at the Columbia Public Library: a children’s music-and-dance program designed for parents and babies who haven’t yet reached the walking stage.
Rebecca Sanders and 8-month-old Jaden.
One thing I learned quickly: babies have EXTREMELY short attention spans.
The library aide, Hilary, told me as much when I asked why the program was only 30 minutes long. But I didn’t see this for myself until I started taking photos. I thought I’d start out discreetly by using my 70-200/2.8 and maintaining my distance before starting to inch closer and use my shorter lenses. But my first shot — the one of Jaden, above — clearly shows that babies are easily distracted. I was probably 10 feet away to the side when I aimed my lens at Jaden, and she still saw me and started mugging for the camera.
Freakin’ adorable.
The downside of this? I knew right then and there that using my flash would be a completely futile effort. The light in the room was pretty bad, but popping a strobe would have created a madhouse of crying or maniacally fidgeting babies.
Oh well.
Posted in Introspection, Jeff City/The Missourian, Journalism, Missouri, Mizzou, Photography, Photojournalism, Politics, Washington, D.C. on August 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »
On June 25, 2009, Jeff and I had coffee with Claire.
L-R: me, Sen. McCaskill and Jeff. This photo was taken by an official Senate photographer and e-mailed to me from Sen. McCaskill's office. Jeff does not look this awkward in real life... generally.
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has 9 a.m. coffee with constituents every Thursday while the Senate is in session. Upon learning of this weekly meeting via Twitter and finding out that I would generally have Thursdays off during my internship at washingtonpost.com, I knew that Jeff and I had to visit with Sen. McCaskill at some point.
So we did.
Some slight exaggeration may be involved here, but I partially credit Sen. McCaskill for embroiling me into Missouri politics and, what the heck, political reporting in general.
Posted in Jeff City/The Missourian, Journalism, Mizzou, Photography, Photojournalism on August 28, 2009| 3 Comments »
Today concludes the first week of my last year in college.
I’m proud to report that I’ve been present and on time for all my classes, completed two photo shifts at The Missourian and begun research on the rural recession project.
Because I don’t have a car (yet), all my assignments have been limited to wherever I can go on foot. I’m used to this — after all, how else did I manage while shooting as many as four assignments a day at The Maneater? Although I didn’t get to shoot the first day of school at various Columbia schools or Sen. Claire McCaskill’s health care town hall meeting in Jefferson City, I think I did all right for my first week on the job.
On my first shift, I ran to the scene of some breaking news. We’d heard something about a fatality over the police scanner, but when the reporter and I arrived, we saw it was a minor accident involving a bicyclist and motorist. The cyclist suffered only scrapes and bruises, which he shrugged off before explaining that he’d been hit by a school bus in the previous year.
That’s right. A school bus.
Call me sick, but I wish I’d been there to see that.
Cyclist Jeff Wainright talks with Columbia emergency responders after colliding with MU student and motorist Dan Marston on Tuesday afternoon in downtown Columbia. Wainright, who rolled over Marston's car hood, suffered only minor scrapes and bruises.
Although the accident was a minor one, it definitely spiced up my first shift as a Missourian photographer. As for the reporter, who was on her second day and second story at the paper, she learned that she had to be ready for anything that could happen on a given day. (Not that she was unprepared, though.)
The biggest lesson I learned? ENTERPRISE.
Due to some communication mishaps, today’s paper didn’t have any A1 visuals lined up. So yesterday when I had a half-hour left in my shift, one of the editors told me to skedaddle and do some enterprising. So I did, even though I knew that walking around and searching for photo material might prove completely unprofitable and would only further inflame the chronic pain in my left foot.
I got lucky with the first enterprise shoot I did. After I left the photo office, I headed downtown even though I knew there was very little if anything planned to be happening at that hour. But as I walked along Locust and crossed Ninth Street, I saw a trio of people carrying oddly-bundled instruments.
I paused. Then I decided to go for it.
“Hey, how are y’all doing?”
After they greeted me in return, I trotted alongside them and asked, “Mind if I follow you a little and take some photos?”
They were the Hooten Hallers, a local blues/country band that I’ve heard before in Speakers Circle. In fact, they had just performed there and were on their way to The Blue Fugue, which is where I followed them.
Hooten Hallers band member Andy Rehm plays a beat to the background music at The Blue Fugue on Thursday as fellow band member John Randall, Rocheport resident Richard Petty and Columbia resident John Thomas listen.
After I left the Fugue, I went on-campus to cover the Legion of Black Collegians‘ opening barbecue. As a former Maneater staffer, I’ve photographed many of the major campus organizations, including LBC. That said, I was almost wholly unprepared for the high-energy dance party going on in the main room of the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center.
Left to right, freshman Starsha Harris, senior Andrew Kelly, freshman Jacobi Ward and freshman Kielen Wilkins throw out some moves during the Legion of Black Collegians' barbecue Thursday evening at the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center. The annual barbecue, hosted by MU's black student government, featured food, dance and music.
I returned to the photo office after taking a few more shots. I’d worked an hour overtime, was soaked to the skin (there was a gentle but steady rain after I left the Fugue) and felt relieved that my first stab at enterprising while on shift had been decent.
That last photo was today’s key A1 visual.
So yes. Enterprise is important. That’s what I learned this week.
Posted in Economics, Investigative Reporting, Jeff City/The Missourian, Journalism, Missouri, Mizzou, Photography, Photojournalism, Politics on August 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Classes and my senior year of college don’t begin until tomorrow morning, but I’m excited for this semester nonetheless. Today, I had two meetings that have determined how busy this semester will be — and it will be very busy.
The first meeting was the staff photo meeting at The Columbia Missourian, a morning city newspaper affiliated with the MU School of Journalism and staffed completely (except for certain editorial positions) by students. I’ve been a reporter for The Missourian for a year, during which I reported on now-attorney general Chris Koster’s general election campaign, the state budget and other such state political and economic news.
Now, I’m one of several staff photographers. I’m looking forward to this, mostly because I haven’t been on the field and behind a camera since freshman year, when I shot for The Maneater student newspaper. (In sophomore year, I was the Maneater photo editor, and last year I was doing political reporting for The Missourian.) I’ve talked to a few now-alumni who were also staff photographers at The Missourian. Among other things, they urged me to be enterprising and proactive in what I shoot.
“Take advantage of that press badge, and work your stories,” one told me (I’m paraphrasing — that conversation was several weeks ago). “Think of one story you want to follow all semester, and work toward that. It’s good exercise for you, good for The Missourian and good for your resume and portfolio.”
Which is exactly what the Missourian‘s new director of photography, Josh, said.
During the staff meeting, Josh reiterated the importance of being proactive, even if it means getting just a standalone photo published. He repeated his desire/the need to make The Missourian more visual.
“We die if we don’t have ideas,” he said. “The balloon deflates, and the reporters take over.”
Fortunately for me, I’ve already got a leg up on being proactive. Last semester, my Jefferson City editor Phill Brooks gave me a long-term article I never completed or even began: an in-depth look at rural poverty.
Posted in Internships/Careers, Introspection, Journalism, Photography, Photojournalism, Washington, D.C., washingtonpost.com on August 14, 2009| 2 Comments »
Today was my last day as a photo intern at washingtonpost.com.
Today, I fielded photo requests and built photo galleries, edited and submitted some photos I took for a real estate project, turned in my security badge and Metro card… and that’s that.
That’s the end of these 90ish days of summer and my first journalism internship.
This is my pouty face. In this photo by Jeff, I am pouting for probably no reason whatsoever at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Right now, I'm not pouting so much as I'm sad this summer and internship are over.
As I’ve blogged before, much of what I involved prepping photos for on-line use — to accompany articles and WaPo blogs — and building the many photo galleries. In addition, I worked on a few longer-term projects and shot two assignments.
But the vast majority of the internship was definitely sitting in front of a Mac and a PC and doing a lot of editing. Which is something I’m used to, having been the photo editor of The Maneater student newspaper, but that doesn’t mean I learned nothing this summer.
What I learned:
In short, I’m happy with how my summer internship turned out, although I do hope that, in future endeavors, I’ll spend more time behind a camera than in front of a computer. But whatever happens, I’m grateful and glad I had the opportunity to intern at washingtonpost.com.
On Monday, Jeff and I are returning to Columbia, where I’ll begin my last year as a photojournalism major at MU. This semester, I’ll be a staff photographer for The Columbia Missourian, as well as taking two linguistics classes (that I’ve wanted since sophomore year) and working on a long-term investigative/reporting project with broadcast student Theo Keith. (More details on that in a future blog post!)
It’s going to be busy, and you can expect a lot more regular updates to this blog than have happened this summer.
With that, I formally conclude this 90ish days of summer series.
Although, true to form, I still have a ton of photos to edit. Jeff and I have seen and done a lot in the past two months, and I simply haven’t had the time yet to edit all the photos. Among those takes are…
In the next few weeks, I’ll be editing and blogging these photos. The 90ish days of summer title will headline those entries, but apart from these backlogged posts, the series is officially concluded.
And now, for a weekend of packing and editing!
Posted in New York (City), Photography, Travel on August 6, 2009| 3 Comments »
ARLINGTON, Va. — Later this afternoon, Jeff and I are taking the bus up to New York City for a three-day weekend extravaganza in the Big Apple.
As was the case with our spring break roadtrip with Esten, we have a lot we want to do and see, but only so much time for everything. As was not the case with our spring break roadtrip, we’ve meticulously planned out EVERYTHING that we’re doing in New York — even down to the subway/bus/walking routes we’re using to get to where we need to be.
I haven’t been in New York since 2004, when my high school newspaper adviser took six of us young eager journalists there for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association‘s Gold Circle Awards. We spent spring break there and, as well as I can remember, stayed in Manhattan.
Before that, my mother has taken me to New York twice — once when I was probably four or five, and then again in 2001, three months before two planes flew into the World Trade Center and made their indelible mark on history and foreign policy. Each of those trips lasted at least a week.
Now, Jeff and I have three days to explore Central Park, wander Lower Manhattan and the financial district, walk the Brooklyn Bridge, take the Staten Island Ferry, visit the United Nations complex, walk along 42nd Street, take evening photos from the Top of the Rock, stroll around High Line Park, people-watch in Times Square, eat at Katz’s Deli (what did Sally order, anyway?), tour the Eldridge Street Synagogue and take a gander around Chinatown.
Ambitious? Probably a bit much. But we’ll make it work, and we’ll have the photos to prove it.
(Disclaimer: No promises on when you’ll get to see those photos. I still have yet to edit shots of the Capitol Building, the Basilica of the National Shrine, Eastern Market and our trip to the beach.)
Posted in Photography, Photojournalism, Sports, Travel, Washington, D.C. on August 3, 2009| 4 Comments »
Leave it to me to find a rodeo in Maryland.
Sunset at the J Bar W Ranch.
I was born and raised in Texas, where every child grows up knowing how to square-dance, wearing cowboy/-girl boots and learning about the great massacre battle at the Alamo.
For the vast majority of my 20-something years on this earth, I’ve denied the now-very-evident presence of Texas blood in my veins. My favorite joke was (and still is, actually), “What happens when you split Alaska in half? [Pause] Texas becomes the third-biggest state!” I rarely eat beef, a meat not unique to Texas but certainly an integral component of Texan history and pride.
But ever since I moved to the East coast for the summer, I’ve realized more and more just how Southwestern/Texan I am.
(I also have some Midwestern tendencies, but for the purposes of this post, let’s stick to the Southwest. Or Texas, which might as well be its own region and could very well be its own country.)
For example: I want cowgirl boots. I like country music. Talking to some people inexplicably draws a Southern accent from my lips that I previously didn’t know was in existence. When cars on the Beltway are closer together than two car-lengths, all I can do is grit my teeth, ask, “Why are there OTHER CARS on the road?” and yearn for long stretches of straight, empty highway.
And then I started hankering for a rodeo.
The No.-1 ranking cowboy at the start of the rodeo. I love cowboys. That's a general statement.
Posted in Internships/Careers, Journalism, Photography, Washington, D.C., washingtonpost.com on July 21, 2009| 1 Comment »
I assure you, this blog is not dead, despite the fact that I haven’t posted anything in about two weeks.
The fact of the matter is, my photo internship at washingtonpost.com consumes the working week, and I’ve kept myself busy during the weekends. The problem is not a shortage of material. I have, in fact, about six photo entries and five other entries in queue. The problem is, the majority of those photos are not yet edited (some of them date back to late June, eek). As for the other entries — well, I’ll get to them! Cross my heart. Some of them will happen this week.
In the meantime, I’ve been accumulating material for a big potpourri post — basically, items that aren’t substantial enough to merit their own blog entry but that I’d nevertheless like to share with you. (Some of these are pettier than others.)
So, here’s some potpourri!
I have about three weeks left in Washington, D.C. It’s amazing how quickly this summer has flown. Of course, there is still plenty of work to be done…
Namely, I have three somewhat large-scale projects I really need to complete. Two of them are in conjunction with the other photo-pod interns and other .com departments. Both require a lot of research, too. All I can say is, thank goodness for Google Docs.
The other project is more weather-dependent and not as urgent as the other two. It’s rather disconcerting to see that the weather forecast for the next two weeks involves some significant chance of thunderstorms — every single day.
The Metro is an amazing Washington, D.C., institution. Without venturing into the various frustrations and annoyances that have resulted from the fatal June 22 collision on the red line, here are my general observations and thoughts.
Posted in Internships/Careers, Journalism, Photography, Photojournalism, Washington, D.C., washingtonpost.com on July 6, 2009| 2 Comments »
Two days later, I can now show you the photos I took for The Washington Post!
My supervisor Dee gave me permission to post my photos on Flickr and this blog (with some provisions). So, here are a few of my photos from Takoma Park’s 120th annual Independence Day parade. All photos are copyright 2009 by The Washington Post.
Takoma Park mayor Bruce Williams waves from the back of a 1903 Oldsmobile during Takoma Park's 120th annual Independence Day parade on July 4, 2009.
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley shakes hands with a shy five-year-old Jacob Petruzzelli of Silver Spring during Takoma Park's 120th annual Independence Day parade on July 4, 2009.
Posted in Internships/Careers, Journalism, Photography, Photojournalism, Washington, D.C., washingtonpost.com on July 4, 2009| 3 Comments »
Happy Fourth of July!
Fireworks over the National Mall on July 4, 2009. Taken from a downtown D.C. rooftop.
Although, technically now it’s the fifth of July…
Quite honestly, my memory of Fourths of July extends to the days of bicycle-and-firetruck parades around the neighborhood and then skips ahead to 2006. 2006 was my first year on staff at Philmont Scout Ranch, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t have the day off. For a few other staffers in the News & Photo Department, Independence Day was just another working day.
As for the next summer — also spent at Philmont — I’m not quite sure what I did during the day. But at night, some friends and I went to Eagle Nest to watch the fireworks show over Eagle Nest Lake. That night was also my first attempt to shoot fireworks.
My gear included:
I shot on the bulb exposure — meaning, the shutter is open for however long I depressed the shutter button (sans a remote shutter release, which I still don’t have). Given all those factors, I’m still surprised my photos came out without any camera blur.
Fireworks over Eagle Nest Lake on July 4, 2007. The mountain in the background is Wheeler, the highest in New Mexico.
In 2008, I finally got the Fourth of July off from work. So my friend Stephen and I shot the annual Maverick Club Rodeo in Cimarron, the small village three miles from Philmont.
I’d never shot a rodeo before. But based on my experience shooting the Maverick Club Rodeo, I’d gladly cover another one, as long as it’s outdoors.
Then, of course, at night we all went to Eagle Nest Lake to shoot fireworks. This time, I shot with an XTi, my 70-200/2.8 and a decent tripod.
Unfortunately, I seem not to have saved those photos on my hard drive. Because my XTi started giving me ceaseless Error 99’s in April 2007, I used Stephen’s XTi to shoot the rodeo and fireworks. I’m guessing I somehow didn’t save them on my hard drive before deleting them from my computer forever.
Oh well.
Now, for 2009. I still don’t know if I can post the photos I took of the Takoma Park parade today for The Washington Post, but you can check out two of those photos in this washingtonpost.com photo gallery. (My photos are now the 11th and 20th photos n the gallery.)
However, here are some National Mall fireworks photos I shot from a downtown D.C. rooftop! This time around, I shot with my 30D, a Manfrotto tripod (from the office) and every lens I own.
The fireworks are launched over the Reflection Pool in the National Mall. At left, you can see the Washington Monument. Taken with the 16-35/2.8.
Taken with the 50/1.8.
Taken with the 70-200/2.8.
As always, you can view more photos HERE.
Posted in Internships/Careers, Journalism, Photography, Photojournalism, Washington, D.C., washingtonpost.com on July 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »
ARLINGTON, Va. — This morning, I shot my first photo assignment for The Washington Post.
Today is the Fourth of July, which means that 233 years ago, a group of colonial rebels signed a piece of parchment that confirmed their resolve to break from their parent country and create a new nation. This also means that today in the U.S. of A., people celebrate by eating as many German/Austrian hot dogs as they can stomach, setting off Chinese fireworks and watching (insert country of origin) parades.
So I shot Takoma Park’s 120th annual Independence Day parade for The Washington Post.
I originally thought about taking photos and recording sound so I could create an audio slideshow. Then I realized that maintaining consistent levels while recording a parade would be above my learning curve at this point. So instead, I asked my supervisor Dee if I could shoot the parade for a gallery. To ensure I wouldn’t be stepping on the Post‘s toes in doing so, she contacted the Post.
Before I knew it, I received an e-mail from one of the photo editors at the Post. Shooting the parade was a legitimate Post photo assignment.
Right now, I’m trying to figure out if posting photos (published and/or unpublished) on my Flickr and this blog would be within the Post‘s copyright and ownership policies, which is why you don’t see here any of the photos I took this morning.
But in the meantime, I can direct you to this washingtonpost.com photo gallery, which features my photos in the 9th and 18th spots (as of 8 p.m., at least — they’ll be adding more photos after the fireworks show tonight).
I hope I can share more photos with you on this blog and my Flickr! As it is, though, I’m so excited to have a photo byline again, and plan to pitch more photo ideas and hopefully get more opportunities and fieldwork this summer.
(Why the ARLINGTONG, Va. dateline? Because I’m in my last half-hour or so for the day in the washingtonpost.com newsroom.)
Posted in Introspection, Photography on June 29, 2009| 3 Comments »
This post comes about two weeks late — but better late than never, right?
I actually have four more posts I really need to write after I complete this one. Oops. That’s what I get for not writing in the past two weeks…
ANYWAY.
On our drive back from the four-day music extravaganza that is Bonnaroo, Jeff and I took an alternate route from Manchester, Tenn., back to Silver Spring. Whereas on our way to Tennesee, we took a pretty direct course, we decided to go the scenic route — through Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
From Silver Spring to Manchester:
From Manchester to Silver Spring:
The scenic route was also about four hours longer than the direct course. But it was completely worth it.
Our first step off the beaten path was outside of Knoxville, when we began the drive down US-71 between Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. This stretch of 15 miles was, unexpectedly, the biggest lovefest combination of As Seen on TV products, kitschy tourist trap attractions and gimmicky mountain hamlets I’ve ever seen in my life. Also: PANCAKES. EVERYWHERE.
Posted in Analog, Photography, Travel on June 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »
I survived Bonnaroo 2009.
So did about 80,000 other people.
For five days, I escaped the heated bustle and high buildings of the D.C. area, and instead endured the heated bustle and high people at one of the biggest annual music festivals on this continent. To call it a sensory overload would be an understatement of vast proportions. Being one of nearly 80,000 people under the blazing central Tennessee sun, eating the best festival food I’ve ever had and listening to an eclectic assortment of artists — well, it was just wow.
On the way to Centeroo on Thursday
The Bonnaroo lineup this year included headliners Bruce Springsteen, the Beastie Boys and Phish, as well as big acts like Nine Inch Nails, obscure acts like (insert random artist so I don’t offend anyone…), surprise acts like Jimmy Buffett and comedy acts like random Daily Show stars.
Jeff and I stuck together the whole time and saw the following performers:
THURSDAY:
The view from under the bleachers at the Which Stage (second main stage). Trippy? A little. Was I tripping? Hell no.
FRIDAY:
So you can’t really tell… but I swear that Jimmy Buffett was playing “Margaritaville” on stage when I took this photo.
SATURDAY:
SUNDAY:
Evening at the Which Stage on Saturday.
Words and Light 