the adventures of mister yoon

Calm before the storm

2010-06-17T14:59:00.001-04:00

The Celtics and Lakers hold their last practice before game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Aevum Group Exhibition - Foreign and Familiar

2010-03-25T15:23:00.002-04:00

Come see the show if you're in the area! Chris and I will be there.

The Future of Publishing

2010-03-19T16:56:00.002-04:00

Jonathan Hanson Photography

2010-03-19T01:00:00.005-04:00

Got an e-mail from a former classmate recently and thought I might spread some visual love...

Jonathan Hanson Photography

The Sandpit

2010-03-09T17:11:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Lane Turner for passing this on...

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

Olympics re-post

2010-03-04T10:06:00.009-05:00

Sorry for the re-post on this. I had a video link up and wasn't happy with the quality and took it down - but that is fixed.

So if you would be so kind:

And here is a gallery of some pics from the Canada v. US gold medal hockey game. I was a non-accredited video journalist shooting feature video, but got to shoot some stills my last day there with the ever-so-cool, Mr. Sol Neelman:

perfect day

2009-07-07T23:29:00.003-04:00

Fess it up, dot on the palm of your hand
I can help you to stand
saved it up for this dance
tell me all the things you can

I just wanna sing a song with you
I just wanna be the one that's true

Brooke and Channing

2009-05-01T18:44:00.003-04:00

This is a special post for me because these are very special people. Brooke and Channing got married last weekend, and I'm starting to edit the pictures (the RAW ones taken on his 5D mark II will have to wait).

I had the best of both worlds - I got to shoot their first ceremony with family, then got to be a part of the celebration the next day during their bigger celebration. Jason Johns and I joked that it was relaxing, yet, intimidating to photograph another photographer's wedding, especially when it's someone as incredibly talented as Channing (btw, if you're getting hitched, he is the man to contact).

I feel very lucky to have these two people in my life. Congratulations guys!

Kudos to Dina

2009-04-16T20:04:00.003-04:00

My co-worker Dina Rudick had an idea and ran with it.

Oh, and my voice has a cameo...really couldn't have been done without my voice ;)

Watch this at Boston.com

greetings from Maine

2009-03-02T17:44:00.002-05:00

Stuck here 'cause of the storm. Assignment details and why I was here to come in the next 2 days.

Here's a pic I took on the side of the road:

ps. This is a real image. Go ahead, run shadow/highlight on it :)

My few seconds of fame

2009-02-22T20:46:00.006-05:00

Boston is more like a big town than a city. Today a guy stopped me at a restaurant and said, "hey, weren't you in the paper yesterday?"

Why, yes. Yes, I was.

I've been meaning to write a post about my experiences in New England. As my roommate says, "New Englanders: hard and crusty on the outside; soft, gooey, caramel on the inside."

I've grown quite fond of the people here.

Days 6-7

2009-02-17T19:44:00.001-05:00

Days 4 & 5

2009-02-15T20:41:00.001-05:00

Day 3

2009-02-14T08:12:00.003-05:00

One-minute day

If the soundtrack sounds similar to this video it's 'cause it is. Richard James is the man. And a big thanks to the people at Remix for giving us permission to use these beats.

Day 2

2009-02-13T10:22:00.002-05:00

Pitchers in training

Ft. Myers

2009-02-11T21:01:00.001-05:00

Bullpen under palms

my name in the paper

2009-02-04T21:10:00.003-05:00

This is not an endorsement.

I just wanted to say it's kinda neat to live in a city where a City Councilor and I share the same name (Yoon is his last name). He may run for mayor, in which case I may be seeing my name in bigger print.

Finally, I can be like my other colleagues and colleagues past, and collect funny headlines with my name in it.

Why I love KG (an addendum)

2009-02-02T18:17:00.002-05:00

Sorry, that KG video has a happy ending for those of you who don't follow the NBA...

Why I love KG

2009-02-02T00:31:00.000-05:00

Wéyo blog

2009-01-31T19:47:00.005-05:00

My first introduction to picture stories and documentary photography came when I went to volunteer at the Truth With a Camera Workshop. I saw two presentations there by two photographers that would influence my decision to go to graduate school to learn how to tell better stories.

The first was by Melanie Burford, who photographed a beautiful story about a mother and daughter in Ohio. The second was by Chris Tyree, who also documented so intimately, a story about a low income family looking to move out of a residence that was in danger of being torn down. About a year later I'd have to opportunity to start freelancing at The Virginian-Pilot, Chris' employer at the time.

Learning from Chris was probably the most formative experience I had as a photojournalist. Chris was the kind of photojournalist I strived to be. He was constantly in the community looking for stories, and I don't think I ever talked to him when he wasn't working on at least one story he had proposed himself. He had proven himself to the paper to the point that they trusted him to go off, find, and work on stories, to which he often dedicated his own time even with a family at home. He always told me to shoot from the heart and that is how he worked.

On my last day freelancing before I headed off to Ohio University, we traded prints. I gave him a print from a story he helped me with and he gave me a print of a photo I spotted one day when he was looking through his early work. The story behind the picture and the kind of impact the image had on the community really inspired me to want to make images that could create change. Please excuse the borders - still haven't framed tons of photos I've exchanged with people:

Caption: "A Kiss Good-bye" 1994. Littleton "Sonny" Fassett gives his son a kiss good-bye before he is hauled away for selling crack cocaine.

I've always been drawn much more to the work of photographers I know personally. It really means a lot to me to know why a photographer does what he or she does. I think that's what makes conferences and shows so great - the opportunity to hear a photographer speak about their work. Chris has always been my inspiration and role model, so it was no surprise to me that he would start up an organization dedicated to doing documentary photography work for humanitarian organizations.

Please check out Wéyo's website.

But I must admit that there was another purpose to this post. The thing that was the most disappointing to me when I talked to people about Chris' work was I could never show them anything because there was nothing online. Until now.

Thanks to their blog, you can now see Chris' beautiful imagery - check it out here.

Big Shots

2009-01-26T21:59:00.005-05:00

Just thought I'd promote one of our latest blogs worked on by our fabulous picture editor Lane Turner.

Big Shots

Oh, and I started a new photo column. It started last Monday. It just hasn't made it to web form yet. I'll let you know when it gets its web presence.

The Globe's POY

2009-01-02T14:14:00.004-05:00

Our editors chose this year's pictures of the year for our staff.

I love 1, 6, 15 and the stories behind them. Great job Globies!

Check'em here.

Moving slowly

2008-12-28T11:44:00.004-05:00

on I-90...

(iPhone pic)

Funny, later in the day we saw Marley & Me. Although, be forewarned, it has its funny moments, but it's not really a comedy. It's really a movie about life. Makes me want to read the book now.

The things that make me smile

2008-12-21T22:06:00.007-05:00

Nena

2008-11-27T01:03:00.005-05:00

some wonderful news

2008-10-20T20:17:00.003-04:00

Linda Fagan of the Fagan family called me last week to tell me some wonderful news:

Tom is getting married.

Yay!! So, on Thanksgiving, after work, I've got to figure out how I'm going to get myself to Ohio the next day. My options are running a little thin...so I may have to do something I haven't done in years and drive overnight.

I haven't seen the Fagans since my buddy Matt Eich's wedding last June, so I'm very excited. Just wanted to share the joyous news...

a break

2008-09-25T01:32:00.008-04:00

I don't know why I leave packing up to the last minute. I was just looking at the 10-day forecast for Geneva and was pleasantly surprised to see it will be sunny! Mid 60s is plenty warm.

via weather.com

I'm taking my first vacation of the year, just in time I think, and I almost thought about not taking my camera – shocking, I know.

I remember when I was starting out, seasoned photographers used to tell me, "Once you've been doing this for a while, you won't want to take pictures in your free time." I thought that sounded so depressing at the time. I couldn't believe that those haunting words would actually come to fruition.

I have to admit I've burned myself out a few times this year. There have been weeks in a row where I've just felt fried, where work was more of a mechanical process rather than a creative story-telling process. Just cranking work out can make you feel so marginal in the scheme of things.

But it's also during these trying times for newspapers that I realized how important it is that newspapers exist in communities and how much I love working for a newspaper. Particularly with the increasingly important role of visual/aural content on the web, it's really allowed visual journalists to take up the reins of the kinds of stories they want to do. I could make a living doing something else or in another field of photography, but I really value a news organization's role in the community. I think it's fair to say this environment breeds fear and uncertainty, yet also innovation and excitement. Of course what Vincent Laforet did with the new 5D is a great example of the latter.

I feel like I need to take these next few weeks and re-evaluate everything I've done up to now. This all comes around the anniversary of my employment at the Globe, and may be a good time to make up a symbolic resolution. I think I'm ready and seeking that next level.

Oh, and this doesn't mean I won't subject you to some sight-seeing vacation photos, as well as the bloggings of days past.

photo nights

2008-09-21T23:51:00.004-04:00

Ok. According to my analytics, I know there are a few of you who I know, I vaguely know, and I don't know at all, out there in this area who stop by this blog (sorry if it's been a disappointment lately).

I'm going to get a group going for monthly photo nights. We'll make it a casual potluck. Bring a few photos you want to talk about and I'm going to start working on getting a projector.

Hopefully we'll be able to share, support, and inspire each other with our work as well as any personal projects we want to pursue or are working on.

Drop me a line if you're interested.

I'm going to start rounding up the troops.

staff job

2008-09-18T23:55:00.011-04:00

(via A Photo Editor)

For all you youngin's out there...

If this is for real - I'd do it in a heartbeat. But I'm no longer a youngin' so have at it!

...and send me a postcard.

Oh, and blog material to come very soon as I'll be taking a much needed vacation.

5 seconds of fame on recycled paper

2008-09-18T23:55:00.006-04:00

Look ma! We launched our ad campaign for our new photo page last week, which I had the pleasure (or to some a displeasure) of shooting. Anyway, photographers will be featured individually in a quarter page ad w/a little info about each staffer. Lane Turner should be recognized for learning new programs, building the site, and maintaining it all on his own. A current feature has some of the work of our rock-star intern Travis Dove who is now at NatGeo for his internship. Oh, and congratulate him when you see him. He's engaged. So many weddings to attend next year!

"It's kinda fun"

2008-08-01T23:31:00.005-04:00

OPENAIR circus

my life

2008-07-13T23:34:00.007-04:00

So...with a little friendly prodding, here's what's been up. Some is old, and some got lost. So here it is...partly.

Packing

Birthday

Kiehart

Breakfast

Kickass

3 dead windows

One of my fave couples, aside from these two

Pictionary

Pigeon island

Sydney

LOOK3

Pam started jumping

Leo jumped in

Chad, Henrik, and Channing joined

We tried to get our timing right...

But then, that damn Stephen Katz got in our way

It wasn't the first time

Here he is gloating (but seriously, one of the nicest people you'll meet)...and of course a rockstar

Ramsay de Give, David Alan Harvey and two people I didn't get a chance to meet jumped in. Stephen hurt his back doing a cartwheel. He was fine the next day.

Pivotal portfolio review.
And although I don't have a picture of everyone, I'd say getting to know Sol Neelman, as well as many others made the festival another wonderful experience.

One of many departures from Boston

Ross tried to convince me that Bojangles is like heaven on earth. So I had to try it. Two other native North Carolinians Travis and Channing chimed in. Check out their site and see how many locations they have in the state of North Carolina alone. Conspiracy? I think so.

I know, I know. Not very profound...or interesting for that matter. I've sat down a few times wanting to reflect on some things on my mind - 'cause there's a lot. I just can't seem to piece it together. Or lately, find the time. I think August is going to be the most insane month of my year. If you see me walking around rambling and disjointed, just ignore me :)

Finding the Fallen

2008-05-27T14:23:00.002-04:00

I'm a little late on this...but here's why I was traveling back in April.

Finding the Fallen

Writers Bryan Bender, Kevin Baron, and Eric Moskowitz did an awesome job on the stories.

I'm going to stop promising an update is coming "soon." But an update is on the way :)

a league of her own

2008-04-30T19:46:00.003-04:00

i just wanted to share this. it was my first assignment since coming back and it really was a pleasure meeting gina.

see the video here, read the story here.

next week i'll hopefully blog the photos that have been piling up in my "blog" folder, and in a few weeks hopefully y'all will see why i've been gone.

oh preston

2008-04-07T21:55:00.003-04:00

so i should be packing and getting ready for a big trip tomorrow, but how can i let an opportunity pass to publicly congratulate preston gannaway!!?? so unless you've been living under a rock for the past 7 hours you should know that preston gannaway was awarded the 2008 pulitzer prize for feature photography.

evidence of what a wonderful person she is can be found by the support of her friends here, here, here, here, and i'm sure more from days to come...

i'll just add, having interned at the monitor while she was still working on this story, that it was a pleasure to work with and learn from such a dedicated, caring, respectful, humble, and incredibly talented photojournalist. an incredible amount of time was dedicated to this story, and preston's rapport and relationship with this family is so evidenced by the heartfelt way she was able to tell this story. this prestigious honor couldn't have gone to a more deserving person.

CONGRATS PRESTON!!!!

if you want to see the powerful multimedia piece put together by kari collins, click here.

have tissues handy.

thinking

2008-03-26T22:22:00.003-04:00

i'm still alive.

an experience during work today really had me thinking all day. a mother shared her deceased daughter's journals with me. i really hesitated to look. and as i started to read, the thoughts i read were so personal, so honest, and most of all so sad. i wondered how i felt about her knowing that someday some stranger would come and read her thoughts during the worst moments of her life. she died before turning 28.

it's been four years - and the more i spoke to this mother, tears would form in her eyes. it was just heartbreaking. there was something about this experience that made me feel very connected to this woman. i wondered if it was just the empathy we have when we're on assignment. then i remembered losing a friend and co-worker danielle roach. i remembered meeting her mother for the first time at the funeral and telling her that danielle had touched my life. i remember someone saying once that "parents should never outlive their children." i've known a few parents who have lost their children. i've had to document many strangers who have lost their children.

and as i look through the photographs now, looking into her face, at old photographs of her daughter, the texture of the words in her journal...i don't know - it just had me thinking...

on my mind

2008-03-10T17:57:00.004-04:00

quick plug...

i started a new photo column at the globe that runs every monday. it's called on my mind.

the idea came out of the fact that i feel like the majority of large newspapers in general lack a lot of the community's voice. also, the placement of a more documentary style picture within the paper, on B2, could make it seem very much like just another stand alone picture. so, i thought, "what if it's just a face looking straight out at you? and what if it became a place where people could talk about whatever is on their mind?"

true, it's not quite the monitor's teen life, or a few of the amazing columns out there at great picture papers. we can't quite get the B1 centerpiece every monday complete with full transcribed prose, so we're getting what we can.

the best part about it for me is the blog they gave me. so i can actually start talking about work photos again...and the wonderful people i meet.

sorry for the blog neglect...i've been so busy. there hasn't been time for laundry, food, and even snowboarding!!

i'll be back.

*edit on 3/12/08* i feel like idiot. i totally forgot to mention that this wouldn't have been at all possible without the advocacy of my boss paula nelson. i think there are still a few who aren't totally sold on the idea of the column, but from its inception to its weekly runnings, she's been the first to argue for it. and for that, i am very thankful.

spring fashion '08

2008-03-06T11:15:00.003-05:00

there is more to this story...

spring fashion '08: bold moves

all you have to know is that jessica our photo department co-op was the best assistant/support/stand-in/tow-truck caller ever.

the albuquerque tribune

2008-02-24T14:24:00.002-05:00

i'd been having a wonderful week - with lots of crazy glitches. feeling like i'm finally getting out of a visual slump. lots of great news all around the industry and from friends. we work in a creative field, and i think creative people have especially keen and heightened emotions. i was telling my mom that some days can feel like the whole world is ending, while on others you feel like you're on top of the world. so, my high was interrupted when i saw this....

this made me profoundly sad.

*sigh*

but i urge you to look. if not to feel grateful that there are special places where precedents have been set for powerful visual imagery and storytelling.

i do have more stuff to blog. a little later. it's been a little nutty the past 3 weeks.

spreadin' a little love...

2008-02-14T12:10:00.006-05:00

the making of valentine's day

although i'm also partial to kendrick's valentine's wishes.

goodbye concord

2008-02-07T11:56:00.000-05:00

bev left concord...

it was sad. talking to my old compatritots, i felt really fortunate to have met the this group of friends in concord.

eye of the rab.

poor noah. lost his scarf. broke his jacket zipper. lost a glove. got the wrong skis. twisted his leg (not too bad). we still had fun riding on ice crystals. welcome to east coast skiing.

light modifier

the mancation part 2

2008-01-28T21:51:00.000-05:00

it's the little things that make you happy...

today was such a wonderful day. it was absolutely gorgeous. johnny, noah and i went riding up in NH and the day had a very similar to feel to the day i had with ross back in the summer. it's funny, when you hear "endless summer," you think, "ahhh, how nice." when you hear "endless winter," you think, "oh god no, when's spring??" well, if today could be the rest of winter i wouldn't mind if it were endless.

carrying our cameras on the lifts didn't really last. so we put them away although we kept saying things like, "man, look at the silhouette and backlit powder," "look at the gorgeous light coming through the trees," "look at the shadows and patterns along the snow." needless to say, we, or maybe it was just i, felt a little naked w/o having a camera slung over my shoulder. but it made for a more comfortable ride.

we were all smiles, all day.

see?

we had beanie hair.

johnny had a cool t-shirt, although i don't think i've ever seen even one episode of the show.

it was also my first time back on my board since i broke my leg. there are a lot of muscles in my knee and ankle that i felt being pulled that hadn't been worked for...well, almost a year now. i had a slight fear in the back of my mind that the titanium rod in my tibia could rip right through my knee cap and the plate screwed to my fibula might tear through some muscle tissue if i landed too hard on something. but i think it made me realize i need to ride the rest of the season to get some of these muscles working again. so, we made an informal pact to come up every monday.

and what's this? why, the weather next week seems to clear up right on monday. wow, what are the chances?

we may work saturdays, but hey, when most of the world is heading to work on monday, we get to be on top of a mountain :)

long post

2008-01-27T23:27:00.000-05:00

it's been a while.

i've been "wicked" busy.

here's some catching up as well as some recent stuff.

christmas

diablerets, switzerland. as much as i love the mountains, they can start to all look the same after a while.

diablerets = little devils

odd sign.

harry potter global.

the duomo in milan. probably one of my favorite italian cathedrals. the details on it are so intricate.

on the epiphany, italy, and a few other european countries have the equivalent of a black friday. the stores all shut down, prices are removed, entire store displays are completely rearranged, new wall-sized stickers are plastered on to store fronts. benetton chose their statement in their usual fashion.

there's something about coming home even if home changes countries every few years. some things will always remind you of home and give you a sense of home. these magnets have traveled with us for almost 20 years. yes, the little note in the top right hand corner says, "thursday desperate housewives." yes, these are the same parents who i used to watch melrose place with.

one of the most interesting people i've met. more on him soon...

channing's halves when noah visited.

kristin's birthday was fun....maybe too fun.

some friends of mine just had twins. i don't know how many of you out there have ever held a newborn, but i'd have to recommend it to you if you ever get the chance. i'd rank it among the top 5 things i've done in my life. wrapped in blankets like an oversized burrito, cradling a newborn in your arms has to be one of the most wonderful feelings you can experience. somehow staring at their every movement and facial expressions, their gentle breathing, makes you feel so calm and safe. my friends joked that when they're not exhausted from cleaning and feeding the twins, they just stare at them. when i visited, i did the same. i couldn't help wondering if i'd ever hold one of my own and couldn't even begin to imagine what it must feel like to be peering into the face of someone who is a part of you.

i was briefly in connecticut (briefly!! sorry, i didn't have a lot of time to make visits!) to see the family i'd stayed with since dave was on vacation. this was the room i stayed in, but this time it had a lot of sarah's old belongings hanging around. i've always loved looking at people's belongings, the way they decorate their homes, old photographs. it's the little things that make your place your own and can say so much.

i need to remember to take my coffee out of the car, especially when it's below freezing.

my old college friend bryson and his girlfriend came up for a visit. whenever we see each other (which isn't often) we inevitably will start talking about our infamous "trip." meg and ted were cracking up at our stories and we came to the realization that our experiences must have been as crazy as we thought they were if people who weren't even there thought they were so funny. unfortunately, i can't share any of the experiences online - you'll have to ask me over a few beers. here's the premise: 2 teens, 2 eurail passes, limited funds, 18 countries, the arctic circle, limited bathing, lots of public sleeping, lots and lots of strange strangers...i'll stop at that. there is a video.

his brother is going to BU and taking a bob dylan class. they analyze his lyrics and listen to his music. how cool is that??!!

they also brought a visitor. who they told me threw up on the ride up after she was comfortably resting on my leg in the back seat.

...and i started a column two weeks ago. i can't really elaborate beyond that b/c this little thing called the "superbowl" has taken over the newsroom. once the online version is up (a little different from the print) and ready i'll be happy to share what it's all about.

one last thing...the day after this ran (note the follow-up article beneath it as well as this piece), i was driving downtown and came to a stoplight at an intersection. there was a woman selling the herald on the corner, no doubt suffering in the cold and standing in the only available shaft of light on the block. it was the afternoon, and she had a pretty good stack of papers left. she walked up to the car in front of me and the woman stuck a bill out the window and said something to the vendor. she accepted the bill, didn't give the driver a newspaper and walked away. somehow, what i was watching seemed like some kinda metaphor for the industry. i hate to end on a somber note, i mean, our online readership seems to be flourishing, much like the successes of papers across the country. maybe it was also the regina spektor song i was listening to as i watched the scene in front of me unfold. but she's so good.

2008-01-01T16:05:00.000-05:00

30

31

mont blanc

glühwein

bookstore

new year's in geneva = tame

30 degree picnic

annecy

responsible citizenry

santa ninjas

2008-01-01T15:59:00.000-05:00

i think santa ninjas are way cooler than plastic lawn and roof santa ornaments. they're in better shape too!

ouchy

2007-12-30T16:22:00.000-05:00

i wanted to try to post everyday while i'm here but i'm a bit tired....

but - i wanted to leave you all with a profound thought for the end of the year...

there is an ouchy, switzerland, which we visited today (just out of lausanne).

there is also a f*cking, austria. i was *this* close to getting a t-shirt. oh well.

happy new year!!

noch

2007-12-29T18:22:00.000-05:00

this morning, my parents said, "wow, it's been 3 weeks since we've seen the sun." ...yeah

heart

this is roger williams an english theologian and separatist who came to boston.

mom

clocks. the two main industries....banks and watches.

walk

this was a neat display. it had "portraits" of people on video just standing looking into the camera, blinking, shuffling their body. every once in a while one would start talking about their christmas. i think i may do this in my neighborhood with a project i'm starting.

another street art project. blue celophane-type stuff wrapped between trees.

home

2007-12-28T20:57:00.000-05:00

it's 3am, i'm jet-lagged, and i can't sleep. luckily i've got company.

zürich

i just thought this sequence was funny. when we lived in vienna, we used to joke that the sun would disappear from october until may. it wasn't far from the truth. my unscientific theory is that being near the alps, the moisture creates clouds that get trapped, and just linger and hover over cities. it creates this overcast, dark, kinda dreary scenery throughout the winter months. i have to admit, i think i would have been much more excited if my family was still living in argentina where it's the peak of summer rather than the dead of winter here in switzerland. but it's great to see them.

we like bears.

still wide awake...

letters to cleo

2007-12-21T11:47:00.000-05:00

ever remember this band from the 90s?

my memory of them consists of their song "here and now" rolling during the credits for melrose place. my parents and i used to watch the show every week as a family....such an educational experience.

anyhow, i got to hang out with their former singer, kay hanley, who is now a backup singer for hannah montana, before a show in hartford.

i didn't really know who hannah montana was either, although, according to my 9-year-old cousin, she's apparently bigger than madonna (although she didn't know who madonna was) and more disney-fied. but i'll admit it. it was a good time. although i think my ears are still recovering...not from the music, but from the screaming. and i have a new blog to add to my feeds.

i'm working through the big C-day so hope everyone out there enjoys theirs. hard to believe at this time next week i'll be in geneva visiting the folks. if any of you all are in the region hit me up!

aftermath

2007-12-14T14:01:00.001-05:00

it was a record storm. and i think it's only the beginning.

6hrs

2007-12-13T20:40:00.000-05:00

i had some time to think about this (6hrs!) so bear with me.

what can you do in 6hrs?

you can....

fly to london
to california
drive to canada
watch 3 1/2 movies
finish a book
do anything you want for 6 hrs

it's 1 hour shy of what my trip to athens, oh from norfolk, va was.
it's 1 1/2 hours short of a work day

what did i spend 6 hrs doing today?

driving home.

that's right. i drove a total of 10 miles for a little over 6 hours.

10 miles. i could have walked home in 2.

i even shot a few pictures, captioned, and transmitted them while steering.

manual transmission also sucks in stop and go. especially for....6 hours. but it's not bad in snow.

we had one of our worst storms so far today. it's still snowing actually.

you know that feeling you get in your legs after you've been on a really long road trip? imagine feeling that after coming home from work.

i know i've told a lot of you to come visit me. well, heed this entry as a warning.

come see me in the spring.

or summer.

or fall.

anytime but now.

oh, and congrats to noah rabinowitz on the concord internship. haha, welcome to one of the harshest times of the year...at least you don't have to deal with boston traffic. can't wait to hang out.

check'em

2007-12-11T17:40:00.000-05:00

just wanted to quickly link two must see, very moving pieces that have been been making the rounds in the blogosphere in the event you haven't seen them.

the ninth floor

Life Unbarred

once in a while pieces like these come along and move you so emotionally. i'm currently reviewing a third between work that i know is already up to par as well...hope to share it soon.

that time of the year

2007-12-02T22:22:00.000-05:00

i feel so fortunate to meet such wonderful people wherever i go. dina & erik invited me and a few for a thanksgiving away from home meal. this super cool decoration was made by 3-year-old ramona.

erik also had a birthday

i just found this humorous. when i was apartment hunting, first, i couldn't believe that people were willing to spend $1600 to live in a basement with no light. then i came across this in the place i eventually chose. i remember thinking, "how nice, we've got a communal living trust system." the other day, i realized they're all empty.

from the day when hillary's office was held hostage in rochester, nh. what an awful day. at the end we ended up in an old church for a press conference. the lights refracting in the windows reminded me of fireworks.

mr. cpoy himself, travis dove graced boston with his presence. super-nice guy who's considering coming here for the internship. channing and i are excited. not half as excited as when our bill exceeded our expectations with travis' imported crab legs. it's ok. that's what prize money is for.

so, we meet again. i honestly can't look at ice again the same way after my last encounter with it...couldn't help wondering what the temperture in florida was like yesterday as tempertures were in the single digits with the wind chill.

~~when i was a kid~~ i think cars look like faces. i wanted to do an essay once on cars and their owners, kind of like how pet owners look like their pets. when this car started moving, the trunk started bouncing up and down and it looked like the car was trying to eat this christmas tree. i couldn't stop laughing.

...and we had our first snow (had trouble finding my spot #)

leaving the globe....

matt slaby

2007-12-02T21:34:00.000-05:00

oh, btw, this dude's super bad, like in a michael jackson way...without all the legal problems. talk about personal vision. you've gotta read his writings too. his work's so much like seeing through a dream or a memory. one thing i appreciate is that a lot of the work he does is on film (and he makes me miss it so much! especially chrome) i think he's mentioned that there are certain colors he has trouble seeing and as a result you get these tones in his pics that are really the way he sees the world. again, talk about personal vision.

facelift

2007-12-02T20:52:00.000-05:00

i finally 86'd the horrendous flash job i did on my site (that's what i get for skipping half the quarter!).

yooners

there's some stuff there i haven't had up before and i kind of feel like the "life" section needs some work. please feel free to comment or e-mail me.

it's funny looking through your own work. i remember one time someone in a fairly prestigious position told me that the only reason i'd ever get hired somewhere was because i was a minority - "and newsrooms are looking for diversity," they'd add, trying to cheer me up. i feel like that's haunted me for years with everything i've done...almost to the point where when people tell me they like my work, i almost don't believe them, and think they're trying to humor me.

after pouring through my work. i realized, jeez, he's right. i really have a long, long, way to go. but here's what i appreciate about that:

almost all the photographers i really look up to have been at this for decades. for some, half of their life. i remember talking to bill tiernan (great example) about feeling like this profession was like a marathon. it's really not about sprinting to the finish line, but about all the challenges you face along the way and the stamina you have to stick with it. i struggle, my friends struggle, and my colleagues struggle. but if you were enjoying every single day of your life, not a care in the world, "just" making pictures, all you are is a shooter. and i hate that word. when you're a shooter, your job's just your job. and i think none of us who chose this profession chose it b/c it's "just" a job. i always felt that dedicating a passion for something meant there's no middle ground, you've almost agreed to experience the most extreme highs and lows in life because you really care. i remember seeing one of my favorite artists, ani difranco one night and she was talking about coming out of a period of personal melancholy and she said she realized, "the deeper your saddness, the deeper the beauty."

that said, i'm super excited about something i'm working on right now that really goes along with an epiphany i had early this year in my little photographic journey. i'm hoping to share it with you soon. until then, back to my regularly scheduled silly pics in life i see along the way.

grandpa

2007-11-25T21:14:00.001-05:00

came across another photo...

this is my grandfather. he moved from korea to florida to live with an uncle after my grandmother passed away. he passed away last month on october 14th. this was a visit i made b/c i felt like i needed to document him before he died. i don't really know what i accomplished photographically, but i'm thankful for the time i was there. with him, it's really less about the conversation, but more about being around him. the things i'd remember about him were really quirky - like sneaking candy and actifed into his pockets and keeping a stash in his room, breaking out into old korean folk songs in the car, and the ability to fall asleep anywhere (which i gladly inherited from him).

he lived a pretty extraordinary life. this is the obituary my mom wrote.

Hyun-Joon Shin

1915 – 2007

General Hyun-Joon Shin, age 92, of Niceville, Fla., passed away on October 14, 2007. After his beloved wife passed away in September 2001 he spent the last six years of his life under the loving care of his son and daughter-in-law. *edited*

General Shin was the founder and first Commandant of the Korean Marine Corps and served his country for 25 years leading the Korean Marine Corps before, during and after the Korean War. After retiring from the military, he dedicated 15 years to the Korean Foreign Service, serving his last post as the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Vatican.

General Shin is survived by two sons, four daughters and fourteen grandchildren. *edited*

General Shin will be flown to South Korea for a state funeral and burial at the National Cemetery in Daejeon, South Korea, together with the ashes of his beloved wife.

a photojournalist's scrap book

2007-11-25T18:37:00.000-05:00

so, for many reasons, i'm digging through old hard drives and dvds and feeling pretty productive today as things have somewhat slowed down with work.

it's funny, i was thinking...
on average most photojournalists must meet about 10,000 new people a year. you can trust this number. it was a very scientific calculation :)

i think i told a friend a while back that i couldn't have chosen a more rewarding profession to start out with for many reasons - being invited into people's lives, the great responsibilities of storytelling, and one personal reason: overcoming a natural shyness. although, i have to admit, the shyness didn't really develop until after middle school. i think two years at wagner was a life-scarring enough experience that took some time to recover from. i distinctly remember walking right into a gang war behind our school, being tackled and shoved onto icy sidewalks, getting mugged, having a steel door kicked into my head.....oh the memories...

anyway, looking through your photographic work is kind of what it's like to look through a scrap book for most people. they're memories of places, people, experiences, stories. i think these photos were a bit more introspective for me. i remembered things going through my mind, the mistakes i made, seeing myself in my mind's eye...if that makes any sense. some of these pictures were part of my application into grad school.

speaking of grad school, i know a few of you will remember stan alost's design class. i think most of us lost about 2 years of our natural lives (a la "the machine" in the princess bride) with the amount of sleep deprivation we experienced. i remember obsessing over picas, kerning, and font sizes trying to replicate a hartford courant page word for word, element for element. i remember flipping through pages, "where's the grid???" "this paper doesn't run on a grid!!!"....despite it all, a few of us were convinced we wanted to be designers.

promotional poster

telescope tri-fold

with the given text and diagrams, our assignment was to fit all the information on the page as a brochure in a logical format...oh the sleeplessness

the magazine class

yummy

2007-11-18T21:30:00.000-05:00

rodney smith had a pretty stunning cover on the nyt magazine today. i'm still fawning over it...

porkers

2007-11-18T15:23:00.000-05:00

i know. i could have worked this better...i was trying to channel rubenstein.

a new site & a new book

2007-11-15T17:53:00.000-05:00

another one of my favorite photographers has started a new site.

the raw file

i had the pleasure of meeting brenda kenneally and her son (who she said she'd take on assignments, which sounded like an amazing experience for a young person) at poy two years ago, and was just blown away. not by her photos, i mean, her photos blew me away before i ever met her. but she gave such an impassioned talk about the people she documented and i was so inspired.

i feel like people become photographers for such a diverse amount of reasons. even photojournalists have such a different idea of what they do for a living, and the purpose of what they do. brenda's really a sociologist, or anthropologist - she really gets into the implications of the "why," and what leads to a culture of perpetuity. her tool just isn't a pen or keyboard. she's an extremely gifted and brilliant visual communicator. she reminded me a lot of an old professor i had at nyu who i traveled with to mexico for a "global sweatshop" seminar and i eventually ended up going back with an ngo. it was such a fascinating study of globalization, seeing it with my own eyes, the effects of change, and how quickly lives are changed....sadly this was all pre-photography.

anyhow, it's not surprising that she's launching an idea like this. it really goes with the core of what she does.

also, as i had mentioned jessica dimmock a few posts back, i found out through aphotoaday that she's selling a book on her work the ninth floor.

random bloggings

2007-11-12T23:00:00.000-05:00

just some personal stuff over the last two weeks...

went to a boston magazine release party and ran into paula lerner and channing

with my new rock-star-boston-photo-friend diana (i think she's chimping here)

"she's driving me outta my mind...that girl is poison..."
bev's karaoke birthday party in a chinese restaurant in concord

it was awesome

sorry pup, i know how you feel. i hated it when they'd leave me behind with the windows open. at least you're sitting in a nicer car than me...

project east, an asian designer charity fashion show put on by three harvard students

it was really impressive

i93

i proposed "getting lit" and chillaxing with the photographers that worked on the style 25 issue. we went to saccos bowl haven but not everyone could make it.

we still got lit

i was the biggest dork, but it felt like OU all over again

no photo-fun is complete without polaroids

my writer-partner in crime celebrated a birthday with two others

the wall...during a long phone conversation with the parents.
i photographed an architect a short while ago who lived in this amazing house with the most beautiful and intricate subtleties. he described light as the art on his walls. it was alive and moved every moment, decorating his home. it was actually quite beautiful.

corey came to town to have a picture made for his new website. we were supposed to be working on our websites and photos, but he's currently mixing an audio CD for me. i don't think he ever touched his photos and he claims he'll work on it later tonight. dork. :)

oh, the upper east side

2007-11-11T23:26:00.000-05:00

this had me laughing out loud and a little wistful.

i literally could have written the first part of this article myself.

from her feelings about the neighborhood, to even some of the same exact streets we've inhabited. this woman could have been my neighbor...although i was just a boy.

it's nice to know there are others who can relate, although the city just continues to be such a different place everytime i go back.

including samuel

2007-11-08T21:31:00.001-05:00

as if this man needs any intro....

channing and i headed up to concord (3 times in 2 weeks for me!) to see the premiere of dan habib's documentary including samuel.

for those of you who know me, you know that this man is my hero. he's hands down the best boss i've ever had. energetic, enthusiastic, positive, motivating, incredibly organized, and just so compassionate. little did i know just how much this man juggles in his life (and you'd be shocked after seeing how much he juggles at work!) before i started seeing some rough drafts of this movie.

dan really gives you an intimate look into the life of his family and the life of samuel who has cerebral palsy. he also documents to lives of others with disabilities and the ongoing struggle of inclusion. it asks a lot of questions and gives a really fair account of what is working and what isn't. it was amazing to see some of the people in the documentary come up on stage afterward (almost like celebrities!).

i highly recommend you check the movie out. oh, and if there was ever a doubt, i implore you to apply for an internship at the concord monitor. they take 3 a year, and in my opinion, is one of the best overall newspapers in the country. i've never felt so much purpose in my life reaching an audience of 20-60,000 than when i interned at the monitor. dan makes all the difference.

i've got more to blog but i've been having an exhausting week and i'm dragging...just wanted to help get the word out (not that dan needs it).

photo rush

2007-11-08T21:06:00.000-05:00

i wish photographer's sites had rss feeds.

that way i could know when photographers like carolyn drake update her site.

her work is so captivating to me. it's some of the most soulful, and i hate to use the word "poetic," composing i've ever laid eyes on. whenever i look at her work, i just stare for hours. lost in the world she is taking me through. for me, her work is the core of the visual journey, making her one of my favorite essayists today. and just think at one point at OU you had carolyn drake, michael brown, mark mirko, bruce strong, ariana lindquist, jody sugrue, krisanne johnson, david lee, landon nordeman, and probably more amazing photographers that i'm missing, ALL at the same time in the same place in the ~~same year~~ span of two years (some 1st and 2nd years). wow. i'd be so intimidated to take classes with them.

anyhow, kind of side note, but somehow jessica dimmock comes to mind when i think about carolyn drake's work. it's not the style, but i think it's the feeling i get. it's so visceral and raw. it also makes me really miss film and grain.

got style?

2007-11-01T08:11:00.000-04:00

the 25 most stylish bostonians

lots of scheduling and planning, but the most fun i've had in a while. dina, wiggs, and essdras rocked it under the leadership of our fearless leader features picture editor mr. lane turner.

check it

a few changes

2007-10-31T22:45:00.000-04:00

from this point forward this will be a purely personal blog. i'll be linking to globe projects and things i've been working on (in fact one comes out tomorrow!) but i just can't put them here. some past content had to go too. hopefully this will motivate me to do some more personal work to share.

i'll still promote the work of people i really admire though. like my good friend ross taylor.

this photo just broke my heart.

and of course, mr. rubenstein and his little family history he's been posting.

this letter touched my heart.

woah

2007-10-30T21:43:00.001-04:00

circa 1997,1998
vienna, austria

i just had a 2 hour phone conversation with an old high school friend i haven't seen in ages. he found me online and the conversation just started from there.

it's funny b/c his messsage to me described a photo i took of him when we both used to skateboard, which he still had, and sent to me by e-mail b/c i just couldn't remember it. mind you, this was before i knew anything about photography. in fact, i think this photo was taken with a disposable camera. probably grainy 800iso film. it's so odd, b/c i don't even remember taking this photo. but i remember that day, the details of what we did, where we went. the shape of the roof we were skating on were like little banks, back to back - the reason we chose to skate there.

it was so nostalgic reminiscing on all our old high school memories. how we met, our senior trip, old teachers and friends, and of course skateboarding all around town.

the pru

2007-10-28T16:48:00.000-04:00

this scene made me think of japan in my mind's eye...

halloween...kinda

2007-10-28T14:31:00.000-04:00

a last minute invite to a halloween party in concord, nh.
we found a yellow wall...

someone's strobe went off...

a doll was hit on by a superhero...

there was a fire...

and a moon...

preston and i were twins...(it was pretty last minute)

80

2007-10-27T00:06:00.001-04:00

please keep taking me away...

this had me listening to kerplunk, belting out lyrics from my youth, on the way to an assignment today. it brought back a lot of memories...in particular, buenos aires, skateboarding, and churros.

props to kg & elyse

2007-10-25T14:07:00.000-04:00

i'm feeling a bit more plugged in after transferring my rss feed bookmarks over to my work computer.

i get a lot of inspiration and food for thought from kevin german and elyse butler whenever they post their thoughts and images. their coverage of the devastation in california is no exception. if you're not subscribed, i recommend you do.

elyse's feed
kevin's feed

the city seen

2007-10-23T22:32:00.000-04:00

one thing i miss about working at a smaller paper is being able to see your co-workers daily. here, you could go for weeks, and probably months without seeing someone, and i was just talking about that with suzanne kreiter, who i felt like i hadn't seen in ages. check out her column she's been doing for the past two years, the city seen. it won the 2007 ASNE Award for Community Service Photojournalism. some of my most favorite pictures hanging in the globe are from this column. she reminds me a lot of shana sureck at the hartford courant. i'd love to pick both their brains about what i see as community journalism at it's best.

the city seen

WOW

2007-10-17T20:39:00.000-04:00

wow.

matt and melissa's updated life-documentary is the latest feature on mediastorm.

love in the first person

absoutely beautiful. it just made me miss you guys even more. i hope i can see you and little madelyn soon.

final touches

2007-10-15T22:43:00.000-04:00

i still very much consider chris tyree my mentor. he taught me a lot about photography and compassionate storytelling. recently he lost his father-in-law and he sent me a link to a story he published at the pilot. just an example of how he opens his heart, documenting, what for some is the most difficult thing of all - your own family.

coming to a party near you...

2007-10-15T22:40:00.000-04:00

davidalavida.

check her out. she's a rock star.

m&m

2007-10-08T12:09:00.002-04:00

so...i'm so late on this it's not even funny.

but just wanted to congratulate matt and melissa on their newborn madelyn avery eich. their video on soul of athens will make you feel soft and squishy inside...or will make rubenstein throw up in his mouth a litttle.

mr. deveraux was so kind to share a pic on his blog.

also wanted give a shout out to dina rudick who made some really compelling videos on subjects that were very difficult to visually show where i think video really helped to tell their stories.
an adoptive parent
a father's dilemma
an immigrant's decision

busier than before, if that was even at all possible, but at almost all unpacked! i've got a lot of advance stuff i can't really share, but, a few images that were published for daily work...

(photo)
bagel boy
(photo)
jewelry made from human bones
(photo)
on a living facility for the elderly
(photo)
frisbee weather feature - "the grass is cooler than my sandals"

wisconsin

2007-10-01T23:55:00.000-04:00

our drive to fort mccoy underexposed and in the rule of thirds :)

army tractor yoon

final days

2007-08-30T00:06:00.000-04:00

things have been crrrrazy as i finished up my days at the courant, packed up my life, and will start my new job at the boston globe next week. they've already got me slated to start a year-long project on my third day of work! i really haven't had any time to celebrate or wanted to celebrate. it's just been a month of ok, gotta do this next, gotta call these people, follow up here, make sure this is on time, whoops - this got changed, gotta call these people back, etc, etc, etc.
and it was very sad for me to leave the courant. i feel very fortunate to have interned/worked at places where i've really enjoyed working. the unfortunate side of things is that it's always hard to move on.
so here are some final days pics and a few things i'll miss at the courant:

rick hartford. gave me a ride on his harley my last day of work to go pick up my piece of !#@%^ car that i dumped $2100 into for a new transmission and clutch. i love rick. i hate my car.

dilbert. this cracked me up every time i looked at it. so true.

the creepy long fluorescent lights in the elevator that ross and i always talked about doing a moody portrait under.

the naked bodies.

the incredible use of pictures. there is no other paper in this country that looks like the hartford courant on a daily basis. it's not just big pictures, i've learned, but it's just the visual sophistication and thought going into how all elements on the page work with each other and ultimately tell the best story. the kinds of design that never overpowered the content of the pictures and text were also beautiful. here's ross's story. i think it's a mighty good contender for the feature pulitzer.

last but not least, the people. my eyes were not dry when i knew i was going to boston, and for good reason. these people are awesome and i will miss them a lot.

i couldn't leave out my humorous parting gift to laura. she's been amazing during my stay in hartford.

and for things to come...i spent my last week working in final cut and using video and photos. i'm pretty excited about the kind of voice we can give the people we document. i think photography captures powerful and complex moments that video doesn't (although there's much debate about whether they'll take away our still cameras). i find that video captures voice, tone, personality, expression and think the two mediums together seem like a perfect marriage.
there's some compelling work that's already been done, and below is some recent work that really brings you into the lives of the people who continue to struggle post-katrina. i feel like the stories would have been very different had they only been stills or only stills and audio. it's the kind of work you hope can be a catalyst for change.
lisa krantz's - Deserted Since Katrina: The struggle to find home, without a house
brenda kenneally's – Finding the Way Home: Two Years After Katrina

the "mancation"

2007-08-13T23:59:00.001-04:00

i learned a new word yesterday. ross and i had one of those days we would always remember. what a great day.

advance

2007-07-22T23:19:00.000-04:00

(photo)
this week was more of an advance week. mostly work for advance publication, pitched a column and had a meeting, started a new picture essay. i sometimes forget how lucky i am to work at places where they will support your ideas and your work and give you the time to do it. in discussion with a few photographers this week, it's truly amazing to see the kind of leverage the photography department has at this paper as well as the risks they're willing to take. the visual literacy *most of the time* throughout the rest of paper, particularly the design department, has been wonderful as well.

if you would have asked me last fall what i thought about newspapers and the state of media organizations i think i would have sounded much less optimistic about it all. it seems like challenging budgets, cutbacks and shrinking staffs are a call for more risk-taking measures. we will start running ads on our front page - you can just imagine the reaction from a staff that flips when there's more than 2 visual elements on a page. but that should be the least of our worries. i think we have to think of ourselves as less of a paper and rather an integral part of a community in whichever form gets through to people. yes, things could get worse, papers will close, but we might as well take some risks and give it all we've got rather than say we threw up our hands when times were tough. things are brewing....and it's kind of exciting.

i love new england skies

2007-07-13T23:38:00.000-04:00

after an interesting flavor assignment about farm dinners i was enamored with the light driving into the city. not the most picturesque spot - from the parking lot of the courant. i'll keep trying to represent.

very daily

2007-07-10T22:57:00.000-04:00

i sometimes wonder if my mind switches gears when i'm working for a paper. so far i feel like much of the work i've created has been very daily. but at the same time i feel like it can be very selfish to think of making pictures for yourself. i guess the culmination of what we all do whether you freelance or on staff are those longer projects you work on. seems like a win-win situation for the people you document, the readers and yourself. i need one of those. so far my ideas have been too short-term and too feature-y.

(photo)
superman
(photo)
michael brown received two purple hearts after two separate injuries while on duty in iraq. he's only 24.

weather & block party

2007-07-07T00:11:00.000-04:00

solace

2007-07-05T22:04:00.000-04:00

(photo)

when i got the call to go back to the site of the minivan drowning i honestly was very hesitant about going back. i didn't know what to expect, i wasn't sure if family would be at the site.

when i got there though, my mood changed. i met a woman who had started a memorial and one by one members of the community were coming to pay their respects to a family they didn't know. it was a sense of community in it's truest sense. someone told me that bridgeport was once called the "armpit of america" by a celebrity who will go unnamed. but i'd beg to differ, and the compassion displayed by the people of this city was really enlightening, inspiring and hopeful. it's days like these as well as so many other days i feel so privileged to be a part of something or a part of people's lives.

standing peacefully hearing the highway in the distance and the wind blowing it was a nice time to reflect. one of the last people i encountered at the site had been there the day before and witnessed about five minutes into the accident and on. the mother had three children, one of whom she brought back with her. i asked how her kids were taking it and she said her youngest understood that the children aren't coming back. "I don't know what made me do it, I picked up three roses from my favorite flower shop. Something just made me come down here. It was the pain, the hurt, the suffering they went through."

(photo)

a sad 4th

2007-07-04T21:17:00.000-04:00

(photo)

today was a sad day for a mother and three children, and the families and friends affected by this. a woman tried to save three children as her parked minivan rolled into a pond. she died trying to save her child as well as two others, and the only survivor is in critical condition.

going to spot news is probably my least favorite type of assignment along with funerals. i couldn't imagine finding out my own child and grandchildren have died so tragically and have a stranger approach me about it - which is exactly what happened today. i kind of found myself being a delicate mediator between the paper and this family. one group from the family declined and asked for their privacy and said we shouldn't be in front of their home. one family member talked to me and the writer until the family was called in and requested privacy. the writer i was with had asked if i'd make some pictures with a long lens from afar before we talked to them, but i have such a hard time making those kinds of photos when people are unaware and in grief. it feels like such an invasion. mark mirko once told me he felt using a telephoto lens for moments of tragedy was insensitive and i agree. i guess the reason why i don't like spot news so much is that you typically find people in such vulnerable situations, and as a stranger you have to document them at their worst. i think it makes a difference to photograph tragedy while in the midst of a longer story, when the people you're photographing understand the purpose of each photograph you make. spot news images are also rarely moving (with the exception of 9/11), and sometimes so explicit. i try to think about the big picture and wonder how much does it help and how much does it hurt?

i also had mixed feelings about stations from the whole region that came to document this tragedy. for those who had been in this business for a long time, this kind of thing seemed so routine. one media person even said to me, "you're young, you're still idealistic." one of my favorite professors stan alost once told me that if i ever found myself working with people who dealt with death and tragedy in a lighthearted way, to get away from them, get far away.

internal conflict

2007-07-04T00:38:00.000-04:00

(photo)

everyday i walk around feeling an incredible sense of responsibility with what my job is. i explained this once to a photo editor. i have a loyalty to the people i photograph, the community, my publication and to myself - usually in that order. so much of the time my mind is wandering and calculating with every frame i make. "will this do these people justice?" "will the readers understand this picture?" "am i willing to take this risk?" and every once in a while i'll make a frame like the one above. not a stellar frame by any means....well, maybe for me. since i suck :)

i think the thoughts that cross my mind with this frame is 1. will this person be offended? it could possibly be the one time they'll be in the newspaper. 2. will the public understand the humor or just glance over it? today, my host mom asked me if i purposely covered half the face of that coast guard cadet from the previous post. it was hard to explain... 3. does it tell the story? the most important point.

i think i tend to overthink and oversympathize situations which often results in very safe and boring photos. typically the public is very happy as well as the editors, but i'm not. i've been pushing myself more to make those images that challenge viewers and have been just letting myself see what i want to see. i felt horrible one time for being free with my vision b/c the person i photographed was offended and was ridiculed by colleagues. i apologized profusely and offered her photos from my take as well as anything else i could do to make it up to her. but there have been a few times when the stars aligned and i took a risk and the people i photographed "got it," i think the readers "got it," and i felt happy.

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oh yeah, and i think i'm obsessed with skies. one day i want to collect all the skies i've photographed. city boy loves nature.

the burbs

2007-07-02T23:48:00.000-04:00

i've never grown up in a house. nor have i ever lived outside of a city (with the exception of grad school). but if i ever lived in the burbs i'd want neighbors like the ones i've got with the family i'm staying with. dave celebrated being 18 and being a hs graduate. graduation parties seem like a big deal here. he rented an inflatable, a tent, invited tons of kids. it seemed like each of his friends did the same thing. it reminded me of bar mitzvahs when i was a kid. when i turned 13 i was invited to tons of them. anyway, there are more pictures dave and i found funny while skimming through but here are three that somewhat capture the mood of the day.

my theories

2007-07-02T23:04:00.000-04:00

theory number 1: nikon users are better toners than canon users.
so, ever since my shutter died on my canon, i've had to use company nikons and i've continually been disappointed by a number of things - sharpness, color rendition and accuracy, tonal quality/range, and kind of a weird washed out quality about the images. the d200 is decent, but still not great. but boy, i have to spend so much time in front of photoshop to work on my pictures. when i owned a 5d, all i used was curves. that was it. with the mark II i used curves and a few other functions. man, with nikon, i'm pulling out all the stops and, as i've mentioned, i am not a great toner, so this is a stretch.

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got called at the last minute to go to the coast guard academy for a swearing in ceremony. i found a local person from our area midway through.

theory number 2: we love patterns - esp. the military. it's fun to watch formations. and at every military gathering the formations also come with matching clothes. i guess you could say the same applies for graduations, sports teams, etc. there's something about visual unity that seems to go hand in hand with all this. we're raised to figure what belongs and doesn't belong together by likeness. i think even in photography people love it when all those layers and patterns come together. personally, sometimes i prefer dissonance. i think it's real and it's beautiful. here are two ok pictures of the patterns from today.

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on a side note, especially after watching that movie "the guardian," i really admire the coast guard. kind of like firefighters when you're a kid. it must be an extremely rewarding profession to save lives. i thought photographs could save lives when i got into this. it's something i question daily, and sometimes little things indicate to me that photos can make a difference.

another lost one

2007-06-27T23:13:00.000-04:00

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i went to new haven to cover the loss of another member of the military. these kind of things just seem more and more tragic as time goes on.

one thing that i did recall though was a speech made by the valedictorian of hartford high school last week. cities like hartford and new haven have garnered bad reputations because of crime and gang violence. this student asked where is the media? she called out news stations as well as the courant at the graduation (luckily we were there). the biggest stories coming out of these cities typically have to do with crime.

at today's assignment i wondered if it was the first time this street had seen any member of the media. then a colleague of mine asked himself today why he couldn't get out of his car when he was in a neighborhood that has typically had a lot of crime. four of us had a good healthy discussion about it. i think some days are definitely harder than others. i think we should all challenge ourselves to seek out those undercovered neighborhoods. i also think there are plenty of photojournalists that already are.

relative hotness

2007-06-27T23:03:00.001-04:00

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i'm late on this one.

yesterday i had to find hot weather features, so i decided to give myself the excuse to see my first connecticut beach. the funny thing is, i think it went up to like the mid 80s or so. everyone i ran into was like "it's so hot, it's so hot." and the day before they made such a big deal out of it at the paper sending i think four of us out to find weather pictures.

ok. it's really warm. but hot? back at the office i turn to a colleague from nc.

"hey ross, is it hot?"

"it's warm." he responds.

i turn to my colleague from haiti.

"marc, is it hot?"

"it's normal. in haiti it gets to 116 F."

but our photo editor from nh swears it's hot. i guess it's all relative. when i was in concord people'd be out in shorts in the winter the minute it turned 30 F. i didn't do shorts, but i was definitely styling the t-shirt at that point. we adapt i guess, and it's all relative.

i really liked the mood of this couple with their kid in a quiet corner of the beach. i wish i could have done them more justice.

more graduations

2007-06-24T00:47:00.000-04:00

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the picture that never worked. i tried and i tried....
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hooray for graduations

2007-06-21T00:30:00.000-04:00

here are images from my first two assignments at the courant. the first was a bit sad and hopeful involving the recent and sudden death of a teacher from the school. it was a beautiful ceremony, unfortunately, i was given the wrong directions and missed the first half.

graduations were never very ceremonial to me although i can see how much they mean to others. i think of milestones and accomplishments in different ways. lucky for me these graduations were outdoors.

oh, and i'm using nikons now b/c my canon shutter died, so i apologize if the colors don't seem right on these images. i'm not the best toner and in my opinion the d2 series nikons aren't very accurate with color.

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