the gloves are on

i walked down to the raleigh convention center during lunch to see what was set up for raleigh's own michael jackson tribute. some bands and then a live feed of the memorial was what was on tap.

by the time i got there though the bands were over, and i presume the dancing too.
a couple of photos later i realized it wasn't working for me or whatever i had happened to think i was going to get.
which was good because i happened to bump into ginny skalski and she was heading over to cooper's bbq for lunch. sounded good to me.

and that's where i found my photo. while a boombox played mj in the background some of the waitstaff like johnsie worsley here were wearing white gloves in honor of the singer.
she'd been wearing it for a couple of days now and wasn't planning on taking it off until it fell apart. and to that end she was mainly using her ungloved hand.
like many her heart broke when she heard the news of his death.
"i shed a tear. i just couldn't believe it." as the opening creaks of thriller started up she headed to another table. "but this is our way of remembering."

allowed to grieve

so the previous post touched on a little about what makes this job not so much a job. of course it's not always so positive.

today was spent on the road an hour east in goldsboro trying to find some art to go with a follow-up to the tragic story of four people who died on the 4th when their truck full of fireworks blew up on ocracoke island.
story here.

all four were members or had some connection to the the lord's table church.
so that's where i started. and so did every tv station in the area.
i hate these kind of things. especially when you have no choice but to work with a large pack of other journalists armed with tripods and mics... like a school of piranha waiting to attack any new news morsel. times like this it's easy to see why the profession is often despised.

well there was no memorial set up yet. the church doors were locked and no one was answering my calls. and i can't blame them.

though my intentions were good. and one of the reasons (if not the most important) we're here is to make sure these victims aren't just seen as victims but as the human beings they are is not often easily (or quickly) understood by the survivors we descend upon. once again... i can't blame them.

but senior pastor bill wilson was in and he finally came out to welcome all of us in for an interview. a very generous and tough thing to do. one of the victims, terry holland, was like a son to him as they'd known each other for twenty-something years and holland had been the building maintenance worker for the past few years.

anyway... there was still nothing here in terms of active storytelling art that we needed. but i did notice a lot of tissue boxes laying around from sunday's service. that was storytelling in what the congregation had to go through the day before.

sadly sunday was the first time in eleven years that pastor wilson dreaded going to church.
but he did and this is what he told his flock. i think it's apropos to a lot of life's tragic misfortunes...

"we need to be allowed to mourn and grieve and weep and cry and you do all those. it's natural. it's part of the process.

but after you've mourned, grieved and wept, you need to submit.

need to submit to the fact that it did happen.
you didn't want it to happen, but it did happen.
there's nothing you could have done about it.

you need to forgive and not blame anybody.
you can't battle 'why this? why that'.

then you need to celebrate the positive things in the individual's life.
during the bad times you have to remember the good times.
and we had some good times through the years.

and we will work our way through this process.

there are times i'm stronger, times i'm weaker. same for you. but we draw strength from each other. there's no 'big potato', no 'little potato' here. just mash potatoes. we're all family here."

crowns of glory

had a wonderful assignment last friday. the photo report could be a little better, not that it's bad, but there was a lot of potential and for some reason i got hung up on shooting everything and not slowing down for a sec and really thinking. maybe because i only had about an hour before i had to rush across town to hang out with the governor. oh the life of a community photojournalist (insert sarcasm here).

anyway... this is a little backstage scene from the crowns of glory fashion show at the ywca in downtown raleigh.

hats are a tradition in african-american churches and are more than a fashion statement.

wearing decorative "crowns" was based on the origin of a bible passage stating that women should cover their heads while in church. that meant needing a hat. and a special one at that if it was for sunday service.

so it was also a way to honor god by presenting your best like Mrs. Ada Elliott is doing here despite having to get around with the help of a walker.

through the years (especially since the ugly days of slavery) the hat has become a symbol of prosperity, freedom, beauty, celebration and of course an expression of cultural identity.

as you can imagine... learning the story behind the story as the clock was ticking down to my next assignment i knew there was something else here visually that would do the story and the ladies the justice that they deserved. not that it had to take a heavy and serious turn... it was a party and fashion show.

just something to think of next time.

columbia, nc

the n&o just started a summer series where we're retracing many of the routes found in the 1939 Federal Writers' Project publication "North Carolina: A Guide to the Old North State." It was part of the WPA, which was Roosevelt's attempt to stimulate the economy out of the depression.
the FWP's purpose was to help put unemployed writers and editors to work. a lot more people than just writers, and some of them still employed in their "regular" jobs, helped produce the books though.

so intrepid reporter josh shaffer and i headed out to Tyrell county and specifically Fort Landing which was milepost zero for U.S. 64 back in '39. back then i'm sure it took the better part of a full day to get from raleigh to the small fishing village, pop. 310. today it's an easy 2.5 hr drive down the four-lane route 64.

easy to get there and easy to leave. which apparently a lot of people did. the population probably reached its peak in '39, because there's relatively few residents out there today.

columbia, above, is the county seat. but about the only thing moving that day was the growing rust and an empty trashbag crinkling and billowing in the humid breeze.

skater punk

running late for a going away party for co-worker and esteemed editor rob waters (he'll soon be senior editor at the Southern Poverty Law Center), i forgot the byob sixpack at home.
counting my change in the grocery store checkout line, a blur of spikes fanned by the exit door.

he wanted a dollar, when i asked him if i could take his photo. seems he made $18 at the mall the other day via similar requests. true or not, i've never ponied up money before. maybe a beer. but obviously not this time.

but the day's miserable heat had broke... the evening light was sweet, my sixpack was on sale. it was a good vibe all around. and my generosity only had to extend to the 37¢ jingling in my pocket.

you've got questions, i've got answers

Wow. It's been quite an interesting day in this little corner of the web.

I appreciate the response to the NYTimes' Lens blog article on my work ... the kind words, the insight and goodwill, and yes even the critiques.
So a lot of inquiries have been made about the workflow and the imaging that happens to get these photos to look the way they do.

I'm more than happy to share because I'd be interested and maybe a little skeptical too if I was on the other end... (I am a journalist and not accepting things at face value is a blessing and a curse). Though I hope the irony here (of explanation) is appreciated (in a humorous way mind you) just slightly.

Back in the darkroom days you had to pick a paper grade to print on or if you were like me and used Ilford Multigrade paper with a numbered filter. I usually used a 3 or 3.5 filter for good contrast. Sometimes a 4 if I unfortunately underexposed the film.
Then there was the decision to using an RC (resin coated) paper or fiber based...glossy? matte? pearl?
My favorite was RC pearl. Glossy's too distracting. Matte too flat. Fiber too expensive for a college student and time consuming in order to dry it correctly to keep it from wrinkling too bad.

Basically choices had to be made back then. Choices have to made today. There's no escaping. With this project I decided to keep those choices to as much a minimum as possible.

Like many cellphones the Motorola E815 offers different color modes and white balance options. The contrast can be changed as well. But most importantly it also lets you change exposure slightly by adjusting the brightness.

The photo of the pedestrian walking through a shaft of light that lives on the front page above was made that way. Originally the whole scene was bright... too bright... flat... boring... uninteresting (to me). So adjusting the brightness to expose just for the center... the sides drop off to black in "camera." Same with the band and the hard-hats photos below. I went for the highlights and let the exposure fall away in "camera."

And that's where the description of "velour-like" blacks comes in. If you expose for highlights and let the mid-range tones go dark, the underexposure in the bottom of that range just takes on a very rich dimension.
So I usually shoot in the b&w mode as it's more forgiving in the pixelation department. Color works great in bright light, but degrades quickly in low light. b&w holds up better.
Now the b&w isn't true black and white. It's a muted color version and comes up as RGB in Photoshop. So I change that to b&w before I start toning.





So...these photos are not directly from the cellphone to the blog like Chase Jarvis does (I think...haven't asked him personally).
Like many, if not all of us, I do use Photoshop to tone them up.
Because I always use automatic white balance and sometimes that gets fooled. And sometimes that works out great, but if the color is way off the charts then I'll rope it in a little. And I hardly ever touch the "camera's" contrast option.
And in both instances it's because you have to go through menus to get to those options. The camera has enough of a delay (albeit not too bad) already besides having to change those parameters too for each shot. So choices have to be made and mine are to keep it quick and simple.

But my background is photojournalism where many of us photographers place a high standard on ethics and telling the truth about a scene as best as can be told... or in other words to not purposefully deceive our audience. Obviously with the decisions we make in terms of lens choice and composition and timing there is no sure truth and photos lie... all the time. (which is the true version of the building photo? all bright? partially bright?) but that's another conversation.

So I'm not heavy handed when it comes to toning an image. I'll use levels or curves and bring the black and white points in to where it works best for the delivery vehicle at that moment: ie... web or print.
Maybe a little dodging here, a little burning there. Unsharp mask as a final step. Nothing out of the ordinary for many photographers, and nothing that would be considered a breach of ethics at my paper at least. Though really, this is my project and I can cross whatever line I want with some greater degree of impunity. But that's not how I operate and it's not in the spirit of this body of work.

As for prints... by interpolating up in 10% increments in Photoshop I have printed a few of these up to 24x30 inches (and yes they were on display in a December 2008 show and had many people doing doubletakes as they walked by).
Now, I know there's software out there that probably does a better job of increasing file size. And yes, I have a feeling I could be doing this differently in PS for better results and I am experimenting with those. But the quality was actually pretty good using this original model. Pixelation wasn't a problem. And the print took on a kind of painterly aesthetic if you decided to get up close, real close.

If you're in the Raleigh area there are a few 16x20's hanging now in the Portraits of Raleigh exhibit at the Raleigh City Museum till August. They were printed at JW Photo labs and are wonderful examples of what can be done.

Obviously not all cellphones are the same. Not all of the E815s I have are the same, quality wise. That's one reason serendipity has played its part. I could have easily gotten a cellphone whose images weren't of a quality that got me excited to see what else could be done. And this journey would have been over before it started.

I truly appreciate the opportunity that VAE, Helios, 30Threads, PDN, Photoshelter, then LOOK3, and now the NY Times have afforded me. But i'd like to make something clear. This was and still is my way of scratching a personal itch, creatively speaking. There was no agenda. No destination per se. As I summarized in my LOOK3 presentation I started this for myself... a personal assignment. And within that regard it's been and will continue to be nothing but a success. And if it was to end tomorrow... no worries. I'm a better photographer and person for the experience.

Yet, the business I'm in... communications... is the business of sharing and, in part, success is based on the audience's ability to relate... to find that common ground in the vision you're blessed with the ability to share with them.

So if this work resonates for whatever the reason... what it is... how it was done... or what it represents, then that affords me a little insight to know I'm on some right path. And therefore I'm more than happy to share.

get busy living or get busy dying...

...it comes down to a simple choice.
ahhh, the shawshank redemption. love that movie. solid all the way around. one of those movies that when it comes on tv, no matter how many times you've seen it before, you sit there and watch. well, at least i do.

visiting charlottesville i came across this scene during a break in the festivities and that quote just popped into my head. i watched these two men, one playing violin, one sitting, under two sides of a marquee in the pedestrian mall. i didn't ask for their stories, but they were both asking for the same thing from us; money.
the juxtaposition was both funny and sad.
the only truth to this scene is that for personal reasons a choice was made. the outcome of which now left mainly to our assumptions.

karaoke

"empty orchestra" is the usual definition. but "broken voice" is a little more apropos for some of us.

cellular obscura presentation for look3

allen over at photoshelter was kind enough to include my work in his blogpost about the look3 festival. he mentioned my presentation which included a quick video of my cellphone "portrait session" of obama. (i blogged about that once before here).

well... here's that presentation which was projected during the friday night Shots event under the big top. there's a little van morrison, a little explanation of why i do what i do. but if you want to go straight to the fun part it's at 5:14.



btw...the video doesn't do it as much justice as seeing it on a 30x40 movie screen. that was a thrill. and i have to thank jon golden and kevin burtnett for making all the shows look absolutely stellar.

i'm definitely a fan of technology for making it easier to upload photos and video to the web for mass consumption. but one of the things i was reminded of this past weekend was that there's just nothing like seeing photographs up close... in person... real... unplugged (or plugged in with the volume at 11)... the work (and the viewer) interacting with the physical environment of sights, smells, sounds... adding an additional sense of depth and reality. appreciation for the skill/luck of making/taking photographs can definitely be enhanced by the art of producing and printing and design... and flow.

kinda like the difference between buying a cd and going to the concert. both have their merits, but the collective experience of the latter carries the possibility of a spiritual experience. or at least a damn good time.

schrute cakes!

look3 has been absolutely amazing so far. old friends, new friends, inspiration galore and a vibe of positivity that should be bottled up and packaged as the cure for what ails ya. more on that later when i have time and battery power for a proper post.

c-ville has been a great host and now i understand why the festival's here.

where else can you go and get pancakes adorned with dwight schrute in confectionary sugar?
it was almost a shame to eat breakfast. but if you're up to that challenge head down to the blue moon diner. the coffee's pretty damn good too.

some schrutism's to set you in the mood
"...Actually, I do own property. My grandfather left me a 60-acre working beet farm. I run it with my cousin Mose. We sell beets to the local stores and restaurants. It’s a nice little farm...sometimes teenagers use it for sex."

"...I have been Michael’s number two guy for about 5 years. And we make a great team. We’re like one of those classic famous teams. He’s like Mozart and I’m like...Mozart's friend. No. I’m like Butch Cassidy and Michael is like...Mozart. You try and hurt Mozart? You’re gonna get a bullet in your head courtesy of Butch Cassidy."

furlough trip to look3

well this week is my furlough week at the paper. kinda bittersweet... nice to have some time off, sucks not getting paid. anyway... i'm making the most of it and getting ready to head to the look3 festival in charlottesville, va.

i was planning on going this year anyway. from the stories i've heard, it's an event not to be missed. lots of inspiration. lots of positivity. and in a cool little town at the foothills of the blue ridge mountains. uhmmm, yeah. sign me up!

but what makes the trip a little more exciting is that i was accepted to show a multimedia presentation on this little project we have going here... cellular obscura.

it's happening on friday night, june 12 at 9pm in the pavilion downtown. it's part of a two-hour group show called Shots.
so if you can make, would love to see you. and we can all be tourists for a few days.

speaking of tourists and inspiration... just found out that matt mallams is in hawaii. (nice interview here)
oahu (the whole island) is a documentary utopia for street-style photography. i'd like to go back some day and really dig my teeth into the juxtapositions on the island between the rich tourist trade and the high unemployment rate and a populace who tolerates mainlanders. you get the sense they're rubbing together like a blister, not quite bleeding on the surface, but hurting a bit underneath.

anyway looking forward to see how it looks through matt's lens. you should too.

see you in charlottesville.

you're all invited, again!

if you happen to be in the raleigh area anytime between friday june 5 and the end of august, stop by the raleigh city museum.
i'm fortunate to have six of my photos selected for a juried exhibit. (here's a sneak preview at some of the other artists)
three were already on display till last week and the other half now till august.
with the exception of one they've all premiered on this blog here, here, here, here, and here.

but now they've found a new home as 16x20 prints.

the public opening is this friday and it's first friday artwalk so all the galleries will be open later, most serving food and wine and music. it's a good time to be downtown.

the lost colony

an assignment on tourism and the economy sent me out to the obx with a stop in manteo on roanoke island where sir walter raleigh tried (and failed) to establish a permanent colony back in the 16th century. while there i was able to hang around backstage of the final dress rehearsal for the longest running outdoor drama - the lost colony. it's a historical play based on raleigh's attempts and the unsolved mystery in the disappearance of about 120 people from the last settlement.

it's an interesting story and the production is pretty awesome. it's a good way to break up a week's trip to the obx. which btw people from all over (ny, nj, maine, pa, sc..) were still doing. seems it's a better value to get a house down here than it is in the major beach towns up north closer to where they live.

i guess recession or not some people still want to get lost.

positivity trumps adversity

marie neal is an extraordinary young woman. sixteen, and a high school sophomore, neal was recently diagnosed with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, a rare genetic liver disorder which immediately placed her on a transplant list.

but she's dealing with such a serious issue with cheerful toughness. a few weeks ago we caught up with her at a fundraiser at a chick-fil-a in cary town center. hundreds of friends and supporters came out to donate money to help pay for the future transplant and many expenses not covered by insurance including the immunosuppressant drugs that she must take for the rest of her life.

i swore she was greeting and thanking people for three hours straight. and always with a smile and laugh, captivating each and every last person there.

here's our story.

and if you'd like to donate to her (and/or other kids in need of transplant help.)

closed

just something to make you go "hmmmm?" cause that was my first take. seems like purveyors of gently used goods or junk if you will would find their clientele growing as many of us try to weather today's economic climate as cost effectively as possible.

and btw... we're not closed here. some extra work, a few technical glitches, and three days laid low with a case of the crud are to blame for lack of posting. but we'll be back on track soon.

bain

this past saturday jo and i witnessed one of the most unique sound performances i've ever heard. at least in the raleigh area.

gears that haven't been oiled in decades squealed and groaned; a symphony of friction, metal on metal, rippling through the cavernous space that is the abandoned art deco styled E.B. Bain Waterworks Plant.

artist-musicians spun wheels in the depths of empty water filtration tanks summoning the ghosts of 20th century industrial progression. or the soundtrack to lost.

it was part of the bain project. a collaborative installation by twelve artists specific to the site.

it's a beautiful building, ornamentally designed for a utilitarian purpose. even the decay... almost tinsel like.

they definitely don't build them like this anymore.

it's open again this saturday may 16th. you won't see, or hear, anything like this around here anytime soon. check it out before some planning committee gets a hold of it and turns into another strip mall or condos, albeit fashionable ones.

charleston chewed

visited charleston, sc. a few weeks ago with my lovely fiance (wow, that sounds so much better than girlfriend). it was a little bit reunion for her grad school friends, a little bit celebration for the two of us, and a little bit stimulation for the economy.

charleston is a beautiful (and expensive! you better thank us economy) city. but like most cities there is a dark side. and it can be found on the utility poles surrounding the market.

the gumshoes are losing to the gumstickeruppers.

seems the threat of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine hasn't deterred these salivating scofflaws.

but they are stimulating this guy's bank account.

the good life

NC 12 is the main highway along north carolina's outer banks barrier islands (obx for short). a two lane road that's frequently covered with sand and/or water as some sections are just meters from the ocean for miles. and then there's the free hatteras-ocracoke ferry which is still considered highway 12 though the pavement below you is a metal hull rumbling through the shallow waters of pamlico sound.

the 40 minute ride is usually accompanied by dozens of laughing gulls who're able to score a free meal from the passengers on board... if they're not diving for the fish churned up in the wake.

love 'em or hate 'em... they're a good sign you're in the right place. of course a beer and burger at howard's with family and friends is damn good proof too.

out of touch

i was never a big fan of organized religion. my years in catholic school (k-6th...heck i was even an altar boy) soured my view. as a kid i couldn't rectify the hypocrisies i saw. and no-one was able to explain them to me in the pragmatic way i needed in order to reach an understanding.
killing in the name of (insert your god here)... the idea that if you weren't christian you were damned, but if you asked for forgiveness at the 11th hour there was hope for salvation... jesus was a jew, but he wasn't jewish... how other religions or spiritual endeavors were "wrong".... etc etc etc.
you just can't take that these things are "meant to be" based on faith alone.

as an adult with a little more worldly experience under my belt, i better understand those hypocrisies are more closely tied to the subjugation of something good by the hands of people who selfishly sought opportunity.

many church groups affect positive change due to the inertia of organization. for that, the need and idea of community built around religion is a good thing.

but without the ability to trespass and be trespassed upon how would these organizations justify their empowerment?

in the long run the truest part of the relationship with whomever you choose to worship is based on the personal, not the communal aspects of such.

tip proof

a little bit of country found at the crossroads of eli whitney in southern alamance co.

stone cold accessory

the life of former pro-wrestlers live on in strange places. stone cold steve austin was inducted into the wwe hall of fame on april 4. he's been retired for years. but still has a fan base that's ready for the next throw down. especially if you talk smack about their choice in fashion.

add another banner

the unc tarheel men's basketball team won another championship monday night. it's their 5th national title and the 2nd in the last five years.
with our esteemed sports shooters robert willett and chuck liddy in detroit to cover the game. ethan hyman, ted richardson and i made sure the chapel hill scene which erupts everytime they beat duke or are in the finals was well documented.
then we turned around and covered the celebration the next day at the dean smith center.

after 3 hours sleep in 2 days, walking about 2.5 miles with a computer and 3 cameras hanging off my shoulders and sending a coupla hundred photos and a time-lapse and a panoramic of franklin street i finally had time for a little cellphone goodness.

this security guard was the last one in the dean dome. somebody has to turn off the lights.

time lapse of franklin street eruption.

panoramic

celebration

party the day after at the dean dome

and my little personal video from the roof of Spanky's restaurant.
(better in hq)

nice shoes

signs

matt slaby has a well edited and photographed slideshow up at time.com on america's love for and fascination of guns. the majority of owners, by far, understand the responsibility that comes with owning a firearm and respect the lethal power at their fingertips.

and then you have someone like Robert Stewart who walked into Pinelake Health and Rehab in Carthage, NC with numerous guns and killed 8 elderly residents while wounding 3 including a police officer before that officer shot and wounded him.

i was sent down the day after it happened to try and get the requisite mugshot of the assailant, cover the press conference and maybe speak to some of the families who lost loved ones if they weren't put off by the horde of local and national press that invaded with their satellite trucks and fleeting interest in a small community in the middle of the country.

as usual... access to almost everything that would make for a more poignant photo was restricted. and the little that we got was through dumb fortune and tender persistance.

but as i was leaving the unattended home of mr. stewart (after getting the pre-req house mug) i spotted this down his dirt driveway. i wasn't able to investigate long enough to find shells, but the reporter did... finding some small calibre and small and large shotgun shells.

though we don't know mr. stewart's m.o. or mental capacity, for me it was the most storytelling photo of the day.

confident

when cesar comanche arrived for his portrait in a black t-shirt with the word confident on it i knew i made the right choice in the location and time. usually midday sun is not the typical time to schedule outdoor portraits. but when i found these stairs leading up to a blank wall the day before while scouting out locations, i knew i wanted to incorporate what they represented for artists, of any medium, in what sometimes can feel like a sisyphean journey to do things in a way that doesn't subjugate their craft.
but i wanted to balance whatever negative connotations that symbolism represented with cesar's recent successes and the hope of his future endeavors.

and to be quite honest, my first reaction wasn't that heavy or smart, but more along the lines of curiosity and wry humor as to what the hell i had just stumbled across. and that i had the good fortune of finding a clean background that didn't involve the cliche musician photo of brick walls or railroad tracks.

anyway... i didn't know much about cesar before the assignment except that he's one the founding members of the Justus League, a north carolina group associated with the more hyped Little Brother and producer 9th Wonder.

after a little research it became clearer cesar was one of those local musicians who's found fame and success outside the mainstream (and the local music scene) by doing it his way.
and with a new album out to good reviews it seems mainstream is catching up with him.

early bloomer

it's been cold wet and freezing. but the future's in bloom. some just don't know it yet.

hot air

desaturated

it's how a lot of my colleagues and friends are feeling these days. especially in our newsroom when just this week the bloodletting continued and we learned of about 30 more people who were given a pink slip, if they didn't decide for themselves to leave on their own volition.

a weekend trip to the beach (before the impending word was delivered) was cloudy rainy cold and nearly colorless. fitting for the times we're living in.

there's an ocean of content and information out there, but the old delivery system just isn't going to cut it anymore.

trudy struction in full effect

bless her heart, nancy sinatra ain't got nothing on these shit kicking ladies. on track the carolina rollergirls blend sex, violence and kickass names into good clean fun for the whole family. off track in those dimly lit hideaways you just better watch your step and don't let the fishnets fool ya.

speaking of shitkickers here's some fine malt lyrics to get us in the st. patty's day mood... rollergirl/house of pain style.

TarHeel Nation

despite tv contracts and student-athletes skipping out on their final years there is still a slight sense of innocence to the college game. factor in that athletes have a rather short finite amount of time to win the big one and though possessing pro skills and attitudes, players are still babes in the woods... the thrill and the agony is that much more sincere, genuine and infectious.

mix in 30,000 plus fans in the immediate vicinity and it's hard not to be caught in the wave of tribal emotion that washes over franklin street. especially on the days when they beat their tobacco road nemesis.

79-71

it doesn't have to be march (technically) for madness to ensue when unc beats duke in men's basketball. as per every win over the blue devils, bonfires
erupt on franklin street in chapel hill.
here the green man does his part to get the party started right.

gettin' shaved & blowin' up

*updated*
tim "tnt713" turner is one of the coolest IT people going. and he's had this sweet hairdo for as long as i can remember. well tomorrow today it's getting shaved off and for a good cause. he's raising funds to help fight pediatric cancer.
you can share bittersweet tears with him tomorrow today (saturday) from 3-3:30PM at napper tandy's on 126 N. West Street in raleigh. or if the economy hasn't beaten all philanthropic ideas from you yet you can donate in his name here.

you're all invited

if you happen to be in the raleigh area anytime between friday march 6 and june 1, stop by the raleigh city museum.
i'm fortunate to have six of my photos selected for a juried exhibit. (here's a sneak preview at some of the other artists)
three will be on display until june and then the other half till august.
with the exception of one they've all premiered on this blog here, here, here, here, and here.

but now they've found a new home as 16x20 prints.

the public opening is this friday and it's first friday artwalk so all the galleries will be open later, most serving food and wine and music. it's a good time to be downtown.

i'll be there for a little bit and then i'm heading over to helios to catch this show by the luceo group of photographers. these guys and girl have always kicked ass but they're really tearing it up as of late. and they have some big things in store. can't wait to see what's around the corner for them.

hope to see you this friday.

i'm minding my own business

life is risky. survival... tough. there's enough to worry about than what happens behind closed doors of people i don't know.
so long as you're kind, decent, have good intentions, don't steal my lunchbox, and add a little more than you take away, what more could i ask of you?

i had to photograph a rally today where the majority of participants were pro traditional marriage. or in other words against legalizing gay marriage. i'm straight, but not narrow, and we'll leave it at that on this subject for now.

but i've always found it fascinating how some people like to meddle into others' private lives because i never understood why those persons would worry about decisions that didn't directly effect them or had a high percentage of possibly effecting them after the fact.

let the people vote indeed and in the meantime i ask why can't we all just get along.

and the flakes were thaaaaaat big!

wow. the new york region really got walloped today. even u2 were helping shovel the streets.

ghosts of recession present

had to cover a job fair today for engineering and technology candidates. hundreds of people showed up, if not closer to a thousand or so. many were electrical and mechanical engineers recently laid off. some with phD's. a few whose severance packages were not being honored by a company who filed for insolvency weeks after their positions were cut.

and today more friends and colleagues have been let go at news companies (we're not just papers anymore) that were once revered for doing things right. 75 positions gone from the San Antonio Express-News; 6 in the photo department. the Hartford Courant is dropping their staff to about 135 people, or roughly half the number of employees who worked there this time last year.

my paper is faring no better. we're bracing ourselves for another round of layoffs and then furloughs and paycuts for the staff that are fortunate to make it through. our stock at one point this week was selling for 49¢. a penny less than the daily newsstand paper. good times.

which made the irony a little more poignant and comical that today's job fair was sponsored by no other than my employer.

down with love

the queen city

obama comes in third

last week my election photo story on barack obama came in third at the north carolina press photographers POY contest. the winning images haven't been posted yet but you can see a few more from two earlier posts of mine here and here. but i'm reposting this one for those of you who are waiting for your dinner to microwave or coffee to brew and have about a minute to watch the video backstory of this portrait. i was holding off (don't ask why) but gregg, james gregg, and some of the other crew at ssc really wanted to see this. here you go guys...
(video by pailin wedel)




by the way... of the fifteen minutes, fourteen were spent doing an interview with the reporter and videographer. i knew i only had a minute or two at most and realized it was only going to be enough time for one light setup. of course it would have been great to work with him a few more minutes and try to get something "else", but platon i'm not.

meet gregg...

james gregg. i met james for the first time at last year's southern short course. he had a little longer hair then (and here) and a great disposition for letting me put it up in a ponytail. the only thing missing this year was the hair. though the future isn't so bright for our profession, james is one of the ones putting up a good fight and trying to build a better tomorrow.

i can relate

i was on a portrait assignment at a local theater the other day and as fate would have it (or a busted documentary assignment that turned into a portrait session instead) this guy happened to be mopping the backstage floor while we were working. so i left the light on and asked him to come on over. it's one of those opportunities that you'd kick yourself later on if you allowed it to pass by.

photographing photographers I

last year we had a great late night/early morning beer infused portrait session at the southern short course. we tried to get it going again this time 'round. though it was nowhere near the same scale, a fun time was had by all. and of course there was beer and rebecca ducker's mom's homemade vodka. (the smoothest i've ever had. watch out grey goose)

this is ms. ducker here modeling, well... i'll just keep it simple and say modeling ross taylor's jacket. ross and his moon-unit jacket are a whole other blog post entirely. i'm now going to ask his permission. and if he says yes, you'll see why i had to ask.

btw... this is ducker's photo from last year. i did polaroids as one last hurrah before the last box was sold out.

we're just flies on the wall

that's a photojournalist's mantra. well, at least mine when i'm explaining to subjects that they need to pay me no attention and go about their day as if i wasn't there.

it's also the name of a u2 song off their achtung baby record. as some of you know i followed them as much as i could on their elevation tour in 2001 (22 concerts... which was no where near the amount of shows some of the good people i met along the way went to) and i'd do it again for this upcoming tour if i was independently wealthy or -ahem- on assignment.

anyway... the hotel we're in is full of crazy, some kitschy (like any hotel) backdrops. this was one and my immediate reaction was remembering bono's act against the video screen during the fly live (go to 6:25 if you're impatient). andy delisle did a spot on impression not knowing what the hell i was talking about. thanks andy.

out out out out out out in out out in out.....

taking a little break from hawaii, here's a frame from the first day of the Southern Short Course -slash- North Carolina -slash- South Carolina photojournalism conference. i asked nicole fruge, nathan armes and preston gannaway to choose (judge) the first of the next series of images from the conference. this is from the sun setting on the room i'm sharing (ahem-sleeping on the floor) with erin brethauer and ross taylor.

update: it's been brought to my attention what the title means.
for the uninitiated that is the sound of three judges dismissing many photojournalist's year's worth of blood sweat and tears as they whittle down hundreds of images to the handful which will then be awarded first, second, third place or honorable mention.
more on that later.

the other side of the rainbow (state)

sunk almost 68 years ago, the uss arizona memorial still leaks a little over a quart of oil a day into pearl harbor.
the color bubbling to the surface gives a quieter reverence to hawaii's moniker as the rainbow state. and up until our last day on the island this was the only "rainbow" that we saw.

give respect, get respect

winter is the time of big surf on the north shore of o'ahu. sunset (seen here), banzai pipeline, waimea bay are some of the world's most famous surfing spots. storms in the northern pacific are the creative force behind the 15-20 foot waves battering the shore and attracting professional and wanna-be surfers alike.

surfers paradise has a dark side though. and i didn't find this out till we got back home. an article published in the international herald tribune (funnily a day after our trip north) speaks to the degree the locals are with protecting their territory.
the video is well worth the time too.

we didn't see anything like this, but of course we weren't really looking. but now i wonder why these two were hesitant to enter the water. were they newbies initimidated by the pounding waves or by the pounding they'd get for breaking an unwritten code.
gives a whole new meaning to surf and turf.

duke's on sunday

i'm definitely not the crazed buffet fan like some of my friends, but he was dead on with this song. a cast of characters for sure show up on sunday afternoons at duke's to watch the sun set and either end (or start) their party weekend.

sleep deprivation leads to rare find

a minor case of jet lag, sunburn, and umbrella drinks deep into the evening can knock you out for the night or help you find a second wind after the party is over.
i was happy it was the latter for me as (after everyone was smartly in bed) i stumbled upon a rare case of bioluminescence washed ashore.
well, no... not really... it's just a translucent inner tube.
but i never did see another one the rest of the week.

endless summer, retiree style

aloha!
it's been awhile as i had the wonderful opportunity to visit hawaii with family, focusing on a little r&r and leaving the internet behind. with batteries recharged it's back to the chilly reality of the east coast. but we'll keep the theme on pacific time for a little while longer.
honolulu, specifically waikiki where we stayed, is unlike the rest of the islands from what we were told.
it is a resort town... mixing retiree snowbirds with old money from the states and newlywed lovebirds with new money from asia (specifically japan) and a little of everything else in between. it felt like a pre-req class for a trip farther west.
the "real" hawaii is found outside the city limits. true or not, the city was fascinating and a visual experience i would like to revisit... soon.
more later after this jet-lag passes through the system.

move over modernist, here comes modern

the garland jones building in downtown raleigh is being razed to make way for a new $215 million justice center. you can read about it here.

and here in a wonderfully written tour by raleigh architect Jon Zellweger.