July 22nd - 24th 2010

LEFT is a little girl giving one of the princess' at the queens coronation of lakefair her support; every time I'm down I think of this kid. Wish I would've had the time to talk to her.

What a sports filled week it was. Mostly baseball and a little bit of track and field. Thursday I shot a 12 year old kid who's brother died in a terrible car accident and it discouraged him from playing baseball. The kid then decided that he wanted to play in memory of his brother. The whole team had his initials on the side of their helmets, the kid carried a picture of his brother to every game and he seemed to just be a good kid and was also really good at baseball. The goal for this shoot was to get a portrait of him playing baseball and having a good time with his team after this tragic incident. It was a little weird as well that my girlfriends cousin was the driver of the automobile that was in the wreck. Anyhow that was fun and inspiring as well.

Friday I shot a local 13 year old baseball championship. Which was fun, still interesting to see what the editors pick out of the photos I send because I like to not just get the sports but the crowd enjoying it. There wasn't too much special going on there just a few enthusiastic parents.

Saturday was the best of them all. I shot the senior games at tumwater high school. These were some inspiring ladies and gentlemen. All 50 to 100+ doing amazing sports at their age like pole vaulting, long jump, high jump, 10k run, 100 meter dash. It was cool, lots of really good faces.

Lately I've been looking at contests and stuff to enter in hopes to gain more recognition as a student of photojournalism. Its a little disconcerting to see these guys from around the country at these schools of photojournalism doing this; where I am pry the only student of photojournalism in this town let alone state I feel like I'm going to get out gamed and shot down because I'm at a different college, that really has no affiliation in journalism. I'm doing it all myself really. I just hope it won't hamper me in the future. My mom says its all about the internships and who you work with so I suppose I'm doing that right seeing as I'm working for one of the best. It'd be nice to win a contest and gain some recognition and prestige for what I want to do with myself. Especially some recognition for Evergreen that would be really cool.

After this is over its back to trying to find a job, ugh the thought of it is disconcerting and depressing alone. Not looking forward to it. Can't I just freelance now!???!?! Not like I have the equipment for it but damn it I have the drive. I just don't want to be pushing carts or being a cashier like some corporate pawn. Maybe if I get work study I can get a fun job at evergreen maybe in the photo department. That'd be incredible. Going to try to find that out tomorrow.

All in all doing photography and journalism is all I think about its become number one above all else. I want to travel. I want to learn about different cultures. I want to see world events happen. I want to get to know everyone and be known. Most of all I want to be good. Nothing can stop me now. I'm too determined, too stubborn and too emboldened to let anything or anyone stop me.

Here is a sequence photo from the senior games.
Look at it big its great!

15 - 17 of July

What a fantastic weekend. New learning experiences indeed.

Thursday I shot the coronation of the Lakefair queen which was quite intense because it was brief and their was not much time for me to make the deadline. In short I was 13 minutes late, the lesson there was that I must call the photo editor and ask for a bit more time. The reason I was late was because I could not send remotely from my car with a tether to my phone that was a fail, so I had to rush to the Olympian to send from there. It was adrenaline pumping because I am a perfectionist and anal retentive about time. Anyhow lesson truly learned from that situation.

A little explanation on Lakefair. Obviously it is a fair, a fair that centers around the Capital Lake in Olympia. Every summer we have the fair and its pretty dreadful and basically a giant school dance for the teenagers and the young at heart. Lame to say the least. Never the less I pushed forward to take photos for the crowning and for a local feature for Friday and Saturday's paper.

On Saturday I was to shoot the Seattle to Portland Bike ride. This in itself was not interesting. My goal here was to learn to hunt down stories and stories in photos with a reporter. I think I did pretty well. When the reporter got there I immediately informed her of a guy in a strange vehicle called a velomobiel (thats how it was spelled on his car). A bullet shaped aerodynamic bicycle with 3 wheels, two in front, one in back. It was a sleek little contraption. Also we found some people with polka dots on haz mat suits and a women wearing a tiara to represent a women she rides with who could not ride whom had breast cancer. It was a lot of fun. I think I could take to reporting as well. I'd like to do that just so I can be more use to an editor and make more money, of course. All I need to do is work on my writing, as you can pry tell is not fantastic.

Anyhow, I think the editors liked my photos or at least I hope they did or else I would've pry heard about it at some point.

July 10th and 11th

Wow what a weekend. I could've not gone from two different photography extremes, on two different days, than I did this weekend. Saturday was a relaxed day of shooting at Huntamer Park, in Lacey, for the first 2010 community market. It was fun, I got some great shots, that looked great in the Sunday paper. I made sure I got all the names and where they were from, it was pretty easy.

Sunday, was the day of intensity and new experiences. I shot the NHRA Northwest championship drag races in Kent. This was insane, the noise, the vibrations, the speed, it was absolutely crazy. On top of that one of the drivers died and I had shots of his race, which automatically became incredibly important to the newspaper folks. The idea of course other people had shots but mine were the only newspaper shots because the Seattle times didn't have a shot of him, also I am free work, because I am an intern and the other photographers know the value of such a shot or at least thats what I gathered from the other people there. Anyhow I basically observed the other photographers, talked to them and just watched what how they shot but it really wasn't necessary I had been thinking about how to shoot the races for the past night I feel I can be pretty intuitive about any situation I'm put in for composition.

It was a dramatic day, besides Mark Niver dying, there was tense feelings between the car types, also confusion with the starting lights, or the christmas tree as they call it, overall though I probably don't know the half of what went on outside of all the noise and speed.

(EDIT) HERES MY PHOTO ON NBC SPORTS WEBSITE the associated press is using my photo wow NBC

THE SEATTLE TIMES

Herald Net

Kentucky.com

USA TODAY

goupstate.com

I'm not trying to brag I'm just excited

Overall I'm saddened by this mans death its a little bitter sweet to have my first photo nationally published, and its not even a spectacular photo, under these circumstances. RIP Mark Niver he died doing what he loved.

and here is the tribunes article on the whole thing
TNT

July 8, 2010

Today was a hot day, so naturally it is news. But my first assignment for the day was a call from the photo editor in Tacoma, to go shoot teens at a reading event at the Tumwater library. That was a giant bust. No one showed up so I took pictures of kids reading and other miscellaneous things.

After I left, my next assignment was to get shots of people cooling off in the hot sunny weather. So I headed to to get shots of people playing in the Deschutes river by suggestion of my editor. It was succesful but getting all the names straight was hard, which is my newest lesson, write something identifiable about these people. The problem with that is all guys wearing shorts so they all pretty much look alike. I figured it out. The next frustration was my computer epic failing with multiple blue screens, so I ended up using my touchy laptop. I was furious! But I got the photos in though not as early as I'd like. I want a mac lap top, bad, I'm sick of pc's seriously. Hopefully I can invest in one at some point. Photography is really my life now that's all I want to do so it would be rather important over getting a PC to acquire new equipment. New lenses and a second camera is also on the list. Still a good day but a frightening and stressful with the failures. But my photo and my name is now on the front page and that is what matters to me.

July 3rd and 4th, 2010

This weekends lesson was names and always asking for them from everyone you take photographs of. Also meeting the deadline and how crucial it is. For every minute you are late on a deadline the press is pushed 5 minutes forward. A busy weekend it was as I pushed forward on an assignment to shoot people in the park. My biggest challenge behind this for me was talking to random people and getting names and so on, small groups are easy but parties are a problem. I am going to push through this shy issue and do the job.

Onwards and upwards as they say. The photos from the parks came out well behind every corner was a surprise, people and events that I didn't expect to be there yielded good photo opportunities. Today especially in a last minute clinch for a feature photo for tomorrows paper in the local section I found a rally going on down at the capitol, even though I shouldn't have been I was surprised. It was small but good enough. This is where the lesson came into play. I went and shot this event briefly then left for The Olympian. Learning that even in an event as such I should get names and info on the even and as always try to get some literature on what was going on. Anyhow lesson learned and lucky I was able to go back and get names and info after getting none in the first place, there won't be a next time for that to happen.

July 2nd, 2010

Today was a fantastic day! Even though the weather was touch and go, I came out with some great photographs of a fox on the beach. It was pretty strange actually, this little guy got so close to me and didn't frighten easily and was only startled by sudden movements like a camera switch.

I learned a bit on the business of freelancing today. How to gauge the value of the work you do by the your living costs and work expenses. Like travel, hours spent, equipment, assistants, lighting and all the needs of a professional shoot. It is amusing to me at how people underestimate the value of a photographers time, from the stories I was told and the things that I have read.

Tomorrow I take on another assignment, for a story this time on the parks around Olympia and the people using them. Hopefully everyone goes to priest point or Kenneydell Park tomorrow because that is where I will be.

The experiences I've gotten from this internship are priceless and I am really enjoying everything I've been doing and learning, it brings life a lot more into focus for me. Here is a shot that I took today of the fox and a link to a couple of favorite shots one of which will be in Saturdays paper.

Some of the other photographs

July 1st, 2010

If there was one thing I learned today it was, when on an assignment such as getting shots of people out and about and its raining or just doesn't give results shoot away anyway. Onward and upward no less. On my quest for shots of anyone today by the water at the beach, really gave nothing but I was able to meet some nice people and took shots of them, their daughter walking by east bay, so that yielded some fun shots. The little girl was playing in the rocks and running around and being overall random and fun. The mother was really nice to. It always helps me, in any case, to talk to strangers and taking photos of them because I am a bit shy. In a work situation though I tend to push myself to meet needs and expectations and work past my shy demeanor.

Its time to get aggressive. Go search out some great photographic opportunities around town, listen to that police scanner and dig out some good work from this town.